HELP!!!

[nvmycj]

I cannot get rid of my diatoms!!!

What suggestions do you guys have?!?! I'm increasing my water flow with another powerhead. Doing water changes every 10-12 days or so, with RODI water. I've got a CUC that seem to be LAZY! (HAHA!) My tank is just over 2 months old.
HELP!!!
HELP!!!
HELP!!!
What am I doing wrong....??

 

[meowzer]

what exactly is your cuc? what do you use for filtration?

 

[nvmycj]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/385075/help#post_3375738
what exactly is your cuc? what do you use for filtration?
I bought the 30-90 gallon CUC from SWF.com. What survived the shipment is approximately:
10 dwarf white legged hermits
15 blue legged hermits
3 emeral crabs
1 brittle starfish (super cool!)
10 Nassarius snails
2 cleaner clams
10 turbo snails
I bought and extra 10 cerith snails from my LFS. I just can't beat this thing! For filtration, I've got the stock filter unit the BioCube comes with. Is it too soon to replace it with a protein skimmer?

 

[nano-newb1983]

i would do waterchanges once a week, that should help alot

 

[flower]

Small tanks are harder than big tanks.
Hermits love brown algae. urchins eat all algae..including coraline.
Post a picture of your tank so we can see what you are looking at.

 

[nvmycj]

Sorry about the delay of my response. Night shift sucks. But anyway,...here's my tank pic. All that brown crap on the front, back, and sides is my concern. There's actually a brown film floating on the surface. What do you think???

 

[meowzer]

I think you need a heck of a lot more flow in there
there seems to be NO movement at the top at all....

 

[nvmycj]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/385075/help#post_3376613
I think you need a heck of a lot more flow in there
there seems to be NO movement at the top at all....
I know... Yesterday my Nano Koralia 240gph arrived. Today,...water change with installation of the powerhead.

 

[teresaq]

I agree,no water movement. Looks like you need to upgrade the pump in the back and add a small powerhead. something need to move the water on the surface.
How deep is that sand bed, lol or is that just a short tank??

 

[teresaq]

oops, we posted at the same time

 

[flower]

a mag float will help you make the tank front, back and sides nice and clear, it works like an eraser to remove stuff on the glass/acrylic be sure to use the right type for acrylic or glass.
Also I agree you do need a power head and some way to agitate the surface of the water...so maybe 2 nano Koralias one towards the top and the other pointed to the rocks. The wave is the life of the ocean and your fish tank.

 

[nvmycj]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/385075/help#post_3376636

a mag float will help you make the tank front, back and sides nice and clear, it works like an eraser to remove stuff on the glass/acrylic be sure to use the right type for acrylic or glass.
Also I agree you do need a power head and some way to agitate the surface of the water...so maybe 2 nano Koralias one towards the top and the other pointed to the rocks. The wave is the life of the ocean and your fish tank.
So, you're suggesting I have two powerheads,...IN ADDITION to the stock one I have that came with the BioCube? That's A LOT of movement...
As a side note, I put in my Koralia Nano 240. Very unimpressed. I feel no water movement when I place my hand three inches in front of it. I'm returning this one and replacing it with the 425.
In regards to lighting, its 3-5watts per gallon, right? Now,...is that the actual amount of water in the tank, OR is it the size of the tank. For example, my BioCube is 29 gallons. However, due to the LR and LS, I only put in 18-19 gallons of water. So is my wattage calculation based on actual water amount?
Thanks guys.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by NVMYCJ http:///forum/thread/385075/help#post_3376655
So, you're suggesting I have two powerheads,...IN ADDITION to the stock one I have that came with the BioCube? That's A LOT of movement...
As a side note, I put in my Koralia Nano 240. Very unimpressed. I feel no water movement when I place my hand three inches in front of it. I'm returning this one and replacing it with the 425.
In regards to lighting, its 3-5watts per gallon, right? Now,...is that the actual amount of water in the tank, OR is it the size of the tank. For example, my BioCube is 29 gallons. However, due to the LR and LS, I only put in 18-19 gallons of water. So is my wattage calculation based on actual water amount?
Thanks guys.

The surface of your tank should look like it is boiling. This movement adds oxygen to your tank. The water movement should be strong enough for corals to wave but not be beat to death. If this is a fish only tank use a stick with string attached to check on the water movement. All areas of the tank should have flow, some areas may be stronger than others but all areas should have something.

Water flow is very important. I can't stress this enough. The wave is the very life of the ocean, it feeds the corals and helps the pollutants to be washed away..in our tanks that means to keep solids suspended so the filter can clear it away. Otherwise you are going to have junk settling on the rocks and sand and feeding the bad algae.

 

[nvmycj]

Gotcha!