Re: Everything going bad 01/24/2008
Thanks so much for the responses.
<<Hello, Andrew again, thank you for the follow up>>
I broke down and got a R/O system because I got sick of driving to the LFS to buy 5 gallon jugs of water (this isn't a cheap hobby by the way). I've tried to read through the faqs on water for marine systems and I've got some better understanding on how to handle water, but I've still got some questions regarding storage and top off.
<<No problem, we shall get these cleared up for you today>>
First off do I need to worry about water top offs on a 55 gal tank with sump if I'm doing weekly 10% water changes?
Is this eventually going to raise my specific gravity due to evaporation, or will the water changes take care of that?
<<Yes you do need to top off the water. If you don't, the Sg of the tank will rise because the water evapourates, but the salt stays behind>>
If my SG does start getting away from where I want it what's the best way to bring it back? By adding fresh water, or lower SG water changes?
<<If your SG is getting high, then only add RO water to bring this back to acceptable levels>>
If I do need to do top offs in small amounts can I just use straight RO water into the sump as long as the temperature is close?
Or do I have to aerate, heat and let it sit over night? (I'm trying to build good habits for a reef tank down the road, but I don't want to spend hours each night keeping this thing going)
<<As long as the temp is average of the top off water, adding it to the sump in small amounts is fine. Maybe consider purchasing/setting up an Auto-Top off unit>>
Second, when I'm "aging" water should I age it as fresh water, or after I've aerated, heated and added salt mix?
<<I do it all in one go. I turn on the powerhead and heater, add the weighted out salt to the water, leave for 24 hours. Check levels and adjust over the next 24 hours. Then all is good and ready to use>>
Finally, do I only need to aerate 24 hours prior to water change, or once it's been aerated can I store it like that? I'm just trying to come up with a checklist of things I need to do.
<<You need it aerated 24 hours at least, I prefer 48 hours personally, before use. This gives the water time to settle, and get to the right temperature and SG to level>>
I have a small house and storing multiple trashcans full of water is going to be difficult for me, plus the setup of my RO water system will make it very time consuming to fill the trashcan so I'd like to get enough water to do multiple water changes if possible.
***
Kind of like this...
**
Run R/O water into Rubbermaid can
Aerate with powerhead and heat over night (longer?)
Add salt mix to get up to 1.023 (what I'm currently at with FOWLR system)
Add buffer as needed
Do water change
...store water for a week
Aerate and heat overnight
Do water change
Repeat
<<Yes, that sounds fine. I used to be in a similar situation. I had one trashcan ( waste bin here in the UK ;) ) always full of RO water. When it was coming time for water change I would remove the required amount of water to a separate trashcan and add the required salt, mix etc etc. Then store away the can after the water change till next time. This way, you don't have lots of saltwater sitting in a trash can without movement and heat>>
Is that kind of right or should I store it fresh after aerating and heating for top offs and only add salt/buffer 24 hours prior to water change in smaller batches.
<<See response above>>
Finally some non-water questions:
<<Oh good>>
For my Aiptasia problem they're really only bad on a couple of rocks (maybe 2 or 3 out of 10 or so). If I pulled these rocks and gave them a real good cleaning would it affect the bio filter enough to make a difference? How long does it normally take for dead rock to become live rock?
<<A good simple solution for Aiptasia removal is to fill a syringe up with boiling water, and blast the Aiptasia directly, watch it melt. Dead rock to live rock really depends on the amount of live rock in the tank to seed the dead. Can be anywhere from a couple months, to 6 - 8 month, a bit too open-ended to answer more specifically>>
What's the best time to treat the Aiptasia with Kalkwasser and scrape algae/bacteria to reduce stress on the fish?
Right before/after a water change, far from a water change? At night when they go into hiding? (I forgot to mention this earlier, but one of my gobies ate a big blob of Kalkwasser paste after I was treating the Aiptasia which may have led to his disappearance)
<<This will certainly not of helped the fishes stomache..>>
Sorry about all the questions. Chad
<<Thanks for all the questions, hope this helps. Please shout back if you need some more clarity or more questions. Thanks, A Nixon>>

Water Change Maint.  1-11-2008
Hi
<Hello there. Yunachin here>
I haven't been good about cleaning up the sand (via the siphon hose) in my tank. When I do it can I recycle the water or do I need to put in new water?
<Whenever you remove any water from your tank in the cleaning/siphoning task, you need to replace that water with clean water of the same temperature as your tank. Here are some links to check out in reference to what you need to do: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water.htm ; http://www.wetwebmedia.com/watchgantart.htm>
Thanks
<You're welcome! Yunachin>
Jim

Water Change Technique 3/15/07
Dear WetWeb Media
<Hello>
After I got done reading your last answer you sent me. I got to thinking about if I was even changing water and cleaning the tank the right way. I have this question for you. <Ok> When you do water changes and clean the filter sock that I have in my sump, do you shut down the system, meaning the pumps while you do this? <I do.> I hope this is not a crazy question for you. <Not at all.. I just don't know the answer to it 100% I think I'm right but I’m wrong a lot more than I’m right? <Me too.> Because I have been turning the pump off when I do water changes I just thought that was common sense. <Is to me, less chance of burning something out that way.> Thank you for your time answering my 1000's of questions.
Jeff
<Welcome>
<Chris>

Cleaning Crushed Coral  1/15/07
Hi,
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
First of all, I love you guys' website so keep it up.
<Thanks, we try our best!>
Here's my situation:  I have a 150 gallon fish only saltwater tank.  The tank has two Emperor 400s, a 15 gallon sump with a very powerful pump, a protein skimmer, UV-sterilizer, two heaters and two compact lights.  As far as biological filtration, I have about 80-100 lbs of live rock and a 4" substrate of crushed coral.   The tank has been set up for almost two years now.  In the tank I have 6 Bartlett's anthias, a yellow Coris wrasse and a firefish (forgot his full name.)  
<Nice collection of fish.>
Anyway, here's my dilemma:  My substrate is getting completely covered with some form of red algae and it looks almost like a carpet.  
<Do a search for Cyanobacteria.>
This algae spreads to my rocks but not to my glass.
<If it's Cyano, it could take over everything.>
I think it looks neat, so I'm okay with it on my rocks but I'm afraid this will stop the biological filtration from my crushed coral since parts of it get completely covered.  Now, my question is: Is there some type of cleaner fish that works well on crushed coral?  I thought about a sand-sifting goby but I don't think most varieties would be able to sift the crushed coral because it is so big.  
<I'm always surprised when I see my watchman goby carrying large pieces of rubble & shells, into his cave.>
If there is no fish that will clean it, how do you recommend taking care of the problem?  Just vacuum it once a week or so?  
<Yes>
I've read that it's not a great idea to disturb the substrate too often, because it will affect your anaerobic bacteria.
<Not true.  With the kind of substrate you are using, it is recommended to vacuum weekly, to prevent buildup of detritus & nitrates.  Enjoy your great tank!  ~PP>
Any information you can give me will help.  
Thanks guys, Doug

Water Change  12/21/06
Hi Guys,
<Hello>
I have a Vision 180 FOWLR setup which I will call Tank 1 and also a 88 Ltr FOWLR tank which I am setting up as a Seahorse/Caulerpa tank which I will call Tank 2. I have set up Tank 2 with a view to farm some food for my herbivores in the Tank 1 set up.  <Ok, but may be some better macro choices than Caulerpa.> I have a question on water changes. Would it be possible to use water from Tank 2 for water changes ? i.e.. Water that has been biologically filtered by the Caulerpa. Process being, drain half Tank 1 water, Drain half Tank 2 water. Put water from Tank 1 into Tank 2 and vice versa. I know this looks complicated but basically I would like a constant recycling process without having to make up RO water on water changes.
<Not really, this process will not remove everything that needs to be nor add in important trace elements and buffering agents that a conventional water change would.  Also the Caulerpa is quite active chemically which could have a negative long term effect.>
<Chris>

Water Changes VS Water Top off; Apples VS Oranges?    11/27/06
<Hey Clinton, JustinN here today.. No formal greetings? *grin*>
I have a 125 gallon tank with 120 pounds of sand and 100 pounds of live rock that is about four months old. The system is mainly all reef about fourteen corals, which are mostly LPSs and a couple sps.  
There is also a few fish. yellow tang, royal Gramma, two yellow tail gobies, two small clown fish, Scotts fairy wrasse, and three chromis.  
The chemical water environment  is steady throughout the week with water changes. I was just wondering since the water evaporates at almost five gallons a week if it would  be ok just to do water top offs instead of complete water changes.
<I do think you have a little bit of a misunderstanding of water evaporation and water changes. They are not interchangeable. Water top off is to maintain salt density at a proper level, based on the evaporation. Water changes, on the other hand, are used to remove waste from the water (whether they're detectible by tests or not, they are still there) as well as replenishing trace elements and natural balance to the water. Please don't reduce your husbandry skills for this reasoning, if you're that concerned with the maintenance involved with both topping off water, and water changes, set yourself up an auto top off system. There are many commercially available, and DIY projects abound to achieve this end. Hope this helps you! -JustinN>
Thanks a lot for the helpful information.? What about the formal greetings?
<Simply that all correspondence through our site is posted, archived for all to see, and we tend to like a more formal, proper form. It tends to make things easier to identify and follow. The comment, however, was meant in jest and not intended as anything more. -JustinN>

Re: Q Tank Size -- Now, a follow-up   11/24/06
Hi Bob!,
<Hey Q, JustinN with you today>
More of a comment here than a question (though I will sneak a question in towards the end!)
<Hehe, ok>
Following the advice and good reviews on this site, I replaced my Red Sea Prizm protein skimmer with an AquaC Remora.
<An excellent decision, IMO>
I received the unit about 1 week ago, gave it a quick cleaning with warm water and set it into my tank.  I was a little nervous at first because the unit was not producing any skimmate at all.  The bubbles didn't seem able to make it even half way up the neck of the collection box...  Having read (here) that these units require a "break-in" period, I shelved my concerns and sat back to wait.  
<Always a good idea with a new addition, equipment-wise>
After about the 3rd day of operation, the skimmer appeared to suddenly kick into action, producing a large volume of organic laden bubbles.  With some minor tweaking (I was very familiar with making tiny adjustments after my aggravating experience with the Prizm)
<I know this all too well, am awaiting the arrival of my Tunze DOC 9002 to replace my Prizm as well...>
I had the skimmer producing a nice dry foam that resulted in a good volume of dark skimmate... Much more than I'd ever seen from the Prizm.
<Excellent to hear>
Thank you for the great advice.
<Hehe, wish I could take credit for this one *grin*>
What do you think about the twice a week, small volume (5%) water change regime outlined in detail on your site?  because I've noticed that my fish seems to react positively to a water change, I was considering going with this 'system'.  Would you vacuum the substrate every water change?  (this is not covered in the article).  Will this be stressful to the fish?
q
<I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiment of twice weekly, lower percentage water changes. I utilize a 3-4 gallon water change, twice a week in my 40 gallon aquarium. Usually, I don't disturb the sand bed unless there's a need. Instead, I use a small powerhead for water change purposes. My storage container sits next to my aquarium, with the pump laying in the bottom for circulation. I attach aquarium tubing to the pump, then place the pump in my display. Using the hose and flow from the pump, I start by blasting my rockwork clean and getting the gunk into the water column. Next, I direct the water out of the tank into a bucket for disposal. Then I simply toss the pump back into the storage container, and return the water to the tank. I see no reason that this would be stressful to the fish. Hope this helps you out! -JustinN>

A Grab Bag of Questions... Water changes/SW, UV use, Sponges as foods   11/19/06
Good evening WWM crew, hope all is well. I have a few general questions for you, if you don't mind. First off, a good number of aquatic-veterans agree that, in most properly planned and maintained systems, smaller, more frequent water changes are more beneficial than larger, less frequent changes. I was reading Scott F's article on doing 5% water changes twice a week, and was wondering if it would be just as good, better, or worse to do 1 or 2% daily water changes?
<Mmm, possibly... the ideal would be to continuously change out a bit... as in dripping in/out>
Most of the information on daily water changes that my search turned up referred to emergency situations and medicated tanks. I currently live in an apartment and it would actually be easier for me to mix up a quick
<Ahh... better by far to pre-mix, let age... per WWM...>
2 gallon (tank is 90g) batch of saltwater. And by "easier" I mean that my girlfriend does not like the idea of having a Rubbermaid trashcan full of water in the living room.
<Can be located elsewhere... pumped or bucketed...>
I'd estimate, three weeks of daily changes a month, and one week of a single 10% water change so I could actually have time to vacuum the gravel. Any thoughts or downsides??
<Time, trouble, spilling... mostly>
Tank will be (still in the planning process) a 90g FOWLR system, with a canister, skimmer and maybe a UV sterilizer, (see next question.) I'm only picking out 4 or 5 medium sized fish as Bob, Anthony, and others suggested in various FAQs for this size tank. So, no major worries about the stocking level.
My second question is... Any idea how a UV sterilizer would impact tunicate populations in a tank?
<Mmm, possibly reduce available foodstuffs... are filter feeders...>
I was given one as a gift, and figured I might as well hook it up, but was curious/concerned about its possible effect on the free-swimming young of tunicates.
<Oh! These will likely be readily removed by skimming, predation... if produced at all>
My concern stems from the fact that I would like to put a medium size angel in, and want there to be some live food available. I love the Apolemichthys genus,
<Will very likely consume ascidians...>
and it's not too hard to find retail specimens eating prepared foods in my area.
<You are fortunate here>
But even if it's eating, I'd like to provide the most complete diet possible. The sterilizer takes a 9watt bulb and suggests 100 - 200gph for most applications and I think around 50gph for parasites. I would prefer to hook it up to my canister's output at 350gph, because in all honesty this would make it much, much easier to clean, service, etc. Is it even worth bothering at that flow rate?
<Yes>
I know that the extra head (it's a "turbo-twist") will decrease the gph a bit, but I doubt enough to meet ESU's recommended flow rate. Also, on the general subject of feeding angels, is there any real risk to using most forms of "tree sponges" as feeder sponge for angels??
<Mmm... some... many of these... oh I see you address this below>
Any concerns about toxicity or decay??
<Yes>
I have a small 36"x18" tank I'm using to culture rock that I could quarantine the incoming sponge in. I've read the warnings about most types of "ball sponges," but haven't heard the same caveat about "tree sponges." If there are any major risks with "tree sponges," is there any decent type of sponge to use as a feeder, or is best to just rotate old live rock out and new live rock in?
<This last is more... preferable. Oriental food stores may be able to supply you with useful Poriferans... in dried formats>
(Shouldn't be a hassle with the extra tank.)  Any ways, thank you again for your help, this wonderful site and your contribution to the hobby.
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Water Changes/Stress
Do water changes promote stress in the fish?
<Should not, more beneficial than anything.>
My Porcupine puffer always freaks out after I do a water change and just sits on the bottom motionless for hours, is this normal? should I worry? I always think that he is going
to die. I have a 175 gallon fish only and I usually change 75 or more gallons when I do the change. thanks for the help.
<Geez, how large is your tank.  Depending on the frequency/amount of the water change, it could cause some stress. If your tank is 150 gallons, and you are changing 75 gallons once a month, and pH is not adjusted to match tank water, some stress can result.  Much better to do a 10 percent change weekly, or a 20 percent bi-weekly, and adjust pH to within .1 of the tank water.
James (Salty Dog)>

Water Changes...Natural Or Artificial Seawater   7/18/06
Hello,
<Hello James>
I am building a new tank with a volume of 1017 gallons
<Yikes!  I'm jealous.>
not including displacement.  I only have 12 fish totaling about 60 inches.  This is a very under stocked tank.  I will  have aqua medic skimmers running  
as well.  I was doing a 10% a week water change on my previous 300 gallon tank.  Is 10% a week still necessary for the new tank with  
it being so under stocked?  If not, what would you recommend?
<With your present condition, 10% monthly would be fine.>
My fish being happy is the number one thing for me.  I like to check each fish and look after them, rather than having loads of fish that  
you don't get attached to as  much.  I want them to have loads of space.
<That they will.>
Also, most of the people here in Cape Town are using real sea water but I am still using salt/ro water mix.  Does real sea water harm the  
system or is it safe enough to  use?.
<Not a good idea, read here.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/seawater.htm>
Kind Regards,
<And to you.  James (Salty Dog)>
James.

Exposing Corals During a Water Change - 07/06/06
Hi crew,
<<Hello Deb>>
I have what might seem like a silly question, but I need to know so here goes.
<<Only "silly" if you don't ask...so ask away!>>
If you have corals in your tank and they are high in the tank and
can't move how do you change a significant amount of water, say 25%, if that will unsubmerge your corals?  Is it okay for them to be uncovered by water for any length of time?
<<See, not a silly question at all...I have done what you describe many times over the years.  Your corals should fare just fine if briefly "exposed" during a water change. A couple things you can do to help ensure they will remain fine are... If you have any corals with large-fleshy polyps you should "gently" coax them to expel their water/retract.  This will prevent the weight of the water in the coral's flesh from causing damage once buoyancy is lost due to the receding water line... You can also turn off your lights to reduce the amount of heat the corals will have to deal with while exposed.  And don't be alarmed by the presence of excess mucus once the corals are "rehydrated" as this is a normal response to exposure to the atmosphere>>
I just haven't seen the answer to this and know I will have this dilemma soon because my corals are somewhat in the upper part
of the tank and changing  1/3 to 1/4 of the water would uncover them for the time it takes to finish taking out the old water and getting the new back in.
<<Not to worry Deb...is not unusual for many of the corals we keep to be exposed to air in the wild during periods of low tide>>
Also, I am having a hair algae problem and have bought several critters that are supposed to eat the stuff including turbo snails, large and larger, a blenny, and a pretty big sea hare.  None of them seem to find the hair algae at all interesting.
Is this unusual?
<<Not at all.  More often than not this is what happens.  I'm afraid there are no "magic bullets" (or magic critters) for dealing with hair algae.  Biological controls are always "hit and miss" as you have discovered.  Best to try to determine the cause and attack the problem from that perspective.  Please do have a read through our data on marine nuisance algae.  Start here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/avoidingalgaeproblesm.htm) and also follow the many links at the top of the page.  Much info to absorb>>
I have an opportunity to trade the sea hare for another one.  Is it possible that the new one might eat the hair algae even
though the big one doesn't.
<<Is a possibility, yes>>
The snails aren't interested in it either.  
<<As far as snails go, the large Mexican Turbo is probably your best bet.  You mention a blenny but not which species...blennies from the genera Salarias and Atrosalarias will be your best option for dealing with your hair algae>>
Thanks,
Deb
<<Quite welcome, EricR>>

Quality nano vacuum/s   7/2/06
Hi, I've got a six gallon nano tank (saltwater) and was wondering if you guys know of a good quality, battery powered vacuum.
<Mmm, this is sort of a "conflict in terms"... that is to say, most all such battery-operated vacuums are not of very high quality. However, the best of these are made by Eheim (not easily found in the "west", but can be had...>
I want one that will  clean debris from the sandbed and can also be used for water  change siphoning.
<Mmm, will need two for these tasks... I'd get a smaller diameter "regular" one (Tetra has some smaller diameter ones that you can still find about) for the latter purpose>
I've been surfing the web and have come across many  different types/brands but I can't tell which ones are of  good quality. Can you guys point me in the right
direction? Thanks, and  happy reefing, Greg  
<Glad to proffer my opinions here. Have used many makes, models... the Eheim and Tetra manufacturers are excellent. Bob Fenner>

Siphoning/Cleaning Marine Substrates - 04/26/06
I have been reading over emails for a while and I finally found what I was looking for, but not the complete answer.
<<Ok>>
I read that in a reef tank, if you have crushed coral then you should siphon during a water change.
<<Mmm, maybe...depending on depth of the substrate (<1")>>
If you have fine sand, you don't need to siphon.
<<More at play here than grain size/depth but generally yes, with good water flow the finer grain sands are lees likely to accumulate detritus>>
Well, we have a 72 gallon tank with 3.5 inches of an even mixture of sand and cc.
<<Mixed opinions on this...should be fine>>
Should we siphon and how deep?
<<I wouldn't disturb the DSB, but do some reading up on deep sand beds here (http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm).  If detritus settling in/on the substrate is of concern then "up" the flow in your tank to keep all in suspension>>
A greenish/brownish layer is starting to form about halfway down and I don't know if I should disturb it.
<<This is algae that is triggered by the available light coming through the tank front and likely does not extend very far in to the sand bed...nothing to worry about>>
Also, since I am here, I have 50 lbs of live rock in the tank.  I will be adding 50 more lbs that I have had in a separate tank for a month.  Is this going to change all of the parameters in the tank initially?  I just wanted to prepare myself before I see any spikes in my tests.
<<If the rock is fully cured it should not be a problem though having water handy for a water change after the move (disturbing/stirring detritus) is a good idea>>
Thanks,
Chris
<<Cheers, EricR>>

Holy Moley-Yes Folks Aquariums Need Maintenance To Function……  - 04/19/06
Hello,
<Hi Dan.>
     I have very high nitrate levels in my 55 gal. tank.
<Uh-Oh!>
  Can I get rid of these levels by using a combination of Aquarium salt and Cycle?
<Huh? No……?
  I don't want to, but if I have to I'll do the water changes,
<What? Not wanting to do water changes. Sir, excuse me if I sound bold but if you don’t have the time to do at least weekly (ok maybe bi-weekly)….then you should not own any type of aquaria.>
the only question I have about the water changes is...How long do I wait after refill to start again, assuming I will need to do more than one water change to bring the levels down?
<Read WWM re Water Changes for your answers my friend. I will say a few consecutive daily water changes (10% to 25%) over the next week.>
Thank You,
<Mmm-hmm.>
Dan C.
<Adam J.>