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I have a 500 gallon salt water tank with bio balls and live rock.
7/19/16
Cupramine in display tank and ammonia; rdg.
10/21/15 No reading, sense in treating a large SW sys.
10/29/13 Protein Skimmer Help (effective AND cheap?...no) – 09/27/13
Additional Info to the 540 aquarium that I
manage. (ATTN SCOTT) 11/14/10 Titanium heaters 5/2/10 Does Kalk dosing bleach coralline algae? Can
01/13/10 Heavy Bioload and Algae Control in XL Marine System 3/30/08 Hi folks, <<Mike.>> I was wondering if you could offer some advice? <<I will attempt to.>> I have two 750 gal fish-only marine aquariums that share a common filtration system (sump, refugium, PS - i.e. same water). <<Okay.>> Tank One has around 10 tangs <<What species/genus?>> (plus 13 other tank mates - butterflies, angels, percula clowns and Chromis) that do an awesome job keeping the tank clean of hair and other algae. Tank Two contains a 9" Lion, 8" Cowfish, 5" Picasso and 5" Clown triggers, 9" French angel, 8" queen angel, 8" Dogfaced puffer, 8" spiny box puffer, 9" Lunar Wrasse and finally a 10" Sohal tang. <<Heavy bioload on both tanks.>> This tank has an unsightly hair algae problem. Is there ANY creature that I can add that won't get pummeled by the Sohal or eaten by the triggers that might graze on the algae? <<In such a rough and tumble tank I honestly would not recommend any invertebrate and I too would be concerned about adding any more fish, not only because of aggression but I would not want to add any more to the bioload. Even if we were able to find an animal that would consume the hair algae/Cyano it would only mask the real issue which is an overabundance of dissolved organics.>> Would Nudibranch work? <<Certainly not.>> I don't think I can catch the Sohal to introduce other tangs and then reintroduce him - barring a harpoon. <<I wouldn't introduce more animals anyway, see above.>> As you can tell there is a heavy bioload on the system. <<Oh yes.>> I do monthly water changes of about 125gal. About every two weeks I pull out 20lbs of macro algae from the refugium and I am experimenting with coil denitrators (but haven't get them working yet). <<Sounds like you are on the right track to dealing with your nutrient issues, if feasible a larger refugium and or more water changes would help. Nutrients are accumulating somewhere, likely from the heavy bioload. See here for more details; http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/scottsh2ochgart.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/watchgantart.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm .>> Thanks, Mike <<Welcome, Adam J.>> 450 Gallon 'Office' Reef Tank,
maint./op. -- 02/14/08 Hello. <<Greetings>> I
know you've heard it before but this is a great site. <<Ah
but we never tire of it [grin]'¦many thanks>> About a
year ago I took over the maintenance of a 450 gallon reef tank where I
work. <<Mmm 'I think I know where this is
going'¦>> It was installed about a year before I got
here and from the beginning it has been a constant mess of algae (red
slime and green hair). <<Not atypical with these 'office'
tanks. I don't know just how many such queries we receive/have
received 'but the handful I have dealt with over the past
three years have all been pretty much the same as this
one 'long ongoing issues with dead/dying fish and
'big' nuisance algae problems. Don't misunderstand, I'm
not grousing at you. I'm sure you have been placed in charge of
this tank with little to no background for it and are simply trying to
'get a handle' on things, so to speak. My beef is with the
companies that set up such systems but aren't willing to pay for a
professional service to maintain it 'even if only part-time to
get things back on track and to help keep them there. Now, it's
possible you/this tank are located in an area where a professional
aquarium service is not available, in which case this should have been
taken under consideration. Bottom line 'Unless there happens
to already be an experienced hobbyist available on staff with the
time/inclination to care for such a tank 'such end results as
mentioned are inevitable. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox
now'¦>> We will have a month or 2 periodically when it
cleans up but it always goes downhill. <<Do you have a regular
maintenance routine (for water changes, filter cleaning, feeding, et
al)? Are feedings of this tank 'restricted' to keep just anyone
passing the tank from tossing in food to the 'ever hungry'
fishes?>> Here is the setup, 2 Little Giant pumps rated for
700gph, <<Is this all the flow/water movement available to this
tank? If so 'not nearly enough>> a 40 gallon sump with
bio-balls, <<A reef system requires lower Nitrate levels than
these bio-balls will likely let you attain. Best to replace these with
live rock or better yet 'chemical media (Poly-Filter and
Carbon)>> A ProClear Aquatic 150 Aquarium Protein Skimmer,
<<Mmm, this skimmer is rated by the manufacturer for a 150g
system'¦ Looking at it/its size, I doubt it is efficient
enough for even half that. I VERY MUCH suggest a larger and better
skimmer for your tank. A 'quality' unit sized for your system
won't be cheap'¦ My first choice would be a skimmer from
Euro-Reef, but do also have a look at the offerings from AquaC,
H&S, Tunze, and ASM>> 2 Blue Line Electronic Metal Halide
Ballast with 400 watt lights, <<What are the dimensions of this
450 gallon display? My guess is this reef tank needs at least three,
and likely four (maybe more) such lighting fixtures>> and about
150-200 lbs. of live rock. Now it has 3 three striped damsels,
<<Even in a large tank as this, these fish can make future
additions difficult 'can be real terrors>> a lawnmower
blenny, flame hawk, 2 maroon clowns, 3 orange tailed damsels, about 15
blue legged/scarlet hermit crabs, 10-15 turbo snails, and a large coral
banded shrimp. <<I doesn't appear that overcrowding is an
issue here 'at least not now>> Any tangs or other fish
we introduce don't last more than a couple months. <<Any
clues as to why? Disease? Starvation? Aggression?>> It has a
plate, brain and mushroom coral and some polyps. Sorry I don't know
the scientific names, but I have no prior aquarium experience and had
to learn everything as I went (much from this site). <<Ah, much
as I suspected then 'please do keep reading researching. If
you haven't come across it yet, let me point you toward this
article on maintenance
(http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/marineMaint.htm). Be
sure to follow/read among the links in blue at the top of the page, as
well as doing some keywords searches re 'livestock selection,'
'marine feeding,' etc.>> The parameters are Ammonia =0,
Alk=2.5, <<What about Calcium?>> pH=8.4, NO2=0, NO3=10,
Salinity 1.021, <<The Salinity is much too low 'please
adjust to NSW levels (1.025/1.026)>> PO4= .4 <<Likely the
source of your nuisance alga 'should be 0.02 or less. You need
to locate the source of the Phosphate and eliminate it. Two major areas
for investigation are your source water (used for evaporation top-up
and saltwater make-up), and over feeding>> From my research I
understand that this is not a very good setup for this size tank.
<<Addition of a large vegetable refugium and a properly sized
quality skimmer jump to mind 'as well as some purposeful
chemical filtration gear>> Our goal is to have a clean tank that
will support some bigger fish that live more than 2 months, and a lot
less maintenance. <<Mmm'¦>> My question is would
you recommend us converting to a FO or FOWLR tank?
<<Yes'¦ Though hardly 'maintenance free'
themselves, I think a FOWLR system is a better choice here. Such a
switch will allow you to keep with the existing lighting (no need for
the additional fixtures), thus allowing you to put that money toward
that new skimmer and chemical filtration media>> From your site I
understand they are much easier to keep. <<A matter of
opinion/perspective 'not necessarily 'easier' (though
careful species selection will play a large role), but possibly less
'involved/complex.' Don't get the impression that not going
reef will let you 'ignore' the tank. It will still require some
daily attention/observation 'and routine maintenance (partial
water changes, timely attention to filter media, etc.) is still
paramount>> If so, what pumps and skimmer would you recommend?
<<The return pumps you have are fine for now, but regardless if
you stay REEF or go FOWLR you need more water movement. You can buy/add
simple powerheads for this, but in a tank of this size the Tunze Stream
pump will yield much better results and require fewer individual units.
A pair of 6101s with controller would suffice if you have the money for
it, else maybe 3-4 of the 6060s. If money is really tight (would hope
the company would 'put out' for good of this tank), or if it
comes down to the Tunze Streams vs. a good skimmer, you can turn to the
Koralia line of circulation powerheads for the 'extra' flow
needed here>> Is the sump big enough and do you have any other
recommendations? <<Bigger would be better. What are your
limitations here (money 'space)? Do feel free to write me back
with more detail/info on the possibilities for/companies' stance on
this system and we can chat further>> Thanks, Steve <<Happy
to help Steve 'please let me know if I can assist further.
Eric Russell>> Re: Newly Established 400G Aquarium... maint. mostly 1/9/08 Thanks for the feedback as always. <Welcome Bryan> I have been doing some reading on your FAQs regarding Calc Reactors. My concern/misunderstanding has always been and continues to be relating to system pH. First, I am guessing effluent pH is the measure of pH inside the calc reactor, is this accurate? <Yes... the induced reaction twixt the solubilized CO2 into carbonic acid and the carbonate of the feeder media/stock...> As I understand it the calc reactor will boost Alk and calcium. <Yes> Further, I understand Alk provides pH stability and I also understand you can turn off CO2 via a controller to stop pH from getting any lower. <Correct> However, I do not see a method of increasing or boosting pH if it remains low w/ the CO2 off. <There are a few ways... many folks utilize another "outside" source of buffer/pH booster... some... Kalk> Is the design such that given a finely tuned calc reactor, there is no need to boost pH as it will be stable? <Mmm, depending on what else is going on in the system... and the rest of its make-up... Imagine this system as being semi-closed... with acidifying influences (food, time going by) being added... I STRONGLY encourage you (semi-related) to look into, add an ozonizer (BIG hint)> Given the use of a calc reactor, does it completely eliminate the need for outside supplementation except in rare cases? <Yes... can... along with water changes, foods, ALL essential nutrients, materials for stasis can be easily supplied> Given a need to increase pH in this design w/o the use of Kalk, what supplementation would you recommend? <Would depend on the livestock... there could be instances where boosted metabolism (intense lighting mostly) might call for such... But not likely. Cheers, BobF> Bryan Heitman
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. Moving BIG Tanks 5/3/07 Ok, now you can start a whole new section on your website for me.... "Moving Fish tanks 101". <Okay> So I've moved my 90 gallon tank several times, no problem there. How does one go about moving a 200gallon tank that is likely around 300# of glass? <More planning, friends...> I'm not sure if the movers will take it or will be equipped to take it. Ultimately, if the thing was dropped or damaged, I'd have a lot of critters homeless and would take about 8 weeks to get one built. <If you would rather... and have the money, there are likely aquarium service companies about that will move it all for you...> That aside... my real question is, if I clean out my ShopVac, get a new filtre... is there anything wrong with ShopVac'ing out my 200lbs of sand? <Nope... we/ our service co., used to use these... the "top" of the vac actually fits quite well on a regular "pickle bucket"...> I'm just thinking it's gonna be a real pain to get that tank sand free if I don't vacuum it out. Just rinse it really good when I go to put it back in? <Yes... Bob Fenner> David Brynlund Large Scale Aquarium Systems - 06/27/07 Hello Bob, <Brian> I am always anticipating what seems to be the next level or natural progression of where my business is going (so I think). <You are wise here, twice, perhaps thrice> It seems that it is only a matter of time before I am given the opportunity to either design, install or maintain (preferably) a "Large Scale" aquarium system. To me a "Large Scale System" would be defined as 1,000 gallons or greater, salt or freshwater and usually for public display (restaurants, zoos, science centers etc.) With my experience up to this point being aquarium systems (primarily saltwater, and specifically saltwater reef) up to 800 gallons or less, how does one transition into the business of these systems. <Accept the task at hand, think/cogitate (maybe furiously), and get on with it... Akin to food recipes, a good deal of what is done is scalable> I would think that the most ideal method is to apprentice with a company or organization already dealing with these systems? <Could be> I do not want to lessen the magnitude of these systems by thinking that they are very similar to smaller, < 1,000 gallon systems, with the only difference being a matter of scale in filter sizes, plumbing sizes, lighting etc., but I wonder if that is indeed a lot of the difference? <In all actuality, not really> I am also in the water garden arena and I have built and managed systems of up to 40,000 gallons. However, I know that these are open systems, and treated very differently from closed/aquarium systems. Your expert input would be greatly appreciated! Sincerely, Brian Dahle www.fishmanservices.com <Mmm, is there a given aspect you'd like to discuss? I do agree that lake mgmt. is different than small volumes... harder, longer-term, less-expensive means of "turning" (like navigating a large ship with a small rudder)... but in practical consideration, there is not much difference between a hundred gallon fish tank and a thousand gallons... or ten times this amount. Cheers, Bob Fenner> Re: Water Change, Big Reef System Dear Mr. Fenner, <Anthony Calfo in your service> Due to the constrain on my aquarium frame (350 gal tank), my local aquarium shop recommends to build a sump within the aquarium itself with a tied-in refugium. <I'm not sure what the aquarium size/frame has to do with an external sump but I will trust your decision on this. I am assuming the tank cannot be drilled because it is made of tempered glass. I cannot think of another common exception.> Will the lighting effects the bio filter performance on the in-tank sump? <yes... light does inhibit nitrifying bacteria. A darkened glass or acrylic will at least be necessary for an in-tank sump> Will it be covered by algae population and have adverse effect? <severely adverse if algae or any debris is allowed to accumulate or culture on the bio-media> Does 340W of fluorescent light enough for a 350gl tank if I want to keep hardy invertebrate and some soft coral? <that would be rather low lighting only suitable for the lowest light demanding coral. Even then they will need to be kept in the top 12" of water> How can I avoid bringing parasites such as marine ich from live rock? <the best way is to quarantine all new fish, plants and live rock for 4 weeks in a separate quarantine tank.> Can I sterile the parasite infected base rock by completely drying them up? <that will not sterilize it, my friend. Many parasites can encyst and weather extended periods of drying out. Keep wet and quarantined to run fallow without a host for more than 4 weeks instead> Is refugium very effective therefore almost necessary for a successful reef system? <I must admit that it is VERY helpful in many ways and many forms (RDP, seagrass, rubble, plants, plankton, etc)> Best regards! Liao I Ching <do consider that with enough live rock and two good skimmers a wet dry filter will not even be necessary (nor the internal sump). I suspect that the internal tank sump will be more aggravation than it is worth and that the bio-media will contribute more nitrate than its inclusion as bio-media is worth. Anthony Calfo> Re: 600,000L display tank in Australia <Now that's a tank! And worthwhile visiting... even if you might slip into the water yourself... Bob F> Cheers, Pete! > All is well over here in Australia. Excellent to hear :) Our new tank is > still going up slowly. > Thanks very much for your previous thoughts on our project. A pleasure, my friend. > Having not been on the net long I've been familiarizing myself with some marine-based sites and have been most impressed with coral realm and WetWebMedia. Are there any other sites you consider essential viewing? Wow... so many great places to visit. Photography, ID, etc I like fishbase.org for fundamental taxonomy/ID... and even some of the big message boards like reefcentral.com can offer a nice pulse on the cutting edge techniques by aquarists in the hobby (a lot of amateurs there as well... but some really good stuff too). The e-zine Advanced Aquarist (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/) at reefs.org is pretty good. And if anyone in your company can read German, Daniel Knop's articles and work have been quite good (fascinating recent article on Entacmaea quadricolor imposed propagation in captivity). > For a very large tank such as ours, what would be the best quarantine procedure for fish we have just caught? Do follow zoological protocol: 4 weeks bare-bottomed, dim lit display. Sponge filtration (easily maintained/sterilized), non-porous artifacts (PVC pipe fittings) for hiding security and sterility (non-absorptive to meds if necessary). Medication is optional but recommended. I'd suggest freshwater dips coming in and/or going out. Formalin for all for first several days to one week. Malachite green in concert with Formalin for those that can/will tolerate it (large scaled fishes yes... but never scaleless, Elasmobranchs or small scaled species). things that it is truly effective against. More often it is inconvenient and ineffective. Anything if can kill... formalin can kill as well or better (especially with malachite). Still... it is an industry standard for controlling "Ich". If you choose to use it... please dose and test for concentrations twice daily... critical to maintain therapeutic levels. My best advice for controlling parasites in QT is a daily water changes siphoned from the bottom every day for the first 8 consecutive days. It has been proven to "cure" Ich without any meds by breaking the larval (Tomite) cycle. I learned this from Blasiola and Gratzek (fish pathology at U. Georgia/Athens) Do individuals need to be held in separate tanks, or could we put through say 20 green > Chromis in one tank? For most fishes it would be best to keep one per tank. However in this case (with so many tiny fishes of the same species) I could live with the group QT if you are strict with the 4 week QT. I cannot emphasize strongly enough how critical the full 4 week QT is. While most diseases will be expressed within the first 2 weeks... some can be dormant for nearly one month. Be strict my friend. > Is a freshwater dip followed by four weeks observation and bottom-siphoning the best treatment? Right on, my brother! Would you recommend combining Methylene blue with the dip for newly captured fish? It is a good idea for most fishes... but some small scaled (Chromis) and scaleless species are quite sensitive to it. Yes... a little M. blue is good. > Similarly with corals and other invertebrates, can we hold more than one specimen per quarantine tank? Definitely in this case... with inverts infectious diseases are expressed quickly as a rule. Qt with inverts is really for screening pests and predators (bait for hitchhikers in the tank by suspending corals on racks or tiers and leave meaty foods on the glass bottom to lure predatory crabs, mantis, etc from the rocks. Many great tips and tricks here for screening corals of problem worms, crabs, shrimp, etc. We have some 4600L fiberglass aquaculture tanks with the floor sloping to a centre drain that we could use for this purpose. Excellent... just try to do small batches to reduce the impact if an infectious disease should manifest. > I'm happy to ask these questions via a site such as WetWebMedia if you prefer, so that others may also benefit from your wisdom. Actually... that would be great, my friend! Many aquarists around the world would love to hear of your facility and learn from our exchanges. Always feel welcome to e-mail me privately just the same... but please to submit husbandry queries to WetWebMedia.com And I thank you for your consideration :) I will forward this to Bob just the same so that he can post it. > Regards, Pete McKenzie Best regards, Anthony Big Tank-Big Plans! I have a custom 275 gal (=empty) tank. It is in a wall, made of plywood and coated with epoxy, the front is glass. It has a sink, drain, place for a sump, etc.. It is set up pretty well. I want fish only. I have spent a large sum of $ on imitation coral that has also been epoxied to the rear wall of this tank. I must tell you that it looks great. <Sounds terrific!> Imitation corals made today are, in my opinion, very realistic. My question to you is this. Can I simply add live sand to the tank floor (and if so how much) along with a very large protein skimmer ( I like Aqua C - what size would you recommend) <I'd look into an EV-400> and have enough filtration? <I'd go for at least a 3-4 inch sand bed, right on the tank floor> I purchased a wet dry trickle filter with bio-balls but now am afraid of using this wet dry filter because I belief that the resulting nitrate will ultimately lead to excess algae growth. I do not want any algae to grow on these beautiful corals. <Well, you're probably better off removing the bioballs from the filter and just using it as a sump- the "nexus" of your water processing system. Throw in some live rock to provide additional "filtration". You will probably always have some algae growth on the corals. Regular, careful maintenance and some snails and other herbivores will help a bit> I of course will treat all water using something like a Kent max60HiS four stage Ro/Di or even Spectra Plus five stage Ro/Di ( Do you recommend any thing better here?), and perform regular maintenance. Can someone please help! Chris <Well, Chris- sounds like the basis of a good setup. Either of the RO/DI units you describe are fine for producing quality source water, as long as you change the membranes and prefilters regularly. I've used both. Currently, I use a Kent Maxxima "Hi S" model, and it does just fine. Keep researching a bit more on sumps, and I think you'll find that your tank will be better off for having one. Good luck! Regards, Scott F> |
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Nice! But maint.?!