ID please
- Thread starter rainn626
- Start date
reefforbrains
Active Member
Algea in both pics. the little red patch is red hair. usually not an issue unless its on or intertwined with something then it can be hard to get rid of.
Phosphates in the water, too much lighting, overfeeding, low flow, or any combination of the mix will do it.
My money is on overfeeding making nutrient rich water causing an algea bloom. Tank looks brand new. What does your water test out at?
Phos, trate readings with lighting and feeding shedule will be first spot to look IMO.
Phosphates in the water, too much lighting, overfeeding, low flow, or any combination of the mix will do it.
My money is on overfeeding making nutrient rich water causing an algea bloom. Tank looks brand new. What does your water test out at?
Phos, trate readings with lighting and feeding shedule will be first spot to look IMO.
rainn626
Member
thanks for the info, i appreciate it.
my tank is less than 6 mo old. i started to carefully feed my fish (2x day)to avoid overfeeding, but kinda difficult to feed my watchman.
my lvl are a little higher than zero, except for trates which are at 50. i've been doin weekly 10% to reduce it.i dont have a phosphate test kit, would it be worth while to order one?
if low flow might be a problem...i only have a hang on back filter which gives the left side a nice little flow, but not much for the right side.
i keep my lights on from about 1045-700pm
thanks
my tank is less than 6 mo old. i started to carefully feed my fish (2x day)to avoid overfeeding, but kinda difficult to feed my watchman.
my lvl are a little higher than zero, except for trates which are at 50. i've been doin weekly 10% to reduce it.i dont have a phosphate test kit, would it be worth while to order one?
if low flow might be a problem...i only have a hang on back filter which gives the left side a nice little flow, but not much for the right side.
i keep my lights on from about 1045-700pm
thanks
coraljunky
Active Member
twice per day?
coraljunky
Active Member
i feed my fish twice per week. have you tested water? what are your parameters? you may be overfeeding.
m0nk
Active Member
It doesn't look bad, but without a bigger picture of your tank it's hard to tell for sure. 2 times a day for feeding isn't bad either, depending on what you have in there (including cleanup crew). What's your total stock list? I've been feeding in my 12 gallon 2 times a day for over 6 months and haven't had any issues with problem algea (have 2 clowns, 3 astrea snails, 5 nassarius snails, 1 margarita snail, and a cleaner shrimp). My lighting in that is also only 36 watts. I keep that one for about 10-11 hours max. What wattage are you using on yours? Also, is this something that you see happening all over your tank?
Investing in a phosphate testing kit may be a good idea, if you don't have a LFS that will test for you. I have one that will test for anything, any number of times a week, etc. I test for the standard stuff but for things like that I'll take it in there. Mix up a batch of saltwater and take a sample to test for phosphates before putting the water in your tank. If you take a sample directly from the tank you won't get good results because anything in there that consumes phosphates (the algea) will skew your testing.
Investing in a phosphate testing kit may be a good idea, if you don't have a LFS that will test for you. I have one that will test for anything, any number of times a week, etc. I test for the standard stuff but for things like that I'll take it in there. Mix up a batch of saltwater and take a sample to test for phosphates before putting the water in your tank. If you take a sample directly from the tank you won't get good results because anything in there that consumes phosphates (the algea) will skew your testing.
rebelprettyboy
Active Member
U need to get ur ammonia and trates down?
Did u put things in your tank before it was completely cycled? Cuz u nvr really see trites besides during the cycle
Did u put things in your tank before it was completely cycled? Cuz u nvr really see trites besides during the cycle
rainn626
Member
sorry took so long to reply, thank everyone for ur input.
i did a water change yesterday and tested my water today.
ammo .25, trites 0, trates 10
my stock list includes 2 clowns, 1 watchman goby, brittle starfish, i had 5 turbos but recently died. is feeding twice a day to much with these? i would really like to get my lvls down and stable so i can get a new cleanup crew and cleaner shrimp soon. your advice is greatly appreciated.
i did a water change yesterday and tested my water today.
ammo .25, trites 0, trates 10
my stock list includes 2 clowns, 1 watchman goby, brittle starfish, i had 5 turbos but recently died. is feeding twice a day to much with these? i would really like to get my lvls down and stable so i can get a new cleanup crew and cleaner shrimp soon. your advice is greatly appreciated.
bbailey231
Member
Originally Posted by rainn626
sorry took so long to reply, thank everyone for ur input.
i did a water change yesterday and tested my water today.
ammo .25, trites 0, trates 10
my stock list includes 2 clowns, 1 watchman goby, brittle starfish, i had 5 turbos but recently died. is feeding twice a day to much with these? i would really like to get my lvls down and stable so i can get a new cleanup crew and cleaner shrimp soon. your advice is greatly appreciated.
I would feed once a day or once every other day at most. Only give them what they will eat in 3-5 minutes.
sorry took so long to reply, thank everyone for ur input.
i did a water change yesterday and tested my water today.
ammo .25, trites 0, trates 10
my stock list includes 2 clowns, 1 watchman goby, brittle starfish, i had 5 turbos but recently died. is feeding twice a day to much with these? i would really like to get my lvls down and stable so i can get a new cleanup crew and cleaner shrimp soon. your advice is greatly appreciated.
I would feed once a day or once every other day at most. Only give them what they will eat in 3-5 minutes.
jonthefishguy
Active Member
you need to not do any water changes until your ammonia is at zero, nitrites at zero. Here is the reason. When you first pour water in a tank, it is pure. start adding rock and fish and they start to piss and poop and whatever isnt cured on the live rock will start to rot. As they bacteria breaks this piss,poop, rotting material down, it creates ammonia in which turn another bacteria breaks the ammonia down and creates nitrites. As this is happening, another bacteria starts to form that breaks down the nitrites and it produces nitrates. you can control nitrates by doing water changes after BOTH nitrites and ammonia are at ZERO. The reason why not to do a water change is this: Imagine a roller coaster going up hill. the bottom of the hill is zero, and the top of the peak before it comes down is 100 percent. Of course the middle of the hill would be fifty and so on. Your bacteria that produces ammonia (coaster) is trying to make it to the top of the hill so that it can come back down and end its little ride. There is another coaster that starts at the 25 percent level to catch up with the ammonia and starts to catch up with the ammonia. When they two meet at a point, thats when your ammonia coaster starts to come down. The ammonia will be at ZERO when it reaches the bottom side of the hill, but the nitrites will be climbing up a hill of its own and is trying to get it "its" highest level. Now consider that there is another coaster that starts at the 75 percent level. That coaster starts to break down the Nitrites and the coaster ride happens again, this time only with nitrites. Amonnia is out of the picture. Once the nitrite and nitrate coaster meet at the highest point on he hill, the nitrites comes down and will be at ZERO and then all you have to worry aoout now is nitrates.. HERE IS THE CATCH, IF YOU DO ANY WATER CHANGES DURING THE COASTER RIDE OF THE AMMONIA OR NITRITES, YOU ARE BASICALLY PICKING UP THAT COASTER AND STARTING IT CLOSER TO THE STARTING LINE OF EACH OFITS OWN RIDE AND IT WILL NEVER FINISH CYCLING. Now, the coaster ride for the nitrates will come down and fluctuate depending on how often you feed, amount of livestock, the ability for your filter to catch up with the bio load, decaying matter and so on.... Ammonia and Nitrites will not be seen again unless something is wrong. They have had their ride and its over. Nitrates is the only coaster thats pretty much an endless ride....
reefkprz
Active Member
Originally Posted by jonthefishguy
HERE IS THE CATCH, IF YOU DO ANY WATER CHANGES DURING THE COASTER RIDE OF THE AMMONIA OR NITRITES, YOU ARE BASICALLY PICKING UP THAT COASTER AND STARTING IT CLOSER TO THE STARTING LINE OF EACH OFITS OWN RIDE AND IT WILL NEVER FINISH CYCLING.....
everything in that post I pretty much agree with except this statement that I quoted, water changes during a cycle can be very effective for ensuring the highest microfauna survival, lowering your ammonia level WILL NOT prevent bacteria from growing to establish a complete nitrogen cycle. it will help keep it in the lower range of toxicity so your critters hiking in on rock have a better chance to live creating a tank that starts with a high biodiversity. if water changes prevented the completion of a cycle than no tank I have ever started would have finished cycling because I do water changes to keep my ammonia below1.0 to 0.5 during a cycle.
it does increase the length of time to build a biological bacteria community capable of handling high bioloads but its worth it to me in the long run to ensure I have the most biodiverse tank possible, as it is hard to increase biodiversity but rather easy to reduce biodiversity in microfauna.
HERE IS THE CATCH, IF YOU DO ANY WATER CHANGES DURING THE COASTER RIDE OF THE AMMONIA OR NITRITES, YOU ARE BASICALLY PICKING UP THAT COASTER AND STARTING IT CLOSER TO THE STARTING LINE OF EACH OFITS OWN RIDE AND IT WILL NEVER FINISH CYCLING.....
everything in that post I pretty much agree with except this statement that I quoted, water changes during a cycle can be very effective for ensuring the highest microfauna survival, lowering your ammonia level WILL NOT prevent bacteria from growing to establish a complete nitrogen cycle. it will help keep it in the lower range of toxicity so your critters hiking in on rock have a better chance to live creating a tank that starts with a high biodiversity. if water changes prevented the completion of a cycle than no tank I have ever started would have finished cycling because I do water changes to keep my ammonia below1.0 to 0.5 during a cycle.
it does increase the length of time to build a biological bacteria community capable of handling high bioloads but its worth it to me in the long run to ensure I have the most biodiverse tank possible, as it is hard to increase biodiversity but rather easy to reduce biodiversity in microfauna.
rainn626
Member
thanks jonthefishguy for the detailed explanation. so it appears that i may have never actually finished my cycle. i dont have and cant get live rock so thats not an issue for me. so i looks like i will wait until my ammonia and nitrites are at zero.
in the mean time i have no clean up crew and from what i understand turbo snails are sensitive to high trates(which is why i believe mine died) and im not sure if adding hermit would cause problems with my starfish and goby.
in the mean time i have no clean up crew and from what i understand turbo snails are sensitive to high trates(which is why i believe mine died) and im not sure if adding hermit would cause problems with my starfish and goby.