Rock in 75 gallon

[stormystormy11]

I'm in the 15th day of cycle with my new 75 and tried lifting my rocks in my 20 with round pvc for each large rock...it was hard to balance them on these so I built a large rectangle an inch high...30 inches long and about 4 inches wide for the 75 to keep rocks off of the bottem. Am I gonna have the same problem as I did with my 20 and should I just forget the pvc as the rocks will be much higher? Has anybody else done this? Would like to start putting the rock where it should go.

 

[Bifferwine]

Why are you using PVC? Why not just put the rocks on the bottom? They will stack pretty stable if you just wiggle them around until they fit.

 

[stormystormy11]

I read that you could lift the rock off the bottem of tank to keep debris from staying under the rock and that it would be easier to clean...It seems to work with my 20 because I can get under and around the rock with my syphon....a cleaner tank?

 

[Bifferwine]

I guess so. But why not just have a robust cleaner crew to take care of detritus and not overfeed instead? Most people do not siphon or clean their substrate.

 

[stormystormy11]

I clean the sand every time...should I not? The water is dirty that I take out of the 30 and 20 .. only because I put the syphon down into the areas I know have degris all the way to the glass. I just wanted to make it easier on the 75. I have cut down on feeding, maybe too much. I've looked up how much to feed but still not sure. Help?
In my 30 I have two clowns, 1 damsel, 1 scooter blenny, 1 yellow watchman, 1 firefiI'n gobby, I pistol shrimp, 1 coral banded shrimp, 1 pep. shrimp, several snails and hermits....2 porcelein crabe, 1 anemone crab, 1 large anemone, 2 feathers and corals.
In my 20 I have 2 pajamas,1 purple fin goby, 1 gamma, 3 assorted damsels, 1 six line wrase,1 yellow banded shrimp,1 lawnmower blenny.
I am now longer having trouble with brown algae since I added about 15 small hermits and snails to each tank but am having a breakout of green on the glass everyday. Got a UV algae cleaner for 75..will that take care of that problem? Oh, yes the feeding how much should I be feeding these tanks?...I've been feeding frozen brine and a littel blood worms twice a day. I've cut the meals in half and added a third meal at noon of comercial mixed flake and I've doing water changes about every 4 days in 20 and every week in 30.

 

[Bifferwine]

You are extremely overstocked in your tanks. A good rule of thumb for saltwater is 1 fish per 10 gallons -- you have 6 fish in your 30, and 9 fish in your 20! That's not good for your animals!

The reason you have algae problems -- all those fish are just producing a massive amount of waste for the tank's capacity.

You really need to get rid of a lot of your fish, you can feed them what they need, but it's always going to be too much for your tanks since the tanks are so small.

Brine is not nutritious for fish. Flakes will contribute to your algae problems. Use frozen foods only, and switch to something healthier like mysis. Feed once a day, or once every other day.

I honestly don't think you will be able to get a handle on your algae problems unless you get rid of like 2/3 of your fish. You just have too many. I'm surprised they aren't killing each other, being crammed into such a small space like that.

 

[stormystormy11]

yah, I agree..too many fish..I took 6 of them from a store that was on its last month of closing down and the tanks were not being taken care of. I was already starting my 75 and had plans to put some of them in when the water was ready to help cycle the ph. I put them all in the 20 as I wasn't sure if the fish were okay.

Thanks for the info on feeding..they really seem to like the frozen brine. I didn't know it had little nutrition. The closest place I can get frozen food is at petco 2 hours away and I haven't seen mysis..is there a good dry I can order online until I can find some frozen mysis? My next option is a five hour drive.
Still, should I just feed once a day?

The green algae is always on the front glass facing the light into the living room...not direct by any means but is there. I set my 75 up in a room with no light and a UV sterilizer hoping to correct the problem.

 

[Bifferwine]

My Petcos have mysis. Brine is fine to use as long as you are not relying on that alone. A good variety is key. Petco also carries Marine Cuisine, Emerald Entree and saltwater multi-packs, which are good for fish.

Feeding once a day should be fine.

 

[Reef Nutz]

Ditch the PVC and go pick up some Egg Crate at Lowes or Home Depot. Its a light diffuser.