- Upgrading the Tank -
Hi,
We have a 75 gallon tall acrylic reef tank.  Moving to a 230 gallon glass tank so the tangs can grow up happier and we can clean it easier!  A few questions I couldn't find answers to on your wonderful site:
1) The Hippo gets ich once in a while.  We want it gone while we can let the new tank go fallow for 6 weeks!  We plan to clean the acrylic tank thoroughly before selling it.  As long as we clean it afterwards, will it be okay to quarantine the fish in it with CopperSafe after all the live rock and inverts are moved?  We don't want to cause problems for whoever buys it - but the fish would be much happier there for 6 weeks than in our 10 gallon quarantine tanks!!!! <Although the quarantine sounds like a good idea, I would discourage you from using copper on any tang as it tends to interfere with fauna in their digestive tract. Rather, you should just give the fish a pH and temperature-matched freshwater dip before placing in quarantine. With six weeks in this system, you'll have plenty of time to decide if more drastic measures are necessary.>
2)  The molly miller algae blenny has a large wart-like growth in between his eyes that has been growing (looks kind of like a yellowish cauliflower in shape - but all one wart/not several.  He has hit it a few times which has made the edges red.  Is there anything you would recommend beyond very clean water and patience?  Also, will he be okay in the CopperSafe - or would it possibly burn the "wart" (so he can join his buddies in the big tank later without any ich? <I'm willing to bet that this "wart" is in fact either a fatty deposit or a tumor, so there are few treatments it will respond to. Likewise, I would not attempt to remove it. Instead, I'd just move it to the new tank and let it live out its life in as comfortable a fashion as you can provide.>
3)  A small yellow watchman goby that resides in a separate nano reef will be moved to the big tank after 6 weeks.  He has never shown signs of ick.  Is it save to leave him in the nano with his rocks and sand without treatment until time to move (sure don't want to introduce ich by mistake - but he always seems fine)? <I think this fish will be fine... you could also give it a freshwater dip as a preventative measure.>
4)  Last one - I promise!  We are adding a deep sandbed.  Would like at least 6" in th center then sloping down to 2 or 3 at the glass (don't' want just a big lump of a deep sandbed across the whole tank.  We have thought of building a 5 1/2" rectangular - 4 walled system out of acrylic sheets to keep the middle sand at the right height while hopefully allowing sand on the outside to slope down.  Would something like that work? <It would work, but would provide more benefit if the deep sand bed extended to the full extent of the tank bottom.> If it covers a large area, would it be better to drill holes in it for critters to crawl through), use PVC to raise it off the bottom a couple of inches, or just leave the acrylic walls solid ? <I would drill the holes.>
Thanks a million!
- Doug
<Cheers, J -- >

Are these problems caused by high nitrates? 9/27/2004
I apologize in advance if these questions and concerns are ignorant, but I don’t fully believe everything my local fish dealer says.  Greed and all.  I have searched your website which is fantastic, and I have read numerous books.
I am new to the marine/reef aquarium and I am having some problems.  Bet you hear that a lot! My tank is a 29 gallon glass tank. << I have that tank as well. >> I have about 40-60lbs of cured live rock, and about two inches of live sand substrate. Also, I have some small pieces of coral skeleton and I believe two pieces of Tufa rock. I have a Skilter 250 filter/protein skimmer and a Top Fin 30 Power Filter (I change the filters every 3 weeks) . Also 3 small sized powerheads keeping the water moving.  For lighting I have a 50/50 (6000K/Actinic) 18 watt bulb and a Marine-Glo 15 watt bulb set on a timer. << That is nowhere near enough light for most coral tanks. >> I am learning to keep the Temp down below 80, a little difficult in NJ these days..
The tank has been cycling for about 4 weeks, and the Ph is around 8.2, Specific Gravity 1.022/023, Ammonia and Nitrites are at good levels.  BUT the Nitrates are through the roof; on the NO-3 scale they are about 100 ppm.. << Very bad.  I'd give it time.  Are you sure you have "live rock" and "live sand"?  If so, then not disturbing the sand bed and waiting a few weeks should do the trick. >> The conversion between the NO-3 and the NO-4 scales are a “little” confusing.  I do believe this is TOO high..  I am getting green bacteria growth all over the glass.  Normal with high Nitrates??? << Yes, and normal for any new tank. >>
I have my tank stocked with 3 hermit crabs, 8-10 turbo snails, 2 Sally Lightfoot crabs, 1 brittle seastar, and 2 serpent seastar, 1 small tiger-tail sea cucumber, 1 medium Coral Banded shrimp, 1 Sebae Anemone Heteractis Malu, 2 Clarkii clown fish (each an inch long) which bonded with the Anemone, 1 large Feather Duster, Sabella magnifica, and 1 medium Green Galaxea coral (I believe, wife picked it up and never got proper name).   Most of the inverts seem to be doing well.  They are active and feeding.
I feed the reef freeze dried Brine shrimp twice daily in very small amounts, Tetra marine flakes occasionally and in small amounts, Kent Marine ZooPlex once or twice a week, and Corallife calcium supplement once or twice a week. << I wouldn't feed the tank for a few days.  Or at least feed less as to not contribute to the nitrates. >>
This is my tank in a nutshell.   
First are the Nitrates..  I cannot get them down.  I am even trying Phos-X that traps Nitrates and Nitrites.  I have changed over 60% of the water in the last three days..  I used tap water and used Amquel (removes Ammonia, Chloramines and Chlorine). << I wouldn't do such large water changes yet, and I'd probably switch to RO water. >> I have also tested the tap water for Nitrates and it comes up clean..  I have tested it many times and the same results.  I will start using Purified water from now-on.   
Second- How should I be feeding the Anemone?  I have been giving it sliced shrimp once a week. << Sounds good. >> It seems to open and close at random times. But more closed. The fish still with it.  How can I tell if it is sick or worse? What does it mean when the Anemone puffs-up/inflates its lower half?
Third- the Feather Duster.  Should it stay open most of the time, or does it pull in for awhile. << It will pull in. >> It was open yesterday but I haven’t seen it open today yet.  It is only 2 days with the tank.  I placed near a nice current, not too fast and not too stagnant.
Fourth- Tiger-tail Cucumber.  It has been with me for a week and it has crawled into a small hole/crevice and has not come out since.  I can still see and I have full access to the rock.  It seems to peer out a little and stick its head into the sand.  I figure it is feeding. Right?? << Most likely, I wouldn't worry. >> Is there something I should be feeding it or doing?  Should I put a piece of sliced shrimp, really sliced, next to the opening for it to eat?   
Fifth- The Green Galaxea Coral??.  It is a dome-ish rock with little green polyps that can retract.  Bright neon green.  The polyps are coming out, not fully yet but it is only a couple of days in the tank.  Will the Shrimp, Hermit crabs, or the Sally Lightfoots bother or eat the coral. << I don't think so. >> I see the Sally’s and the Shrimp sometimes climbing on it.  It retracts then later comes back out. Any words of wisdom in general?
Sixth- Green algae/bacteria is growing on the sides of my tank.  What does this mean?  Should I wipe it off; should I be worried?  Anything??? << I'd probably wipe it off, but it is normal and will pass. >>
Seventh and last-  Is my tank balanced?  Do any of these animals not get along like good little children, or will I have to remove any? << They sound fine, but I'm not sure I would have added those fish yet. >>  My wife wants to add a Coral Beauty, Mandarinfish, and/or a Royal Gamma when the tank is stabilized; would that be okay? << Not the mandarinfish, tank is too small for him. >>   
Tanks so much.  Hahaha.  Sorry-
I really appreciate any advice, wisdom, warning, congrats, or anything at all.  I really like the hobby and want to stick with it..  Just need some good advice and a little encouragement.
Thanks again.
Mark Ryan-
<<  Blundell  >>

Clown/Reef Tank Query
Hey there and I thank you for such a great site of information and
knowledge. I'm fairly new to the hobby and have only had a reef tank for 7 months.
70gal Hex. Tetra Tec 250 filter Sea clone 100 Skimmer and 4 Rio 200's and a
Rio 600. My lighting consists of a 175 watt 10k MH lamp hanging about 5"
over my tank and some blue LEDs for moon lighting.  I currently have 2 cinn.
Clowns, 1 yellow tang, I Midas blenny and a Female Lamarck's Angel fish. I
currently add Kent tech parts A-B and some Kent Lugol's Solution. That's it.
My questions are simple and I am looking for some reassurance on what I'm
doing is ok (seems to be working). Water parameters are all well and I
perform weekly water changes of between 10-25% using Ro water mixed with
salt and aerated overnight. My live rock is starting to develop good
coralline algae and I have some tube worms and a Button Polyp of some sorts
thriving well (I think). Fish are all well, Angel fish had cotton ball out
break but after reading about it on your sight I refrained from any
treatment and it went away on its own. Small clown gets picked on by Blenny
and Angel and Bigger Clown ( introduced at same time) and I'm wondering if I
should trade him in? He mostly gets chased around ( feeding time mostly) and
has a small spot missing from his tail. Sometimes he shakes a lot (like he's
mad and warning the others away) but for the most part he hold his own..
Sorry about rambling on, any advise you can offer would be most helpful. Do
I need to add any more supplements? Need more lighting? Or advice on
anything..
Thank you again You guys make my hobby a lot easier.
JEFF WAY
>>>Greetings Jeff!
For starters, ease up on the water changes. 20% a month is plenty on most reef tanks.
Secondly, the smaller clown is a male in all likelihood, with the larger being a female. Clownfish (and all damsels) are protandrous hermaphrodites, developing into males first. The dominant fish becomes female. Clown pairs are entertaining to watch, but they do best when a host anemone is present. I'd give him a bit more time and if the problem persists, then consider taking him back.
I can't answer your lighting questions as I have no clue what you're planning in keeping in there as far as inverts go. A 175w 10k mogul setup is fine for many things, more light demanding corals and some clams excluded.
Don't add supplements outside of what it needed to maintain calcium and alk levels. Anything outside of that is just lining the LFS's pockets.
Cheers
Jim<<<

Testing & Supplements (9/5/04)
Hello, I am interested in starting a reef tank and am wondering what test kits I'll need or what items needed to be tested.  Also, after adding the reef builder, reef complete, reef calcium, and reef plus (Seachem products) would I still need to add invertebrate foods meant for coral or is that included in the previously mentioned SeaChem products?
Thanks for the help,  Aaron
<Hello Aaron. Steve Allen answering tonight. I can tell from your questions that you would benefit from more research before you get started. No, there is no food in any of these mineral supplements. Seachem makes quality products. What you need to supplement with depends on what you have in the tank. Many tanks need calcium supplementation, but a regular regimen of water changes with quality salt (such as  Reef Crystals, Instant Ocean, Tropic Marin and Oceanic) often means that there is no need to supplement anything else. It is crucial to measure ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, at least during cycling. Keeping an eye on phosphates is useful for controlling nuisance algae. It is a good idea to monitor calcium and alkalinity in reef tanks. Iodine and other things are questionable, but it is always a good idea to supplement only things that you are measuring and finding to be low. Again, regular water changes should generally preclude any need to monitor or supplement most trace elements.
  I strongly recommend that you read up on reefkeeping. WWM is a great resource, as is www.reefkeeping.com. I would also suggest you consider the following books: "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta, "Reef Secrets" by Alf Jakob Nielsen & Svein Fossĺ, "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner, and "Natural Reef Aquariums" by John Tullock. Hope this helps.>

Super Green Star Polyps!
Good Day -
<Hiay! Scott F. here today!>
OK - I've searched but cannot find the answer among your previously answered questions so here goes; I have an established tank 2+ years and have had little to no problems. It is a 45 tall (I know tall isn't the best but it's what I'm stuck with) LR/LS set-up and I have it stocked mostly with octocorallians and fish. I purchased some star polyps about a year ago and they are growing out of control - stinging my Xenia and Colt corals to
death. Is there any way to stop/slow the growth of the Star polyps? I have tried to redirect them only to have them grow over anything I put in their path and onto the adjacent corals. I have tried to "peel" them off of the rock with no success. They are a very bright green and look like moss or grass during the day but they are growing out of control. If I leave it alone, they will eventually cover everything in the tank. Any suggestions?
<This is a problem that many hobbyists would like to have! I have always liked GSPs, but they can become a problem if left unchecked. I would have tried many of the same tactics that you did. In particular, I like to "passively propagate" actively growing corals like GSPs and Xenia by simply putting some rubble in the "path" of the Star Polyps, letting them "overgrow" the rubble, then removing the rubble and replacing it with a new piece or pieces (and, this will help you supply our fellow hobbyists with their own GSP starter colonies!). If you are impatient, then more radical methods are necessary, such as removing the rock or rocks on which the GSPs have set up shop, or regularly excising them with a razor blade (a tedious process, but seemingly the best way to go in your case). You really might consider propagating this beautiful coral and supplying fellow hobbyists and fish stores! When life gives you lemons, as they say....!>
Thank you.
J.T. Craddock

Getting Back On Track!
I have Problems. My 155 Gallon Reef has been set-up for over a year. I have a 48 x 28 x28 Tank with PFO Lighting about 6 inches above. The Lighting consists of 2 250 Metal Halides, 2 110 VHO Blue Actinic, and Moon Lights. I have Dual Overflows with the Filtration in the Basement. I have 2 CPR sumps with Micron Bags full of Nitrate Sponge, Carbon, and Phosphate Remover (Changed Regularly). Big Live Rock Pieces in the sump and a Refugium with various algaes and live sand. 57Watt UV. My Tank consists of a variety of Live Rock (200 Pds). I have a variety of life,
including 100 Snails, 250 Crabs, cucumbers, urchins, etc. My Corals are mostly soft, mushrooms, cabbage, Clams, etc. My Hard Corals continually die. Everything continually dies. I have gone through lots of fish throughout the year.
<Sounds like something is terribly wrong...We need to find out the root causes here...>
Mostly Tangs, but some other non-reef fish that I thought I could make work. I have had Big Fish just Disappear (after
spotting White Spots). Currently I have a Pinktail Trigger (covered in disease), a Blue Dot Puffer, 2 Clowns, Yellow Tang, and Lawnmower Blenny. I have tried to treat the diseases in the main tank with almost every "reef safe" medication out there. No help.
<Well, as you are learning, there really are no "reef safe" medications out there. Treatment should always be completed in a separate tank, which affords better control and versatility>
I didn't quarantine, my bad.
<You really need to. That's a big part of your problem, I'll bet. A rigorous attention to quarantine will result in less mysterious losses, and give you an opportunity to observe new fishes carefully and treat diseases before they end up in your display.>
I use a big block of elements, Calcium A & B, Marc Weiss Coral DNA, Reef Solution by ECO, and a variety of Kent Crap.
<Ask yourself why. Our rule of thumb is to only dose things that you test for. Further, only dose if testing dictates the need to do so. Regular water changes with a quality salt mix will replenish the majority of the essential elements that your system needs. Start your new commitment to success by dumping these unnecessary additives>
I overdose on a regular basis. I overfeed on a daily basis.
<Quit "cold turkey". Stop dosing everything. Make a concentrated effort to reduce your feeding to small quantities- such as the old "no more than your fishes can consume in five minutes" rule. Stick to it, and don't deviate. The fact that you recognize that you are screwing up is a good thing. Don't make this hobby more difficult than it is by perpetuating bad habits.>
I need to get some help. Any idea of a Rehab place in Chicago for an overdoser/overfeeder?   Just Kidding
<Well, there are some of the best aquarium/reef clubs in the country right in your area! You'll meet some great hobbyists who can become real friends and mentors for you if you attend some of their local meetings. Do investigate this further!>
My nitrates are a little high, Calcium 450, phosphates (low), PH 8.2, Salinity 1.023. Regular 10% water changes every 2 weeks.
<Hey- that's a good start! Keep up the water changes>
Here's my question. When I started a year ago I bought great live rock with beautiful coralline algae. The rock now has no color, no coralline anywhere. The sand has dark red and green colors mixed in. Dark Red Algae is starting to grow on the corals and in the tank. I think it's from the refugium. The refugium used to have great creatures living all over, on the walls and in the sand. Now, the sand is all gray, no sign of creatures, and dark black/red slime covering everything.
<Sounds like overfeeding/dosing is catching up with yo. It is important to back off on the feeding and dosing as we discussed previously. If you are not using a protein skimmer, get the best model that you can afford, and make sure that it produces at least a couple of cups of dark, yucky skimmate twice a week.>
The Caulerpa won't grow.
<Many possibilities here; hard for me to determine the cause without seeing your system in person>
I think it's time to start listening to someone who knows what they are doing, and not thinking I know everything.
<Good advice for all of us!>
My tank is an in wall in the kitchen, so it's a showpiece, my kids love it, but it's starting to look awful.
<Time to network into a local aquarium club for assistance, or contact a reputable local aquarium maintenance service and have them service the system for a while, teaching you along the way.>
I think I want some non-reef fish so I was thinking of going to FOWLR, and letting the Corals either die or get eaten.
<How about donating them to someone who wants corals>
If my tank was covered in Coralline and the corals were healthy then maybe I'd be happier?
<Well, sure...It's important to break those bad habits and get things in order. You probably should get a good book on basic aquarium husbandry, such as Mike Paletta's "The New Marine Aquarium" and Bob Fenner's "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist". Both will help you gain insight into what is happening here. Well worth the investment>
Can you offer some sort of 12-step recovery program?
<Well, your first step is to break some of your bad habits, and the second is to get professional help from more experienced aquarists. You CAN do this...>
Ideally I would love Live Rock covered with Coralline with mushrooms everywhere and some variety of clams, with a Dogface, Emperor Angel, Lionfish, and a few tangs.
<Well, depending on your system, this may or may not be a compatible mix of animals. That's where the homework comes in. Plan your system, build it accordingly, and execute your plan>
I'm rambling....but some good advice would help?
<I gave you a few tips to get started. The ball is in your court! Good luck, and don't give up! Regards, Scott F>  

Fishy Questions (8/25/04)
Hi, all!  Thanks for maintaining such a FABULOUS and informative website!  It's incredibly helpful for a new aquarist like myself. <Glad to be of service.> I have a few questions for you:
My current setup has been going for a month after a complete overhaul to remove a really filthy undergravel filter (I inherited the tank from a friend who didn't really keep up with cleaning the tank or with learning about live rock).  55 gal glass aquarium w/ 65 lbs Fiji live rock, 2" live sand bed <You may want to add an inch or two to that over time.> , Orbit 2-65 W VHO (6K and 10K) + 2-65 W blue actinics (is this enough light, especially for the E. quadricolor?) <This sounds borderline. BTAs do tolerate lower light conditions than others, but all anemones are difficult to keep and have an appallingly low survival rate.>, CPR BakPak skimmer, 4 powerheads (intakes covered by home-made plastic gratings to keep the critters from being sucked in), mechanical filter w/ activated carbon.  I do 10% water changes every week.  The current livestock include:
1 tank-raised maroon clown ("Nemo") - 2.5 yrs old
1 coral beauty - 2.5 yrs old
1 dragon wrasse - 2.5 yrs old (he's got adolescent colors now) <This fish, aka "rock-mover" wrasse, may give you some big headaches when mature.>
2 zebra Dartfish - 2.5 yrs old
1 yellow tang - arrived 2 months ago
1 blue-green Chromis - arrived 2 months ago
~35-40 red-legged hermit crabs
~20 turbo snails
assorted small feather dusters & critters that arrived with the LR
1 rose E. quadricolor anemone - arrived 2 months ago, seems very happy - has not moved around <reassuring>
The fish get fed 2 kinds of dried seaweed (tang loves this), Formula One, Angel Formula (same company), mysis shrimp, bloodworms, dried plankton, and flakes.  Water parameters: T=82F (Southern Cal summers make this hard to keep down w/o a chiller), specific gravity = 1.025, no detectable ammonia, nitrites; PH=8.0-8.2 (adding buffer routinely), nitrates=25ppm (this is due to the tap water - I tested it prior to adding salt mix).  I need to purchase calcium, phosphate, iodine/iodide, alkalinity/hardness test kits.  Any others I should get? <this seems sufficient, especially with your excellent water change regimen.> Eventually I will put in a sump + calcium reactor + chiller, but I want to do more reading so I know what I'm doing first. <Wise. I'm not sure a calcium reactor is a good investment unless you have a lot of corals that use a lot of calcium.>
I am looking into getting an RO/DI or RO-only system.  Does it matter which I get?  Is there a distinct advantage of RO/DI over RO?  <Takes more stuff out, but many folks get by with RO only or with DI only, such as the Kold-Ster-il system. RO wastes a lot of water. Read the articles & FAQs and check the local water quality to determine what is best for you.>
Also, I was wondering if it would be too much bioload to add the following fish to the system: 2 more blue-green Chromis (so they could school; the single one gets picked on by the dragon wrasse a little), and a tank-bred Banggai cardinalfish? <You already have too many fish for this tank as they grow. I recommend you read more about the Dragon Wrasse's increasing aggression with age and its habit of overturning and moving large rocks. In your shoes, I'd be selling it back to the LFS. BTW, neither the Dragon Wrasse nor the Yellow Tang is recommended for less than 75G.> Eventually I would like to move up to a 120 gal system, but I told myself that I have to learn to take care of this one first.  :) <True in a since, but bigger tanks are actually easier to take care of. I'd still be hesitant to keep an aggressive fish like a Dragon Wrasse in your mix. The Tang would be great in 120 and you would open up an array of other options. Take the $500 you were thinking of spending on a Ca-Reactor and put it toward a 120 or even a 180 (same length). Then you could use your 55 as a sump.> Thank you so much for your help!!!!  This site is a great resource for learning how to care for marine creatures.  <I hope this is useful info as well. You might want to spring for a few good books. Steve Allen.>
Amy, Pasadena, CA

Mated Pair of False Percula Clowns (Lives in Xenia)
1 Tomato Clown w/ Rose Anemone
1 Yellow Tang
1 blue Damsel
2 skunk cleaner shrimp
2 peppermint shrimp
2 mated  harlequin shrimp (Fascinating!!!)
5 Large Turbo Snails
10 Each Nassarius, Cerith, Nerites, Turban Snails
3 Red legged hermit crabs
10 blue legged hermit crabs
1 large (5 inch dia.) brown brittle star
A small orange, and a small red brittle star
1 very large (15” ?) yellow leather  It is the parent of two smaller yellow leathers. There are two brown leathers. 1 huge (15” dial. ?) and one 6 inch diameter. 100 or more mushrooms of all colors, green-yellow zoanthid colonies, Huge pulsing xenia, bulls eye corals, Porites with Christmas tree worms, cup Montipora, branching Montipora (birds nest?) and several other small frags. A large field of frogspawn corals and green Staghorn Acropora. Water flows from the overflow, into a pre-filter chamber, then into the skimmer area, and then flows into the “Refugium” tank and to the pump. The pump returns water to the tank via the “pipe organ” filter described above. I don’t use any mechanical filters. I do a 15% water change a month. 1 week before water change I add a PolyFilter and carbon. I use only distilled, carbon filtered, water for both  make-up water and water changes. The only supplements I use regularly is 2 part ESV B-ionic calcium buffer. About once a moth I add 1/2 recommended weekly dose of Kent “Essential Elements”, “Strontium & Molybdenum”, and Iodine.
I’ve had this tank up and running for 9 months but I bought it from a guy that had it up for 2 years before me. The break-down and rebuild was a chore but I think I managed to keep everything alive including rock and sand. Have never lost an animal in this tank. <Wow that's something to be very proud of.
I feed fish sparingly twice daily with a variety of Ocean Nutrition flake products or Spirulina. All food is gone within 2-3 minutes. I feed the anemone a small piece of shrimp or fish every other day. Once a week I give the corals a treat of Cyclops-eeze or Kent Zoo-Plexi or ChromaPlex. (Very suspicious of all but Cyclops-eeze) I always feed 1/2 or less of the recommended dose. I give the Harlequin Shrimp 1 medium size “Chocolate Chip” starfish a month.
Ammonia, Nitrite,  Nitrate, and phosphate are and have always been (since cycling) below what my copious amounts of test kits can measure. I measured all this  morning w/ same results. Temp is 79F. PH runs from a peak of 8.2 during the day to 7.9 at night. Lights are on 12 hours a day, except Refugium which is lighted 24 hours a day. Finally, my question!!! My skimmer produces virtually no skimmate! <You are so totally in luck with this. Before I might have struggled with an answer for you but this weekend I was enlightened.> The neck gets covered in a thick slime and the top fills with very large (1/4 “ ?) bubbles but the collection cup stays almost empty, less than 1/8 inch deep). <You need to clean out the skimmer with vinegar. I don't mean to fault your previous cleaning methods but this weekend we were talking about the very same problem with a lot of people. Let me try to explain what we all discovered. After the bubbles pop and the skimmate sits up in the tank and even in the neck their comes a buildup of an acid like substance that keeps the bubbles from going all the way up. This acid substance is natural and its where the skimmate has been. The vinegar <usually white vinegar> actually deep cleans those areas and removes this substance so it doesn't pop the bubbles to early before they make it to the cup.> I’ve tried adjusting the riser height 1” once a week, but no change! I’ve normally clean once a week, but I tried not cleaning for a month w/ same results. I clean the air intake every week by letting it suck up clean DI water. It sucks like crazy! The upper half of the skimmer body is filled with tiny white bubbles. The bottom half is clear except for the vortex of bubbles leaving the pump. Is this normal? The output of the skimmer contains no bubbles. Is this normal? The skimmer is sitting in 7 inches of water, Euro-reef recommends 6-8 inches. I would like to think that my tank is “in balance”, but when I add the Poly-filter once a month, for a week, it is stained dark brown and filled with detritus. When I wring it, I get a nasty dark brown, really smelly water from it. Even after several wrings and rinses it is stained brown. I even tried using cotton filter media for testing. Same thing. Fills with really  smelly, foul dark water after just 3 days. <Try the vinegar as cleaner I think you will really like it.>
What do you think about my bio-load? I’ve added up all the “fish inches” and it comes out to about 10 fish inches (counting fish only). Seems like a light load to me but I’m not sure how to count the anemone (about 5 inch diameter)+ all of the clean-up crew + the 6 shrimp. Do you have any recommendations ? <Sounds good to me, I personally don't use the inch method but instead look at my tank and how much room they all have to be doing what they should be doing.  For instance should you have a tang, does he have ample room to swim and eat off rocks.>
While I’m here, I’d like to ask about one other problem. I have an ugly black or purple slime (cyano?) that covers some of the rocks and sand in the front of the tank. <Let me first refer you here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm >  The sand that you can see through the glass is
covered in blue, green, red, and purple algae (BGA?). <Yes> I manually clean it out every week, but is always comes back almost immediately. <You know I think when you get your skimmer functioning better this problem maybe eliminated. Honestly I got rid of mine by using Kalkwasser in its normal dose.> I’ve read every article I can find on BGA / Cyano/ Diatoms and it seems that I have covered the bases. I stir and vacuum the sand in the front of the tank and the sand turns snow white. Within one day it’s back again. The tank has  a very robust circulation all over the tank including the front, I feed sparingly, and phosphate is 0. Have had this problem since getting the tank. ARGH! <Good luck Jim and please let us know. Mac>
Thank You Very Much for your Time and Expertise
Jim

A Medley of Questions (8/22/04)
Hey guys still love the site y'all are always so quick and helpful! <Glad to be of service. Steve Allen tonight.>  After about 7 months of research and building my reef tank I finally have begun to stock it. <Smart to be patient and do the research.> My equipment is as follows...
-75 Gallon tank
-6 46.5" VHO 3 actinic blue and 3 actinic white (4 are on for six of the eight hours and all 6 are on for two)
-EuroReef C-6 protein skimmer in a sump (approximately 20 gal)
-4 MaxiJet powerheads 2 600 & 2 1200 (on a Red Sea wave master)
-mag 9 return pump
-approximately a 15-20 gallon refugium with a little live rock and about 3" live sand <the minimum> and macro algae
-two overflow boxes rated 600 gph each down through some bio balls into the sump <Are these external hang-ons? Always some risk of flooding if siphon breaks.>
-2 250w heaters
Livestock is as follows
-1 pair of black and white clowns
-1 lawnmower blenny
-1 fire shrimp
-1 cleaner shrimp
-2 feather dusters
-1 arrow crab
-1 yellow tang
-1 blue tang
-1 banded goby (I think) <What species. This is not a definitive name>
-1 purple tang
-1 clam (at the highest point in the tank about 8"-10" from the lights)
-1 small green bubble tipped anemone
3-4" live sand substrate with about 85lbs live rock in the display tank
okay now my questions...
1. I have not seen the goby since the day I put him in the tank...is this normal? <How long ago? They ought to come out sometimes. May be too scared. Maybe the anemone got him, or maybe he died of something else. The only way to find him would be to dig everything out--so not worth it.>
2. Based on the number of powerheads I have is this too much? <Reefs need up to 20x tank volume turn over per hour.>
3. The anemone went into hiding when I first got it but has since come out and climbed high in the tank for the light I assume. Am I running my lights enough and if not how do I combat the little bit of what appeared to be green hair algae on the back of my tank when I was running them 12 hours a day...my LFS told me to cut it back to 8 hours. <I think the anemone needs the longer photoperiod. A little hair algae won't hurt anything as long as its not choking off your rock or sessile inverts. If you get rid of all of it, your Lawnmower will probable starve to death.>
4. I have a lot of coralline algae growth on the rock but I also think I have some green algae on it too...I use RO/DI water for my salt water make up and the lights are only on 8 hours...what could be causing this? <Too many nutrients. The algae needs light + fertilizer/food to grow. Monitor & control nitrates & phosphate. Not all green algaes are bad.>
5. I know I want to keep my specific gravity at about 1.024-1.026...it seems that as the water evaporates if all I ever add is more saltwater that it will just keep getting higher so I started to add just fresh RO/DI water to keep the SG in line...is this correct thinking? <Of course. All evaporation should be replaced with freshwater rather than saltwater. Only use saltwater to replace water you remove. Using RO/DI for both purposes is a good idea.>
6.My water tests are...
ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-5
Calcium 400+
PH 8 (it is a test not a monitor)
I cannot seem to raise my PH. Not sure what to do.
Can you add too much calcium? <Yes>
How about alkalinity? <Yes, one can add too much of anything>
Lastly what other tests or additives do you recommend for a reef tank? <With your algae issues, you should be watching phosphate. Weekly 10% water changes will go a long way toward maintaining alk & calcium. If you keep corals that need lots of Ca, then you should monitor it too. However, we advise against mixing corals and anemones. With shrimp, you might want to keep an eye on iodine, as they need it to molt. As a general rule, it is best to only add things you can test for.>
  I know there are a lot of questions...sorry....but thank you greatly in advance... <No problem. Now here's some unsolicited advice. You are in for big troubles with these Tangs as they grow in this small tank. By Blue Tang, do you mean a Regal or and Atlantic? That Purple Tang is likely to get very aggressive. I also have personal experience with the potential viciousness of Yellows. This tank is really only big enough for one Tang.> Butch

Home Improvement (Pt. 3) Hey Scott, <Hello there!> I am attaching a few pics of the current view of the tank. <Grr...The attachments didn't make it! Please do try again!> There is a new Button Coral and Star Polyp rock that are doing great so far! <Excellent! Green Star Polyps are one of my favorite corals!> Should I feed these corals with anything else besides filter feeder food (Micro-vert?). <The Star Polyps will derive their nutrition from photosynthesis and absorption of nutrients from the water. They will not really feed. The Cynarina can eat finely shredded meaty marine foods> Yes those other corals are fake! <I won't tell if you won't! At least you can impress your coral geek friends by telling them how your corals hold their colors perfectly!> There is also a shot of my sump with the Remora skimmer and prefilter in it. I've been having trouble with the Remora, as it is not filling up the cup with waste, but I just recently totally cleaned it out. It was once pulling out tons of green stuff but I wasn't changing the water at that time either, I think with all the water changes there isn't much pollution right now. <Umm...probably not the case. It usually has something to do with either cleaning the skimmer, or adjusting the air/water flow. Even old, nutrient poor systems will yield skimmate with a well-tuned skimmer> The foam action is great within the skimmer but it never seems to make it out of the center tube on the cup. I already sent a few emails to Jason Kim who has tried to help, but my good opinion of the Remora is starting to fade. <Don't give up...keep playing with it.> Kent marine also emailed me back and told me not to worry about the 1ppm of silica I measured out of my RO/DI MAXXIMA because most likely my test kit is inaccurate (Red Sea brand). They also said that I wasn't the only one who has asked that question. I guess certain test kits aren't as good as we all think. Plus I don't see any new outbreaks of algae, anyways. <Liquid reagent test kits can be notoriously inaccurate as they age> Most of the algae has faded in the tank with the help of the new snails and scarlet reef hermits and with the high quality water my levels are astonishing! <Good to hear!> Ammonia 0 Nitrate 10-20 should continue to improve with the sump and water changes (over 100 when I started)! <Excellent progress!> I have some spaghetti allege in there! LFS said it was great, too <I love the stuff!> Nitrite 0 Phosphate .5 still a bit left but a far cry from 10 as to where it once was. <Another positive trend!> Magnesium 1300 Cal       440 ALK   4.0 By golly I think I got it Igor!!! LOL Thanks, Jim <You're all over it, Jim! I'm really glad to hear that things are looking good! Keep up the good work! Regards, Scott F.>

75 Gallon: New Reef Tank
Hello, I  have a 75 gallon tank with approx. 90lbs of LR a Yellow tang, a humu humu trigger, a royal Gramma, a snapper, 3 damsels and a blue head wrasse. Inside of my rocks there are two anemones (that's what I am guessing they are). They only come out at night and are purple with pink, they aren't very big, do you know what they could be?.
<<Hiya. No idea, how big are they? Do they move around the tank, or stay in one place? Are they anemones, or a species of coral? Can you give a better description? Some corals extend polyps only at night. I recommend you do a web search and check out pics until you find something that resembles them, or perhaps you can scan a pic and email it to us. That snapper of yours, what species is it? It may grow too large for your tank. I would also remove the trigger, it WILL eat all your shrimp, crabs, snails. and perhaps attack things just for the fun of it...like your hand :P you get the picture.>>
I also have been reading a lot your book that I purchased a while ago, but I still don't have a very clear image on what lights I should use. I currently have the single fluorescent light that came w/ the tank using a 40 watt Coralife 50/50 with 6000K but I want to add some anemones from here.
<<I would highly recommend you do some research on keeping anemone species, they all have specific requirements, like lighting and water quality, as you know. There are some wonderful FAQs here at WetWeb that can help you locate your specific anemone and its care. You will need to find out the scientific names of the species that interest you, and read up on them. The lighting you have is insufficient, as you also know, and you will be better off to go with a metal halide/power compact mix, or metal halides and VHO bulbs. But buy what you can afford, and stock your tank accordingly.>>
I live in Panama in Central America. And I want to add some anemones from the Atlantic side to begin. They look like the Giant Anemone picture in your book or are those in different colors. Before getting them I want to get good lighting for them. In the store they told me to get one 175 watt MH and two actinic blue VHO and that they would do the canopy with the reflector and the fans.
<<This sounds fine to me. >>
Could I add one MH 250 of 20K and 4 40 watt Fluorescent lights 2 actinic and 2 full spectrum would do this ok? Or 2 175 Mh and just 2 40 watt actinic?
<<I am not sure you need 20K...but the 2 metal halide/double VHO combo sounds workable. Depends on your budget, you could go with the 2 metal halides, and 2 40w actinics if need be.>>
What fluorescents or other lights do you recommend? The canopy will be 12 inches above the tank. I also want to add local worms (featherdusters), but I don't want to spend money before knowing what's the best I would like to hear your advice. I was reading also of putting 4 VHO  of about 96 watts each 2 actinic and 2 full spectrum daylight but I don't know. What do you recommend? Later on after adding these I want to continue building my reef so I want to buy lights one time for all this.
<<It always makes sense to buy your equipment first, and stock your tank accordingly. It seems you are quite open to debate, so I would tell you to buy the best lighting you can afford. I would also recommend you do some reading on acclimating your corals, I recall Anthony has some great articles on light-shocking corals by moving corals kept under low lighting conditions to too-bright tanks too quickly. You want to understand so you can avoid this. There are also intricate ways to set up timers on your lights, so that they don't all illuminate at the same time. I realize it's complicated, and indeed too complicated for me to respond to here, so I suggest you read the Lighting FAQs on WetWeb here, they are FULL of great advice and can help you narrow your lighting search...Oh, and anemones and corals are not a great mix, many people do not recommend keeping them together, so either keep corals, OR anemones, but not both.>>
My circulation I think it's good I have 4 Aquaclear powerheads 2 201 and 2 402 and the return head from the sump. Another question I have is that my LR was very colored when I bought and still is but now you can rarely see the color because it's covered in some kind of algae, what can I do? they told me to add Kalkwasser but I don't know, is this a solution?
<<Uh, sort of.. Kalkwasser will raise your calcium, pH, and alkalinity, (which you should be monitoring on a regular basis...) so that your coralline algae can out-compete the lesser alga and thereby reduce the unwanted algae species in your tank. It is normal for new tanks to go through algae phases, no one is exempt from this. You can help the situation by doing small, frequent water changes, by running products like Chemi-Pure and high-quality carbon in your powerheads, and by not overfeeding...I suppose you should do some reading in our Algae FAQs while you are here, too :) Calcium reactors will also raise calcium and alk levels.>>
Also I want to add later on an Emperor angelfish, and with the anemones two percula fish, and 3 more royal Gramma and a Powder Blue tang or a Atlantic blue tang probably this is too much, but I really want a blue tang and a emperor and the 2 clownfishes will this do good ?
<<You seem quite intent on doing things the right way, so I will tell you this: Do NOT add fish too fast, and do NOT overstock your tank, especially since this will be a reef tank, where the less fish, the better. More fish means larger amounts of fish waste which YOU will have to deal with because your corals will require pristine water conditions. Also, your tank is too small to consider some of these species. Please narrow your list to easy-to-keep, smaller species, like the percula clowns, royal grammas, etc., until you have more experience, at least. The angels and powder blue tangs require expert care, specific feeding and nutrition, and much, much larger tanks.>>
Also I think that if adding a cleaner shrimp will this help?  Yesterday I saw something that looked like a small shrimp walking on my rocks but it is probably some kind of pest it was brownish and about an inch what could it be?
<<Don't know. Your cleaner shrimp will be immediately eaten by your trigger, by the way. I am sure he is eating whatever shrimp are living in there now. We have a Hitchhiker FAQ here, so perhaps you can find a pic. You will also see things like copepods, isopods, arthropods, etc, on your live rock and in live sand, they are live foods for our fish, and help our tanks to find a natural balance.>>
And one more question sorry for so much things I got a 15 gallon acrylic tank to use it as a quarantine tank, they told me to add half the amount of copper to the water so that it would remove any external parasite to the fish, is this ok?
<<Augh. Let's see, yes, a quarantine tank is a great idea. Using Cupramine copper is also fine, but you WILL need a copper test kit in order not to overdose and kill your fish. Please test for copper if you are using it in a q-tank! Copper precipitates out, you will need to add it regularly, so when the levels fall (according to your test kit results) you will need to add more, to keep it at the proper levels, otherwise you are achieving nothing.>>
Can I pour 15 gallons of the water from the ocean that I bring becuase I am going to dive for the anemones and some fish (royal Gramma and a tang) so I thought of bringing 15 gallons of the water, pouring it in the QT and using a hang-on filter and quarantine my fish and adding some copper.
<<This depends on who you talk to...ocean water can bring unwanted parasites, chemicals, who knows what into your tank. In my opinion, you can avoid many problems by getting yourself some Instand Ocean or other brand of artificial salt and mixing it up yourself. I suppose what you can do is use the ocean water at first, and then gradually remove it and add the artificial water in order to acclimate your fish to the reef tank. Yes, that could be done.>>
And should I quarantine the inverts or add them directly I know that you cant mix them with copper so what should I do?
<<Quarantine ALL additions to your tank for a minimum of 4 weeks. Do NOT add copper to an invert tank, it will kill them. Perhaps you will need two q-tanks, or buy them at different times.>>
Thank you very much and sorry for all the questions, just want some advice of the best.
<<You are welcome. Happy fishkeeping :) -Gwen>>

New SW tank trouble 8/16/04
Hello guys,
<cheers>
I have been having some tough times with my first go around with a salt water tank.  My setup is as follows:
77 gal tank (48x17x24)
33 gal refugium ( ecosystem style)
Flow rate: Mag 9.5 return pump + 100gph powerhead. Roughly 750 gph movement.
<this is a good minimum 10 X water flow)
Refugium:
5 gallons of bioballs
3-4" of aragonite sand.
Caulerpa R. for nutrient export
Lit 24hr a day
<OK>
Main tank:
50lbs of CaribSea base rock
40lbs of CaribSea reef bones
40lbs of CaribSea crushed coral substrate
16lbs of Jakartan liverock.
My tank has been up for 4 months and it was cycled using the reef bones.  
<not a strong cycle IMO, but fine enough>
I bought the liverock 2 months ago and has been doing ok.  There are a few corals on the liverock which are doing fine.  Sponges are good and some macro algae is growing on it.  I had a severe outbreak of cyano which is slowing down.  
<no worries... some nuisance algae is quite common in the early months with all tanks>
I bought 5 Chromis about a month ago and all 5 died.  1
jumped out, 1 smashed into a rock and the other three died after a week.  I also bough some turbo snails and they died immediately.  I acclimated using drip for 2 hours.  
<just curiously... are you using Crystal Sea salt mix. I only ask becuase the Chromis are sensitive and the snails (other mollusks too) have been reported to be sensitive to some/cheaper sea salt mixes>
Got my water tested and the nitrites were high but was
likely due to overfeeding.  I also got my water tested for copper and nothing was found.  Since then I cleaned the sand bed and did a 15 gal water change.  The corals are still alive and growing... slowly. This past weekend I bought some tank raised false perculas and one died overnight.  I acclimated for 2 hours.  
< a 30 minute acclimation is usually fine>
The other clown was breathing heavy so I sent him to another tank.  I tested my water prior to adding the fish and here is what I found:
Ammonia: undetectable
Nitrites: undetectable
Nitrates: undetectable
PH: 8.2
Temp: 80
Alkalinity: 6.5
<this alkalinity is waaaaay off. If you are reading as meq/l, then its sky high (over 4 meq/l)... and if you are reading ALK as dKH, then this ALK reading is waaaaaay low (below 8-12 dKH)>
I got my water tested by a fellow aquarist and he didn't find anything wrong except for low calcium.  He can't figure out what is wrong with my tank either.  Since the liverock has thriving life like corals and feather dusters I don't know why crabs, snails and fish can't live in the tank.  
<oooh... this does sound like some bunk sea salt queries/threads we have seen before>
Can you suggest possible problems or what I can do to fix the situation? Ric.
<normally water changes... the solution to pollution is dilution. But lets investigate your Alk... and consider the source water (not using untreated RO or DI I hope? aerating then buffering before you salt or use it for evap, right?). Best regards, Anthony>

New SW tank trouble II 8/16/04
Thanks for the feedback.  I have a couple of follow up questions.  The brand of salt that I use is Instance Ocean so I am reluctant to blame that for my problems but there is always a possibility.
<agreed... this is traditionally a reliable brand>
Second the way that I mix my water is I use a carbon filter media for the tap water, similar to a Brita. I don't aerate the water before mixing it with the salt mix so maybe that is my problem.  
<not good technique (wastes buffer into he salt mix unnecessarily)... but not a biggie either>
I then mix the water with a power head and heat it up for about
24hrs.  I would suspect this is not the best method but do you think this procedure could be to blame?
<not principally>
My second question is regarding to the symptoms of my tank.  I noticed that my closed brain coral does not have the green center in the polyps, does this mean it expelled its zooxanthellae and it is about to die?.  
<not sure without seeing a pic of it before and after. Still... I doubt it... expulsion of zooxanthellae is usually quite obvious>
It does glow green under actinics but not as much as before.  I also used PolyFilter to remove contaminants but obviously that didn't help.  What else can I use? Or is the ultimate solution replace the entire volume of water with new water?
<a good choice, yes... a couple large water changes (50% plus) in the next 2 weeks for dilution of the potential problem. Best of luck! Anthony>