Giving up I think.......

bluering09

bluering09

Member
I buy the saltwater already mixed and I dont have a protein skimmer. I read it somewhere that sometimes corals will grow faster without protein skimmer, other words that in some set ups it really doesnt matter. So far I have the red slime in control in the main tank. still have that piece of rock with red grass all other in a 5 gallon. I do 30 to 40% water change.
 
bluering09

bluering09

Member
No sand cause it would be easy to maintan, when vacuming and stuff like that. but now I m woundering if I should add live sand and more rock. I definally need more rock.
 
mscarpena

mscarpena

Member
30-40% water changes weekly or monthly. I would do 3-5 gallons weekly if you are not running a skimmer. I reccomend a skimmer the Aqua C Nano is great. Where do you get your Saltwater from a LFS or do you buy the stuff already pre-packaged from the ocean??
 
bluering09

bluering09

Member
LFS. I was just there today and didnt see any protein skimmer that will fit in my Aquapod. I have a skilter, but thats for my 29g and last time I used it didnt do any gud to me. I m going back 2morow to buy new test kit and new bulbs, will ask about the skimmer.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
Originally Posted by paintballer768
http:///forum/post/2495765
Okay lets try to figure this out. Tank specs (especially lighting)? Water parameters? Pictures of mystery red algae?
The clam and the elegance require metal halides or great T5s. The frogspawn also requires decent lighting, minimum being a high wattage power compact set or so. We'll figure this out though.
Errrrrrrrr, incorrect. Elegance does NOT require T5 or Halides.
 
new2salt1

new2salt1

Member
You are talking about dosing calc, dosing Iodine, and dosing essential elements. You have gone bare-bottom, and you dont mix your own water/salt.
You have no control over your tank bud!
Why do you add iodine? Do you have a deficiency in Iodine? Have you ever tested iodine? When I first started, I was told my elegance coral needs max light and high calc. My calc is 340-360, the elegance is under 36 watt
50/50s, and the skeleton has grown 3 inches. After being told todose this and that, I determined that unless I wanted to test 10 gallons of water everyday, I should not be dosing such serious chemicals in such a small tank.
You need to take back control of your tank, cause right now you are leaving its fate in the hands of your LFS and supplement advertisers. Your PH should not be low and your calc should not be low if you are using a quality salt. You only have one calc-dependant coral in your tank, you dont need to dose calc.
This is what I would do:
1. Buy RO water, test it yourself before using it.
2. Stop buying pre-mixed garbage. The LFS uses the cheapest stuff available because they know the people buying pre-mixed SW are not the more astute hobbyists.
3. Buy a good salt. The extra $3 for Tropic Marin is worth it imo.
4. Stop dosing everything.
5. Do your regular water changes with the homemixed water. Make sure the SG is where it should be 1.024-1.026, and keep the SG and temp CONSISTENT.
6. Add a thin layer of live aragonite.
Sit back and watch the health of your tank improve. Test for phosphates. High phosphates = happy algae. Kill the phates, kill the algae.
All a healthy nano reef needs it quality water, quality salt, consistent water changes, proper circulation, and proper feeding.
And finally...STOCKING...
Fish create SOOOOO much more waste than corals/verts. Not only do the fish poop, but the food that needs to be fed to fish greatly increases waste. SO LESS FISH. If you must have more fish, INCREASE WATER CHANGE FREQUENCY, AND MAKE SURE YOU VACCUUM THE TANK FLOOR. AND INCREASE LR POUNDAGE - THAT IS YOUR FILTER!
It sounds to me like you need to go back to basics to fix your problem. You have introduced so many variables that there is no way you can understand your problems.
Learn to do the basics perfectly. Water/salt mixing, testing, circulation, feeding, and stocking. You perfect the basics and you can throw out all those expensive supplements.
 
harris28

harris28

Member
Originally Posted by New2Salt1
http:///forum/post/2505042
You are talking about dosing calc, dosing Iodine, and dosing essential elements. You have gone bare-bottom, and you dont mix your own water/salt.
You have no control over your tank bud!
Why do you add iodine? Do you have a deficiency in Iodine? Have you ever tested iodine? When I first started, I was told my elegance coral needs max light and high calc. My calc is 340-360, the elegance is under 36 watt
50/50s, and the skeleton has grown 3 inches. After being told todose this and that, I determined that unless I wanted to test 10 gallons of water everyday, I should not be dosing such serious chemicals in such a small tank.
You need to take back control of your tank, cause right now you are leaving its fate in the hands of your LFS and supplement advertisers. Your PH should not be low and your calc should not be low if you are using a quality salt. You only have one calc-dependant coral in your tank, you dont need to dose calc.
This is what I would do:
1. Buy RO water, test it yourself before using it.
2. Stop buying pre-mixed garbage. The LFS uses the cheapest stuff available because they know the people buying pre-mixed SW are not the more astute hobbyists.
3. Buy a good salt. The extra $3 for Tropic Marin is worth it imo.
4. Stop dosing everything.
5. Do your regular water changes with the homemixed water. Make sure the SG is where it should be 1.024-1.026, and keep the SG and temp CONSISTENT.
6. Add a thin layer of live aragonite.
Sit back and watch the health of your tank improve. Test for phosphates. High phosphates = happy algae. Kill the phates, kill the algae.
All a healthy nano reef needs it quality water, quality salt, consistent water changes, proper circulation, and proper feeding.
And finally...STOCKING...
Fish create SOOOOO much more waste than corals/verts. Not only do the fish poop, but the food that needs to be fed to fish greatly increases waste. SO LESS FISH. If you must have more fish, INCREASE WATER CHANGE FREQUENCY, AND MAKE SURE YOU VACCUUM THE TANK FLOOR. AND INCREASE LR POUNDAGE - THAT IS YOUR FILTER!
It sounds to me like you need to go back to basics to fix your problem. You have introduced so many variables that there is no way you can understand your problems.
Learn to do the basics perfectly. Water/salt mixing, testing, circulation, feeding, and stocking. You perfect the basics and you can throw out all those expensive supplements.
Nicely said
!!
 
rackyrane

rackyrane

Member
Aqua C has a nano skimmer that I have on my 12 gallon aquapod. Works great and my parameters are always spot on. You may be able to order one online if your LFS doesn't have one.
 
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