Newly Established Reef Q's 1/26/07
Hi There,
<Good day to you!>   
  Great site!! I have a couple of questions that I hope you can shed some light on. I have a new tank (2 weeks) with live rock (Very live rock).
<Welcome!>
No fish planned for a while.
I do have a sea cucumber and a small octopus that came hidden in the live rock.
<Wow, Not unheard of, but usually short-lived or actually mistaken for something else.>
I am trying to capture the octopus to give him to the fish store but with little luck.
<That is the norm, I would think.>
The rock has so many holes and caves that we just can’t pin him down. I have disassembled the whole aquascape twice examining each piece with a flashlight but can’t find him. We have seen him 3 times but can never figure out where he goes.
<Are you absolutely certain this is an Octopus?>
Do you have any suggestions?
<If it *is* and octopus, you are dealing with a smart cookie. Baiting can sometimes be successful.>
Second: I am having a brown diatom bloom which from what I read is normal for a cycling tank.
<Yes, not uncommon at all given the elevated nutrient-levels during cycling.>
I try to take out what I can and dust off the rock with a turkey baster and have the skimmer going steady.
<Would not worry unless encrusting desirable algae (coralline) is being covered or glass is opaque.>
Everything still has a thin brown dusting on it. My question is will there be something that naturally occurs in the cycle that will get rid of the residue?
<Mmm, usually the eventual lowered levels of nutrients will slow down the growth. More importantly, you don't need to have any lighting in this system, so limiting the amount of light will limit the growth of the diatoms.>
Also one rock has a colony of polyps of some sort.
<Bonus.>
Are the diatoms harmful to the polyps or the octopus for that matter?
<Nope, not in the long run.>
I appreciate your time. This is going to be a great hobby once things get up and running.
<I welcome you to the hobby Jim. I would like to mention some things to keep in mind during your "newbie-ness". A large hunk of new marine-hobbyists get out of the hobby in the first year because of failure related directly to mis-information & lack of proper research. A well-informed hobbyist is a happy hobbyist. Learning all you can about every species you plan to keep - and the compatible species too - ensures a thriving captive eco-system. Learning about a problem after it has happened to you is going to create a sense of urgency that may help drive you to learn, but will be harder to eradicate than preventing it by proper maintenance and care. I wish you luck and advise you to read as many of the articles/FAQs here on WWM about starting up and maintaining proper water chemistry.
-GrahamT.>
  Jim

Re: Reconstruction of tank   1/26/07
Dear WetWeb crew,<Hello Christian, Rich K here, I apologize for the late reply>
I am going to revise my plans for rebuilding my tank, feel free to comment on my ideas as that is why I am writing. <Sure thing>I have a 75 gallon tank with about 85 actual gallons in water volume.<?> In the tank I have roughly 85 lbs of a mixed variety of LR and less than one and a half inches of Live sand. There is 440 Watts of VHO lighting, 2 blue and 2 white (wt - 10 hrs per day bl - 11 hrs per day). I am running a SeaLife Systems Wet/Dry in which I have replaced the bioballs with LR rubble,<Nice> and a protein skimmer that is no longer functioning ( thought it was sub par to begin with).<A skimmer is a good item to have on your tank> I maintain good water quality with 15% water changes every two weeks with Oceanic reef Crystals. My water params are as follows 1.024 Salinity, 8.1 - 8.3 pH, 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrite, 10 Nitrates 79-81 temp, and ~370 Calcium.<Those look fine> The previous inhabitants of my tank fell due to a major outbreak of ich, all within about 4 days even through a 3 week quarantine in a 10 gallon tank prior to entering the main tank. After the fish died, their bodies would disappear mysteriously,<something may be eating the carcass> this was until I dug under the sand about 2 weeks later and found several sets of fish bones, I am not sure if I have found all the bones yet but it sure was disheartening to find these. I plan on replacing the skimmer with a Berlin RS100, and if you believe necessary (although my budget may constrict) a HOT CPR Refugium with miracle mud and Chaeto.<those work very well> The reason for this filtration is 1) broken protein skimmer 2) the biggest outbreak of algae I have ever seen in my dealings with fish tanks.. the algae is brownish, reddish and is like hair coming off of my live rock and glass, and powerheads, and everything else in the tank.<algae is due to excessive nutrients within the tank, do you feed your fish often? Do you use any type of filter floss to catch debris?> It is horrible to look at, but I wanted to email you guys about my plans before I made any changes in the tank, any ideas of how to rid myself of this nuisance algae? <You may consider doing a water change every week, limit the amount of food you feed your tank and give it some time. Also, how old are the bulbs on your lighting system?>
Also once I get rid of this problem I want to start a reef tank, with my lighting and type of tank, there is about 1200 gph of flow in the tank, what would be the best corals for a beginner reefer (: ] ).<there are plenty, due some searching and you'll find plenty to choose from> Then once I get my reef established perhaps I can start thinking about adding 5 - 8 small fish gradually.<Good choice, take it slow>
Thank you so much for your help, <you're more than welcome, feel free to reply<Rich K.>
Clare Bullen
PS sorry about the long letter<no apologizes needed>

Reef... fdg. maint.  1/16/07
Hi how is everyone doing today.
<Doing well, but I'm ready for this Maine winter to end before it really hits! (Graham  T. with you tonight.)>
I currently have a yellow tang, two ocellaris clownfish, Scott's fairy wrasse, royal Gramma, two yellow tail gobies and three chromis in a 125 full blown reef system  tank. I was wondering if it would hurt my fish if I only feed them twice a week as opposed to every day. I am having a problem with some nuisance algae and would like to have it under control. If not twice a week can you recommend something that would be ok for my fish. And I am not worried about my fish getting huge, just my coral. Thanks
<Don't worry about them going without food for a while health wise as they can stand up to a week (or more) before any real malnutrition sets in. You *might* end up having heightened aggression from elevated "forage" instincts that hunger will undoubtedly trigger, but time will tell. You may also consider feeding just enough every other day for each inhabitant to get a little bit, but not a full meal, then feeding a bit more on the days you were planning to. Cheers,
-Graham T.>

Dosing Additives While Away - 12/24/06
I need to be gone from home for six days next month.  I have already portioned out frozen food in small pill bottles so that my "babysitter" will not over feed.
<<Wise of you>>
I have even made plans for the addition of water so that evaporation is not a problem.
<<Also good...>>
Now what I want to know is what should I do about adding my customary chemicals?
<<For six days?  I wouldn't worry with/about it>>
Each day, I add 5 drops of iron to my 75-gallon tank.  I also add strontium every 4 days.
<<You are testing to determine a "need" for these additives I hope>>
Finally, I add 2 tsp. calcium every other day to maintain my calcium level at 410.
<<Is this calcium chloride?  If so a word of caution, as the continued "regular" use of this product can result in alkalinity issues in the long term (1-2 years)>>
Is it possible to add these chemicals together and partition them the same way I have done with the food?
<<Mmm, possibly but I wouldn't...the chance for misapplication/abuse is far greater than any deleterious effects on your system from not dosing for six days>>
Will these chemicals freeze?
<<...?>>
I am very new to this hobby and particularly new to the chemistry.
Your tank will be fine minus these additives for the time you will be away.  Do water tests and "slowly make adjustments if needed" upon your return.  And if you haven't already, start reading here and among the indices in blue at the top of the pages: hhttp://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm >>
Thanks in advance for your advice.
Sue in Houston
<<Happy to assist.  EricR in Columbia>>

Reef Tank Water Temperatures/Fluctuations - 12/14/06
Hi,
<<Hello>>
I have a 75 gallon reef tank with some fish and other creatures in it.  I'm having some temperature adjustment issues now that it's winter.  My sump [55 gallon] with the heater is in the basement, so it’s colder there.  I try to keep the sump temp at about 77, so it doesn't get too hot in the tank during the day.  My range generally goes from about 76, 77 at night [75 really cold nights]  to 78, 79 during the day in the tank - it's hard to tell because I have both digital and paste on thermometers and sometimes they read slightly differently, even from one side of the tank to the other.
<<Mmm...the temp swing (3-degrees) is not that bad, but you should ditch the paste-ons and obtain/use a single reliable digital thermometer for reasons of consistency>>
I'm trying to keep both the fish & the corals happy.  I'd appreciate it if you could let me know what the acceptable ranges are, as I've read different opinions.
<<Water temperatures between 77-84 degrees are acceptable...in "my" opinion [grin].  The key is to keep the night/day fluctuations to a minimum, though a "swing" of three degrees has not proven deleterious in my experience.  I suggest you add a second heater to your sump in the basement to help with maintaining temperature at night>>
Thank you!
Linda in upstate New York
<<Quite welcome.  EricR in sunny South Carolina>>

Additives and keeping a reef   12/8/06
Hello,
<Hey Jeromy, JustinN with you today.>
         A quick question for you. I have a 100g tank with about 100lbs of live rock. I have a 2-3 inch sandbed. I have a reef system with a yellow tang, purple tang, powder blue Chromis, six-line wrasse, and a bi-color blenny. I have a frogspawn, a torch, two huge leather corals, a bunch of mushrooms, some green polyps, and a LTA. I have many hermit crabs and snails also.
<Ok>         
I have been adding Kent's Coral-Accel (every other day), a Sea-Lab 28 tablet (1 in tank till it dissolves, then I replace it) Purple-Up everyday (2 capfuls), Kent's Superbuffer mixed in with the freshwater top off (5 teaspoons dissolved into 5g of freshwater). I do bi-weekly water changes of 15g.
<Mmm... Are you testing for all these additives, or blindly adding them?>
         I just added a phosphate reactor with PhosBan by two little fishes. It has been working well, but I hear that PH is effected with these? I also have a skimmer and about three powerheads for water movement. I have a closed system with no sump, so I have a unique situation.
<Actually quite common situation, honestly. I wouldn't worry too much about the Phosphate reactor dropping pH too much, so long as you are monitoring your pH.>
         What I was wondering was what you would recommended for additives for this system. Do I need to add more calcium, PH, anything. Am I missing something that is obvious? Please let me know. My water parameters are all within normal, although I feel my PH is a little low.
  Thanks
<What I think you need to add to, is your knowledge and understanding of the additives you are pouring into your tank, what you should be testing for, what your actual demand re is, and what it all means... Reading is in your future. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marphalk.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm http://www.wetwebmedia.com/suppleme.htm and the linked FAQ's therein. Good luck, hope this helps! -JustinN>

Re: Reef Tank Supplements   11/26/07
<Hey again, Nick. JustinN with you again.>
Sorry,
<Is alright, thank you for clarifying>
I have a 54 gallon reef aquarium with a Fluval 404 filter, a T-5 dual lighting system, 50 pounds of live rock with lots of coralline algae.  
I have 2 percula clowns, 2 Banggai cardinals, 2 green chromis, a six line wrasse, a coral beauty, about 30 blue legs, 10 Scarlets, and 20  
tricolor hermit crabs.
<60 hermits?! Can you even see the sand?? Just kidding, of course, but this is an awful lot of opportunistic feeders, especially for this relatively small in comparison tank. Perhaps snails would be more appropriate?>
I have been testing the Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia, and pH. Nitrite levels are at 0 ppm and the tank has already gone through the nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia spikes. Nitrate is 0 ppm. Ammonia is 0 ppm, and the pH is about 8.0. I know this is low so I am adding one teaspoon of Seachem's Reef Buffer twice a week. I clean the filter once every two months. The tank is kept at a stable 78 degrees F. I am also adding Kent PhytoPlex Phytoplankton three times a week (a teaspoon and a half). I understand my ignorance and I apologize. But I do not understand the balance between alkalinity and calcium.
Thanks again,
Nick
<I would recommend against the addition of the Reef Buffer, until you have a bit more of an understanding of alkalinity, calcium, and how pH relates to both. I recommend you thoroughly read the wonderful article by Anthony Calfo on the issue, located here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm Your low pH could be indicative of a further imbalance existing in your water, and I would recommend getting your hands on a calcium and an alkalinity test to add to your regimen. Please feel free to write back if you have any further questions. Hope this helps you! -JustinN>

New Tank Problems 11/12/06
Hi, I would like to thank the crew for all their time and efforts. <Hi>  I have just gotten started in the saltwater aquarium hobby and I find it fascinating. <Me too.>  I have a 75 gallon rectangular tank with a 2 inch substrate of aragonite and 10 lbs of live rock. <Not much LR>  I also have a heater that gets the job done and an aqua clear 500.  As far as livestock goes I have two farm raised false percula clowns and 8 turbo snails.  I have a lot of questions and concerns and I’m sure that I’ll continue e-mailing but there is one internal conflict; so to speak, that I am having right now.  I’m short on cash but I would like to know if there is anymore equipment that I might need.  I am planning on getting a pump to increase water circulation, but I am undecided over a protein skimmer. <Both are necessary for success in my opinion.> I have had some troubles with diatoms but they are being eaten by Turbos and it is being replaced by green algae on my tank wall, but I am not too worried about that.  In terms of future livestock I was thinking of a royal Gramma, neon goby  I saw some at my LFS and they moved in a rippling motion like an eel, they had white stripes instead of blue.  I was wondering if this is the real thing?) <Several different types.>, yellow tang if the tank permits) <Tank is on the smallish side.>, a Picasso triggerfish (I was thinking about getting one around 2 inches, I was wondering about it eating snails and crabs when it is this small) <Will grow, and may sample other smaller fish as well.> I was thinking about a goby or a bottom dweller to mix up my substrate (lawnmower blenny?) and I am open to other fish suggestions because I am lost from there. <Pick up Marine Fishes by Scott Michael>.  I was planning on getting much more live rock of course, and another thing I was wondering about was the possibility of getting corals and inverts that could live under my simple fluorescent lights? <Mushrooms may, but not much else.> Terribly sorry if my questions are boring or novice ones.
Thanks for the help,
Ryan
<Chris>

A Few Questions In General - 10/18/06
Hi, Like everyone I thoroughly enjoy reading your site I find it quite useful for beginners like myself.
<Hi and welcome to the obsession. I've been doing this for more years that I ever plan to admit lol.>
I do have a few questions though specific to my tank. I have a 90 gallon tank(3-4 months old) with about 100 lbs of live rock, as well as live sand and the following livestock:
1 Yellow Tang
1 Coral Beauty Angelfish
5 Damsels of various colors
1 Tomato Clown
1 Camel back Shrimp,1 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Serpent Star, 1 Sea Cuke, 1 Arrow Crab, 3 Emerald Crabs
A handful of Turbo Snails/Mexican Hermits
1 Feather Duster, 1 Rock Anemone, 1 Haitian Pink Tip Anemone
1 Toadstool Leather, 1 Chocolate Chip Star
A few Nassarius Snails/2 Conchs I believe fighting
Now that's being said do I have enough room to add any more fish?
<If you want to do large water changes every week or if you want to watch fish have problems then you can add more.  Seriously, I'm notorious for over adding fish and doing it way, way, way to quickly. But you have a very loaded tank and very quickly.  To  have added that many creatures that quickly they haven't had time to settle and adapt to their living quarters.  Obviously you had done a great job setting it up and taking care of it to this point.  I see some potential problems in the mix for you to watch for closely.  In my experience Chocolate Chip Star Fish can go predatory.  Meaning they can start attacking and eating other creatures.  To avoid problems make sure that they get some meaty foods. Shrimp or something along that line to feed on.  Your serpent star will appreciate it as well. >
If so would a blue tang or a Kole tang work? Also the cuke I bought last week to try to help clean up the brown film on the sand has been MIA since I bought it. Is this reason for concern? I was wondering if they bury themselves. From the reading I've done I heard that you don't want these dying in your tank.
<A lot of the cukes do bury themselves, I see mine every couple of months. He gets larger and smaller depending on the amount of foods they have to eat.>
I also have a question about Nitrates in general, that is the only problem I am having with my water. They hang around 20-40ppm. Is this ok or too high for the livestock I have?
<Nitrates are the byproduct of having a lot of creatures in the tank very quickly. Continue doing your water changes and let the tank settle down. I would suggest a period of at least six months of no additions.>
I just purchased and set up a skimmer to help with this. Should I bother with any of the Denitrifying filter media, or is that just a waste. I do 10% water changes once or twice a week.
<Personally I would do about 20% every week until the tank settles down. Some of the denitrifying material is great and will work amazingly. But overall you need to let your tank settle down, let your creatures find their space and see how they are going to work over the long term.>
Phosphates seem to be ok however I am getting a lot of brown/green algae growing. I have a 20 gal sump with a return pump. The water just runs through a filter sock and goes back up into the tank. I believe I have read that trickle filters like this can contribute to higher nitrate levels.  
<Trickle filters can contribute to higher nitrates but they can also provide higher oxygen levels which can assist the fish.  If you filter only goes though a filter sock and then into the sump where it goes back to the tank its not a true trickle filter and you should be fine.  If however, it goes over some type of filter media you eventually will need to find some ways to work around potential nitrate benefits. I personally used a refugium combined with a trickle filter and they balanced out beautifully.  Before I say another word, I want you to understand what a great job you are doing. Its wonderful that you are thinking and looking and realizing there are things you want to do to make your tank successful. I think if you want to let your tank settle and then reevaluate to determine what more you need for your tank in six months time you will have a wonderful system that will last you for a very long time.>
I do change the sock once a week. Any suggestions?...oh I just put the skimmer in the sump to help but the water coming from the outlet on the skimmer is splashing on-top of the return pump sending a lot of little air bubbles into the tank. Is this bad for the fish? I moved it around a little to minimize this but am still getting some.
<There are several things you can do, you might try raising the skimmer in the water or lowering it as well.>
Finally, I was worried about inadequate lighting and what I could put in my tank as far as anemones and corals go. I have an Odessea power compact with 2 65 watt 12000k daytime bulbs and 2 65 watt actinic blue lights with the 4 led moonlights. Is this sufficient for what I have. The Toadstools seems to be doing ok after 2 months. <I think they will be fine but I'm worried about the anemones. They are fine now but they will fad as time goes by.>
Again, thank you for all you do to help us readers. You help with the challenges of this addicting and expensive hobby. <Thank you for your kind words. I really do believe you have it together. Keep learning, keep studying and you'll go far in this obsession. Can't call it a hobby cause it really takes control. Good luck, MacL>

A Note Of Thanks/More Set-Up Questions ... reef op.    10/3/06
I have read many articles that generally answered my questions as I have them or let me know the problems that were coming.  I was reading your recommendation and set up 125 gal reef tank with a 30 gal sump (instead of a 20  gal tank with NO lighting).  I've put in 200 lbs of live rock with about 4  inch sand bed.  
<Mmm, do make sure you have plenty of critters to keep that sand bed stirred.>
I let the tank settle in for 6 months (adding no corals or  fish).  
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, nitrate is between 0 and 10, Salinity 1.024,  Calcium 350.
The lighting I have is 3 X 150 MH with 4 X 96 watt.
<Nice!>
It  is sitting 6 inches off the top of the tank.  The pump for the sump is  external but my temperature is in the tank is 84F,  (MH lights are  on 8 hours a day).  I feel the tank temperature needs to drop about 4  degrees so I have removed my glass canopy covers for evaporative cooling.   Was this the best decision or should I have installed a fan in the sump?
<I'd keep the glass covers on.  There are fish you may buy that are jumpers.  I'd consider incorporating a chiller into the system.  The fan will help some, but you
will have a pretty high rate of evaporation and higher humidity levels in your home.>
I've finally ordered my soft corals to start to work with, with the  lighting, at what height should I place the soft corals?
<Can really place anywhere.  I would limit the photoperiod to one hour initially,
and gradually increase by an hour per day to help prevent photo shock to the corals.>
Finally, I chose  this lighting system so that if I want to change at some time to some easier SPS  corals I could do this without any changes, was
I correct?
<Yes, should be fine.>
Finally, thanks  for everything!  I wouldn't have had the courage to do this without your  books and articles.
<A pleasure to read your query, and I applaud your patience.  It will definitely help you in this hobby, and thank you for the kind words.
Keep reading my friend.  James (Salty Dog)>
Sean Ward

Feeding Guidelines   10/2/06
You guys have been a true help for the beginner.  Everywhere I go I've tried 3 LFS's and all have differing opinions so I once again come to you guys for a more definitive answer.
<Glad to hear that! Scott F. here tonight!>
I've searched the website for rough guidelines on how
much food is enough for fishes.  I'm afraid I've been overfeeding.  I have a 30 gallon tank, 300 Biowheel power filter, Prism Protein skimmer, and a power compact light:
Inhabitants
2 False Perculas (about 1") each
1 Flame Angel (2")
1 Green Chromis (1") soon to be going back to the fish store due to concerns
of overstocking
2 Fire shrimp (2")
2 Peppermint shrimp (3/4")
1 Skunk Cleaner (3/4")
12-16 snails (top and Astrea)
1 small Open Brain
1 Fungia Plate Coral
1 Bubble Coral
Various polyps, Zoanthids, and other soft corals and Frogspawn
<A caution here- this is a pretty serious combination of noxious corals in a pretty confined space. Allelopathic issues will emerge, so be prepared to move some of these corals in due time.>
I've been giving the fish a pinch of flake food (Formula 1) twice a day they eat all of it within a few minutes except for various pieces that float to the bottom that are dispatched by my shrimp.  I also feed pieces of frozen silverside (finely minced to less that 1/4", I have been reading your site) to my
Open Brain, Bubble Coral, and Plate Coral 3-5 times a week.  I also feed the larger fire shrimp pieces of this fish at the same time.
<Good that everyone is gettin their fair share.>
I also dose with a mixture of DT's phytoplankton with Cyclop-eeze every other day (1 pump).  Just typing this all out makes me realize it's too much huh?
<Not in my opinion, actually. As long as the food is being consumed, this is not too much of a problem. Keep up regular water changes and stay at basic husbandry, and you can feed in good quantities.>
I know from some of your other answers there are many factors on how much food to feed them but I'm just looking for some general guidelines.
<To be honest, I think that you're doing fine. Better to keep you animals well fed, IMO. Too many of us tend to underfeed our animals in an attempt to keep our systems "nutrient poor." As long as you are doing frequent water changes, using chemical filtration media (i.e.; activated carbon or Poly Filter), and observing common sense husbandry rules, you should be fine.>
On a completely different topic I have a 750 gpm powerhead in the upper corner of my tank to agitate the surface and provide oxygenation and some current to my tank. Is this necessary, or should I move it too the bottom and provide more circulation and less aeration? I like the idea of agitating the surface.>
My fish and I thank you in advance.
Paul
<Glad to be of service! Regards, Scott F.>

White strand bacteria inside tank  9/15/06
Hello all,
   <Leslie>
  This is the first time I have written and read a zillion of your prior posts which are and have been my answers to all my questions for the last 4 years. Thanks...
  However, I just moved to Austin
<A great Texas town>
and brought my 1 1/2 year  29 gal sea horse tank along for the move. I read about moving everything, etc and followed directions etc.. even got into spousal disputes for stopping ever 30 min to check my water temps for the horses and sand and macro/fuge... anyways... arrived without any losses.
<Good>
  Upon setting up the system, I had 30% tank water and new water set aside, set everything up all looked good.
  Then.... 1 week after,,, fuge sand died, turned black, and a white film/white flowing strands of this stuff is all over the walls and began appearing in the fuge, tank, canister filter/ hoses,...
<Mmm, yes... highly likely residual decomposition event evidence>
I just wiped it off, cleaned up the fuge, new live sand I begged for, more macro.... again (within 1 week) the white slimy strands/ film grew almost like white strands blowing in the wind (water)... this time took it all apart again, replace canister filter with old one, took fuge apart, bleached everything that had this bacteria growing on it, replaced and set up... all was good for about 2 weeks,,,
  then the white film, wht strands, began appearing in the fuge again, then in the tank walls, and inside the canister filter/ tubes .... the fish/livestock are fine... this is inside the tank but it is not a fish bacteria issue.  HELP please.... I cannot keep changing out filter/fuge/everything every week.
  I was going to use MelaFix but held off because this is a tank issue not a fish issue..     please help I am exhausted !
  Leslie Wilson
  Austin Texas
<Mmm, unless "really stinky" (and or detectable ammonia, nitrite concentrations...), I would simply vacuum a bunch of this away weekly... allow all to settle in... Takes very little biological material to grow such fungus, moneran mass... But will clear in time. Bob Fenner>

Not Very Successful, no apostrophes? Small reef, mis- and over-stocked, about to crash  8/29/06
Hello.
I read your web page frequently. Ive had a 20 gallon saltwater aquarium for approx 10 months. Ive had many things occur that I wasnt prepared for. After battling everything thus far the tank has zero nitrates, zero ammonia, zero nitrites, low phosphates, never tested silicas, 350-400 calcium, 12 dKH, 8.2 ph, salinity 32, and temp stays at 78F. I change the water weekly with 20 percent DI water and Red Sea salt mix and Prime.
It has 65 watts of total light from two 20K with one actinic T5s and is of the shallow variety.
<?>
The lights are on for 10 hrs a day. I think I made a mistake in buying the SeaClone150 Skimmer.
<Fine for this small system>
Of course I only discovered that reading your web page AFTER I bought the thing. It doesnt really skim anything. Its better at making a protein layer on the surface that must be broken down! Which I do. Also an AquaClear hang on the back filter that has mechanical filter, carbon (in two weeks out 2 weeks), and poly fiber. Two 600 powerheads provide the current.
It has: toadstool, mushrooms, sun polyps, yellow polyps, brown polyps, frogspawn,
<A bunch of Cnidarian species for such a small tank>
feather duster, royal urchin, peppermint shrimp, brittle sea star, hermit crabs, snails, and amphipods. Ive had flatworms, eradicating them with FWE.  Unfortunately I found your site after I had set up the tank, so I made another  mistake of using crushed coral as the substrate, although it isnt deep. I have 21lbs of live rock.
I have a red slime issue. Mostly accumulates on the substrate in high current. Ive used the medication and followed the directions with no luck.
Slows it down, but it builds back up. Also hair algae. It doesnt grow tall on my live rock even though I can see a green hue on the rocks.
<These algae issues are thoroughly gone over on WWM>
It also mostly grows tall on the substrate and some small rocks.
It looks like the toadstool is synching its stem and receding from the bottom.
<Allelopathy...>
Its polyps go in and out and it changes shapes frequently.
The frogspawn recently started dropping arms and I noticed the skin around the branch was receded in slightly but still hanging on. That was a few days ago and it has ceased dropping arms and doesnt expand too much except for a big stinger from the middle. Im currently setting up a hospital tank.
<Not what's needed... see below>
I turned down the current around the frogspawn to none.
The snails are dying, they just stop moving. I put 8 in along with 4 hermit crabs to help with the algae. All the other creatures are fine.
<Mmm, not for long>
The mushrooms even multiply frequently, I see molts. The feather duster has also lost and regrown his feather twice, is that good or bad?
<Indicative>
I feed DTs every other day by using a baster and squirting the corals directly with no flow.
Also using  Reef Plus and Reef complete. What am I doing wrong here? Thanx!
-reefjunkee
<... Your too-small system is "aging", the incompatible life therein poisoning each other... You could/can do a few things... the route is up to you... Get a much larger system, add a refugium... take out some of the more noxious organisms... Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompfaqs.htm
and here: http://wetwebmedia.com/smmarsysstkgfaqs.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

Water Parameters and New Lights (Please reply) ... Dangerous Cnid. mix, troubles ahead... RMF feeling the need... the need to READ!  8/29/06
Hi Guys,
<And ladies here...>
I want to thank you all for sharing your wisdom and willingness to assist us via the web and emails.
<Welcome>
I use this service every time I have a question about my system and it never fails to address my concerns!
On with my diatribe.
Tank Specs
55 gallon system (standard 48x18x12)
<Mmm, used to be 13 inches outside...>
2x65watt 50/50 Current USA Satellite (Upgrading this week to 4x96watt 6000K/10000k <> Dual actinic 420/460)
40lbs. Live Rock
30 lbs. Live Sand
Fluval 304 (Carbon, Kent Phosphate Sponge, Bio-Max, Pre-filter)
SeaClone Skimmer
200 watt Submersible Heater
600gph Maxi-jet (Top Left corner blowing Low Right)
400gph Maxi-jet (Top Right corner blowing Low Left)
Corals (Common Names)
Red Mushrooms
Blue Mushrooms
10 Ricordeas
Orange Zoos
Green Zoos
Dark Green Zoos
Green Brain
Red Brain
Yellow Corky Finger Gorgonian
Blastomussa merleti
Orange Sponge
<Not easily kept>
Candy Cane
Coco Worm
Green Feather Worm
Golden Polyps
Sun Coral
Torch Coral
Hammer Coral
Waiving Xenia
Purple Tube Anemone
<A Cerianthus? Not compatible...>
Pink Carnation
<Really? Quite a mix of cnidarians>
Fish and Inverts: (Common Names. Assumes 1 of each unless otherwise
specified)
6-Line Japanese Wrasse
Green Coris Wrasse
Yellow Coris Wrasse
Carpenter Wrasse
Seabay Clown
Tomato Clown
Domino Damsel
Sailfin Tang
Rusty Angel
Cleaner Shrimp
Blood Shrimp
Sandsifter Starfish
Serpent Star
20 Blue Legged Hermits
10 Red Legged Hermits
10 Astrea Snails
3 Mexican Snails
Sally foot Crab
4 Emerald Crabs
Last Water Test (August 27th 2006)
Salinity: 1.024
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrite: 0.25 ppm
<These last two... should be zip>
Nitrate: 10 ppm
Calcium: 340 mg/L ppm
Alkalinity: 5 meq/L
Maintenance Schedule
Calcium: Daily
Iodine: Daily
<Mmm... would only add about once a week... or measure often>
Strontium: Every 4 days
<Likely unnecessary>
Essential Elements: Bi-Weekly
Reef Buffer: Weekly
Water Changes: Weekly on Saturdays (5 Gallons)
Siphoning: Weekly
Media Rinse: Weekly in old saltwater
Skimmer: All the time unless feeding
Water Tests: Twice Weekly (Once while illuminated and once while dark on separate days)
Media Exchange (Carbon-Monthly, Bio-Max-Quarterly, Pre-filter-Quarterly, Kent Phosphate Sponge-Weekly)
Feeding Schedule
Formula One Marine Pellet: Daily Seafood Cocktail: Every other day (I make this using the following ingredients and target feed corals)
Mysis Shrimp
Brine Shrimp
Cyclop-Eeze
Zooplex
Microvert
ChromaPlex
PhytoPlex
I have had this tank up and running for almost one year and have had a pretty good deal of success with very minimal deaths. All of which were early on! The Coralline Algae growth is beautiful and not overbearing as I've read it can be in some systems. I don't have many of the issues that I read about such as nasty hitchhikers, temperature spikes/drops, Cyano (Red Slime) but I do get the occasional brownish/orange algae on the sand bed. What algae is this and what will reduce it?
<Very likely mostly BGA/Cyanobacteria... see WWM re>
As good as things have been I still have a few issues that sprang up out of nowhere. Wouldn't you know it. the winds of change are upon me and recently I have been experiencing the fact that I cannot keep the water quality where I want it! Although the parameters NEVER exceed what you see listed above, they tend to hover around that same mark. I thought it may have been overstocking
<Is mostly... that/this and insufficient filtration>
issue but that was never an issue before and I have had these fish for over 6 months.
<They've grown... and your hard substrates have lost surface area and solubility>
My maintenance schedule is very regimented and I've always follow what was working for so long but I think that I need to add or remove some steps and/or additives because the parameters are just not quite right and may be contributing to some other issues. Can you please add some tips about what I written that may or may not be working for me based upon the specs I've listed above or below?
<Mmm, what you really need is a much larger system... with a sump/refugium... much more live rock...>
I recently read on your site that keeping Yellow Finger Gorgonian is not recommended. I was shocked to read this given the number of these that are being sold everywhere here in South Florida.
<Easy to collect nearby>
How sad that we are raping the sea of these beautiful creatures to put them to death this way. I was reluctant to buy this coral
<Mmm, not really a coral... a Sea Fan>
to begin with after my experience with a Purple Frilly Gorgonian dying but after I lost the first one and now am worried about losing the second, it is fair to say that again, you were definitely correct. These are not very easy to keep and I fear that may be impacting my water trying to feed this guy.  Reading that they are doomed to death was good to know but between him and the Carnation Coral (also struggling, I have spent a lot of time feeding recently and still cannot get positive results from these two. Are there any specific foods you would suggest and/or feeding schedule they should be on that are not already being fed?
<Mmm, you are doing very well to have kept these this long... likely in part due to the "insufficient filtration" along with your diligent efforts at feeding. Again... a refugium is the single best chance for improvement... along with larger quarters>
Additionally, I have some polyps (considered in the hobby as "easy to keep") that are starting to wither away also. Is this some sort of cyclical occurrence being that they are the oldest ones in the tank?
<To some extent... but more/mostly "succession"... with "winners" winning out over "losers" allelopathogenically>
I cannot pinpoint what the issue is but I am losing Brown Buttons Polyps and Star Polyps and cannot revive them either. My water parameters are not that "off" the desirable levels so it is even more difficult to pinpoint. The Torch, Mushrooms (still spreading like crazy), other newer Polyps, Brains, Blasto Merleti, and Sponge are doing really well and opening up quite nicely.
Do you have any suggestions about what the issues may be?
<Yes. Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompfaqs.htm>
Is it water related in your opinion or could lack of adequate lighting be an issue?
<Mmm, a few things... read the linked files above the above referent>
The lights in the current fixture are 50/50's and produce 130 watts but are about 11 months old. Could they have lost their effectiveness?
<To some extent>
Could it be lack of proper flow seeing that I use 600gph and 400gph Maxi-jet's only?
<Not nearly as important a factor as the size/volume, mix of organisms...>
I was thinking about increasing my flow by ditching the two lesser flow Maxi-Jet's and getting 3-1200gph Maxi Jet's instead with those rotating flow tips that simulate tidal changes...any suggestions about this?
<Mmm, I would not do this... too likely to have no discernible improvement...>
Note: I recently started using water from Glacier (you know, the Clear Blue 5 gallon drinking canisters) bought at a vending machine in my local grocery store to do water changes and mixing in the Instant Ocean salts. I did this instead of using my home water (home water was found it to be loaded with undesirables). Although the sign on the machine states that it is filtered RO/DI water, not kept in copper vats, UV sterilized, etc. coupled with the fact that all of the tests I ran on it came back favorably, I'm wondering if this water is a problem somehow. I am now considering using seawater collected from a local reef (about 10 miles off shore) and then sold at a very reputable dealer here in Florida even though the cost is considerably higher per gallon and they are located (as Shrek would say) "Far Far Away, Donkey!"
<... see WWM re this issue as well. Not suggested>
Do you have any suggestions about using seawater or any experience regarding the Glacier water? There is also an "oil" slick collecting at the top of the water and I don't have anything to break the surface and Maxi-jet's just aren't good for this. Should I employ a surface skimmer or some other agitator to better the gas exchange and could this be a contributing factor?
<All covered on WWM... the search tool, indices...>
Lastly, I just ordered 4x96 Orbit Power Compacts and am going to get rid of the 2x65 Satellite's. The new lights have been well reviewed by what I've read and I anticipate that they will be much better than the old lights.
<I predict they will likely bring about a crash in your system... You need to READ my friend... you have an extremely incompatible mix of life (the Cnidarians mostly)... and changing the light make up will shift too much too soon the metabolism of some over others... resulting in their poisoning the less favored...>
Those were good at keeping everything healthy and alive but nothing seemed to grow. By the same token, most of my corals have done fairly well with them so I'm a little scared to change. I don't have heat problems generally associated with hotter, higher wattage lighting units and have not needed a chiller as a result. Do you think that I may have heat issues now with the new lights?
<Almost assuredly>
How about the algae. will it be harder to control with stronger lights? Oh yeah, can I grow any SPS or clams so long as they are high in the tank?
<...>
I do realize that there will be an acclimation period for the corals to adjust to the new lighting but am not sure how to go about acclimation due to the fact that the tank is very meticulously "aquascaped" and corals have started growing on rocks that I cannot move without ruining the design. I absolutely care more about the fish and corals thank I do the rock formation but it was a PITA to do it this way and I really don't want to take it down if at all possible in fear that I can never get it back this way. Are there any other methods to acclimate the tank to the new lighting without having to move too many corals or depriving them of the amount of light they need in a given day? Will reducing the number of hours per day the lights are on for a period of time allow the corals adjust and if so, will you  please offer any tips about how long I should run my new lamps and in what intervals. Also, please note which corals should be moved or shaded. I don't want to shock my critters or corals by almost quadrupling their lighting overnight. Do you have any recommendations about how to proceed with this upgrade?
Thank you so much for your assistance!!!
Regards,
Gerald V. Catalano
<Have just skipped down... Please... read... Bob Fenner>

Re: Water Parameters and New Lights   8/30/06
Hi Bob and Crew,
Thank you for replying to my questions so soon and for the time to read my lengthy emails! You provided some very good information that I will take to heart to make the necessary changes to better the environment for my inhabitants. After rereading your email, I feel that you were under the impression that I don't read prior to stocking my tank. FYI: I read about aquaria daily and yet, I'm still a bit confused about what I can and cannot keep together with certain Cnidarians and the site doesn't address every topic specific to the exact mix of inhabitants I keep.
<Most mixes of Classes of stinging-celled animals are problematic... some much more than others>
I understood your reply and agree with the logic, however, I have seen the same species I keep (in other 'variety" tanks) together many times so I never assumed I was making any "overly" critical mistakes and therefore didn't ever suspect there would be an issue keeping them together. Your site taught me to stay away from Leathers because of what I keep but I never realized I would be dealing with fighting Mushrooms and Zoos because of the fact that I've seen them together in so many reef tanks in much closer proximity to each other than what I maintain.
<There are many generally useful statements that can be made on this subject... starting with smaller colonies, placing "losers" ahead of "winners", very regular maintenance, water changes, use of chemical filtrants... all help>
Wouldn't separating types of Cnidarians onto different sides of the tank (mushrooms on one side - zoos on the other or something like that) assist in reducing the hostility towards each other or will they still try to compete even from the greater distances?
<... please read where you were referred...>
Initially I placed these specimens into my current setup without separating them that much, therefore, competition is certainly probable as you suggested. I am looking for ways to work with what I have and would really appreciate your advice. The more I see the mushrooms growing (especially the Blue ones) the more I see the nearby (appx. 6 inches) Zoos withering.
Note: I moved the Zoos out of the water flow of the mushrooms and ALREADY, they are opening back up!
<Ah, good>
Now that you have made me aware of these facts, I have looked at the FAQ on your site and read many other articles to see where I may have done better with my selections. I am now carefully deciding what steps to take to better the system and am now VERY unclear as to what I need to do with regards to adding a refugium as you suggested. The simplicity of the Fluval was a huge factor in why I chose a canister filter to begin with not to mention that the other alternatives are significantly more involved.
<Mmm, agreed... though not hard... taken a step at a time>
What suggestions (names of products etc.) do you have with regards to the gear that I should invest into to get my system changed over from a Fluval to a Wet/Dry with a Refugium?
<Posted>
I am really not too thrilled about this suggestion (I knew it was inevitable but the cost is significant) but I do want the best for the tank and will make provisions to do whatever is required for their health...I just don't know anything about any other filtration besides HOB. I know...I know...I am reading my tail off but specific tips would certainly be helpful!!!
<Keep reading... tis all there>
I really cannot afford to upgrade the filtration at this time as you suggested and getting larger quarters is not really realistic either because of the placement of the system (in a wall) so what can I do in the interim to simulate the refugium's benefits, if anything at all?
Should I move some the fish or the corals?
<I would...>
I do have 2 other smaller systems operating that are very lightly stocked FOWLR tanks (a 10gallon and a 5 gallon)
<Too small...>
and are more accessible. Perhaps I can move some of the inhabitants into those...what do you think; do you have any suggestions regarding which ones you would move from the 55gallon tank if any?
<Read...>
My new lights arrived today and I was so upset to read that you think my tank will crash if I use them. I have not installed them out of fear! What made you suspect that this may become the case and isn't acclimating the tank to the lights done to prevent the corals from experiencing light shock?
Doesn't this reduce the risk of shifting their metabolisms thus reducing the chemicals they produce to protect themselves (among other obvious benefits)?
I would appreciate some clarification on your previous comment.
Lastly, you helped me realize that I need more live rock because I have exhausted the surface area/solubility of the hard substrates. I have around 20 lbs. in other tanks that I can drop in the main system. Is 60lbs. of live rock enough or should I push for 80 or better?
With kindest regards,
Gerald V. Catalano
<Whatever will fit that looks good to you. Bob Fenner>

Start Up Problems...Mixed bag   8/3/06
I am about 5-6 months into my first marine aquarium.  Being very conscientious of what to do and how to do it I took 2-3 months to educate myself on marine aquariums before starting.
<A good start.>
I decided to purchase a 55 gallon tank with 75lbs of live rock and Aragonite Substrate (with interest in a few corals and anemones to come later).
<Do not mix corals with anemones, especially in a smaller tank.>
I'm currently using a Fluval 305 canister filter with crushed live rock (idea from another aquarist), Chemi-pure and poly filter as media.  Other components include a heater, 1xMaxi-Jet 900 Powerhead and a SeaClone 100 "hang-on" Protein Skimmer (which I'm considering updating to a Turboflotor Multi 1000,
<Consider the Aqua C Remora also.>
mainly due to advice that my current skimmer is not up to par).
My current light fixture is a Nova Extreme T-5 which consists of SlimPaq 460nm Actinic and 10000°K T-5 HO lamps (216w all together).
Being 5-6 months in I am now starting to run into complications.  I am having a serious issue with green hair algae, possibly due to overfeeding which I have considerably cut down on the last 2 weeks.
<Will definitely lead to nuisance algae growth.>
I recently (2 weeks ago) had an incident with going on vacation and having a family member feed my fish which resulted in the unnoticed unplugging of my protein skimmer which stayed off for 3-4 days until my return and I have been losing / having trouble with fish since.
<Not uncommon with those pesky family members.>
Those that remain (3 green Chromis, 2 False Percula Clowns, 1 Banggai Cardinal (lost 1), 1 Neon Goby (lost 1), and a lawnmower blenny) seem to be doing fine with exception to the clowns.
After a week and a half back, one has turned extremely aggressive/dominant towards the other (never has before)
<Can/does happen.>
and both seem to be having seizures (the aggressive one more than the other).
<Unlikely a seizure, aggressive behavior can include shuddering, if that is what you are seeing.>
It seems that my tank has taken a complete down-hill turn since returning from my vacation and I'm wondering on how to better my situation.
What do you suggest I add or change about my current setup that would benefit my tank?  I've been told that maybe the addition of a sump would help my situation all around but my current cabinet would not be adequate for that.  I'm contemplating different options and if my fish continue to die I may consider starting over all together.  With me being new to the aquarium hobbyist world I guess one would have to say "you live and you learn".
<More learning here. First, do not buy anymore fish until you get the situation under control.  I would seriously think about upgrading the skimmer.  I've posted three links you can read to help you out.  Do read related links on these pages also.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/marineMaint.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nutrientcontrol.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i1/protein_skimmer_impressions.htm>
Thanks for the all the help!
<You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)>
Brent

Reef Disaster...Gamble Didn't Pay Off - 07/29/06
I'm kind of hoping Anthony Calfo can reply to this, but I'll take any help you guys can offer.  
<<I'm afraid our friend Anthony no longer fields queries on this site...has moved on to other endeavors.  Let's hope I can be of some service>>
I've officially got a disaster on my hands.  I need to make some tough decisions.  Here's what happened.  My reef tank is four years old.  For the most part it has done extremely well over the last three years.  Amazing amounts of coral growth in this tank over the last 3 years.   I could go into details about the tank, but honestly it really doesn't matter at this point.
<<...?>>
I went on vacation for a week and as I always do I left my tank with a very slow drip feeding it RO water.
<<As in, nothing to "meter" the water?...dangerous…>>
It evaporates about 2 gallons a day so a slow drip doesn't keep it completely topped off, but it does replace most of the evaporated water.
<<Understood...but still risky.  As with topping-up with a Kalkwasser drip, it is best to feed the water from a container of limited volume to lessen damage from an "accidental" over-fill, this usually means a container of no more than a few gallons.  Obviously this doesn't work in your situation where you're absent for an extended period...which is where a well designed, reliable top-off device excels>>
It has always been close enough.
<<I'm getting a feeling this time it wasn't...>>
I've done this many times on vacation and it has always worked out all right.
<<Russian Roulette>>
This time it didn't!  I'm not sure what happened, but it was obviously feeding water a lot faster than I thought this time.  Long story short...I came home to a freshwater tank and a very wet floor.
<<Yikes!>>
It smelled pretty bad!  It smelled bad enough in the house that my kids started crying.  My wife wasn't real happy either!
<<I can imagine...>>
Amazingly she's letting me keep the tank!
<<Yay!>>
So obviously most everything in the tank died.
<<Yes...sorry to hear>>
All my mushrooms, polyps, xenia, and SPS corals are dead.  Surprisingly the fish survived... as well as several snails and crabs.
<<Can be amazingly resilient to "gradual" change>>
My dilemma is whether I should trash everything in the tank and start all over with new live rock and substrate or should I actually try to salvage the existing rock and substrate.
<<Can be salvaged with a good scrub/curing...but will never be as before.  Best to treat as introduced dead/dry rock, in my opinion>>
I already totally disassembled the tank.   Scrubbed all the live rock in clean salt water to get all the dead mushrooms, polyps, etc. off the rock...no use in leaving them there to rot!
<<Much in agreement>>
I cleaned the substrate in fresh saltwater and then set the whole tank back up with fresh saltwater.  The protein skimmer has been filling all the way up every day.
<<Much dead biota "deep in the rock" that could not be scrubbed away.  The rock is curing, though it will be devoid of much of the living biota that cured fresh rock would retain>>
It seems to be doing its job better than ever before.
<<Much more for it to process at the moment>>
The smell is gone!
<<What of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?>>
Surprisingly I already have pink and purple coralline algae growing on the rocks again, so I am assuming that if the coralline algae survived then a lot of other life survived in that rock as well.
<<Don't think I would make that assumption..."some" life may have survived, but I would consider this rock as "severely damaged">>
It has only been 7 days since the disaster.
<<I would cure this rock another three weeks, testing the water as you go, before trying to re-introduce any macro-organisms>>
Not surprisingly, I've got some green and brown algae growth too, but it actually appears to be going away slowly.
<<Normal algae succession...the tank is cycling>>
Should I try to make this work or is this a battle not worth fighting?
<<Up to you mate.  The rock can be cured, the tank re-cycled, but much if not all emergent life from the rock will be gone>>
Here is what I am thinking.   Keep doing water changes and let that protein skimmer do its job for several weeks and then add some GARF grunge to add all the little critters back to the tank.   Wait till the rocks start looking pink and purple and then try growing some coral again.   Is this just wishful thinking?  Will this work?
<<Is plausible, yes.  But rather than the GARF product, I suggest changing out about half the rock for "new" rock.  Preferably sooner than later to let it cure with the rest>>
I just don't want to waste my time if this is a doomed tank now.
<<Not "doomed" at all my friend...just not as "diverse" as it was/could be without the addition of new live rock>>
Am I better off trashing everything and ordering some new live rock and substrate?
<<Would be "better", yes...but not an absolute necessity>>
Jeff Hutcherson    
<<Regards, Eric Russell>>

Throwing In The Tower...TKO... reef maint... gone awry 7/18/06
Dear Mr. Fenner & Crew,
<Jim>
I have a 90 gallon reef tank set up for approximately 3 1/2 years. The tank went from a pristine aquarium to a algae infested swamp land. I researched and have tried everything over the course of the last 6 months. Aggressive protein skimming, more current, poly filters, 5 stage RO/DI unit, carbon, dripping Kalkwasser to raise my PH, water changes and testing every week. But I believe now it is time to throw in the towel.
<Is a reason for this to happen...maybe not enough investigating.>
My question is would you suggest bleaching my live rock for possible future use to remove all the hair and bubble algae. I would like to store it and possibly use it down the line if I can muster up the courage to start over. Of course I realize I would be starting off with dead base rock that would to be seeded with some pieces of quality live rock.
<Wouldn't use bleach.  Lay them out in the sun for a couple of weeks, then scrub with a stiff brush and rinse.>
Thanks again for all your help through out the years.
<Thank you, James (Salty Dog)> <<See my comments under "Live Rock" re the utility of occasionally adding to, switching this out after a year or so. RMF>>

Help - high pH and algae growing ... BGA linked events    7/13/06
Good Morning -
<Oh yes!>
I have a 60 gallon aquarium with a 4" - 5" deep sand bed.  I have several soft corals, a couple hard corals and three fish (a coral
beauty, a clown fish and a bi-color Pseudochromis).  I did a water change last Saturday - about 35% - using a mixture of Marine Environment
dual phase salt.  I have used it for the past few years and am very pleased with its quality.  Anyway, I had gotten behind on water changes
and made a larger than usual change - 35 rather than 25% -
<Can be dangerous...>
to clean things up.  Mid-week after the water change our large serpent star through his legs and died and we then our peppermint shrimp died yesterday.  
<Oh oh>
I am fighting a brown algae bloom (it is stringy and slimy-like - collects in my hang-on protein skimmer) and our pH measures higher than 8.5 while the nitrite, ammonia and nitrate all measure okay.
Does the sand "go band" or become septic?
<... Mmm, no... but conditions can...>
Will another water change help?
Thanks,
Barry Brown
<Mmm, possibly... marginally... What you have is a "classical" Cyanobacteria/BGA (comes in all colors) entrenched system/syndrome... with this noxious material changing the tank for its own use... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm
and the linked files above... Do you see the rationale of what is going on here? Understand the various avenues to "re-center" your system? How will you go about this? Changing out, adding LR? Adding a live sump, macro-algae for competition? Many roads... can be taken apart, together... which will you choose? Bob Fenner>

Understanding Cyanobacteria     7/10/06
I have big problem going on in my 40gal reef tank. I has been up and running for over a year all the parameters are good. salinity is 1.024. I do have problem with red algae all over the sand bed but that is not the biggest problem.
<Cyano/BGA... from... nutrient availability? Dearth of filtration, lack of maintenance?>
We decided to add some sea stars and they seemed to do alright and after a few days their arms stated falling off they blew up and died. any suggestion on what we should do as we have one left and don't want to see him suffer.
<... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

RDP vs. unlit Fuge/Chaeto vs. Gracilaria and DSB maintenance... Reef maint. f'  6/20/06
Crew,
<Marc>
First, as always thanks for the great support.  I can honestly say that taking your advice last year in setting up my reef has made me the envy of all of my reefkeeping buddies.
<Congrats!>
  That being said, I've recently started adding to the tank and need your sage advice once again.
I recently added a Pseudopterygorgia bipinnata to my tank and within 5 days the polyps stopped coming out and appeared to be covered in some type of
growth.  I used a turkey baster to clean off the branches, and like magic the polyps came back out.
<Ah, good>
Since I have redirected some water flow onto it and it has seemed to recover.  However, that made me question a few things.
My setup is as follows:
-72gal Bowfront, 100 lbs of LR. 45 gal sump with a 10 gal section setup as a fuge on RDP with Chaeto and a 7"DSB.  A separate 20gal high unlit fuge with
8" DSB (all sugar fine).  Euroreef skimmer (180gal).  I have my sump return on 1 Sea Swirl, and a closed loop on a second for my circulation. Water is
5-stage RO/DI with a silica remover.
-2 false percula, 1 hippo tang, 1 Foxface, 1 orchid Dottyback, 2 cleaner shrimp, & 2 really big serpent stars (very LOW load)
-Mixed corals, that all seem to do pretty well.  Xenia that grows so much the LFS won't take anymore from me, stag coral that is growing beautifully,
hairy mushrooms that cover 3 times the surface area (now about 14" in diameter) as when I originally got them.  A variety of other small colonies
of polyps, mushrooms, encrusting corals, and a crocea.  
-Test monthly now: PH 8.2 always, Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate zero.  Calcium kept at or slightly above 400.  
-Dose small amounts of B-ionic 2 part daily (test weekly) and have a stable PH and temp.  Use Marine Tropic pro salt.
<Nice gear, good maintenance>
-I feed small quantities of flake food 2 times a day and frozen foods a few times a week.  From time to time a phytoplankton like DTs and the occasional
Nori for the tank and Foxface.
The 2 problems that I have decided to tackle as a result of the near death of my Gorgonia are:
1) I have lots of algae growth on my glass (brown in color, likely diatoms), and it requires cleaning at least every other day.  This sometimes spreads
to the sand.  This is what I believe settled onto my bipinnata.
<Possibly... more circulation, perhaps adding a bit of activated carbon to your filter flow path should solve this>
2) Though my coralline grows great on the glass, it has never really grabbed hold on the rocks in the way I suspected it should.
<What is your alkalinity? Need this to be high and stable along with biomineral content for coralline growth>
My questions are:
1) I was considering switching the 2 fuges, and making the 10 gal section an unlit fuge, and turning the 20 gal into the fuge with the Chaeto.  Is it a
problem to take currently lit fuge and make it unlit and vice versa?
<No... some short transition adjustment time, effects, but no biggee>
2) Having both lit and using Gracilaria in the 20 gal, or maybe just pulling the Chaeto from the 10 and swapping it for Gracilaria (which I can then feed
to my tang and Rabbitfish).  Part of this is that my Chaeto grows so thick it can really move. Am I going to loose some positive effect by dropping the unlit fuge?
<Mmm, not much. Likely undetectable>
3) Finally, in the unlit fuge, some of the sand is getting clumpy.  I have a few Nassarius in the unlit fuge to stir it and about every 3 months gently
stir the top of the sand bed.  Am I doing something wrong on this DSB or is that the right maintenance?
<About right>
Maybe I'm trying to much to achieve perfection, but I am finally consider a new fish or two, but until I get the algae stable and figure out why a
system built with this much capacity for waste load is still getting algae growing on the glass I'm reluctant to add additional load to it.
Thanks again!
<Your cautious approach is worthy. Bob Fenner>

New tank startup 6/18/06 reef maint. f'
Hello from North Carolina
<Hello from Chicago.>
I have spent the last month and several hours on your site and all I can say is WOW !!!   This is a great site for help and getting information and opinions, which is why I am here.  On the plus side everyone seems friendly. <Usually, I think Bob is secretly medicating all of us.>
We are just getting started and I think we are on the right track I hope.  <It’s a great hobby, although frustrating at times.>
I am unsure what information you need but here is what we have so far:
55 gallon glass tank
I use tap water and I use Tetra Aqua Safe
(No big LFS close I live near the Outer Banks you would think there would be tons of them)
<Tough business, but at least you get to live in a beautiful place.>
I use Instant Ocean Salt Mix
I do use ph8.2
Millennium 3000 Power Filter
Penguin 170 Bio Wheel
Aqua Tech Power Head ( 170 gph)
I plan on going to Wal Mart on Tuesday and get another one
I ordered a Sea Clone 100 Protein Skimmer - it will be here Wed  <Has a poor reputation at best, may want to get something a little more reliable.  May want more than one powerhead, looking for 10X/hour water turnover.>
I use the Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit from API
I ordered a Calcium and Iodine Test Kit  <Might want to get a Phosphate test as well.>
I am unsure of the brand of heater  -  300w
I am using the regular 18 inch 15w All Aquarium Florescent Lights (2) that came with the aquarium.
I ordered the 18 inch 15w Full Spectrum Aqua Ray bulbs
Umm not sure what else you need to know on the mechanicals
We have  1  1/2   inch of sugar fine oolite sand
I received 20 lbs of uncured Caribbean (Haitian) live rock from e tropicals 8 days ago. It was wrapped in damp newspaper -48 hrs shipping- nice pieces and hardly any rubble - it was still damp.
When I received it, I rinsed it off  (in treated saltwater - not plain tap water) scrubbed it, rinsed it and put it in my tank ( on top of the sand ) which had been set up for a week empty, wanting to use the rock to cycle my aquarium instead of Mollies, Damsels, Clowns, etc.....
<Excellent, off to a good start.  And also appreciate the complete rundown of the tank, makes helping much easier.>
All water parameters BEFORE I put rock in were:
Ammonia 0
Nitrite      0
Nitrate    0
Specific Gravity 1.022
Temp        78
ph            8.2
<Expected.>
Ok after telling you all this and pinching you to wake you up - my question is after putting rock in tank :
My water parameters were for 5 days were:
Ammonia   . 25
Nitrate    0 <Nitrite I'm assuming>
Nitrate    0
SG    1.022    
Temp   78
ph      8.2
Friday my water parameters were:
Ammonia    .50
Nitrite         0
Nitrate        0
SG     1.022
Temp      78
ph 8.2
Saturday they were:
Ammonia    . 25
Nitrite           1.0
Nitrate           0
SG            1.022
Temp            78
ph               8.2
Today they are:
Ammonia    .25
Nitrite          0
Nitrate         0
SG            1.022
Temp            78
ph                8.2
Light are off during the day and maybe for a couple hours at night.
Do I need to add Bio-zyme or a shrimp? I got one at the fish market and put it in the freezer in case I need it. I will not tell you the strange look I got when I asked for one shrimp - they gave it to me.
<Should be fine with just the live rock.>
Do you have any idea of what is going on? I do not believe the tank has cycled since I have had no Nitrate readings.
<Not yet.>
I plan on doing a 6 gal water change every 4 days, is that ok? e - tropical's said a 50% water change twice a week - , but that would defeat the cycle process?  <Would hamper it a bit, but still would eventually happen.>
I believe I read on your web site that cycling can take from 4 to 8 weeks. <Yep>
We plan on just having a few fish, the live rock, and a clean up crew
Does this type of rock usually have "critters" that will venture out in the next few weeks? We have not seen anything and I sneak out and grab the flashlight at 2 am to see if anything is going on knowing that it is too early.
<Mostly likely, just takes some time for the population to rebound.  By the time the tank is ready for fish you should see some neat stuff.>
My fiancée said that if we cannot get this going we are going to have a 55 gal plant garden LOL LOL LOL
<What fun is that??
I would appreciate your thoughts and from the looks of your site ya'll are busy answering emails 24/7
Thank You
Kathleen
<Sounds like you are on the right track.  If the fiancée get impatient I recommend a beer and a ball game, works every time.>
<Chris>

Any ideas what this is ? SW "Green Dust"    6/14/06
greetings and salutations, your site is an encyclopedia of knowledge I use it anytime I need a question answered, well I can't seem to find an answer for this one.
I have a 30g reef that has been chugging along for about 8 months now everyone is happy and healthy. I have noticed of late a "dust" covering all of the live rock and base rock..... its a khaki green color if you will. doesn't appear to be algae as it isn't stuck to the rock per se, more like piling up on it. I have been using a turkey baster to blow it off of the rocks daily, and changing the positions of my power head semi daily, to keep it suspended in the water and filtered. what if anything should I do ?
<Keep blasting, filtering, siphoning it away...>
If I had to guess what this is, I would say its the waste that my flame scallop ( I know, one of my first purchases but he is doing well) seems to expel once in a while. I know without pictures it may be hard for you to identify but, what would be your educated guess ?
<Mmm, could be a reproductive or waste product... and even a non-sticky algae of some sort/species. Likely transient... I would continue to manually remove it, or add some/good deal more "chaotic" water movement (a rotating powerhead/mechanism perhaps). Bob Fenner>

Dirty Sand 6/5/06
I have a brown red film that will go away at night and comes in about 2 hrs after the lights come on. What would be causing this? Is it the lighting I am using. I have a power compact 260 watt with 2 actinic blue and 2 12k lights?
<Most likely Cyanobacteria, a photosynthetic bacteria.  Can indicate a nitrate or phosphate problem.  Also common in new tanks and will often cycle out after a while with no action needed.>
<Chris>

Vacuuming Substrate, Algae, Dead Fish, LFS Water Testing - 05/30/06
Hi crew,
<<Hello!>>
Ok, I have read all the vacuuming FAQ's and still have no definitive answer to the question of whether I should be vacuuming the substrate in my 46 gallon reef tank.
<<My preference is to NOT vacuum the substrate in reef setups...many beneficial organisms will be destroyed/removed.  If your substrate is of a fine material and you have good strong flow it should be of little concern as detritus should stay in suspension long enough to either be eaten, or removed by your filtration system>>
It is brownish on top and I have a sand sifter goby that works his buns off (although he does dump his sifted sand on my live rock mostly, I hate that), also various crabs and snails.
<<I know what you mean about the goby "crop dusting" your rock/corals...is typical of many of the "Sleeper" variety (Valenciennea sp.).  I can suggest you try a Dragon goby (Amblygobius phalaena).  In my experience these gobies will usually not sift/dig so deep as the sleeper gobies, and tend to stay lower/closer to the substrate while sifting meaning less "fallout" on your rock/corals>>
I don't know what kind of snails but I am pretty sure they aren't Astreas since I couldn't find any to buy.  I also have a considerable amount of "Green Algae" that I think is hair algae.
<<Hmm...do you filter all your top-off/salt make up water?>>
I have a good skimmer that works well, my water parameters are
as follows:  Salinity 1.021 to 1.023,
<<I would raise this to NSW levels of 1.025/1.026>>
Temp 79-80, Ammonia-0, Ph 8.2, Calcium 470,
<<You're flirting with the upper limits here...I would let this fall to about 400ppm>>
Alk 3.5, Nitrite and Nitrate-0, Phosphate reads 0 but I wonder if the algae isn't taking it up so it doesn't show on the test.
<<A possibility.  Perhaps you can add some Poly-Filter to your filter flow path?>>>>
My normal water change regimen consists of 5% twice a week and I only use RO/DI from the LFS for top off and prepared salt water from the LFS for changes.
<<Mmm, a couple thoughts here.  Change your regimen to one 10% change per week, or even a 20% water change every two weeks...more effective than the tiny frequent changes in my opinion.  Also, test the water (both fresh and salt) you are getting from the LFS.  I'm not suggesting they are doing anything wrong, but YOU need to be confident this water is not causing you any problems>>  
My bio-load is small just the goby, a lawn-mower blenny (that isn't mowing much), a shrimp and a frogspawn coral.  I had other fish but over the past three months they have all died mysterious deaths but that is another email I guess.
<<This would seem to indicate more than just an algae problem>>
In case you are interested they were two clowns (died at different
times), a royal Gramma, a yellow tang and a six lined wrasse, all died about a week to two weeks apart.  No clue from the two LFS (they also tested my water several times and always pronounced it wonderful) I use on why because my water parameters are stable at what you see above except the alk gets a little low from time to time.
<<Still, all those fish dying means something was/is poisoning your system.  The low alkalinity is likely due to the extremely high calcium...the two are generally considered mutually exclusive, I'm surprised neither LFS has said anything to you regarding this.  Please do some reading here and among the indices in blue at the top of the page: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/alkalinity.htm >>
The two clowns looked a little like they had developed HLLE but were eating Mysis shrimp and Cyclop-eeze with garlic drops and Selcon almost up until the end.  The others looked perfectly
healthy, just slowly got listless and died, no spots, etc.  If you do have any ideas I would be interested to know them.
<<As stated, it sounds like some environmental/poisoning event...might even be the fish were "damaged" when you acquired them...do you employ any chemical filtration (carbon/Poly-Filter)?>>
So I am waiting a few weeks to try to add more victims and in the meantime am trying to take this time to get the tank and rocks as pristine as I can.  So I think I am doing everything right except I don't vacuum the gravel because my LFS has told me not to.
<<I am inclined to agree>>
He says the goby should do the job.  He apparently needs help.
<<Perhaps the substrate is too "course" for the goby>>
Should I be vacuuming the gravel or not.
<<If this is a shallow substrate (less than an inch) of course material then yes, you can go ahead a lightly vacuum during water changes...if this is a fine substrate, if you have a DSB, then no, I wouldn't vacuum, it is not necessary in the first instance, and is not desirable in the second>>
Thanks for your help then, now and in the future.
Debi
<<Debi, all things considered, I strongly recommend you get some test kits of your own and test the water you use from the LFS...if for nothing else but your own peace of mind.  Regards, EricR>>

Vacuuming Substrate, Algae, Dead Fish, LFS Water Testing II - 05/30/06
Eric,
<<Debi>>
Thanks for your reply and in answer to your questions 1) No, I don't filter the water I get from the LFS as I assume they are doing that.
<<One would think...>>
I have however since this started began to get my water from a different one than the first and the story is the same.
<<Still worthwhile to test this water yourself>>
2) The substrate is about an inch and is very fine.
<<Should not need to be vacuumed then...assuming good water flow within the tank>>
The goby doesn't seem to have a problem sifting it, it is just that the top is brown (could this be algae too?)
<<Yes>>
and always looks dirty and although I have the skimmer, and two power heads, one a Seio 600 or 650 whichever it is and one an Aqua Jet 600 the junk that does end up on the bottom doesn't suspend much if at all.
<<...?>>
I tried recently adding an AJ400 to close to the bottom to move that more but it seems to heat the tank up too much.  I try to keep it at 79-80 and it was heating to 81 with the new power head.
<<This is not too "hot" in my opinion>>
I live in a very hot area of the country and although I have literally several tons of air conditioning the tank still seems to be affected by the warmer weather and moves up from 79 to 80 without the additional power head.
<<Indeed...I am in South Carolina and understand well the temperature issues of hot weather.  Perhaps you could position a small fan to blow across the water at the surface of the tank for some evaporative cooling>>
It stayed at 79 until the weather warmed up.  I didn't really want it to vary by more than a degree so I unplugged the third power head.  3) I have lots of testing equipment and the test results I quoted are mine with confirmations from the two LFS.  So I tend to think they are correct.  That would make three opinions on the accuracy.
<<Understood...but my concern is the test values of the water BEFORE it is added to your tank>>
4)  Yes I have tried running carbon and/or Poly-Filter (one and both at different times) in a hang-on back power filter and didn't see any change in the fish’s longevity so I am no longer doing that.  
<<Troubling remarks...but most any system will benefit from continuous use of these medias>>
On the calcium level I have read about alkalinity and calcium until my eyes cross, but I don't know what to do about the high number as I don't supplement the calcium it is just that way and doesn't seem to come down much at all.
<<Then either your make up water or your test kits are suspect>>
Do you know how to lower it; would adding buffer alone like from the number one bottle of B-ionic and not the calcium?
<<No, don't do this.  The calcium should fall on its own/return to balance from the water changes...unless your LFS is "spiking" the water you purchase there>>
I bought some of that a while back thinking I would need it, but never did, so I haven't used it, only the buffer part, except a couple of times to try to raise the alkalinity.
<<In your system, with the livestock you have listed, water changes alone should handle replenishment/balancing of your trace/mineral elements easily...something doesn't make sense here>>
I did not know if this was good to use just that one buffer part so I discontinued that.
<<Good, as just stated, water changes should easily handle your tank's needs re>>
So far as the water changes I would love to change less often, I have started the twice a week regimen in order to maybe find out what my problem was with dying fish thinking maybe that would be better.  As I read this site there seem to be various opinions on what should be done on that.
<<Agreed...and on much everything else as well <grin> >>
I too have thought of something poisoning the fish but have no clue why the goby hasn't been poisoned yet if that is it.
<<Any common denominators among the fish that perished?>>
The blenny hasn't been with me very long so I am not sure what he will do. If he isn't eating the algae that I think is hair algae does that mean it is something different and he won't eat it or is he that picky?
<<Many of the fish (and other organisms too!) we acquire as "biological controls" turn out to be something less than expected due to individual/behavioral differences...often brought about by captive life.  Chances are a different blenny would clean up the algae...or not...>>
That's all I can think of for now, thanks for your help.
Debi
<<Still think you need to test the water from the LFS...and review in your mind/try to link any "happenings" around the time of your fish deaths.  Regards, EricR>>

Help! Tubiculous polychaete spunk   5/28/06
Dear Crew:
<CS>
I think I really hurt my reef tank today.  Over the last six months, my uncovered sump had collected a large amount a detritus (or dust, debris, etc) in the bottom.
<"Cleanliness is not sterility"...>
Every time I'd move the skimmer or return pump a lot of this stuff would get blasted into the tank. So today a rigged a second pump to pump water through a second filter sock, and back into the sump in order to clear most of it out.  When I stepped away, the tube fell out of the sump, practically emptying the sump.  Since I could not get to my LFS to buy more RO/DI water, I had to use distilled.  I shut off the return, filled the sump with about 5 gallons of distilled, and then salted and buffered the water.  I kept checking PH readings, which were about 8.6-8.8 (I know, really high).  Anyway, without any other alternative, I finally started the return pump, and when the
distilled went into the tank, it clouded up significantly.  My feather dusters feathers went really skinny, and then it released a milky white string-like substance.  What is this stuff?
<Spoogee... Uhh, reproductive products. "There's trouble captain, what do we do...? Abandon all tubes!">
  And have I severely damaged my tank?
<Mmm, maybe... but hopefully not too much>
Many thanks.  I hope someone can respond in time to save my tank.
Chris
<The eggs, sperm here will be eaten, taken out by skimming et al... Likely no worries. Bob Fenner>

The Fish Whisperer - 05/18/06
Hello to all at WWM!
<<Hello!>>
I have a dumb question.
<<Never!>>
Well perhaps not a dumb one, but one you may not be able to answer.
<<Mmm...does that make me dumb? <grin> >>
Unless someone has the title of fish whisperer!
<<Rut Roh>>
I had a rusty angel fish in a 50 gallon tank for the past 4 years.  He was so fat and healthy, king of the tank.
<<I'll bet>>
Monday night, he jumped out and died.
<<...!>>
Therein lies my question, what would cause a fish to jump after so many years without incident?  No new livestock has been added
in the past year, and the only other inhabitants are a bicolor blenny, two black clownfish, and a yellow wrasse.  Ammonia, nitrites are 0.  Nitrates are 5ppm.  I tested after I found him, thinking that my water quality had gone down the toilet and that's what caused it.  I am at a loss right now.  He was the bully, so I found it odd.  I just figured I could pick someone's brain a little on this one.
<<Hmm, afraid I'm not going to be much help/comfort.  I can only speculate, but if water quality wasn't an issue then perhaps something "startled" the fish (lights suddenly coming on/going off...doesn't have to be tank lights, room lights can sometimes be quite startling to fish), though I've not known these fish to be "jumpers" like many of the wrasses when startled.  Based on the info that's about my best guess...perhaps Bob will see this and have an opinion/theory>> <Mmm, nope. RMF>
I do have another question that may be a little easier.
<<Okay...maybe I can get away with batting .500>>
This morning while inspecting my critters, I found a small dime sized urchin.
<<Hitchhiker?>>
It was black with what looked like pink tips.
<<Cool!>>
I had never seen one of these in my tank, so I'm assuming it came on LR that I switched out about 6 months ago.
Ahh...yes>>
I thought it was cool, only now after reading your site am I thinking that maybe soon it will start munching on my corals.
<<Maybe...maybe not>>
Should I remove it now, or just keep a close eye on my livestock?
<<I would be inclined to do the latter...remove/trade to your LFS if/when you think it becomes a problem>>
It was crawling down the back glass, pretty close to lights ON time.
<<Indeed...likely a nocturnal, rock boring species>>
Any advice you could provide would be greatly appreciated.
<<Hope I've helped>>
Aside from my angel tragedy, my tank has been running beautifully for the past 5 years, thanks to the service you provide.
<<Mmm, and more likely much too your good judgment/caring/willingness to research and learn>>
Much thanks,
Karina
<<Always welcome, EricR>>

Flat Worm Troubles; Tank Cycling; And T. Maxima; Big Surgeons; Lighting; Marine Aquaria  5/15/06
First off I just want to thank all you guys on the crew for all the great information.
<You’re welcome, thanks for the compliments.>
I've learned tons in the last couple years about marine tank and reef keeping.
<Awesome.>
  Ok, here's my question(s):
<Of course.>
I recently tore down a 20 gallon tall, which was used to house seahorses until I had a flat worm outbreak, it was like the plague in there.  
<An overabundance usually points to a nutrient problem, as far as the flatworms themselves while yes, some are destructive and predator most of the common ones in seen in captive systems seem to be more of an annoyance than harmful.>
But Salifert's killed them all which kill everything in the tank,
<Unfortunately these products aren’t as discriminate as they claim to be, I prefer not to use such things…>
even though I followed the directions to the T.
<I have no doubt that you did but again; see above.>
  Siphoned out as many as I could before, and did a 50% change afterward.
<Good move, I would continue that as well as running some carbon and maybe some other chemical media like Chemi-pure and the like to remove the remnants of the medication/flat-worm’a’cide or whatever you call it.>
  The horses acted brain damaged for about a week, then finally died.
<Sadly I am not surprised.>
I drained off all the water and scooped out as much of the old Cyano covered sand as possible and replaced it with live sand about 20 pounds and fresh saltwater.
<In essence, ‘tis a new tank now.>
That sit running for about a week, until I placed about 15-20 lbs. of Fiji premium in the tank.  It's been in there a week now, and I'm getting a reading of zero for ammonia and nitrite, but I'm sure if I'm getting and nitrates to read, I use the saltwater master test kit in the blue box.  The small card for the nitrate's colors are too close to one another to tell if I get a reading or not.
<So either way it’s low….I would start doing water changes and wait another week or two to be sure it is stable.>
  I'm thinking it's cycled, but I was just curious if it was cycled how long would it remain that way with just the sand and LR in the tank being filtered by an emperor 400.  
<Should remain this way just add a small pinch of food a week for the micro-fauna to feed on. In fact waiting will allow the micro-fauna to proliferate even further, have seen myself folks wait up to 6 months (Not Americans) to add “outside” critters, you’d be amazed at what will grow on Live Rock if it left unmolested by fish and opportunistic crustaceans and such.>
    Should I add a hearty fish or some inverts in there just so there is some ammonia release from the inhabitants,
<No need to add livestock, EVER; solely for the purpose as a waist source, initially live rock is always preferably and after that a small pinch of fish food is fine.>
or can I just wait till I decide to spend the money I'm planning on for two black perculas?
<Are you asking permission to be patient? I am impressed most folks who write in are asking the opposite, by all means wait as long as you want my friend.>
  My other question is this, I bought a maxima clam to place into my 75 gallon reef which has been running about 3 months now, but my lighting was only a current 4x65 power compact.
<Not enough light.>
  My clueless LFS, which I know by now not to believe what they say, swore it would be ok in my tank as long as it's close to the lights.
<PC’s in my experience just don’t cut it for tridacnids in all but the most shallow tanks.>
well it looked great for about 2 weeks, then it would barely open, you could see the mantle and tell it was still very brilliantly colored, but wouldn't open very much.  
<Needs more light.>
I was wondering if it were one of the fish picking at it or the lights at the time.  I just recently added a 250 watt Metal Halide over the tank
<Much better, should recover now…if lighting was the only thing to blame. Also keep calcium high and water quality pristine and as stable as possible.>
because all the fish in the tank include 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 black sailfin blenny,
<These algae eating blennies have been known to pick at clam mantles from time to time.>
1 small Naso tang,
<This is a tank buster at a potential 28-24”, I would remove from your tank at 6”.>
1 purple firefish, and 1 sailfin tang
<Ditto on my comment about the Naso, except this one tops out at about 15”.>
which was added after the clam refused to open.  Now I figured it was the lighting, so therefore I just want to know how long should I expect to wait for the clam to come back to normal,
<Could be a week or so, clams are very sensitive and most of the time when they go through heavy trauma they don’t recover, when they do recover it is slow.>
it's still high in the tank, and the halide is about 12 inches above the water, should I leave it alone, or move it elsewhere (the clam or the light) all advice will be greatly appreciated.
<The light since it is only 1 MH over a 75 should be kept at this height to provide as much cover as possible, if it was two of them I would say lower it but not if it’s just the one….as far as the clam don’t touch it, moving it will likely hinder it from recovering even further.>
  Keep up the excellent work!!
<Thanks.>
Thanks,
<Anytime.>
Derrick
<AdamJ.>

Anemone feeding/lighting and Tank Upgrade - 5/11/2006
Lisa (or whomever the aquarist guru/happy helper of the day is),
<<Ha! This is Lisa again.>>
Thanks for getting back to me sooooo quickly.
<<You're welcome.>>
In response to your question regarding my lighting for the anemone-this is what I've got on the (still 30 gallon) tank: Current Dual Satellite Lamp- 65 watt 2-lamp with lunar light (Dual Daylight 6,700/10,000 K and Dual Actinic 420 Nm/460 Nm).
<<I have never used this myself.>>
I was told at my LFS that the lighting is sufficient for the corals and anemones, but I've seen many examples of disastrous consequences of poor advice while reading your FAQ's.  Was I misinformed?
<<Not entirely.  Certainly not enough light for SPS, or an anemone, in my opinion.  Proper supplemental feeding of the anemone will surely help.  Is this the lighting that will go on the 72-gallon you are moving to?  If so, I would look into upgrading.>>
Everything still seems to be perky in there, but one never knows.  I am feeding the anemone every 4-5 days with a small piece of raw shrimp or a small ball of formula one frozen food.
<<Not still frozen, I hope?  Small meaty foods are the way to go. Read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonefdgfaqs.htm, http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/anemonelightngfaqs.htm.>>
I guard him from the sneaky thieving shrimp or put a strawberry basket over him for awhile so he has a chance to decide if he wants to eat the food, or spit it out.  I AM somewhat unsure of the feeding technique- do I gently shove the food into his mouth or just put it on his "lips" waiting for his response?  I don't want to gag the poor guy, but I don't want to starve him either.
<<Do read the linked files. Is he no longer ‘sticky’?>>
As for my new setup- here is what I'm planning.  I've spent the last three days reading FAQ's (and subsequently eating nothing but beer and Cheetos)
<<Diet of champions, to be sure!>>
but I'm still a little unclear, so if you would humor me with some constructive criticism:
72 gallon display with 1 inch oolitic sand (and an area of deeper sand-about 3 inches as my firefish likes to burrow)
Filtration:
15-gallon sump/refugium with 6" sand bed of coarse- medium grade sand (taken from my current tank with a 2-21/2 inch sand bed.  Bad idea?)
<<Not a bad idea to use it from the other tank, no.  My preference for DSB’s is oolitic sand.>>
and some "spaghetti" algae.
Aqua C Remora Pro with Mag-3 pump (hanging on sump)
<<Good skimmer.>>
Rena XP3 canister filter (trying to decide if I should filter/return directly from tank or in sump after skimming) with charcoal, nitrate sponge.
<<I do not employ canisters on my reef tanks.>>
Water movement:
SEIO M820 Powerhead
the 1200 Powerhead off the cheapie SeaClone skimmer
couple of airstones (necessary?)
<<No.>>
Visi-Therm Stealth 250 watt heater
I'd like to move my existing fish but add a beefier cleanup crew... but many of the packages I see for sale seem excessive.  Do I really need 18 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 15 Astrea Snails, 15 Cerith Snails, and 45 Red-or Blue-Leg Hermits?
<<You don’t NEED any of them.  It is a personal choice. I add ‘clean-up crews’ for interest/bio-diversity.  Ultimately it’s our job to feed properly/deal with organics.>>
I was planning to add a couple of Bumble Bee snails, a sifting type star or two, and another tiny hermit crab.
<<I would pass on both the BumbleBee snails and the sand sifting stars.  These stars quickly eat up all available organisms in DSB’s, and perish.>>
My poor abused fairy wrasse actually seems... happy... in the tiny 10-gallon quarantine as of right now.
<<She is finally getting a break!>>
She is not hiding all day anymore and will actually eat Formula One from my fingers.  I hate to put her back into the tank with the other nasty wrasse.  He's prettier, but I think he will go if I need to make a choice.
<<I think fairy wrasses are much more attractive than 6-lines.>>
Again, thanks for the assistance -
Stephanie D.
<<Glad to help. Lisa.>>

Over/Mis-Stocking and Nitrates - 05/05/2006
Good morning.
<<Morning.>>
Many thanks for providing such a helpful website!
<<Gladly ;).>>
I have had my 46 gallon marine tank for about a year now.  It has a Fluval 305 filter, Seaclone 150 skimmer,
<<A poor product, in my opinion.>>
1 175gph power head and 1 300gph power head.  My substrate is 2" deep and I'm estimating I have about 50-60lbs of live rock.  I have 1 Yellow Tang,
<<Your tank is MUCH too small for this fish.>>
2 Percula Clowns, 1 Cleaner Wrasse,
<<These guys should never be collected.  Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/labroide.htm.>>
1 Valentini Puffer, about 10 sand sifting snails, Daisy coral, and 1 Toadstool Leather.  I have about 200 watts of light from my power compacts which are on for 12hrs/day.  The tank has run perfectly for the last year.  I have been very dedicated to maintaining it.  Each week I do a 10% water change, clean the skimmer cup, vacuum a portion of the substrate, and blow off the detritus from the live rock.  I also clean the filter media once a month.  The tank has run perfectly up until about a week ago.  The nitrates have risen (to 40-50) and there is a thin layer of green algae on everything, including the substrate.  All of the other water levels are within normal ranges.  The alga on the substrate has formed a thin crust layer which I have to keep vacuuming/braking up.  Nothing has been added to the take recently (fish/corals).  Why would the nitrates and algae spike like this if I have made no changes?
<<There have been changes- your fish are growing.  I recommend you re-house the tang and buy a good skimmer.>>
I've been doing 10%-20% water changes every 2 days over the last week or so to resolve the problem.  I also added the 300gph power head to increase circulation.  These things have helped slightly.  Any advice would greatly be appreciated.
<<Better stocking, better circulation, better skimming, light feeding, water changes/nutrient export.  All are posted on WWM.>>
Thanks!
Mark
<<Glad to help. Lisa.>>

Question on Substrates follow up 4/30/06
I hope that you don't mind all these question, you've been very helpful. I have a couple more.
<<Glad to!  Fire away..>>
First, I'm having a pretty bad Cyano bloom, what should I do? I've reduced feeding, cleaned my skimmer ( it had stopped skimming for a few days) and conducted a 20% water change (getting ready to do another 20% water change).
<<Cyano thrives in high organics, especially where detritus collects.  High current, strong skimming and frequent water changes help with detritus and organics.  Cyano also thrives when other things aren't outcompeting it for nutrients.  Strong Alkalinity and Calcium encourage coral and coralline algae growth that will consume nutrients.>>
Second, about the turf scrubber. A friend of mine (who talked me into this set-up) has the following set-up and I'm want to know if this will work before I commit to it. Turf scrubber drains into a cryptic refugium (has miracle mud in a container inside sump and the skimmer is also there) main return pump takes suction from refugium and discharges back to tank. Will this work?
<<This and many other strategies will work just fine.  What you have to decide is if it will work FOR YOU.  Consider the animals you want to keep and if such a system will meet their needs.>>
And lastly, should I use a Kalkreactor or just a container with a drip line on it. Thank you so very much.
<<This is totally a matter of preference.  If you like gadgets and daily dosing would be a hassle to you, consider the reactor.  Personally, the fewer gadgets that I have that can fail, the better I sleep.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>>

Reef algae bloom  4/27/06
Let me start by saying that I have used your site for numerous references, and have never been disappointed.  
<Great, that’s what its here for!>
My question is in regard to a green algae outbreak that has occurred.  
<Very normal problem.>
I am guessing that it is the result of some uneaten pieces of raw shrimp that was being used to feed my bubble coral.  
<Probably, remember to remove excess within a reasonable time.  Say 20 minutes.>
I have a 30g tank, which contains a mushroom leather coral, a Greenstar polyp colony, and the bubble coral.  On top of that I have a yellow-tail blue damsel, a percula (false) clown, and a scooter blenny.  I have done a 50% water change over 2 days, and that did not help the situation.
<Wow, pretty drastic.  Be careful with such high percent water changes.  Can cause undo stress.>
The tank has been set up for around five or six months, and this is the first algae outbreak that I have experienced.  I ordered a vortex diatom filter, and expect it in around 5 days.  My question to you is, will the fish and corals be at any significant health risk until the vortex gets here?
<Probably not, what are your ammonia, nitrites levels?>
If so, should I keep doing water changes?  My pH, nitrates, salinity, and alkalinity are all within normal limits.
<Keep up with the water changes, but do smaller amounts.>
I'm sad to say I do not have a phosphate test,
<Buy one, ASAP.?
and realize the food probably caused a spike in the phosphates.
<More than likely.>
I do use RO water, and perform weekly 15% water changes. Any help or ideas you could lend would be much appreciated. THANKS
<Basically just keep the water changes, in the future do no allow excess foodstuffs to sit too long.  Good luck, Jen S.>

Pipefish, seahorses and other stuff   4/26/06
Hello!
<Hi there>
A few questions about a bunch of random subjects:
Do Colt Corals hurt Pipefish or Seahorses?
<Can... if these become "disturbed", otherwise allowed to mal-affect water quality... Non-crowding, careful maintenance usually negates such>
How many square inches of fish are allowed in a 125g reef tank with lots of plants and a 30 gal refugium?
<About a cubic inch per five gallons maximum>
Is there a better way of determining this?
<Yes. To compile a list of given species, likely growth rates and maximum size per your setting... ask about>
Would the presence of nitrates affect the color of clams?
<Yes>
  Is there something that I'm missing in my tank that would help them maintain their color?  
<Can't tell from here>
They are getting these purple patches where their color pigment used to be.
Our toadstool mushroom leather (Sarcophyton sp.) keeps shrinking up for a few days, then extending its tentacles again for a few days, then shrinking and starting th