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Low pH and dKH in a Reef Tank 12/2/05 Hello and thank you for your wonderful site! <Hello and thank you.> I have a 4-month old 40 gallon saltwater tank (live rock), with recently-added corals (star polyps, red mushrooms positioned rather close to star polyps, <How close? At least a few inches I hope.> button polyps, yellow scroll coral, xenia). Also present are 2 firefish, 5 Chromis, 2 cone snails, a bubble brittlestar, 2 peppermint shrimp, and a few snails and hermits. There has been a lot of brown algae, possibly diatoms according to LFS, plaguing my tank from the beginning. <Quite common in new tanks for diatoms to emerge due to the presence of excess nutrients. Water flow and Water changes are your friend.> Suddenly, 3 days ago, the brown algae disappeared: the water is crystal clear and the sand is becoming white again. At exactly the same time, the xenia crunched down and stopped pulsing <This is due to your low pH, xenias tend to pulse on the higher side in my experience, 8.3 to 8.4.> and the star polyp retracted completely. <Possibly also some issues with the pH. Star Polyps are also sensitive to algae growing on top of them so for this reason they appreciate healthy water flow.> I should tell you that this was about 4 days after adding the xenia, yellow scroll, and red mushrooms. My question is this: is the sudden water clarity a good thing or a harbinger of trouble; <Well clean, relatively nutrient free water is the way you will find it to be on a natural reef.> if good, is this what's caused the star polyp and xenia to retract, and they will recover over time? <Possibly I would slowly buffer your pH to an acceptable range (I like the 8.2 to 8.4 area) and keep it stable. Also the dKH is also a bit low 7-12 is the best in my experience.> Here are measurements just after everything changed: temperature 76-80 F salinity 1.022 <Acceptable, though also a little low for a reef tank.> nitrate 0 phosphate 0 pH 7.8-7.9 dKH 6.4 <Both are a bit low as mentioned above.> Calcium 475 ppm Noting low pH and dKH, I started adding a bit of B-Ionic Part 1 (alkalinity solution). Now the pH is 8.2, and dKH is 8.0, <That's better but I hope you did not raise it to quickly, also you need to find out why it dropped so low to begin with so that you can keep it from happening again.> but the star polyp is still hiding and the xenia are kind of compressed looking (though they occasionally pulse a tentacle weakly). Have you experienced this sort of thing? <I would give them time now, and don't move them around. These are sensitive creatures. Though the star polyps are highly adaptable and my guess would be that they will eventually thrive. The Xenia is notably "less-tough" to such changes.> Will the star polyp adapt? <Should see my above comments about algae and water flow.> Should I take out the red mushrooms, having learned from your site that they are stingers -- they're quite close to the star polyps. <If they are touching each other, yes they need to be moved.> Many thanks!! <Welcome, Adam J.> Cyano In the Reef Tank 11/30/05 Hey guys, <Hi Joe.> I have a 55 gallon reef with a AquaC remora, Eheim pro2 with Chemi-pure running through and a closed loop SCWD. I have the 260 watt PC Coralife Aqualight which I bought about, when should I replace the bulbs? <Every 6 to nine months for best results.> I have a problem with Cyano and it won't go away no matter what I do. <I see no water chemistry readings such as nitrates or phosphates which makes it hard to comment. Also what is your source water? Though I do see you have a canister filter which are notorious for nutrient problems. I would address this (the nutrients), water flow and the lighting issue before using chemicals.> Would Phosban and the reactor that goes with it help at all? <See above.> What other things could I do to stop this outbreak? <The tried and true method in my experience is low nutrient levels, RODI water, correct lighting spectrum, and lots of water flow. Of course patience and a siphon tube are good tools too.> Thanks Joe <Adam J.> Feathers and Fungia 11/22/05 Hi guys <Hey, Mike G with you tonight.> I was hoping you could help me with a few problems Im experiencing. <Absolutely.> Firstly, I have a 47g reef with a Eheim 2026 pro II filter <I tend to look at (canister) filters on reef aquaria as more harm than good. Sediment, etc. gets trapped (as it should) in its media and contributes to a buildup of nitrates. They're so effective at this that they've been dubbed "nitrate factories" by reef aquarists. I'd remove it unless you have a really good reason not to.> an Aqua-C Remora running off a Maxi-Jet 1200 <Great skimmer.> 3 X Maxi-Jet 900s (1 with rotating head) <They come with those? And to think: all this time I've relied on PowerSweeps, the lowest of low submersible pumps, for a sweeping water motion.> a couple of 150W heaters and an Arcadia over tank Luminaire with 156 Watts of daylight and blue actinic (together with moonlights all on timers). In the tank, I have about 30 Kilo live rock (on a buried DIY platform) and 3 of CaribSea Aragonite sand. <Sounds like a very nice setup.> As for livestock, I have 2 very small Percula Clowns, 2 small Green Chromis, 1 small Andaman Damselfish and 1 small Royal Gramma <I'd say you're near maxxed out in terms of fish.> as well as about 12 dwarf hermits, about 25 mixed snails, 2 Peppermint Shrimps, 2 Feather Dusters, some Clove Polyps, Yellow Polyps and a Disc Coral. <Fungia?> The tank is only 3 or 4 months old though most parameters are fine nil Ammonia, Nitrite, Phosphate and Organics. Nitrate <5 ppm, Temp 24 26C, PH about 8.1/8.2, SG 1.025, Oxygen 7 mg/l, and Carbonate Hardness high at 13 dKH, with Calcium low at 300 mg/l (Im using a buffer but am going to have to consider using 2-part or Kalkwasser). <C-Balance works wonders.> Phew, now for the questions; firstly, my Feather Dusters seem to be receiving regular haircuts as their feathers are being gradually shortened any ideas who could be the culprit(s)? <Yes: themselves. Featherdusters will shed their crown when stressed or starving, the latter being the case most often. Home aquaria simply do not contain enough (or the right kind) of the food they require (and we don't even know what, specifically they require!). Phytoplankton (I like DT's) can help sustain them, but, unfortunately, most large featherdusters won't survive very long in home aquaria.> Secondly, the Disc Coral was placed on a rock yet seems to be slowly heading south IYO would it be better placed on the substrate? <Absolutely. Fungia (if that is, indeed what you are referring to) are substrate-dwellers by nature. Could also be a condition with your lighting setup - 156w of Power Compacts is not too much light, especially when some of it is actinic. Try upping the lighting, moving to substrate, not necessarily in that order, and see how it does.> Next, I lost a Green Chromis which was rapidly devoured by the hermits, Shrimp and snails. <Totally, completely, normal.> However, they left the head and skeleton which has disappeared within the sand. Do you see any potential problems with it remaining there? <Nope.> Finally and the biggie I have always had a problem with heaters! I have gone through about 5 now (all at 150W and including digitally switched heaters) trying to find 1 that keeps the tank at the temperature indicated. During summer months the temperature remained pretty stable although I always had to set the heater at a very low indicated temperature to obtain the correct range. <Very strange, indeed.> Now that its much colder however, I have had to turn the heater up, although the temperature indicated is still below the actual temperature and it fluctuates wildly! Would you suggest perhaps going for a 200W or 300W heater or maybe stick with the second heater Ive installed (1 at each end) bearing in mind that the tank is already cramped with equipment? <I'd recommend you go with one larger heater of a different brand (this one does not seem too reliable).> Any help with these problems would make you the best thing since The Conscientious Marine Aquarist <That honor goes to Bob.> many thanks, Steve Morse. <Best of luck. Mike G.> Re: Minor update Re: Live Rock and Copper and another topic 11/16/05 Bob, crew. <Tirion> Hope you are all well and for those of you who were/are in service to our country, I hope Veterans Day went well for you and thank you from my heart. I can't sleep, don't look at the time stamp on the email. <Look for resolution here...> 1st Note: Bob, I am one day away from deciding on the dry rock we were discussing with probable insoluble amounts of copper. Will keep you apprised of the purchase and progress; the seller has about 6 times what I can handle and is not breaking into smaller portions :) I might have to abort since 'we' are not sure how the copper trace levels are going to be yet and hundreds of lbs of almost unusable rock in the garage would be a bad idea. Note 2: As I have stated, I have a small 40g system with little room for additions. I need a refugium badly (for mental as well as hobbyist needs as you know). There is no room for a sump in the cabinet and mate just will not allow more 'stuff' in the family room, although mates idea of a simple tank includes me figuring out how to stock a 40g with a new fish, invert, clams or coral every time we go on weekly visits to the various LFS's - I managed thus far to keep the stocking levels well in check and everything alive but the Flying Peppermint shrimp we discussed two months ago. I need him back as I have a new aphasia he could consume. <Need resolution here as well... and the shrimp> I need the nutrient export, plain and simple. I have 'ideas' that range from utilizing empty HOB filters to DIY acrylic. I have two questions and am getting mixed opinions on, which will affect my decision as well as the sizing. a) I plan on using the outflow from the canister filter plumbed into the inlet, tee'd so that I can regulate flow to an in-tank spray bar so that the HOB does not overflow and there will be no back pressure stress on the canister seals. <S/b a minor concern> One less tube taking up real estate and the most nitrate rich water, free of debris. Same with the scenario of the DIY, but with additional baffle and a place for heater. IYEO (in your expert opinion) do you foresee any issue as long as I can control the flow? <Mmm, no... these assemblies are flexible... slower flow is usually the rule...> I have been unable to get a definitive answer on flow through a refugium and personal logic would dictate approximately 15 to 20 x per hour of the volume (i.e., 4.5g fuge = no more than 80gph) to allow steady absorption but not beat the stuff in there to death.). Also not sure about lighting, will likely just see how the normal tank PC's do in that proximity as normal but sure would like the pH daily/nightly offset. Might have to use a clip on with a 50/50 screw in light bulb on a timer but hard to shield the main tank from a HOB clip on light at night. <No worries if light "spills over"... actually of benefits> b) I will be using LR rubble, shell/aragonite sand and 'a' macroalgae. Do you recommend Chaeto, a form of Caulerpa or both? <The Chaeto over a mix, or use of Caulerpas> Chaeto has its issues but seems to be safer than Caulerpa. From my research, almost all Caulerpa can go asexual <Sexual> and be naughty or, release the nutrients and such back if pruned improperly, where Chaeto does not appear to have these issues. What would be the most efficient and safest of the two and how much do I need, or are these unanswerable questions. <A bit> C: I see loads of HOB stuff and I have them too, skimmers, clips for powerheads, j tubes, etc.. This will be a heavy item if 4g or so but I see them sold and made all the time. Anyone give thought to the added weight stress on the lip and surrounding siliconed edges of a glass tank or is this not really a problem? <Yes in terms of consideration, almost always not an issue> I might try a support column or something unobtrusive. Take good care and thanks. <Bob Fenner> Mini-reef set up, Or Hey! Watch Out Where
You're Putting That Thing! 11/15/05 Dear Sirs/Madams,
<"Paperback writer..."> After the incredible help you
gave me, I finally decided to stock my tank up. (I was the weirdo who
had a 30 gallon live rock tank up and running without any inhabitants
for six months). I followed your advice to the T. Three peppermints,
one Trochus, one royal Gramma, one green clown and one clownfish all in
QT in two separate 10 gallon tanks since I have only four tanks. The
third tank currently houses a fish that you did not recommend - a coral
beauty. And before you go tsk tsk, she is not mine. She is a
friend's and I prevailed upon her to QT her fish as well.
<Good> Now that fish is a stunner and I'd have been hard
pressed to let her go but don't wish to overstock my tank. Three
fish is plenty for my tank, right? <A thirty gallon world is too
small for a Coral Beauty Angel> Besides, from your site I also
learned that this beauty may not do well with my zoos and discomas.
<Yes> Still I'll be sad to see her go. She is the friendliest
of the lot (contrary to species descriptions), eats from my hand etc
etc. <Perhaps a larger tank is in your future?> In my fourth tank
I am QTing my new live rock. Please tell me I am not crazy. I just
thought that if it has something live on it and it is going into my
tank I should QT it. I swear that I am not QTing my skimmers or
filters. <Heeee!> Here is the puzzling thing. I got a hitchhiker
with either on/in my coral or my live rock. It was a orange red coral
that I IDed as the Chile coral. I did not pay for it, so I assume it
came along with something else I bought. I researched it as much as
possible and one of the things I learned is that it requires feeding
when "open" a few times a week, and that it opens at night,
and Cyclop-eeze was recommended. Here is the deal... and I do not
know how to put it delicately. It has not opened yet, so that adds to
my problem, because I am anticipating it to open sometime. <... may
be something else... a sponge, an ascidian... "don't
open"> Where do I spot feed it? Zoos and Mushrooms, well there
seems to be a top to them where I squirt stuff with a new baby medicine
dispenser. That seems to work better for me because the turkey baster
would squirt too much air causing them to close. With this one, I
don't know which end to squirt the stuff, and I don't want to
erm...squirt it up the wrong end. <If it has just "popped
up" it can/is receiving nutrient from somewhere... I wouldn't
add (much) to the water> I know this is a really dumb question. Even
if you laugh at me, I'll not be embarrassed because you guys are
the experts probably used to a whole host of silly questions. <Am
very good at making my own, thank you> Thanks so much for your help
and may you father a thousand sons. Sweta Kannan <Can barely find
time to keep up with our dogs, but thanks for the thought. Bob
Fenner> Clownfish aggression! Mis-mix, garden approach to problem
causing 11/12/2005 Hi guys, <Joe> I have a 55 gallon
reef tank with 2 percula clowns, a large Clarkii or sebae (not sure but
maybe blue stripe because I see like a bluish teal color on the outside
of the white stripes), <Sebaes are exceedingly rare... not good to
mix clown species in small volumes> small hippo, sixline wrasse,
flame angel, and a scooter blenny. <The tang and angel need more
room> Inverts are a nice sebae anemone which was bleached and now is
brown, and corals. <Troubled mix> The 2 perculas were the first
to enter my tank. They are now hosting in my green star polyps. I added
the anemone and sebae clown together as a matched pair about 2-3 months
after the first clowns. Now it has been about 2-3 later and I recently
added the hippo, sixline, flame, and blenny to the mix from Live
Aquaria. Results with the new fish are great but the Sebae clown is
chasing some new fish occasionally and bites my hand when I try to
clean the tank. Worst of all my perculas are taking the worst of
it. I saw him chasing and nipping at the fish a couple of times(
the Percs are half its size) and one morning I saw him grab the perc by
its tail and take him halfway down the tank still with the tail in his
mouth trying to rip him apart. Now my perc is hiding inside a cave that
has star polyps covering it and I can't even see until the polyps
retract. My other perc which I assume is the female due to the
bigger of the two is hiding in the corner behind the heater and outlet
pvc pipe for the closed-loop. Is there anything I can do or do I have
to give him away. I would hate to because the whole anemone-clownfish
deal going on. Will the anemone do worse without it around? Thanks Joe
<... you need another tank, or to re-think/revisit what you're
doing stocking the one you have. The loss of color of the anemone is
concerning... lack of light? Nutrition? It's presence with
"corals" is problematic. I encourage you to invest your time
reading (on WWM and elsewhere) re the compatibility of all this life,
and the troubles you're inducing. Bob Fenner> Information overload...HELP! 11/12/2005 Thank-you for your help in advance. I've been a long time African Cichlid keeper starting out with a 10 gallon tank and working my way up to my existing 150 gallon bow front tank. I took time and patience in learning all I could through reading and the knowledge of others. Then, one fine day the salt water bug bite me. I'd like to convert my 150 gal in the future but right now I am using a 29 gallon starter tank to "get my hands wet" so to speak. Here is how things look so far: 40 lbs live sand, 40 lbs live rock, Red Sea Prizm protein skimmer that actually works (have read lots of not so good things), 1 rotating power head, Eheim Prof 2 2126 (with only filter pads and Chemi-pure) mostly for water movement and nitrate control and my lighting is 130w=12,000k, 420 actinic blue pc with 4 moonlight for lovely night time viewing. Specific Gravity 1.024, temp 81 deg, ph 8.4, ammonia 0ppm, nitrite 0ppm, calcium 410(use Kalkwasser drip once a week to replace 1gal of evaporation), GH/kH 8, but nitrate is always at 20ppm. <"It's your filtration"> I do 10 percent water changes weekly as well as rinse/replace filter pads. Stock= 1 yellow tail damsel, 2 blue damsels, lawnmower blenny, sand sifting star, tiger striped star, fancy red star, multiple blue legged crags and a few snails. Not to mention all the beautiful life on the live rock. Now to my question -What am I doing wrong that my nitrates are so high? <Mmm, nothing... due to your filtration mode, maintenance... See WWM re canister filters, maint...> Any advice with my set-up? <Mmm, not on this one, but I would read... maybe a few good marine aquarium books (biblio. on WWM), and our general marine aquarium set-up articles and FAQs files> And with my current set-up would it be possible to have corals and the like? <... some> Worth noting- before using the Eheim I was using a Penguin 350 Bio-wheel filter but opted for more water movement. Thank you for your insight. Frankie <I might put the Biowheel back on and run it at the same time. Bob Fenner> Lee's Protein Skimmer, Sandbed, Blade Plant Question 11/11/05 Dear WWM, <Armand> Sorry about this super-long, multi-topic email. <No worries> First, I want to share my experience with a Lee's Medium Protein Skimmer (Countercurrent). <Not a top performer...> I have had it for two weeks. Was having many problems with my aquarium - things dying, lots of green algae and diatoms growing. I bought a protein skimmer for $28 Amazon. The protein skimmer has been remarkable. I consistently pull about a half-cup of brown-green-tan liquid out every other day. My aquarium water is crystal clear. My corals are opening again. And the algae growth has slowed. Second. My sand bed ranges from 1.5 to 4 inches deep. Looking at the sandbed from the sides of the aquarium, the subsurface looks dark gray in some areas, green in others, and brown elsewhere. Is this normal? <Mmm, for a system with too much nutrient, yes...> Should the sandbed be dark colored or should it be uniformly sand colored (light tan or white) from looking at it one the side? <Some color... growth of algae, other organisms is to be expected> How do I know if the sandbed is anaerobic or toxic? <... test kits, poorly colored organisms... acting oddly, dying... Sometimes smell...> Looking at the side, one can see many worm trails. I can see worms at night - different colors, mostly spaghetti type. <Ahh! A good sign> Third, I have 5 blade plants in the aquarium. They have new growth but are getting covered in diatoms. Is this ok? Should I brush the diatoms off? <I would> Fourth, though my aquarium looks better and water tests all come out fine, and pH is 8.1-8.2, my blue-legged hermits are slowly dying. They are exiting their shells. I am thinking that they finally are dying from the stress of the pre-protein skimmer days. <Maybe... can happen> Also, I have not put any food in the whole month to try to clean things up. Are they just starving. <Possibly> There is a lot of algae yet to eat. My snails are doing fine and a lettuce slug is too. Help! Thanks, Armand <Likely a chemical imbalance... calcium/magnesium, or alkalinity issue as well... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/hermitdisfaqs.htm and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>
Hobbyist in need of some help - 11/09/2005 Hi there WWM, Paul
in the UK here. <Hi Paul, Josh in Athens here.> I apologize in
advance for the length of the email and variety of issues below however
we are still very new to the hobby and are having so many problems that
we really would like to get your views and advice on our situation,
that's why we have detailed everything we think could be relevant
to help to answer. <No need to apologize, more info. is better than
not enough.> We have had our tank running for 7 months now
(4x2x2 100g ish). The filtration system is sump based and (left to
right) we have a sponge in the 1st chamber collecting large bits,
skimmer in the 2nd chamber then a trickle tower, then the water gets
pumped back into the tank. In the main tank we have around 30k of live
rock which sits on top of some base rock. Params are.. sg 1.024 temp 78
amm 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 0 phosphate - undetectable on test kit calcium
- about 350 (hard to test on rubbish kit) alk about 10 dKH <Sounds
good so far, though I don't see an alkalinity measure.> The tank
is very lightly stocked and we have the following.. 1x small regal tang
1.5" 1x Chromis 1" 1x Flame Angel 2" 1x perc clown
1" All fish appear very healthy (regal is growing fast) 1x feather
duster We also had circa 15 RL hermits and 10 turbo snails (will
explain more shortly). <Doesn't sound promising.> Around 3
months ago we ran a bag of carbon and a bag of No-Phos. <With a
phos. reading of 0?> <<Was there Cyano at that
time? Can "fix" phosphorous. MH>> This
got the water crystal clear but we lost all the copepods which were
thriving in the rocks & sand. <Removed the food
source.> We subsequently took the carbon out and haven't
run it since. Also about 3 months ago we installed a set of T5 lights
(one set of bulbs could be a bit old now though and may need replacing)
<Shouldn't this quickly.> For the last 2-3 months we
have been battling with the dreaded Cyanobacteria and simply can't
get rid of it. We don't overfeed and use a variety of good flake
foods and frozen, the skimmer works OK but doesn't pull out tons of
skimmate, perhaps 1 cup per week (bioload issue ?) <Possibly, but I
doubt it. What brand?> We have been scraping the Cyano off as
best we can but it's now in places we simply can't reach we
also increased the flow around the tank about a month ago however the
stuff is just taking over. <Slow and steady to win the race. It can
take awhile.> <<MASSIVE water changes are a good place to
start (on the order of 75% or more), testing the make-up water
before you mix with salt, then after mixing, then test tank
water after the water change. MH>> Over the last few
weeks we have started to see some of the Turbos are appearing to waste
away and we have lost about 5 of them now, some are stuck at the back
and we can't get them out, could these be polluting the tank &
aiding the Cyano? <Yes.> We do 15% water changes every 2
weeks. <<Not enough in frequency or amount (%) when
experiencing these problems. Is alright in a system with no
problems or issues demonstrating excess nutrient load.
MH>> <Good.> One thing I must add is that the
sponge in the 1st chamber has gone 'biological' through being
novices to the hobby (then not really knowing what to do about it).
<I see.> Another thing which is really troubling us now is
the fact that the rock (base and live) is getting a very bright lime
green tint to it and the LR is appearing generally unhealthy. We have
looked at the rock under different lighting and it is still very green.
<Sounds like algae, possibly the new lights taking advantage of
excess nutrients.> <<Lights don't use nutrients, they
use electricity.>> Can you please give some of your much
sought after advice on.. a) How to get rid of the Cyano? <Nutrient
export seems the most likely problem. Skim aggressively and perhaps
increase water change frequency at lower volumes.> <<Why
lower the volume? Large changes will likely make a great
improvement here (assuming clean make-up water). MH>> b) Why
you think the Turbos are dying (and what is the impact on the rest of
the tank)? <Probably starvation. If they are left to rot when they
die it will definitely degrade your water quality.> c) Is the
skimmate collection something to worry about considering the bioload?
<Not so much if it's very concentrated, but more would be
better.> d) what we should do with the biological sponge? <Clean
it thoroughly or toss it and replace. Only meant to catch debris and
should be cleaned at least twice weekly. A likely source of your
problems here (as well as snail decay).> e) Why you think the rock
have gone bright lime green and what can we do to get it back to
normal? <Same as the Cyano.> f) How do we get copepods and
general life on the LR back into the tank? <Will return in optimal
conditions.> Your expert advice would be very, very much
appreciated. <I'm no expert but happy to help.> Many thanks
in advance, Paul <You're welcome. - Josh> Fighting Algae By "Staying The Course"... 11/3/05 Hello WWM Crew, I hope you can help, <Scott F. here! I'll do my best...> I have a 30 Gallon system - setup as follows; 3 x 25watt Fluorescents ( 1 x Actinic 2 x Daylight), Fluval 104 external filter used for polywool and Polyfilter, Fluval 3 internal filter (backup - running all the time), 2 small powerheads, 1 small air driven counter current protein skimmer, about 20lbs live rock with one giant piece of Tufa rock virtually sticking out of the surface (like a pillar in the centre of the tank) - substrate is crushed coral sand which is approx 0.5" - 1.25" covering. Ph - 8.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10ppm, SG 1.022, Temp 24C constant, Calcium 380ppm, Phosphate 0.5 - 1ppm. As you might imagine with phosphate levels like that, I am in a constant battle with BGA (the red one. Coralline algae is steadily growing on powerheads, heater and rocks and there are at least 4 different types of (macro?) algae growing from various live rocks - one of which I know to be Grape Caulerpa, and one of the others is like a lettuce leaf, but is a brilliant fluorescent orange colour, it looks great. My tank's inhabitants are - 1 Royal Gramma, 2 small (1") Black Percula Clowns, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, 1 small blue/black Brittle Star, 9 Turbo snails, 5 small hermits (2 blue 3 red). There is a small colony of about 10 yellow zoanthid polyps. They got a slight covering of BGA on their tubes at one point when it got particularly bad and this has stayed on them. I can't seem to get it off them without fear of damaging them by brushing it off them physically. The phosphates are coming under control slightly as I have started using RO water for 10-20% weekly water changes and am also using Polyfilters constantly (changed out monthly) <Excellent procedure. These efforts will pay off in time, trust me.> I feed sparingly, but it is inevitable that food gets blown around the tank and some of it no doubt goes uneaten. I vacuum the gravel each week and clean the front glass a couple of times a week but the BGA growth still comes back after a few days of a water change. <Just keep doing what you're doing.> My questions for you are; Is there room for 1 small blue damsel in this setup? <From a "size" standpoint, yes. But I would hesitate because of the potential for aggressiveness. Rather, I'd look at another small fish, such as a Goby or Blenny, which is more "socially acceptable"> How can I clean the BGA off the polyps without harming them? <You'd really have to use a gentle rubbing motion with your fingers...Even then, the potential for damage exists.> Is the brittle star a threat to any of the inhabitants? <Unlikely, IMO, although this is a generalization. There are some species that can be potentially harmful to fishes.> Why are my phosphates so high?? <I'm suspecting that there are phosphates bound up in the substrate and in the Tufa rock. Food contains a high amount of phosphate; particularly the packing juices from frozen foods. be sure to rinse frozen food carefully before use and feed sparingly.> Could you recommend a hardy photosynthetic invertebrate that I could add to this system (bearing in mind the lighting)? (anemone, coral etc?) <I'd be inclined to try hardy corallimorphs-"Mushroom Corals".> Any help or advice you can offer will be appreciated, Thanks for your dedication to this hobby, I have read Bob's book (The Conscientious Marine Aquarist) and it made great reading, I would recommend this book to anyone thinking of starting a marine tank. Leif. <I'm sure that Bob appreciates that! It IS a great book for any hobbyist! Hang in there; stay the course, and I'm sure you'll be talking about your algae problems in the past tense soon! Regards, Scott F.> A New (Very nice) Reef Set-up 11/3/05 Thank you for providing this service. You have probably saved more marine life than Cousteau through your efforts. <Hehe, thanks for the kind words.....now if I just had that French accent of his I'd have to hide indoors from all the ladies.> First let me describe my system for you. I have a 90G tank with 125lbs of live rock, below is a custom built refuge/sump. The refuge/sump contains a 10Ga section with Gracilaria being tumbled, another separate 10Ga section with live rock and rubble in which I plan to put clams, a third section of 3Ga in which I am growing pods, and a final section which operates as a sump and holds a EV180 skimmer from Aqua C. The first two sections hold a DSB of 6, which provide 42% of the surface area of the equivalent DSB in the main tank. The main tank substrate is a minimal 1/2". There is a closed loop system of 1000GPH with SCWD to alternate flow. The flow through the sump/refuge is approximately 800GPH. The return to the main tank runs through 2 SCWDs to alternate flow. The lighting in the main tank is two 150 MH and two 96W Actinics. The refuge is lighted off cycle with a 96W 50/50 CF. For temperate control there is an Artica chiller. The tank has been cycling for three months. I'm using RO/DI water. So far, I've not had a substantial algae bloom. A clean up crew of 30 snails and 8 blue-legged hermit crabs has been keeping up rather well. I also have two small A. perculas and three Lysmata debelius in the tank. Before you ask, everything wet (Gracilaria, snails, crabs, shrimp, and fish) went through quarantine. <Sounds VERY well planned out, well done.> Now I'm seeing small feather dusters, coralline algae, and a colony of Zoanthidea. <Great signs.> The water chemistry has been stable for three weeks. Test results using a Salifert test kit, PH monitor and refractor are PH: 8.15, Temp.: 79F, Ammonia: 0, Nitrite: 0, Nitrate: 0.2, SG: 1.025, KH: 11.2, CA: 356, Oxygen: 9, Mg: 1,260, I2: .06, Sr: 10. <All acceptable.> Now for my questions, I would like to establish this as reef tank with a maximum of nine 3" reef compatible fish. Is this setup going to work? <Depends on the individual fish but for a crowded reef tank I would prefer to see a light load rather than a heavy load. I would stick with fish such as gobies, cardinals, Chromis, blennies and so on.> When would you consider it appropriate to add the first coral <Sounds like everything is stable enough for few hardy specimens.> and what would be a good beginner coral? <Zoanthus sp. is always a good first start as are Green Star Polyps.> Should I add the corals or remaining fish first? <I prefer to allow the inverts. to establish first before stocking all of the fish.> One more question, the A. perculas were tank reared. They went through quarantine without issue. I gave them a fresh water dip before they went in the tank. They were eating well in quarantine. Theyve been in the main tank for two weeks. They look very healthy. They swim around the tank together. They are alert and curious. They keep circling the tank at a moderate speed. However, they show little interest in the food pellets they had been eating. I've noticed theyre been eating the pods off the glass. I counted as many as 6 pods per square inch on some section of the glass. Are they getting enough to eat from the pods? <Mmm....Possibly but that won't last, try offering some other foods such as Mysis shrimp.> I've read that A. perculas are pigs and never turn down food, so I'm concerned. But, I don't want to be one of those newbies that over feed and foul the tank. Should I be worried? <Not yet these fish are quite new, start offering more of a variety.> Thanks for your help! <Quite Welcome.> Michael <Adam J.> Freak Anemone Accident 10/30/05 I've searched and looked, for hours, for a situation similar to mine without success. I hope that this is not a repeat question so that the information might be helpful to others besides myself. I have a bubble tip anemone that has been doing fantastic for 5 months. I feed it fresh, meaty foods twice weekly. I has doubled in size since I acquired it and is very beautiful. <Sounds good thus far> Now for the problem. 2 days ago, while doing regular maintenance, a rather large piece of salt creep fell into the tank from the protein skimmer (hangs on back of the tank) and fell right into the center of the anemone, causing it to close very quickly taking the salt inside. <Man! Have gotten a bit of this sort of crust into my eye at times... Sting City!> It hasn't opened since and has ejected all of it's stomach contents, which I removed to keep from fouling the tank. <Good> What little I can see of him near the center seems to be badly scarred, similar to what a chemical burn might look like. I have not been able to see it's mouth at all. The arms are sticking up and are inflated, but the animal is not opening up. Can salt that has not dissolved kill this animal, or is this something it should recover from? <Will likely recover in time... a few to several days, weeks> Thanks in advance for any wisdom you can offer and thanks for a fantastic resource. Perry <A pleasure to share. Bob Fenner> Reef Tank: Algae and Cloudy Water 10/28/05 Hello crew, <Hi Shrina.> I have a puzzler. We have a 220 gallon reef tank. Lots of live rock (I'm not sure exactly how many pounds). Ammonia/nitrite is 0, Nitrate is 0, pH is 8.4, Calcium 450. Water quality is good. <Sounds so.> The puzzler is that every time we do a partial water change (10 to 15% every week), we have brown algae bloom and cloudy water for about 4 to 5 days. What causes this? <As far as the algae bloom what is your source water? Does it have phosphates? As far as the cloudy water sounds as if you are disturbing large amounts of detritus, in which case you should also siphon and employ more water flow to keep the detritus suspended.> <<If using tap or well water have it tested at a professional lab facility, or get the municipal water report. If you can't find a local facility, contact the EPA. MH>> Should we cut back on the water changes? <No.> We have a sump and a protein skimmer. We skim pretty aggressively (green water every other day). <Is it a thin green tea colored or a thick dark green coffee colored?> Thank you in advance, <Welcome.> Shrina Baumann <Adam J.> Re: Detritus/Algae/Cloudy Water in a Reef Tank 10/30/05 Thank you for answering back so fast. <No trouble.> We do siphon waste matters and whatnot when we do the water changes. <That's good to hear.> We will try increasing the water flow. <Can't hurt.> The water we use for changes is RO water we get from our LFS. Could it be his filter? <Maybe the filter media in an RO/DI unit should be changed annually for best results, if his are old, it could be the same as using tap water.> Shrina. <Adam J.> Conscientious Husbandry... 10/17/05 Hello again, <Hey there! Scott F. here today!> (Please see my earlier message below for reference, if you want) After several water changes, my tank settled down back to normal. However, I lost all the shrimp, the big brittle star, and maybe a few bugs along the way. I purchased a test kit and it showed that nitrates, nitrites, alk, and pH were all normal - however, that was after I changed the water several times. <Well, at least now you have a means to monitor basic water parameters and to spot "trends" within your system. For sure, water changes are always a good thing.> Things improved over the last week - critters eating and moving, corals opened up, etc... <Good to hear.> This morning I woke to find all the critters eerily still. So I suspected ammonia. <Interesting...but do conform these types of theories with testing, lest you embark on some aggressive, potentially more disruptive "corrective" measure...> I threw some charcoal / Zeolite mix in my filter and changed the filter media too. Things perked up by early afternoon. I have been weary of using charcoal / zeolites b/c I hear they are not good. What is your opinion? <Well, both have their place in marine systems. By "charcoal", I'll assume that you mean "activated carbon". Yes, I regularly use a high-quality, phosphate-free grade of carbon in my systems. Zeolite materials are of use in specific applications, but I'd stick to carbon, myself.> Also, I don't have a protein skimmer. But I change the filter twice per week. <Very good on your maintenance routine. If you're dependant upon mechanical filtration as your primary system, you need to be very aggressive about maintaining and replacing the media. However, I'd seriously think about a quality protein skimmer for your system. It's a rational necessity, IMO...No system should be run without one.> It always is pretty full of gunk (tan/brown stuff). I have two airstones full blast, a powerhead with full bubbles turned on, and a hang-on filter system. I figure with all the turbulence I should be ridding the tank of scum. What is your opinion? <Your great husbandry habits will certainly help; it's all about nutrient export and means to accomplish it. Water changes, aggressive skimming, use of chemical filtration media, and a healthy dose of common sense all have their place! Do look into that skimmer!> Also, by not skimming, am I building up a lot of phosphate? <Potentially. By utilizing regular water changes, you're getting a leg up on things. All of the aforementioned nutrient export processes go hand-in-hand. My advice: Keep doing what you're doing, and get that skimmer!> Thanks in advance, Armand <My pleasure! Regards, Scott F.> Questions Re: Grow-out System Bob I need your help on this one, as I am a bit confused. One of my tanks has a ph issue. A sponge in the tank started to die off in the tank, <Mmm, sometimes occurs, make that often occurs with little "reason".... best to be concerned, pull it to quarantine if goes too far> so I tried to save, and then removed it due to its rapid deterioration. It had gotten air in it <Not good...> from a closed loop head sucking in a bubble. Anyway the ph when the sponge was found and removed was 7.2-7.4 <Yikes> on 2 Aquarium pharmaceutical kits. I didnt add anything at that point as the ammonia and nitrates were showing .25ppm and 20ppm (normally 0 and 5ppm respectively) and simply did a water change with our tap water ph being 7.8 With in 1 hour the tank re-stabilized with ammonia 0 and nitrates 5ppm, I continued to check every hour etc. same numbers. Though the ph was 7.6 so I mixed up some more water and left it overnight to sit. I mixed up a SeaChem 8.3 buffer and Superbuffer dKH mix for another tank and apparently it fell into the water change bucket and blew the ph extremely high overnight. <...!> After doing the water change and finding the clear cup in the bucket, I realized the problem right as the phosphates proceeded to precipitate out in quite a white cloud. a ph test twice using the two separate kits again found it to be over 8.8 and color wise to be near 9.0 (the cards ended at 8.8 but the color was just a bit more in the alkaline direction so we guessed 8.8-9.0) <What?> Heres the problem. The fish and inverts in that tank are thriving in the ph. The anemones are open and the mouths tightly closed, the xenia and feather dusters are open and the other corals are hungrily eating. There seems to not only no damage, but a vitality that the tank never had at 8.1-8.3 (my normal ph) the crabs clams/scallops and snails are not closed up, and are moving and eating with no signs of loss of grip to glass or other signs of problems related to water quality, hence my issue. <Don't mis-take activity for vitality> Is this a problem to be so high? <Yes> I am afraid to do another ph shift lower as I've had two shifts one low and then the higher one in a little less than 48 hours. <Just leave for now... will come down in the next few days> The crazy high ph being around 24 hours ago and the final test results of the ph ammonia and nitrate run 2-3 hours ago. But I also fear that leaving it too high too long may seriously damage something as the ph is a lot higher than Ive ever heard of a tank go without having massive issues. I wanted to do a water change but stress enters my mind as a major concern then as that I'm stressing them again after they already survived such a swing. <Better to not keep fooling with> The friends Ive got here in SW business said that if everything is healthy and eating that there is no concern, and I should enjoy the less work from hair algae issues due to the lack of phosphates in the water column. <Okay> I know I m being anal with the details about the tank, but its the one tank that I grow out fish for clients in so its important that I dont lose them. Also my health is deteriorating yet again <What? In what way/s? Are you seeking medical help?> and I may not be able to actually do much to the tank next week, so I am hoping to get the ph a little better before Monday as thats when we foresee further health issues and quite possibly no one able to do anything to the tank until things are stable again health wise. <Again, knowing what you've stated here, I'd leave all alone> Thanks for any help in advance, hope the diving is good and the family is doing great. -Justin <Things, folks are fine... do be guarded re your health... none of us are going anywhere (we want to go) w/o it. BobF> Detritus Accumulation in a Reef Tank and Other Disastrous Occurrences 10/15/05 We built in a 200 gallon reef aquarium as a wall divider in our new home. The project started as simply a cool design and now my husband and I are turning this into quite a hobby. <Yes very addicting.> We currently have about 10 months in our system which has about 250 lbs of live rock, a 50 gallon Trigger refugium/sump, and a really powerful Trigger skimmer (350?). Everything was going great and the rock was growing purple and pink coralline algae by the week. We recently upgraded our pump lines to 1" to get better flow and in the process created a leak that caused the aquarium to loose 75+ gallons of water. <I bet that was not fun to clean up.> Hello restoration folks! In all the chaos, we kind of forgot a key fact: We have a RO with auto fill that was pumping in fresh water so it caused a huge salinity crash that went unnoticed for 48 hours until things started dying. <Im sorry to hear that.> Needless to say, we lost quite a few corals and invertebrates in the process, including a nice 6" clam. Here is our question. <Ok, go for it.> Ever since the salinity crash, we have been getting a major buildup of detritus on our live rock. <Likely some die off.> Every time we vacuum this off, it comes back. We even pulled all the live rock, washed it in salt water, and replaced it only to see the buildup come back after a few days. This buildup appears to be blocking the growth of coralline algae? <Well it may not be the detritus itself that is blocking the algae growth but probably something environmental. Detritus accumulation makes me think of two things, either high nutrient levels/die off or insufficient water flow to keep the detritus suspended until whatever filtration system you have can remove it.> Is this something to be concerned with? <It sounds like your tank is going through a mini-cycle, I would make sure you have adequate water flow as well as perform regular water changes.> We don't really have any mechanical filters on the system, just the skimmer and refugium. Should we incorporate a mechanical filter for a while? <Running a removable PolyFilter for a while until things are stable again wouldnt hurt.> Is this the algae dieing on the rocks? What would you recommend? <Continue as you have, vacuuming and doing water changes. Keep up the water quality, especially dissolved organic levels.> Scott & Kim <Adam J.> Leathers, Coral and Equipment..the daily life/worrying of all Reefers 10/15/05 Greeting & Salutations Gentlemen & Ladies, <<Corrected, we are multiples. ;-) Marina>> <Hello.> Thanks again for your dedication to this hobby and guidance to newbies like me. Since Memorial day, I have diligently been following your advice on equipment, curing of LR, QT , cycling etc with much success. I just added fish to my setup a month ago. (yes it took 3 months but I am trying to demonstrate patience- I hope!). My only problems occurred when I screwed up and rushed the acclimation/QT/FW Dip process but hey - I'm human. I have a several questions after reading Anthony & Bob's articles and the many FAQs. <Ok Ill do my best to help you out.> First some details on my eventual reef system ( I have no corals yet) - a 60 gallon flatback hex with 75lbs of LR, 20 gallon sump (converted wet/dry) with 600 gal Eheim return pump, Euro Reef CS6-1 Skimmer, 15 gallon refugium (converted wet/dry) with Chaeto and 7in DSB, SCWD with Via Aqua pump and Rena Filstar canister filter with Chemi Pure, Phosban and RowaPhos . <Sounds great.> In regards to Livestock I have a small clownfish, a small six line wrasse, a small decorator goby, a small royal gamma and a small yellow tang (I plan to only add a coral beauty and Banggai Cardinal fish) . <Well you practiced patience in the beginning and that was a good thing but it does appear to me that this is a lot of fish for a one month period. Best to go slow and allow the tank to mature, and keep in mind the adult size of the yellow tang, it will eventually require a larger tank.> My inverts (my cleaner package) are 2 Sally Lightfoots, 2 Emerald Crabs, 3 Hermit Crabs <Mmmm.keep an eye on the crabs they have a tendency to become predatory with age.> and 2 green brittle star fish ( I think one star fish may be dead or hiding). <<DO watch the green brittle stars (Ophiarachna incrassata)! They are known predators of all things fishy and tasty. Marina>> My parameters are Nitrites 0, Ammonia 0, Nitrates 10 ppm approx, SG 1.024, Temp 80-82 ( one of my future challenges) PO4 approx .01. Finally I use RO/DI water and have 4 65W PC lighting setup. <Sounds good 10ppm of nitrate is acceptable but zero is optimal.> 1) After reading Anthony's article on Lighting and Bob's comments on lighting options I realized how subjective or vague the 4 watt rule per gallon is . <Oh yes with so many different type of animals, tank sizes and lighting schemes the watts per gallon rule is obsolete from my perspective anyway.> Following the advice in the articles, given the depth of my tank, lighting schedule, no strong desire anemones or stonies etc I bought a Current USA 4 65W PC (Dual Daylight & Dual Actinic) retro fit kit. Rather than ask what I could do to upgrade my setup or what is the best lighting scheme is please tell me what coral will thrive and what should I stay away from assuming I am willing to feed and provide the necessary water flow? (According to Anthony's article, corals require feeding in addition to lighting and feeding could make up for "inadequate lighting") <Your lighting as you mentioned is not intense enough for some of the shallow water organisms, however it is far from horrible there are many creatures which could do very in this set-up, here are a few (keep in mind there are many more: -Leather/Soft corals in the Sarcophyton, Alcyonium, Sinularia and Paralemnalia genus -Mushrooms in the Rhodactis, Actinodiscus, and even those in the Ricordea genus should be fine -Colonial polyps in the Zoanthus, Palythoa, Protopalythoa, and Pachyclavularia genus and thats really just the tip of the iceberg, search WWM for these and other suitable organisms. One more note on your lighting when it comes time to change your bulbs (6 to 9 months for PC) I would like to see less actinic, maybe only one on this set-up.> 2) Currently I have between 1 inch to 2.5 inches of sand in various areas of my display (I have a 7 in DSB in my refugium) . Am I risking having a nutrient sink with the sand in my display because of the depth and would you recommend removing some sand? <Since this is just for aesthetic purposes I would rather see an inch or less.> I am concerned this could be the cause of a potential phosphate/nitrate problem since according to the FAQs this cannot be considered an adequate or effective DSB. <It could be, though with the refugium and adequate water flow to keep to much detritus from settling you might be okay.> 3) As mentioned before, I have a refugium for NNR but quite frankly I have not seen the dramatic nitrate reduction yet ( I was expecting 0 nitrates and my Chaeto is not growing quickly - I think). <The refugium even at a few months old is rather new give it some time to establish and mature. You are also asking a relatively new tank to cope with a large bio-load very soon.> My refugium is a converted wet dry and my refugium light is over the clear acrylic drip plate. Could this drip plate affect the light needed to grow my macro algae (my water flow seems ok)? <Acrylic will reflect a sizeable portion of the light back, preventing it from entering the tank but not all of it.> I need the drip plate because the refugium cannot be hidden. On the other hand my expectations could be way off - when should I expect to see a difference? <Once the tank adjusts to its new load and the Chaeto begins to grow.maybe compensate with some extra water changes.> 4) All my equipment i.e. skimmer, canister, sump/refugium are rated for systems almost twice my display size. Given that info am I overstocked and can I still squeeze in my coral Beauty and Banggai Cardinal?. <As I mentioned earlier the tang will outgrow the tank eventually. The fish you mentioned above would be better long term citizens for this tank, however you should not add the angel for almost another 6 months and the cardinal should be tank-reared if possible.> 5) Are zero phosphates and zero nitrates a reality or merely a goal for good water quality? I just want to set my expectations. <Definitely can be a reality.> 6) Finally if after my attempts are good husbandry i.e. water changes, over feeding etc do you recommend a phosphate reactor - do they actually help? <Regular water changes, a good skimmer and regular water changes are the keys to good water quality, anything else is extra.> Sorry for the long email but I've really could not find the answers anywhere. <No worries.> Thanks again and my future corals thank you! <Adam J.> New Tank Questions 9/16/05 Hi, Wonderful website, I
think it is great how you guys take the time and effort to help us mere
mortals in our great hobby! Anyways I have a couple of
questions piled into one email if you don't mind. My setup is a 75
gallon tank with a built in overflow box, wet dry filter with separate
skimmer, with a stand and canopy that has 2 VHO actinic blue bulbs
48" I think, and one bulb that came with the setup. I am going to
start off my tank with no corals, and am hoping to gain experience by
learning and seeing how things happen in the tank before I start with
corals. I have done extensive research on the web (your site being the
best resource) and have bought Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies, and A
pocket Guide to Marine Fishes, so I hope this email isn't
completely looney. 1st question: It is ok to mix crushed coral with
live sand to ultimately make a 3 to 4 inch sand bed, right? 2nd
question: is 60 - 70 lbs. of live rock enough rock to help filter my 75
gallon tank (and build a reef off of later)? 3rd question: I consider a
QT necessary but must it be running at all times, and also does it need
a GREAT filter (any recommendations)? 4th question: eventually in my
tank I would like to have 2 ocellaris clowns, 2 neon gobies, 3 green
Chromis (cycling), 1 flame angel, 1 sailfin or achilles tang, 1 royal
Gramma, is this overstocking ( even though either choice of tangs will
outgrow my 75 gallon tank ) ? 5th question: according to all of my
research all of the above fish are compatible with invertebrates, so I
would also like to purchase a 75 gallon tank cleanup crew consisting of
18 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 15 Astraea Snails (or 8 Mexican Turbo Snails),
15 Cerith Snails (or 8 Mexican Turbo Snails), 45 Mexican Red-Leg (or 45
Blue-Leg) Hermits, for my situation which of the choices do you
recommend, and also I would like a second opinion (of yours) if all of
the fish above are compatible with these invertebrates? Thanks
soooOOOoooo much in advance, and really sorry about the long email, but
I would only ask it from the best. Thanks, Clare >>>Hi Clare!
To start off, you want a variety of grain sizes, but "crushed
coral" can mean anything from a grain of sand to a 1" chunk!
You want your sand to be mostly, 90% fine grade, with maybe 10% being
grains in the 1mm to 2mm range. As far as poundage for live rock, just
create a structure that you find pleasing, and leave it at that.
"Pounds per gallon" is an erroneous concept due to the great
discrepancy between the density of rocks from different areas. Do NOT
cycle your tank with fish, the rotting organic matter on your new life
rock will be more than sufficient! Also, you're tank is too small
for either an achilles tang or Sailfin tang by far. A small Yellow
Tang, Scopas or Kole should be fine. The other fish choices sound good.
Filter for a quarantine tank? Myself I use live rock, that's the
best thing really. Keeping in mind that I don't medicate in this
tank of course. I even have few corals in there, it's basically a
small reef tank that runs all the time. Otherwise, a sponge filter
works nicely. 45 Hermits is way, WAY to many! In fact, you don't
need them at all. Hermits are rather destructive, especially at that
kind of density. I would add 3 scarlet hermits, and let the snails do
the work. Forget the Astreas, make up the difference with Turbos.
Astreas end up on their back in the sandbed CONSTANTLY, and Turbos are
much better at their job anyway. Good Luck!
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