Anemone under bridged rock

flower

flower

Well-Known Member
BanditMan15 said:
Thanks flower! I have skimmer at full blast pretty much and water changes are almost 2 times a week 5 -10 gallon I have a phosphate reactor HOB but have not tried the refugium yet.... All of HOB is because I have yet to build a sump... How long you leave lights on for flower?
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Hi,

I keep seahorses now, I kept my light on for 8 to 10 hours when I had my reef... My lighting was Metal halides 2 X 175 with 2 X 95w actinic T5HO. Everyone develops what method works best for them. Keeping the PO4 and NO3 at 0 readings is the goal to keep things looking good. I lost my reef to a broken heater that electrocuted the tank, I didn't have the heart to have to watch frags grow out again...too much time, and repurchasing them at the size I lost, cost too much money.
 
BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
flower said:
Hi,

I keep seahorses now, I kept my light on for 8 to 10 hours when I had my reef... My lighting was Metal halides 2 X 175 with 2 X 95w actinic T5HO. Everyone develops what method works best for them. Keeping the PO4 and NO3 at 0 readings is the goal to keep things looking good. I lost my reef to a broken heater that electrocuted the tank, I didn't have the heart to have to watch frags grow out again...too much time, and repurchasing them at the size I lost, cost too much money.
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Wow I hate that... Electircuted everything? I just checked phosphate and it's at 0 but my nitrate is through the roof!! Over 5ppm I do weekly WC with RO Red Sea salt... What am I doing wrong here?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
BanditMan15 said:
Wow I hate that... Electircuted everything? I just checked phosphate and it's at 0 but my nitrate is through the roof!! Over 5ppm I do weekly WC with RO Red Sea salt... What am I doing wrong here?
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Hi,
I calculated my loss by the cost coral of corals to replace what was lost at the size they were when the heater broke...$1500.00 That was a dark, dark day for me.
As to what is going wrong with your tank... If you have nuisance algae you will get a false negative reading on phosphates, the algae is using it to feed on.

However if you are doing weekly water changes, that's the best way to keep PO4 and NO3 down. What kind of test kits are you using? API reads high on nitrates, 4Xs higher then the other kits. What kind of CUC (CLEAN UP CREW ...snails and such) do you have? With weekly water changes...I'm thinking maybe you just need to up the CUC to take care of things, and that there may not be anything you are doing wrong at all.
 
BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
flower said:
Hi,
I calculated my loss by the cost coral of corals to replace what was lost at the size they were when the heater broke...$1500.00 That was a dark, dark day for me.
As to what is going wrong with your tank... If you have nuisance algae you will get a false negative reading on phosphates, the algae is using it to feed on.

However if you are doing weekly water changes, that's the best way to keep PO4 and NO3 down. What kind of test kits are you using? API reads high on nitrates, 4Xs higher then the other kits. What kind of CUC (CLEAN UP CREW ...snails and such) do you have? With weekly water changes...I'm thinking maybe you just need to up the CUC to take care of things, and that there may not be anything you are doing wrong at all.
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I bet it was... Wow that's a lot of $$ huge loss I really hate to hear that... Esp since I am new to the coral game. I have had a sea hair and several turbo snails for 4 weeks. Then I purchase a CUC several blue and red legged crabs, 4 emeralds, 2 sea urch., cucumber, and bad thing is I have a undalated trigger that is in my tank and I think it has been feeding on all my CUC... Found my bristle star, sea cuc, several tiny crab shells.... I have been trying to give him away
 
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flower

flower

Well-Known Member
BanditMan15 said:
Red Sea kits
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Okay...a Sea hare and a couple of urchins... Please believe me, you have phosphates if you have enough algae for those big eaters to stay alive. Have you checked the TDS of your RO water? Or are you trying to fix your system after using tap water? Triggers do eat the CUC, they are not reef safe.

My corals were old, they were all nice and huge, nothing fancy, just soft corals, sea fans, and my prized Fox coral. I liked the colors of my mushrooms and Green star polyps. I have a 90g, tank and it was loaded until I couldn't fit anything else. I don't frag my corals, I let them get big. Please don't be discouraged on doing a reef, I enjoyed mine so much...it was worth every penny and effort I put into it. I just lost heart once it got zapped, and I didn't want to start over with frags (which were affordable).

I then gave away all my fish (no fish fried in the electrocution, only corals and my CUC). I purchased a chiller (big bucks) and decided to try my hand at a cold saltwater tank. I now keep potbelly seahorses. I keep bouncing between getting rid of the tank, or redoing it. I have a ton of macroalgae, so the parameters stay pristine... I can't take care of the tank like I used to, it's too big, and I need to climb on a step ladder to reach it. I'm disabled now, and that has become a chore. LOL...Every time I even mention breaking it down, my family members all chime in with how I have always kept a fish tank, ever since I was a girl. They think I would miss it too much, I think they may be right. It just sure isn't the show piece it was back in the day. Sadly I don't have pictures, I crashed my computer and lost them all.
 
BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
flower said:
Okay...a Sea hare and a couple of urchins... Please believe me, you have phosphates if you have enough algae for those big eaters to stay alive. Have you checked the TDS of your RO water? Or are you trying to fix your system after using tap water? Triggers do eat the CUC, they are not reef safe.

My corals were old, they were all nice and huge, nothing fancy, just soft corals, sea fans, and my prized Fox coral. I liked the colors of my mushrooms and Green star polyps. I have a 90g, tank and it was loaded until I couldn't fit anything else. I don't frag my corals, I let them get big. Please don't be discouraged on doing a reef, I enjoyed mine so much...it was worth every penny and effort I put into it. I just lost heart once it got zapped, and I didn't want to start over with frags (which were affordable).

I then gave away all my fish (no fish fried in the electrocution, only corals and my CUC). I purchased a chiller (big bucks) and decided to try my hand at a cold saltwater tank. I now keep potbelly seahorses. I keep bouncing between getting rid of the tank, or redoing it. I have a ton of macroalgae, so the parameters stay pristine... I can't take care of the tank like I used to, it's too big, and I need to climb on a step ladder to reach it. I'm disabled now, and that has become a chore. LOL...Every time I even mention breaking it down, my family members all chime in with how I have always kept a fish tank, ever since I was a girl. They think I would miss it too much, I think they may be right. It just sure isn't the show piece it was back in the day. Sadly I don't have pictures, I crashed my computer and lost them all.
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I bet it was gorgeous !! And I think you would miss it esp being in it that long... No TAP water I don't believe I have had tank now 4 months and past 3 have been with RO ...you say you have a ton of macroalgae are you running sump and refugium ? I am wondering if I need to start concentrating on a sump instead of my 5 stage canister? Any thoughts? I just want the best water possible healthy enough for fish and corals
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
MQUOTE="BanditMan15, post: 3570218, member: 298181"]I bet it was gorgeous !! And I think you would miss it esp being in it that long... No TAP water I don't believe I have had tank now 4 months and past 3 have been with RO ...you say you have a ton of macroalgae are you running sump and refugium ? I am wondering if I need to start concentrating on a sump instead of my 5 stage canister? Any thoughts? I just want the best water possible healthy enough for fish and corals[/QUOTE]

Hi,

Since I no longer keep coral, I opted for the macroalgae to be right in the display for the horses to hitch to. I also created my own décor, a ships wheel and anchor large enough for the 90g, with a plastic real looking chain attaching them so the horses can hitch to it. I ordered the resin on line and sealed the wooden anchor and wheel, then used pond foam to attach it to rock to weigh it down. I then seeded the tank with Amphipods (aka = seahorse's all time favorite yummy treat). If you want corals, I don't think it's a good idea to put macros right in the display, it grows fast and you have to keep it pruned or it may cover the corals. However, for a fish only set up like mine, it's perfect.

As for a refugium: It can be an in-tank, separate tank, HOB, or a separate chamber section in the sump. You can do just about anything you want, one type or another will fit your needs. I like the sump type for a reef because you can hide so much equipment... However I would strongly suggest that the tank be predrilled. Overflow boxes are just a pain to deal with...clogs, leaks, or overflowing... it seems like it's always something.

I used a canister filter for many years with my reef, and towards the end a sump. I liked the canister, I could put in whatever media I wanted, and I loved the spray bar. My tank wasn't drilled and the lifter pump for the Sump overflow was a constant pain in the butt. Then when I finally got that issue fixed (used something besides the lifter pump)...the sump itself sprung a leak.

Right now, I have 2 HOB Fluval C4 filters, macros and live rock. No skimmer, no GFO or carbon reactors, with macros, they simply are not needed.

Regular water changes with RO as top off and mixing water, should keep things running smoothly. Don't overstock the tank with fish, and don't overfeed. Make sure you have good water flow. These are the secrets to a happy reef. Make sure to feed your corals... but don't overdo it.
 
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BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
What are these eggs?image.jpg
And see the red slime algae swaying? I had lights off for 16 hrs and then just blue light and still came back this bad... I'm going ahead and going to do a 20 gal WC for a 65 is that ok? How many wc should I do to get rid of? I'm trying to take it slow but getting frustrated
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
Definitely looks like cyano. The stuff on the rocks looks like cyano on top of hair algae. I had that. I thought I had some weird brown hair algae until I moved a power head and the brown blew off and underneath was normal annoying green hair algae.
 
BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
So it was the same you had? And how did you get rid of again? What about he hair? I guess I still just feel like I am doing something wrong here .... I know I am doing PLENTY of WC
 
lmforbis

lmforbis

Well-Known Member
BanditMan15 said:
So it was the same you had? And how did you get rid of again? What about he hair? I guess I still just feel like I am doing something wrong here .... I know I am doing PLENTY of WC
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I can't say for sure it was the same but it looks the same. I tried all the normal stuff, reduced feeding, decreased light cycle changed up and increased flow, added GFO and carbon reactors. After a couple months of no improvement, I took off one of my power heads and blew off the rocks really good. Then I treated with chemiclean. I followed the directions exactly. About a week after the last dose it was pretty much gone.
 
BanditMan15

BanditMan15

Member
After first 24 hrs not much happened only looks like it's coming apart from rock a little bit... Another ? I had a chocolate chip star in my tank I didn't know at the time that it's not reef safe and it got I top of one of my cotton candy frags and looked like he sucked all purple algae clear off and looks like the coral is dead can I still do a iodine dip or am I to late?
 
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