No Idea What Else To Try...Please Help! (Just how much rock can you stack in a 180g tank!?), reef maint.  – 10/06/08
Dear Gang,
<<Hi Susan…Eric here>>
This is the third time over a period of 2 years that I have written you. I spend many hours on your site, and find your advise most helpful. Thanks, again, for taking the time to share your experiences and expertise with the rest of us.
<<It is good to know you have benefitted from the site…and we are all happy to share>>
I have had a 180 gallon saltwater tank for 4 years. The tank is stocked as follows: approximately
400-500 pounds of live rock,
<<Yowza! That’s a lot of rock…I can’t imagine there is much room for anything else! I don’t have even near this much in my own 375g reef display>>
2-3 inches of live sand, 2 colonies of cabbage leather coral, 10-12 small to medium Kenyan tree coral, a very small colony of green starburst coral, small colony of button polyps, a very large toadstool coral, a very itty bitty toadstool coral (was a surprise result of the large coral after it was separated from a nearby rock and moved!), a very small hammer coral. I have a Bariene Tang (about 7" long),
<<A uncommon (in the trade) and pricey species>>
a Yellow Tang (4-5" long), a Sailfin Tang (4-5" long), 3 P.J. cardinals, a Pink Skunk Clown, a Neon Goby, 4 Engineer Gobies, a Keyhole Pygmy Angel (have had for 3 ½ years and is still only about 2 ½ -3" long???),
<<Hmm…one of the larger Centropyge species (to almost 9” in the wild)…is only speculation but, perhaps the tank is too “cramped” for space with all that rock causing this fish’s growth to stunt>>
a Yellow-tail Damsel, about 175-200 Nassarius snails, 5-7 large Turbo snails, 1 Queen Conch (have had for almost 2 years and is now about 2" long). At last count, I also had a mix of 7-9 small hermits - red leg, blue leg, scarlet leg - but I have not seen any of them for a while (not looking too hard though, and they are good hiders). I have a 60 gallon tank under the display that serves as filter/refugium. The fuge has about 10-15# of live rock, 4-5" of live sand bed and a fist-sized clump of Chaetomorpha algae that I have been unable to make grow for about 2 years (but it's not shrinking anymore, either). I run a Berlin Classic skimmer that I recently upgraded with the Turbo upgrade kit.
<<Mmm, not a great skimmer to begin with…and certainly too small for this tank in my opinion>>
For the most part, it has been quite a stable tank, and more or less self-maintaining with regular water changes and basic daily care. I have not added any livestock, coral, rock or sand to the tank for over a year; about 18 months ago I added the Sailfin Tang and a pair of Engineer Goby babies. Several months ago I noticed that things seemed to be not-quite-right in the tank. The first thing I noticed was that 3 of my large turbo snails had died in a period of about 1 week. I purchased 15 of them when I got the tank and had only lost a couple over that period of time. Not sure if this is connected to anything or if they perhaps reached the end of their lifespan.
<<No way for me to say…but might even be a result of food shortage>>
The next thing I noticed was a serious outbreak of Aiptasia.
<<Hmm…a clue I think>>
I have had some here and there, but right now I have over 60 (stopped counting at that point). I am painfully aware of what environmental conditions allow the Aiptasia to thrive, and this is basically the root of my frustrations.
<<Oh?>>
I am seeing more and more changes within my system - some other examples are very obvious shrinking of my hammer coral and colony of button polyps, increase of green algae growth in the tank (I typically have only trace green algae in the tank), and what seems to be retreating coralline algae
<<More clues>>
(perhaps it's just covered by the surge of green algae?)
<<Is possible, yes…nuisance algae will readily overgrow Coralline algae>>
At one point a couple of years ago I thought that the tank might be too clean, as my bristle worms seemed to be disappearing, but now I am noticing a strong resurgence of bristles...
<<Yet another clue>>
The surge of Aiptasia and bristle worms, the growth of green algae, the suspected retreat of Coralline, and the suffering of the button polyps and hammer coral all indicate to me that there is serious water quality issue going on.
<<Indeed, but what has changed to cause this? Or maybe this is result of something that’s been building up to this point over the years (this is my suspicion here)>>
I have always had a calcium issue, but have never had other water issues of this nature. (With regard to the calcium, I have always had difficulty getting it under 600 mg/L.
<<This is without supplementation? Unusual…>>
I have changed brands of salt from Instant Ocean to Seachem with no luck.
<<Regardless…I think the switch is wise as I too have had issues with Instant Ocean (after 30yrs of use) and now use the excellent Seachem product. But neither one of these salts has ever come close to having Calcium values such as you describe>>
My fresh/filtered water tests 0 for calcium, and as soon as I bring the salt level to 1.024-1.025, the Ca level shoots to 600-800).
<<I very much suspect this is a problem with the test kit. I suggest you try a couple different brands to validate this reading>>
I do water 30-50% changes every 7-10 days, with a very occasional stretch to 14 days.
<<Though this seems like a good idea, large frequent water changes can be hard on your livestock due to the constant rapid and likely large fluctuations in water chemistry caused by such…and depending on how well aged, by the ongoing chemical reactions of the new water mix itself. Large partial water changes are sometime necessary as corrective measures, but I would limit your routine water changes to about 20% every two to three weeks>>
I had noticed a slight decline in skimmer output, so I took the skimmer apart as much as I could and cleaned it with hot water and vinegar and changed the venturi hose because of dry rot – no improvement in amount of output.
<<This may be a result of the large water changes…or just a fact of the function/design of this skimmer>>
Ordinarily it would not have worried me, but I knew that things in the tank were not that good... After doing several hours of research I decided to purchase the Turbo Upgrade kit for the skimmer,
<<Hmm, how’s that saying go? Something about “lipstick on a pig” [grin]. The money would have been better spent on a new quality skimmer>>
all of the reviews and recommendations that I read promised that I wouldn't be disappointed. They were right. Disappointed wasn't the word....dumbfounded is a much more accurate description, as the output from the skimmer went down about 80%.
<<Yeah…my experience with this unit is similar…better off with the original venturi and an “oversized” pump, if an all-out upgrade to a better skimmer is not possible>>
I made some minor adjustments to the setup of the skimmer and output improved trivially.
<<You will likely have to “fiddle” with the skimmer almost daily to maintain peak performance…such as it is>>
I am getting less than 1 cup of junk per week, and prior to this problem starting, 2-3 cups per week was the norm. I really don't have the money for a new skimmer, but don't know what else to do here.
<<I see…maybe just switch the unit back to its original configuration for now and upgrade to a new/better skimmer when possible>>
I did a water change 6 days ago, and will do another tomorrow night.
<<Unless you can identify a specific need for this I would hold off, for reasons already stated>>
Water testing this morning yielded the following results: pH 8.1-8.2, alkalinity 2.25-2.5 (tested twice), calcium (600-800...used two different tests and got two different results),
<<You stated this is also what your newly mixed water tests at, yes? How old are these test kits? I still think the tests are suspect. I would try a “new” quality test kit (Salifert, Seachem, Hach)>>
nitrate 5-10 mg/L,
<<Not terrible but…has this been edging up? (a possible clue)>>
nitrite 0, ammonia 0.25 mg/L.
<<Yikes, toxic! A definite problem (and another clue)>>
Overall, I am quite frustrated and don't really know where to go from here.
<<Okay Susan, based on what you’ve told me about the tank, I think what is happening here is the result detritus accumulation under and amongst all that rock in the tank. I can’t imagine there is much room to allow good water flow (not to mention lack of space for fish to swim, corals to grow) with 400-500 pounds of rock in a 180g tank. It is my opinion that the rock should be reduced by half, along with a good vacuuming of the substrate. Unfortunately this is not going to be an easy task as I don’t recommend attempting such with the livestock in the tank. I fear such a large disruption will cause toxic spikes (even more so than already evident) and possibly fatal stress. This means you would need to find temporary homes for your livestock while you remove all the existing rock, clean out the accumulated detritus, and then replace “half” the rock back in the tank (and maybe look to ways to increase/improve water flow throughout)>>
I would really like to upgrade to a 250-300 gallon tank to give the Tangs a bit more room to grow and swim (if anyone in or around PA has just the tank for sale, email me at sand0113@yahoo.com ),
<<This would be much better for the long-term health of the Sailfin, for sure>>
but I don't really want to change things over until I get whatever this problem is under control. I have read for hours and short of changing the water every day, I don't know what direction to go.
Thanks for your help!
Susan
<<The clues do seem to point to an accumulation of organic material as you have surmised. You need to find and correct the source of the issue…and based on the information provided, I believe it is a problem of too much rock in the tank likely coupled with inadequate water flow/circulation for the past four years, allowing a dangerous buildup of organic material. Reduce the amount of rock, clean out the accumulated detritus, and improve water flow and I think you will see an improvement. Regards, Eric Russell>>

A few questions... reef... using WWM  – 09/29/07
Hello there! Great site! I have a 215 litre marine tank, with Fluval 405 external filter, an Aqua C Pro hang on Skimmer, 2 Tunze 6045 Nanostreams and a V2 UV sterilizer. Lighting is from a Arcadia Luminaire housing 4 37watt T5's. 2 blue 2 white. There is good amount of live rock and 20kg of live sand... with two Percula Clowns. I am planning on keeping these as the only fish in the tank to let the flourish. I have a few questions the first is i have this film on the surface of the water and i cant think of how it is there or how to get rid of it.
<Could be generated ex- or internally... Often household cooking, other activity can result in such... or endogenous metabolites... Wick this off with a clean paper towel, dip away with a submersed pitcher... and/or look into a surface skimmer attachment for your Canister filter... these are made/available commercially>
Any suggestions? I also keep getting patches of slime algae on the sand. I used to think it was phosphates that caused it, but I've read that low salinity can cause it too. Which is right?
<Mmm, possibly a factor...>
I also have seen some really nice algae plants in the local aquatic shop.
<Likely some species of macroalgae... see WWM re>
Could i keep these as i was told that they can absorb phosphates and
nitrates, but I've also read they can leak them back into the tank at a higher quantity!
<No...>
If so would it help to trim the plant down after a period of growth and so remove these chemicals safely from the tank?
<... see WWM>
and finally i would ideally like to keep an Anenome for the clowns. I know its not necessary, but i have been told a Bubble tip is the hardiest. Also is there any corals that could become a surrogate Anenome for them?
<... see...>
Hope you can help and my letter isn't too long
Clint
<Mmm, no... but too vague. Do learn to/use the search tool, indices: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/WWMAdminSubWebIndex/question_page.htm
Bob Fenner>

Random questions/reef tank... maint., crab comp., zoanthid contr.  9/26/07
Hello all and thanks for the great website! I hope this is not too annoying an e-mail, but I have several somewhat unrelated questions that I hope I did not miss the answer to in the FAQs. We have a 90 gallon reef, 4 inch DSB, 120 pounds live rock, with the following livestock:
Naso tang (N. lituratus),
<This genus, species needs more room than this... as stated on WWM...>
pair of Clarkii clowns, mandarin dragonette, double-barred Rabbitfish, yellow tang, cleaner shrimp, peppermint shrimp, and sally light foot crab. It's the dreaded "garden reef"
<Heee!>
with predominately SPS in the upper third and LPS in the bottom half. However, just to cause trouble, we have three different types of zoanthids and two types of mushrooms. We have a protein skimmer and run carbon. No new fish or invertebrates have been added in over six months. Thus far, all corals appear to be flourishing and all fish are happily coexisting. Don't panic over the stocking..... we are in the process of upgrading to a 220. The tank is finally in and husband is installing the floor jacks tonight! Parameters are:
ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/phosphate-0, SG-1.025, pH-8.1, temperature-81, calcium-450 mg/dl, and alkalinity-8.5 dKH.
So, on to the myriad of questions......1. The Rabbitfish has developed a pink hue on both lateral sides just dorsal to his abdominal area. I have not seen this in any picture of a Rabbitfish, but perhaps it's just too subtle for pictures. Is this something to be concerned about?
<Mmm, yes... highly likely environmental/stress caused... will abate with the move to larger, better setting>
Fish is eating fine (varied diet of Mysis and other frozen seafoods, Nori, flake, pellets, etc.) and acting the same as always.
2. I inquired about a final fish to the stocking plan and EricR had suggested a powder brown tang. We weren't crazy about the tang when we looked, so what are your thoughts on a Sargassum triggerfish? Do you think the odds are good that this would be a reef safe fish (no guarantees we realize) and that this an appropriate addition to a peaceful tank?
<Are good animals for larger systems... and not too adventitious as other balistids... May still sample your cnidarians>
3. The yellow zoanthids (Parazoanthus gracilis I think) have gone absolutely out of control. We started out with a small rock with perhaps 5 polyps on it over a year ago and we know have hundreds of polyps. They have grown through the rock to come out in different areas.
<... got to keep them isolated... on their own patch of rock...>
When we try to prune them, one polyp always seems to escape and then a new colony starts wherever it lands! They are growing across the sand bed, in the back of the tank, and even in the middle of other zoanthid colonies. Any suggestions for curbing their growth?
<Remove as much as you can in the move to the larger tank>
The main polyp area is on a huge rock that supports a lot of the other rock structure, so removal is not possible....well not easy anyway. At first they were quite pretty, now they remind me of dandelions on a manicured yard!
4. Last question and most important....any hints for trapping the sally light foot crab!?!
<Box traps... you can buy as such or just the plastic ones for small rodents (they're the same)...>
Last month I walked by the tank to see the crab eating one of the cleaner shrimp (Arrgh, the horror...I tell myself the crab was merely scavenging, but....).
<Ah, no>
Last week the yellow tang had a tear in the caudal fin. The fin healed, but we are worried the crab is on the prowl. We have tried physically grabbing the crab (yeah, no shock that didn't work) and commercial traps which resulted in one trapped and very stressed clownfish. When we put frozen fish in a jar or on a string to bait the crab, all the other fish grab the treat. We have tried feeding the fish on the other side of the tank at the same time, but they are too clever for that! Assuming we catch the crab, can we just place him in the fuge or would one crab defeat the purpose of the fuge, especially since we rely on the pod production for the mandarin?
<Move, isolate, trade in with the move...>
Thanks for the help as always and sorry for the long e-mail. All of you do a great service to us newbies out here!
Michele
<Congrats on the new, larger system. Bob Fenner>

Re: Random questions/reef tank 9/26/07
Thank you for the reply. Yes, we know the 90 gallon is WAAAY too small for the Naso which is why we are upgrading to the 220. We didn't do our research when we bought her last year, but we are trying to make it right with the new tank.
<Good... I do hope you get on out to the wild... see these active fishes there>
The tank was a custom order this past January right after we got the Naso, but it only finally got here last month!
We had certainly hoped to have her in the larger tank sooner than this.
You have me quite stressed now that the Rabbitfish's coloration is secondary to the small tank....we shall try and get the new tank up and running quickly!
Michele Frazer, DVM
<Do please send along an image or two when it's settled in. Cheers, BobF>

How am I doing? Reef Maint. – 09/17/07
Ben here from sunny, sometimes smokey, Central Oregon.
Big fan of CMA and WWM, you have helped me with my reefing experience for 7 years now. I started with a 30 G fish only system back in Boston which evolved into fish with hardy inverts and soft corals. I gave that tank to a friend when I moved to Oregon a year ago and started to set up a 55 G w/20G sump (the whole sump being a new experience). The goal being to set up a relatively low maintenance, interesting, harmonious reef tank while adhering to laws of a conscientious marine aquarist. The addition of the sump has opened up a whole new load of questions which I have researched through WWM to find answers to and found for the most part. At this point I have a stable set-up, and am almost fully stocked. I have a few lingering questions/concerns that I would like to put to the endless wisdom of the WWM crew. Also, I would like to see if there are any issues that I am not currently concerned about that I should be. So here goes:
55 G wide tank w/ 20 G sump tank
Equipment:
CA (Catalina aquarium) Super Vortex protein skimmer (admittedly a cheap device but quite effective in produce thick dark skimmate)
Seio M820 powerhead 820 GPH
CA 2200 return pump ~700 GPH (fighting gravity for 3 ft)
2 * 96 W PC 50:50 10K:actinic @ 13 hrs
2 * 13 W PC 850 lumen, 850 colour @ 13hrs
Questions to this point
1. Depending on my adjustment to the protein skimmer, I can either get a dark liquid skimmate or a solid protein waste of mud consistency collected from the protein skimmer. Is there any reason not to set the protein skimmer up to collect only the protein mud (which is easier to manage) verses the less viscous liquid form of skimmate?
<Mmm, not much... measuring nitrate can likely foretell the trade-off range here>
2. Am I getting enough circulation for the soft corals and the type of substrate that I have (both listed below) from my setup?
<Likely so>
Turn system water over roughly 19 times an hour. Also concerned about variety of circulation. With existing set-up the only way to vary the circulation would be to adjust the SEIO nozzle every now and then. Is this something I should do, how often?
<Mmm, maybe with the upgrade to your next larger system... a closed loop arrangement and/or some powerful submersible pumps...>
Stocking:
70 lbs live rock
Aragonite sand in display tank of varying consistency @~2in
1 royal Gramma
2 firefish gobies
1 blue-green damsel
1 porcelain crab
2 mithrax crabs
3 peppermint shrimp
6 scarlet hermit crabs
3 turbo snails
30 Nassarius snails
1 Trachyphyllia
1 Cladiella
1 green star polyp
1 Sarcophyton trocheliophorum
<Keep this "sized">
1 mushroom colony
refugium->
medium fine live sand in refugium @4 in
1 small brittle star
10 Nassarius snails
Chaeto
couple small pieces of live rock
Limited Water chemistry:
calcium 380 ppm
Nitrate ~ 0
Nitrite 0
pH 8.0 (am trying to raise this a bit goal of 8.3)
salinity reading 1.023 @ 80 F (so salinity of 1.025)
Temp ranges from 76 to 80 F (try to keep as narrow as I can)
Perform 5% water changes 1/week
The water container seen sitting above sump is dripping Kalkwasser with Strontium & Molybdenum replacing evaporated water (I make a fresh batch weekly)
Occasionally (explained below) use activated filter carbon (coal based from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Inc.)
Remaining Questions
1. I use carbon placed in a bag in the overflow box for a couple of weeks duration at times when I think the tank could use it; for instance when I introduced the brain, colt, toadstool, and mushrooms a couple of days ago (after having success with the existing green star polyp for 3 months), when I go on vacation, when inhabitants don't seem to be behaving normal, when the water colour is not clear. Do I need to use carbon on a more routine basis?
<Mmm, no, not likely>
2. I don't use any filter sponges other than the one attached to protein skimmer outlet used to decrease microbubbles. I read that it is good to have an unimpeded pathway for copepods to circulate through the tank, and also that the sump acts as a particle trap. Do I need additional sponge filters?
<No...>
If so, I could either filter at the overflow box or between the baffles in the sump, which would be better?
<Wherever it is easier to service>
3. In regards to the mini refugium in the sump tank. I added the Chaeto yesterday, can I expect that to thrive in the lighting conditions? Also, is it a sustainable environment for the brittle star and 10 snails?
<Should be okay for all listed>
4. I read an article on deep sand beds yesterday that got me thoroughly confused on my substrate set-up which I had based on what I read in CMA. The articles said a DSB needs to be at least 6 in, CMA said over 3 in, mine is 4 in of medium fine live sand. Is the 4
in going to work?
<Yes>
I would not hesitate to add more to be on the safe side but if you look at the photo of the sump; if I added anymore sand I would be limiting the area for Chaeto to grow and if I added a higher level of water to the sump I would not maintain the safety area given for a power outage. Need I do any maintenance, stirring the sand bed, or is it best left alone?
<If not too "clogged" I'd leave alone>
The DSB article also got me concerned about the display substrate which is 2 in of a mix of very coarse aragonite (shells) and coarse aragonite (5mm diameter aragonite pieces) and a negligible amount of medium fine sand which I initially added to help seed the aragonite. I used coarse because my old tank in Boston had fine sand which would cause a mess when agitated by a pesky clown and I read in CMA that the courser sand has better flow through it therefore less maintenance. I was also counting on the refugium and live rock for my nitrogen cycling, and therefore aiming at a less functional display substrate. The article I read yesterday said that the course sand requires more diligent siphoning. Should I decrease the depth of this display substrate and attempt to remove the very course shells?
<I wouldn't>
You can probably tell from my photos that most of my circulation is in the middle and top of the tank, need I direct any circulation toward substrate?
<Minimally>
5. The WWM information on Trachyphyllia states in the Habitat portion 'either booster fluorescent &/or MH if more than a couple feet deep' and then in placement section 'types & amount of lighting are not ultimately too important for this species'. I would imagine that this contradiction has to do with the depth of water through which light penetrates.
<Yes>
My Trachyphyllia is situated (on the course sand which I read is not as good as the fine for this species) at 13 in water depth, probably about 18in from PC light source. Is that ok, or would it be better off on some flat rock higher up? Which on the other hand would be in an area of higher circulation.
<I would not change things here>
6. As I said before my tank is almost full stocked, will add a colony of zoos, maybe add a couple other soft corals in the future,
<Mmm... take your time... read... take heed... use the carbon... place away from extant cnidarians...>
but I would like to maximize my invertebrate capacity. Would my tank be capable of housing any more crabs, shrimps? What type of hardy starfish would be alright/beneficial on my course substrate?
<Posted on WWM... See the Selection, Compatibility FAQs for these groups>
7. I was planning on feeding the Trachyphyllia mysis once a week, and adding Coralife smorgasbord 3 times a week for the rest of the soft corals and some of the invertebrate life. I, also, bought some Kent PhytoPlex to help with copepod growth in my refugium. Do these supplements sound ok?
<Can work>
I ordered some copepods with the shipment of soft corals that came 2 days ago thinking that copepods are little organisms that one should be able to see because I have read people on WWM talking about how great their population of copepods, part of the reason I bought them in the first place realizing that they should be able to populate from the live rock alone but I saw no signs of them. I realized that I may be getting copepods mixed up with arthropods when I received these copepods because it turned out to be just a green liquid that smelled foul which I had some hesitation in adding to my tank. Now, if copepods have 0.5mm size how do these people have any idea whether they have a good population of them or not?
<A bright flashlight... looking toward evening...>
I realize this is a bloody long email, but they are all nagging questions (which I did not find answers to on WWM) that I have come up with over the past 9 months of setting the tank up, thought it would be better to deliver them all at once rather than one at a time. Thank you for taking the time to read them.
Let the crew rock on!
ps. the Sarcophyton in the photo obviously needs reorienting, thought I would let it settle into surroundings before messing with it too much. Same for the position of the mushrooms, I'll try and get them to a location of higher circulation.
<Keep it trimmed... Bob Fenner>

Help!! Reef maint.... & Vacations!  – 09/14/07
Hi,
<Howdy>
How come disasters always happens when you are away? Don't answer that.
<Okay>
I live in California and am currently in New York city for 1 week vacation.
I have a 175 gal reef tank and I had my neighbor to check on it daily and supplement the auto feeder with frozen shrimps Phytofeast. Yesterday, they noticed that I have an inch of water on the floor and the pump was pushing air into the main tank.
<!>
We were able to diagnose the problem to my wet/dry where the top filter was clogging causing it to overflow onto the floor.
Anyways, they fixed the leak and replenished the water level in the sump with the 6 gallons of already mixed salt water I had sitting around.
<Thank goodness for planning>
So, they got the circulation back running. But, the top off system was probably dumping RO/DI water into the sum for don't know how long. The SG is now at 1.013 instead of the normal 1.023.
<!!>
I have a total water volume of about 210 gallons. So, my rough calculation of (0.023-0.013)/0.023*210=91.3 says I have to add salt for 91.3 gallons of water. That is 46 cups of salt!
<Mmm, about this, yes>
My question is how quickly should I be adding the salt to bring the SG back to 1.023?
<Depends on how stressed all looks... I'd start raising a .001 per day if all seems fine otherwise>
It will be another 4 days before I get back home. I told my daughter to add in 2 ½ cups of salt to the return chamber of the sump twice a day.
<Mmm, should be okay>
I am wondering if that is too fast or too slow. Should I also add super buffer as well to maintain alkalinity?
<I would leave off with the supplements>
I have hard and soft coral, many anemone and fish. My daughter said the anemone and soft corals were looking pretty sad and shriveled up. My clam seems to be gone. Just the shell and scallop stem is left. After 5 cups of salt, the soft corals are looking a little better the next morning.
Regards,
Sammy
<I do hope you can salvage what's left. Bob Fenner>

Lake Level Change and Water Quality... reef maint. f'   9/10/07
Dear Crew,
<Dean>
I live North and West of Dallas Texas about a 125 miles. During the late spring and early summer we have received record amounts of rain. Our water supply is a lake that is located a few miles from town and went from 66% full to running over the spillway within 1.5 months. It is a rural area with a lot of cattle and farming.
<Sounds nice>
I have a 50 gallon Flat-Back Hex tank that is a garden variety reef tank with some 20 or so Corals,
<! That's a lot of likely disparate life>
three Pajama Cardinals at about 1 1/2", One Coral Beauty at about 3", one Copperband Butterfly at about 3 1/2" and one Yellow Tang at about 4 1/2". The Copperband was added last with much apprehension on my part due to my research on line, yours and others books and the Tang.
For the first few days, the Tang did hassle the Copperband, but all is good now. When I feed my fish, I use a baster and she uses her long beak to feed from the tube. She is quite the piglet. She will actually bully her way to feed. When I target feed my LPS corals, it is a constant battle to keep her from stealing the food from the corals.
For filtration, I have approximately 150 lbs of Texas Holey Rock
<Not much room for water!>
sitting on top of a Plenum that has a perimeter of about 4" of mixed grade sand. A Canister Filter I use for water movement and Carbon. A DIY Protein Skimmer That produces about 1/4 cup of really nasty skimmate each week and 25X turn-over with other power heads.
For lighting I have a 260 watt Aqualight unit with another 80 watts of URI 50/50 lighting.
My last water check was:
Salinity - 1.027
Temperature - 79 Degrees
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Calcium - 330 Working on raising this.
Alkalinity - 10.0
I change 5 gallons of water every week and use RO water you get at the local grocery store machine. Just about the same time we started getting all of this rain, a friend of mine acquired a RO-DI unit. I started buying water from him instead of using the RO water.
I started noticing Cyno-Bacteria to appear on my substrate about 2 months ago and it spread across my sand gradually creeping up on my rock, attacking my Gorgonians and Sun Polyps. I have always had some algae on my rocks, it has never been a real problem with the Tang and snails constantly grazing on it.
<Won't eat the BGA>
I have noticed some tissue recession on my Sun Polyps also. It got really bad. I quit feeding my corals all together and I cut way back on the amount of food I feed my fish. Historically, during the summer months, my temperature would get to about 81/82 degrees. So I opened the from doors to my stand a put a small fan blowing up and under the unit. I thought maybe a reduction in temperature would help.
<A bit>
It did lower my temp to about 78/79 Degrees. It did not appear to help with the Cyno outbreak. I also took a sample of my source water and my tank water to my LFS and they couldn't detect any Nitrates or Phosphates either. I would consider it an average retailer.
So, would it be possible that some kind of DOC got thru the RODI unit
<Mmm, no... not likely. Can/could test for...>
due to the amount of rain
<Would be removed>
and did the reduction in temperature in my Plenum slow down the filtering capacity of my system so it allowed enough nutrients to feed this outbreak. It does appear that in the last two weeks that it is trying to subside.
Thanks
Dean
<Much more likely this situation is a result of crowding... allelopathy by the stinging-celled life... and perhaps some material leaching from the Holey Rock... very common. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompfaqs.htm
and the linked files in this series above... What you really need here is a much larger system... and perhaps the addition of a refugium... with macroalgae culture there... Bob Fenner>

Thank you. Now onto feeding and future stocking options   9/9/07
Thanks so much Bob. I think I might be able to sleep tonight!
I'm still going to keep an extra keen eye on all the fish for a while (if only the Chromis would slow down occasionally!).
I've also told my partner that we're NOT getting anything else without proper research and quarantine.
<Yay!>
I think he now believes me (and thankfully he goes away more often than I do, so I don't think the situation will be repeated.)
We do eventually want to up-scale from the new 55g tank, but that will have to wait until after we move out of the apartment we're renting and hopefully into something both larger and more permanent (for ourselves, as well as the fish).
<Okay>
Now that I've got the pressing issue sorted, I was hoping that you could give us a few more pointers re future stocking and feeding.
For the time being though (in the current tank), we'd like to get a few more fish (over time), and then once the tank is a bit older, some Zoanthus (a couple of tiny colonies came on our rock) and maybe eventually some corals.
some of the fish I've been thinking about (but haven't fully researched yet due to time constraints) are as follows (any suggestions/"don't even waste your time" tips?)
*Banggai Cardinal (x2) (though am not sure about mixing them with the rambunctious nature of the Chromis. Puffy on the other hand is extremely sedate)
*Flame angel OR Rusty Dwarf Angel (x1) (variety dependent on availability)
*Royal Gramma (x1)
*Longnose OR Pygmy Hawkfish (x1) (though maybe only after another tank size upgrade...?)
*? Goby (haven't narrowed this field down at all yet)
<These possibilities are all gone over on WWM...>
We were also considering a policy of buying another 1kg or so of live rock 'with' every new fish purchased, to gradually build up the 'scape (per below, we have about 25kg currently). Since the rock will need time to cure (it's already shop-cured, but I'd like to be sure) before putting in the main tank, and we only have one quarantine tank, would this be better done before or after the introduction of the new fish?
<Before>
Our current feeding of puffy and the Chromis consists of randomly alternating between the following (we feed twice daily where possible, sometimes missing the evening feed due to late work/study getting us home after "lights out"):
Sera Granumarin or Hikari Marine S
pieces of Hikari algae wafers (rarely)
Hikari Brineshrimp
Hikari Krill
frozen bloodworms
live meal worms
occasionally opened up frozen clams& a grated mix we've made ourselves of raw prawn (with shell), krill, raw squid, clam, bloodworms and small pieces of Nori (looks horrible, but they love it).
How are we going?
<Fine>
Puffy won't eat any of the living shelled critters in the tank (ie, the small snails that sometimes appear on the rocks, or any of the crabs),
<May in time... Tobies are notorious nippers>
so as much as possible we try and get her to eat things like the krill while they're still frozen from our hands, so that she has to use her teeth. She will very occasionally prowl the rocks and peck at something though.
Thanks once again
-Jo
<Keep reading Jo... you'll do fine. BobF>

Reef sys. NO3, Gomphosus comp.  – 08/31/07
I have a reef tank of about 1500lt. The tank is about 14 months old and I am struggling to keep the nitrates low. Have a algae refugium in sump with 400mm x 400 x 200 sand bed. Have a ocean runner 5000 skimmer. Deep sand bed in tank, about 300kg of live rock. Tank is not overcrowded. Doing 10% water changes each month. Nitrites, ammonia test's 0 grams per mil. liter. Calcium, magnesium and PH are fine. Please help!
<Do bigger water changes, at least 20-30%.>
Is a green bird wrasse save to keep in a reef tank.
<They don't eat corals, but they will eat small crustaceans and even small fish. They can be kept in tanks with fish of similar temperament and size. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/wrasses/gomphosus/index.htm>
Thanks
<De nada,
Sara M.>

My 60 days old reef. 8/29/07 Bob, This is my 500 gallon reef aquarium, of course I am just getting started. The final finished aquarium will have lots of inhabitants. I'll send the you a final photo in the future-maybe a year from now???. Anyway I wanted pointed out that Acanthurus glaucopareius is not that hard to keep contrary to what everyone opinion. It is as easy as the "japonicus" (gold rimmed tang). The problems are all nutritional related. In my experience the hardest part of reef keeping is getting accurate water chemistry reading! Many of the test kit not that accurate. Pablo (Tepoot, of Spectrum Foods, New Life Enterprises... friend and fellow industry type) <Very nice. BobF> Here is a full length shot <Even nicer>

Protein Skimmer Woes... Umm, actually chemical algicide induced problems   8/20/07
Hello all,
I have written in before and appreciate your help. I have a 125gallon fish only with live rock setup and crushed coral substrate. Fluval 405, Fluval 403, two 802 powerheads on an undergravel filter with rotating Hydor wavemakers on them, a Hydor 2 (600gph) on one side, and a Maxi jet 600 on the other side for circulation. I also have a red sea Berlin skimmer hanging on the back that has been collecting some good stuff over the past couple months since I got it ( used for $50) . For lighting I have a Custom Sea Life 72" 4x96 power compact with 2 50/50s and 2 10,000ks in it and 6 blue moon LEDs for nighttime. The lights cycle through dawn day dusk and night for 9 hours a day.
I had an outbreak of Cyanobacteria, and after numerous water changes it was still persistent on covering my live rock, so I turned to some red slime powder to rid it.
<... can be real trouble...>
As per the directions I disconnected my skimmer, and put in two airstones for 5 days. the red slime for the most part went away,
<Cycled...>
when I disconnected the airstones and plugged the skimmer back in, the collection cup overflowed twice with in 2 hours, and the skimmer was dumping huge amounts of microbubbles into my tank. The liquid and foam in the cup was clear, and that never happened before either. There were always a few microbubbles before, but nothing of this magnitude. So I have disconnected the skimmer, and now there is a layer of gunk floating all across the top of my tank. I tried to run RO water through the skimmer in my sink and then reinstalled it, but it does the same thing. No matter what I do the skimmer over skims and does nothing because the foam and water in the cup are both clear. Could this
be to left over red slime powder in the system?
<Yep, tis>
the directions on the powder said only to do a water change if the problem persists and you add more powder.
<...>
I am do
<due>
for a water change this week anyways, but I am still wondering why this is happening.
<Biology, chemistry...>
I have pretty much given up on the red sea Berlin ( mostly due to the noise it makes, but now due to the microbubbles, because they are very unsightly) and am considering purchasing a remora pro to replace it as I don't have a sump and the remora pro looks like a good option. What else can I do???
<... Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/maralgcidefaqs.htm
and the linked files above>
There has never been a coating on the surface like this before ( even when I had no skimmer ) and it worries me.
<Me too>
Oh for livestock I have a yellow tang, Bluefaced angel,
<Needs more room than this>
flame angel, yellow tail damsel, 2 green Chromis, a stars and stripes puffer,
<Much more room>
a small zebra moray,
<Ditto>
and I am saving up for a harlequin tusk ( they are soooo cool! ) I feed krill, Mysis, Spirulina, and seaweed once daily, and feeder crabs and ghost shrimp 1-2 times a week. Any tips you can give me would be much appreciated as I am in the process of gathering equipment to set up a 29 gallon reef tank, and I want to get as much info and get my 125FOWLR skimming good before I jump into the reef tank :-)
Thanks, and keep up the good work, your site is the best!
Douglas M. Payne Jr. (DJ)
<Consider adding a refugium of size... give up on chemical algicides... and keep reading. Bob Fenner>

Moving Livestock to a Larger System  7/31/07
Hello.
<Greetings, Mich here.>
I sure could use some advice regarding the transfer of live rock (10 lbs.), a BTA and 2 fish (royal Gramma and clown) that are currently in a year old 12g to a 65g tank. I'll be adding about 60 lbs. of cured live rock from the LFS next weekend, followed by a 4" of dry aragonite, seeded with much of the sand from the 12, to begin the cycle. The system will be low-tech--an Aqua-C Remora, some activated carbon run through a hang-on filter, 2 Maxi-Jet 1200's, and an ample T-5 fixture. My question: If the water parameters are stable after adding the new rock and sand to the 65, would it then be okay to begin transferring everything from the 12?
<Should be.>
I'm especially concerned about the BTA. Any advice would be much appreciated!
<As long as your water parameters are as good or better than the 12 gallon and the water is clear and not filled with particulate (can happen when adding new sand) you should in theory be good to go. I would do a gradual acclimation with all livestock, just as you would when you bring home a new item home from the LFS and place in your QT tank. This will reduce the stress of transition.
Cheers,
Mich>

Wonderful Site ! Absolute BEST ! Small Snails, New Additions 7/27/07, reef op.
Hello,
<Hi>
I want to make this short but I fear I have a bit too much to say. <Me too, but most is not appropriate for public consumption.>
First Thank You for your wonderful site and the vast quantities of information! I found myself in the odd position of working in a local fish store (chain) with no marine experience. Hundreds of magazine and dozens of books were a great start but the past year using your site has been the best help by far. <Good to hear.>
I am able to help so so many people who come into the store to shop or have a problem. I fear that your servers may explode from all the extra traffic. <More likely from the beer we keep spilling on them.>
I tell ALL the customers about your site and that I believe it to be one of (if not "the") best resource out there. I constantly find myself checking your site for information when an "odd" item shows up as available for order from the distributor to make sure it is really a good choice to have available to customers. <You serve your customers well and should be commended for going above and beyond what most seem to do.> I am able to attempt to steer people new to the hobby away from fish that are for the more advanced. <And in doing so hopefully keep them in the hobby.>
Well after all the well deserved accolades I wish to use your knowledge for myself personally. I ended up starting a marine tank about a year ago. I waited about 2 months to stock the tank to be sure it was well cycled. I had only a 25 gallon Eclipse with one feather duster, 2 peppermint shrimp 2 turbo snails (Mexican and I know the tank is too warm for them but still they have been around a year now) and a Ocellaris. They were all on sale and fairly easy to keep so I decided to give it a shot. I replaced the 2 bulbs with Ocean Sun (15w each) and added a Fission Nano Skimmer. Four months and no losses. I did bi-weekly water changes of 5 gallons with premix sea water. I got a little bold and decided to get a small leather mushroom coral. Seven months into in and all was still going well and the clown was growing quite large.
Then it happened!
We received a Hepatus Tang that was in really poor shape. She was showing the start of HLLE and the store was going to put her down. I don't know why but I wanted to give it a shot. Now I know 25 gallons is way too small but she was only about 2 inches long. So thus my journey began... I went to twice weekly 5 gallon water changes and kept a baseball size handful of Red Gracilaria in the tank at all times. She not only survived but has healed quite nicely and most of the scaring is now gone. <Nice> She has been in the tank for 4 months now and the water changes are killing me both physically and financially.
So.. I bit the bullet and now have a 90 gallon oceanic with a 30 gallon wet dry with skimmer (not sure what kind since it came with the W/D). <Definitely better, but still on the small side for this fast swimming fish.> The lighting is coral sun 260 watt (the 48" one). I have a bit over a hundred pounds of cultured live rock (Fiji) and 2/3 inches of sand. Nitrates, Nitrites, and Ammonia are all at zero. (or as close to zero reading as you can get with the Jungle test strips). <Get some dry reagent kits, they are much much more accurate.> Temp is 79, PH is 8.4 and salinity is at 1.025 The tank has been running for 3 months and all fish/shrimp/snails/coral/feather duster have been moved to the new tank and continue to thrive. I added 2 queen conch and there is a serpent star that I forgot I had in the 25 gallon who was HUGE when I made the transfer of critters to the new home. Huge meaning about 8 inches from tip to tip. <That’s a big boy.> Oh yes and a Horseshoe Crab that also grew quite large. (I know not the best choice but I had him prior to visiting your site). <Should probably start looking for a new home for this guy.> Everything was going wonderful. Until... (and you knew there was going to be an "until") tonight I noticed about a dozen smaller snails climbing mostly on the glass. They are white in color with a few dark spots on the shell. They are shaped flat sort of like a pill bug. I have no idea where they could have come from since everything has been in the tank for months now.
<Probably always there, just now for some reason the environment allows their population to increase.>
So I have a few questions for your expert advice...
1 - Would a six line wrasse Pseudocheilinus hexataenia be the answer for the snails? Would he be a threat to the peppermints (now about 3 inches long)?
I would think they are safe since that tank size is 90 gallons and each piece of live rock are donut style with a nice hole in the center.
<Doubt it would help, but I'm not sure why you want to remove these, have you seen them doing damage to something?>
2 - Since I am seem to have lucked into Indo-Pacific fish what else would you suggest for the tank? I am partial to inverts but they hide so much. I would like to try an anemone for the clown but I fear he is too large now for anything that I could reasonably find for sale. <I would not mix anemones and corals, usually both suffer from it.> Any other soft corals you could suggest as well? <An almost endless list I'm afraid.> Perhaps pulsing xenia? <Nice, can grow like a weed out of control.> I do add Calcium, Iodine and Strontium weekly to the tank. I also add live algae whenever I am able to get a hold of some.
I looked over the site and can't seem to find a complete listing of fish by Range. <Don't think we have one, if you have access to Scott Michael's Marine Fishes there is a map in there, its a great book I recommend picking up if you don't already have it.> Your site has been such a great help to me over the past 2 years I just wanted to share my experience and get some of your valuable input for my personal tank.
Thanks So Much !
Derek Walters
<Welcome, keep up the good work spreading information to those in need.>
<Chris>

Reef pH – 07/24/07
I have a 75 gallon reef which has been running stable for approximately 1 year. I don't have a RO/DI unit and I use tap water treated with Prime to remove chemicals.
<Mmmm>
Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite, and Phosphates are all at undetectable levels. My trouble is with the tank's pH, It always stays at 7.8.
<Low>
The alkalinity in the tank is around 8 DKH and calcium levels are kept at 400. I have no way of testing the levels of magnesium
<Mmm, there are kits for such... etailers...>
in the tank and the LFS doesn't have a test for it either. I'm wondering if the tank isn't ionically balanced and maybe that's why I am having trouble keeping the pH at acceptable levels.
<A distinct possibility>
I realize it is never a good idea to put in additives without a way to test for it,
<them... change in number...>
but would you have a recommendation for how much magnesium to add and see if it helps the pH?
<... the amount? Should be about 3 times calcium concentration... Depends mostly on what the sources of carbonates, bicarbonates are in your system, could affect pH>
Would using RO/DI water solve this problem?
<... depends on the cause/s>
I would like to stay away from adding buffers every few days to maintain pH, so I am looking for a slightly more permanent solution. I was told that a calcium reactor would stabilize the pH at 8.3 but I haven't seen any information online that would verify this.
<These can be very useful tools... see WWM re...>
Since my tank occupants don't seem to terribly mind the pH, I'd prefer not to add buffers and have the pH constantly swinging between 7.8 and 8.3 because I feel that it would be more stressful than just having a stable 7.8.
<I would make any such change/s outside the system... gradually... though water changes>
While we're talking, what would you think about adding a Siganus vulpinus to my tank. I currently have 1 Dascyllus aruanus, 1 Amphiprion ocellaris, 1 small Zebrasoma flavescens, lots of Euphyllia, and some clams, xenia, and mushrooms. Thanks for all your help.
<Might not get along with the Yellow Tang in this 75... Please read on WWM re pH, alkalinity: http://wetwebmedia.com/marphalk.htm
and the linked files above. Bob Fenner>

A few misc. questions... SW... Purple Up as sole suppl., feeding zoanthids... Reef maint. f'   – 06/28/07
Hello Crew,
I'm very impressed with your dedication to the subject of marine life and to helping poor saps like me, so I hope to borrow some of your expertise. I have a couple questions regarding my 75 galloon marine aquarium that I can't seem to find elsewhere.
First: I've recently (about two weeks ago) acclimated my first [sessile invertebrates] to the tank, zoanthids. They seem to be doing very well, but I wonder if they would benefit from trace elements in the water?
<All the trace elements you need should be in your salt mix.>
I've been told that a product called Purple Up would provide all the trace elements I need for most corals.
<To my knowledge, Purple Up is mostly finely powdered aragonite and iodine. You can add it if you want to, but it probably won't make much a difference. There should be more than enough iodine in your salt mix already and aragonite does not dissolve in salt water unless your pH is way below what it should be.>
Have you heard of this product and do you know if this is true? Also, I'm spot feeding the zoanthids 5 ml.s of zooplankton each day under the advice of my LFS. Do you see anything wrong with this practice?
<There's nothing wrong with spot feeding zoanthids so long as you don't end up overfeeding the tank.>
My second question is about phosphates. I was told that phosphates adversely affect corals by inhibiting them from metabolizing nutrients. By another person I was told that the only thing phosphates will do to hurt a tank is cause overgrowth of algae. Which is more true?
<Well, I wouldn't say that phosphates inhibit corals from "metabolizing nutrients." What I can tell you is that phosphates can definitely inhibit coral calcification.>
I have excellent water quality except for phosphates, which are a little below 1 ppm. I have a Seaclone 100 protein skimmer that I wish I'd never bought. Would you offer some suggestions for a replacement skimmer that is in my budget($200)? The tank is 90 gallons total volume. I'd prefer an in-sump skimmer. I've seen some of you sing praises of the Aqua C remora/urchin skimmers, but I'm not sure if these would be appropriate for me because they seem to be made for smaller tanks. What do you think?
<Actually, in my opinion, the larger Aqua C remora pro would be fine for a 90 gallon system. However, how much one needs to skim a tank (and how big the skimmer should be) is largely a matter of opinion (as is which brands are best). For a good overview of the different brands/models, please see this article by Steven Pro: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i1/protein_skimmer_impressions.htm
One thing to keep in mind though, is that protein skimmers do not remove inorganic phosphates (they do remove organic phosphates). Considering that phosphate test kits sold for aquariums do not usually detect organic phosphates, additional protein skimming might not bring down your phosphate readings.>
Thank you so much for your continuous work. You saved many critters I'm sure!
<Happy to help :)
Sara M.>

Re: A few misc. questions. Reef maint.   6/29/07
Thanks for your reply!
<de nada! :-)>
I'm a bit confused about your info on phosphates though.
<No worries, phosphates can get quite confusing.>
If aquarium test kits usually test for organic phosphates and protein skimmers remove only organic phosphates, how would the removal not be detected by the test kit?
<Hmm... I believe I wrote "phosphate test kits sold for aquariums do not usually detect organic phosphates." I know it can be hard to follow sometimes, so let me recap: protein skimmers remove organic phosphates while phosphate test kits usually test for inorganic phosphates.>
Also, if skimmers don't remove inorganic phosphates, then what are some ways to remove them?
<Water changes are probably the biggest way. You can also use a phosphate sponge or some kind of phosphate removing filter medium. These phosphate binding mediums tend to remove mostly inorganic phosphates, but they can remove some organic phosphates too. Just be sure you change out the medium as often as you need to (according to the product's instructions). Otherwise, the bound phosphates might start to leach back out into the water. Growing (and harvesting) macroalgae is another way to remove both kinds of phosphates.>
Another question: do most salt mixes have all trace elements that are beneficial to corals? If so, then why are trace elements so widely used/available to aquarists?
<Well, not everything sold to aquarists is something they necessarily need. After salt, the only chemical supplements you absolutely need to add to your reef aquariums are those you use to control calcium and alkalinity (i.e. your Kalk, 2-part solution, or whatever it is you might use for this). In some aquariums, magnesium (an important player in the calcium and alkalinity balance of your tank) depletes faster than it is replaced with water changes. When this happens, a magnesium supplement might be in order. But the only reason I can think of for an aquarists to need to use additional trace element supplements is if they never do water changes. If you only very rarely do water changes, your tank might become depleted of trace elements.>
Ok, and one more quick question. People say that dwarf angelfish should be kept with caution in reef systems. How common are problems had with these fishes in reef tanks? I'm interested in a flame angel for my tank and I'm not sure yet if it will be worth the trouble though they are very beautiful
<Honestly, it just depends. The more space they have and the more regularly you feed them, the less likely you are to have a problem with them. It also depends on how much you're willing to tolerate. Dwarf angels are curious fish and, at some point, they might pick at something you don't want them to pick at. This can really irk some of the more intensely invert-loving aquarists, but it might not bother you. These fish are also probably more a threat to anemones than to corals. For more information on Flame angels, please see:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/angels/centropyge/loricula.htm
For more information on dwarf angels in general:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/fishes/angels/centropyge/index.htm>
Thanks once again!
<welcome :-)
Sara M.>

Upstairs or downstairs? Reef/sump set-up, maint.  – 06/28/07
Good afternoon all!
I am in the midst of oodles of research regarding adding a sump with refugium to my setup. I have a 55 gallon FOWLR at the moment, and would like to move up to a reef. The tank is about a year old now.
I've been researching the proper plumbing, and am toying with the idea of putting the sump/refugium in my basement directly below the display tank. I have much research to do, and I'm sure I'll have questions coming regarding the specifics once I get to that point. My question at the moment relates to maintenance and water changes. It seems to me that
many people with sumps perform their water changes directly from their sump. Is that correct?
<It depends on the person and their set up. But I can try to explain to you the logic of doing a water change from a sump/refugium rather than the display. Many systems are set up such that water pumps from the sump/refugium to the display while water flows via gravity back to the sump (through a “drain(s),” a hole(s) drilled in the display tank). If you do a water change from the display, you’d likely be bringing the water level down below the drain(s). But the water in the sump would keep pumping water back up. Since most sumps/refugiums are only a fraction of the volume of the display, your sump could pump itself dry during the water change. This is bad for the sump and for the pump in the sump. You could turn off the pump in the sump, but you’d have to do this after you lowered the water level in the display (or else the sump will overflow). Having a sump in the basement could make this tricky. You might find yourself running up and down the stairs, racing against the pump or gravity or both. If you do the water change from the sump/refugium, assuming the water volume of your display is much larger, the vertical water level in the display tank should not drop nearly as far as it would in the sump. Also, doing the water change from the sump could allow you to more easily pace your water change.
Of course, the situation changes if you don’t use a gravity-pulled output to the sump. Some aquarists use two pumps instead of a pump and a drain. And some use a combination of pumps and drains that can get quite complicated. But in your case, and for most beginners, I strongly suggest the use of a gravity pulled drain from the display to the sump, with a pump from the sump to the display. You can have more than one drain though. That just depends on how much flow you want from the two tanks and how many holes you’re willing to drill in your tank.>
In my current tank, when I perform water changes, I take that opportunity to siphon off the liverock, clean the sand, etc. I'm wondering when the "sump people" do that?
<They likely do it as they feel they need to. To prevent either one tank from going dry or another overflowing, you will need to take out just enough water so that the water level is below the drain(s). Then, before the pump in the sump/refugium brings the water level back up, you’ll have to turn off that pump. Again, this is where having the sump in the basement is a bit of a disadvantage. Some aquarists use float valves which automatically turn pumps off if water gets to a certain level.>
Do water changes turn into a two step process......one being cleaning the display, and one being water exchange? Could you shed some light here?
<It doesn’t have to be a two part process. I have a 65g display with a 29g refugium and I do all my water changes from the display. Even if you get confused in trying to figure out when to turn off the pump or where to lower a water level to, usually you learn after your first overflow or dry out. Something about seeing it happen often helps people better understand what’s going on.>
I'm ultimately trying to find out where will be the best place to make all my water... ...upstairs with the display, or downstairs with the sump? Will I be doing equal amounts of work upstairs as well as downstairs? Am I better off to just put a sump underneath the tank in the stand? (I do love the idea of having ample room in the basement though).
<I can understand why having the sump in the basement is tempting. Many aquarists do this and wouldn’t have it any other way. However, if you plan on having a reef tank, there’s another thing you will have to consider; build up in the pipes. The longer your pipes are, the harder they’re going to be to clean and/or replace.>
I should have prefaced this by letting you know that I am currently battling hair algae. In response, I have upped my water changes to weekly (from every other week), and considering twice weekly.
<Have you tried getting more herbivores?>
Every water change is a major ordeal, as I am removing and cleaning all the powerheads, heaters and canister filter intakes/returns during each water change. Believe me, I'm up to my eyeballs in frustration! I have finally figured out that there is phosphate in my tap water,
<Ah, there’s your problem! You should invest in a RO/DI water filtering unit. You will especially need this if you plan to keep reef invertebrates.>
and thus have ordered and received a Kold-Steril unit along with their alumina media. (I just cannot stomach the thought of the wasted water of RO units).
<Hmm… it might be difficult for you to keep a reef tank without RO/DI filtered (or distilled) water.>
I have added Chemi-pure as well. And until I get the Kold-Steril running, I am purchasing RO water for all change and top off. I hope that my battle plan pays off, as the tank is nowhere near a max bioload,
<What are you considering the “max bioload?” I ask because people usually overestimate their “max bioload.” You can’t go by the inches of fish per gallon rules, especially not for reef tanks.>
I feed sparingly, and have four powerheads along with an Eheim
2026 filter that is cleaned out weekly. I guess I'm wondering if when a reef tank is running "optimally", whether the hobbyist is spending very little time invading the display to keep it clean? (making the downstairs setup more desirable). I should note that I believe I am very understocked as far as clean up crew. I have 3 crabs (which I could certainly do without......I'm not thrilled with having them at all) and 3 snails. I believe I need to add a significant amount more snails.
<3 snails is probably not enough. While there’s no certain rule for how many snails you can or should have, you definitely want more than one kind of snail. Different snails eat different kinds of algae.>
I've been researching, and as always, everyone has a different opinion. Would 20 snails in a 55 gallon be a safe middle ground?
<It would be two many if they were all of the same type. It’s best to get 3 to 5 snails each of 5 different types. Also makes sure that whatever type you get, they are species that live at reef temperatures. Unfortunately, some of the snails sold for reef aquariums are species from much colder waters and so are not suitable for tanks at reef temperatures>
Lastly, my plan for all this is to purchase a 75 or 90 gallon for the display, and use the current 55 for the sump. Is the 55 gallon too big?
<Absolutely not, big sumps/refugiums are good things.>
And my apologies for one more question.........when you add a sump, do you calculate the amount of water to change based on the total new volume? Say you've got a 90 gallon display, and 30 gallons in the sump, would the 10% for the water change be of the 90 gallons, or the combined 120 gallons?
<This is something of a trick question. Theoretically, yes, you’d consider the total new volume of water when calculating for a water change. However, the more water your system has, the lower your effective “bioload” (assuming you don’t start putting animals in your sump) and so it’s likely that, with the increased water volume, you can do fewer or smaller water changes.>
As always, thank you for your time and willingness to share your knowledge. All the newbies are eternally grateful!
<Happy to help :-)
Sara M>
Best regards,
Kim