So...I need help with this Aquarium.

[bree]

Okay! So i think this is the wrong thread but...
I have been working at a petstore for about a year now, and look after the whole fish and repltile sections, so have my hands full. We cater mainly to freshwater hobbiest, however i have a 30 gallon cube saltwater that has been housing damsels, a type of clownfish ( ) and lots of algae. Been setup for a few years now, so is very much established.
Well lately i have had some extra time and finally gotten around to working on the saltwater.
I am running a 150 watt heater, 2x24 watt glo light fixture, and a 110 aqua clear filter.
Have about 50Ibs + live rock.
For the most part i have blue green algae growing all over the tank as well as the harder to remove green algae on the tank walls.
I take the razor to it and removed all the algae from the walls, and all the live rock i scrubbed down, as well as a 35% water change using gravel syphon to get rid of the algae on the bottom.
I am looking to get rid of this algae for good and then to make the tank look amazing using live corals and what not. haha
I will try and take a shot for you tomorrow, but please help out, i am brand new to the saltwater thing.

 

[btldreef]

Welcome to the forum!
If you don't have any corals, turn your lights off to help combat the algae. Continue with your water changes as well.
What are you using for your water? Test it for phosphates before you put it in the tank. Phosphates feed algae.
I'd love to see a pic so we can correctly identify what algae's your fighting, some are harder than others.
What are you water parameters? (salinity, temperature, calcium, alkalinity, pH, nitrate, phosphate, ammonia, etc)
Do you run any carbon or phoshate remover? Or are you just using the stock filter cartridge for the Aqua clear?
Powerheads?
How many fish in total? What type of clownfish?
What are you feeding your fish? How much? How often?
How many fish in total?
What do you have for a cleaning crew (CUC) snails, hermits, etc?

 

[bree]

Wow thanks for posting so fast!
Since this is a petstore the inhabitants change from time to time, however for the last few months we have had 4 yellow finned blue damsels, and again- not sure of the type of clownfish- will try and get a shot tomorrow though. All i can say right now is it is around 4 inches with dark orange and 1 white strip on its neck (form what i recall).
When i am at work I feed them about 1/2 frozen cube marine cuisine once a week, 1 tsp. tetra marine saltwater granules 3 times a week, and pinch marine flakes the other 3 days.
I run 110 sponge, carbon and biomax. Really want to add bio clear from fluval to help take out phosphates etc. But the city is going through serious algae everywhere and i have sold out of every kind of phosphate remover you could imagine!
Will try and set the timer down a little, however we are open from 10-6 so need to keep it on 8 hours at the least...
No clean up crew that i know of, sold all the turbo grazers, trying to order more in, are there any other clean up guys you would recommend?
Again i will test the water tomorrow for some up to date results as well as take some shots.

 

[btldreef]

I didn't realize this tank was in a store and not in your house. Even so, you need to keep some cleaners in the tank that are just not for sale, especially if there are fish in it or you'll forever be combating algae issues.
Can you leave the blue lights on for the majority of the day and leave the white lights off? The white lights are feeding the algae.
stop feeding pellets and flake, they pollute the water and feed the algae. For the fish you're keeping, they don't need to eat every day. I'd do every other day, you might even be able to get away with every third day.
You say the city is going through an algae issue. Are you using straight tap water for this tank and not purifying it through any sort of filtration like an RO, or RODI unit?
The clown sounds like a Tomato clown
As for cleaners, I'm a fan of Nassarius, Trochus and Astrea snails.

 

[bree]

Hmm, i could try working something out with the lighting, however its a single fixture with the two lights in it, this is more than likely a stupid question but what if i took out the white light or switched it with a more blue light then, even just for a little while?
Oh okay, good to know about the food, i will start feeding them every other day with frozen.
And i live in the Yukon (way up in Northern Canada) where at this season the sun never really goes down so peoples aquariums get constant sunlight, its not the water, just the placement of their aquariums kinda thing.
I do not have any water systems, just regular tap water treated with chlorine remover and salt of course.
Ah...Tomato clown, he looks very similar, could be it.
Sounds good about the snails, will put them on my "to get" list, how many do you think i should get for the tank?
And as far as live coral and whatnot i am guessing i should wait till most of the algae is at bay so it does not cover and kill them? Or is there a very hardy one that will help out take up some of the extra nutrients?

 

[bree]

OKAY!
So basically i did a 25% water change, razored all the algae off the sides, took out all the live rock and scrubbed it down, i also added a phophate remover to the filter that i found collecting dust in the media bin and turned the timer to run the lights from 10-6.
Before i did all the work to the tank today the stats were:
Salinity: 1.018
Nitrate 10
Nitrite: 0
PH: 8.8

 

[bree]

Tank shot afterwords, sorry it looks so horrible, i left out half of the live rock that used to be in there and just had time to stuff the rest in there with no plan on where everything was going. haha

 

[kiefers]

Sounds to me like you are off to a great start there. For future reference, and I do believe Btldreef mentioned, get a few zebra snails. They are lawn mowers. Several months ago I had a major breakout in my biocube. I had it all over the back, rocks, and glass. It was like looking into Dr. Suess's world. Lol
After researching it I found these Zebra snails and got two. By the end of the week my tank was half clear and those two snails were still chomppin away.
Good luck!

 

[bree]

I will totally look into those, thanks!
And out of curiousity are those nerite snails? They look identical to zebra nerite snails i sell for freshwater tanks- amazing algae eaters.
I know that nerite snails prefer brackish water as thats the only way you can get them to breed, but full saltwater?

 

[btldreef]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bree http:///t/392066/so-i-need-help-with-this-aquarium#post_3479754
I will totally look into those, thanks!
And out of curiousity are those nerite snails? They look identical to zebra nerite snails i sell for freshwater tanks- amazing algae eaters.
I know that nerite snails prefer brackish water as thats the only way you can get them to breed, but full saltwater?
Yes, they are nerites, and nerites can survive in saltwater just fine. I have over 100 in my 180. They're great little algae eaters. The only thing that I don't like about them is they lay eggs EVERYWHERE!
The algae looks like you have blue green cyano. It's actually not algae, it's bacteria. I believe it's from your over feeding and using the pellets and flakes. Cyano bacteria LOVE flake food. Try to siphon as much out as you can and keep on top of it. Increasing your flow by adding a power head will also help. Not having the cleaners in there to eat left over fish food and waste also contributed to the bacteria growth.
You seem to be on the right path. Although you should look into filtering your water and not just using tap with chlorine remover. I'd test your tap and your tank for phosphate. Interested to see those numbers.
Try to slowly increase your salinity over the next few water changes. Ideally your inverts want 1.021 or higher. I like to keep my reef tanks at 1.025.

 

[kiefers]

A little product information for your viewing entertainment.
The Turban Snail, also known as the Turban Shell, Trochus Snail, Banded Trochus Snail, or Top Shell, is shaped like a top or pyramid. The shell usually is a pale color with maroon stripes, though it is often covered with algae. (Snails of the Trochus genus are also called Turban Snails.)
It does well in an aquarium when provided with ample hiding places and room to forage. Live rock provides algae, cyanobacteria, and diatoms for food, but it also is an effective film algae eater, grazing on other surfaces, such as the sides of the tank. It is sensitive to high levels of copper-based medications and will not tolerate high nitrate levels.
It has no distinguishing characteristics to help differentiate male from female. They reproduce by releasing gametes into the water column, which appears as a white milky substance.
If insufficient food is present in the aquarium, supplement their diet with dried seaweed.

 

[bree]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/392066/so-i-need-help-with-this-aquarium#post_3479758
Yes, they are nerites, and nerites can survive in saltwater just fine. I have over 100 in my 180. They're great little algae eaters. The only thing that I don't like about them is they lay eggs EVERYWHERE!
The algae looks like you have blue green cyano. It's actually not algae, it's bacteria. I believe it's from your over feeding and using the pellets and flakes. Cyano bacteria LOVE flake food. Try to siphon as much out as you can and keep on top of it. Increasing your flow by adding a power head will also help. Not having the cleaners in there to eat left over fish food and waste also contributed to the bacteria growth.
You seem to be on the right path. Although you should look into filtering your water and not just using tap with chlorine remover. I'd test your tap and your tank for phosphate. Interested to see those numbers.
Try to slowly increase your salinity over the next few water changes. Ideally your inverts want 1.021 or higher. I like to keep my reef tanks at 1.025.
Wow thanks, i will adjust some of my nerites slowly to the saltwater then!
And yes, i was thinking it was that kind of algae-er stuff, but am so releived to know there are critters that will eat it, freshwater and blue green algae is horrible, nothing eats it.
And i added a powerhead onto the tank as well after taking everything out of the tank and cleaning it down.
Will also start slowly pumping up the salinity. And i would love to get a water filter of some sort, but we are a smaller petstore and have zero extra room, money, etc. :/ But will bring it up with my boss.
I do have UV Sterolizers that i have on my 3x 160 gallon freshwater systems, but may be able to place one on the 30 saltwater for a little while.

 

[btldreef]

The UV won't do much.
If you don't have the room or money for a RODI water filtration system, you have a few options that are better than tap:
1) many WalMart's and supermakets have purified water machines that are RO units
2) you can buy bottled purified water, or even bottled distilled water. In a pinch, I've used bottled Poland Spring, for example.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Clean up crews are not the only thing you can do to combat algae. Yes, they help, but you also need to take other measures. Since clean up crews eat the algae and then poop it out, what happens is you still have detritus build up on the substrate and within the live rock. Detritus still breaks down into nitrate and phosphates... so you are not actually dealing with what is causing the algae, you are merely throwing a creature at it - and then it becomes a vicious cycle without other types of filtration.
1. Since it's in a store, just run the blue lights for 8 hours a day, since there are no corals - and customers won't know the light cycle for your aquarium anyway. Right now, for a fish tank in a store - I would just give it a passing glance and look at the other pretty stuff in freshwater.
2. Bring your salinity up to 1.025-1.026 by topping off with some saltwater every time the tanks water level is low. This brings SG up slowly - and you can measure your SG before you top off every time. When you do water changes with a higher SG, it's hard to guess where your salinity will be at once the work is done. IE it has the possibility of making your inhabitants go into osmotic shock.
3. Do proper water changes - I see that you have crushed coral - this means that EVERY water change that you do, you need to use a gravel vac on the substrate. Not only that, but take your powerhead and blow off all the rocks as deep as you can get and siphon out as much detritus as you can... let the filter cycle for awhile until it clears up and then replace the filter. Proper water changes make a big difference. I highly recommend removing the gravel and using sand. I like barebottom tanks personally, but since it is in a store, customers expect to see sand on the bottom of the tank. Sand also lets customers know that "Hey! This is a saltwater tank!" Remember though that sand still has to be maintained through critters such as cleaner clams, conchs, and nassarious snails. You can also slowly gravel vac the top 1" of sand.
4. Add macroalgaes that will outcompete the nuisance algaes - There are many different varieties of macroalgaes out there that are very pretty. Macroalgaes thrive on fertilizer (Nitrates and Phosphates) and use it to make their tissues. Here's the thing though - You have to harvest your macroalgaes - this means you have to remove a portion of your macroalgaes whenever they "double" or start outgrowing a part of the tank. I highly recommend this because it will stabilize your water quality, increase oxygen levels, bring down CO2 levels, remove heavy metals and compete for nutrients.
5. Adding a phosphate reactor certainly would help - but I see that you used a bag of phosphate remover which is good enough for the time being. Chemical filtration like phosphate removers and carbon is pretty much the norm in reef keeping at the time being. Back when I got into it, I couldn't remember anyone using granular ferric oxide... we just used macroalgaes, carbon, and a skimmer.
6. Put a small skimmer on the tank or even in the filter on the back. You can make a $15 skimmer out of a coke bottle, some airline tubing, a wooden airstone, an air pump and a piece of vinyl tubing into a container that sits on the floor behind the tank. You could place it inside your aquaclear filter too. Skimmers remove dissolved and particulate organic matter before they have a chance to break down into nitrates and phosphates. By removing some of this organic matter, you are limiting the amount of nutrients that nuisance algaes can use to grow so that your macroalgaes can thrive.
7. Feed every other day and use a quality fish food such as frozen mysis shrimp or frozen brine shrimp. Remember, fishes stomachs are only as big as one of their eyes. Feeding every other day should not affect their health. Personally, I have used Flake foods for years - and when an algae issue arises, I just tighten up my maintenance routine and it goes away in a month without a problem.
Have fun with your tank and keep up some maintenance on it, change a few things around here and there when you can and remember some of the tips that we give you on these forums. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.
-Snake

 

[bree]

1: I will try that out and see what it looks like, most people that come in are fasinated by the damsels and the kids love to see "Nemo" so as long as its all lisually appealing i will turn off the white light. However thats one of my main questions, can i get corral for my tank, i am very interested in starting that, and am wondering more about it. What kinds, how to attach, etc.
2: Will start added 1/2 cup per gallon that i refill due to evaperation, i think that should be good?
3: I actually have over 1 inch of sand, and only a sprinkle of crushed coral on the top. So what i did this water change is poke around the tank and plunge the gravel syphon in there to get rid of all the algae collecting on and threw the sand/gravel.
4: Can you recommend some nice ones that would thrive in my tank?
6: I have been trying to use a skimmer on the tank, however i cannot get it attached to the intake of the 110, will continue working on it- i use a skimmer on the live rock tank though. haha
7: Thanks so much, i must have been really over feeding, i have told my manager to stop feeding the saltwater tank completely when i am away on Wednesday and Friday, so that should do the trick, and i have been feeding with mysis, marine cuisine, etc. frozen foods, and have put away the pellets and flakes for now.

 

[bree]

So tomorrow is the day i am able to order in live saltwater critters.
I have on my "shopping list" :
Clean up crew:
2 Nassarius snail
2 Trochus snails
2 Astrea snail
4 Turban Snail
Coral:
Colt coral
Flower Leather coral
Devils hand leather coral
green toadstool coral
Do you think that will all work out? And how exacily do i attach the coral, i have figured out all the info and care about them, but how to attach is still stumping me.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Usually those kinds of corals already come on rocks. If they aren't, you could use a rubberband around the stalks and attach it to a small rock, Once the coral is attached, you can remove the rubberband.
Leather corals and colt corals can survive in the worst conditions, so you made a good decision. However, I strongly urge you to run carbon in your HOB filter every month.
Another really easy coral are Mushrooms, xenia, anthellia and zoanthids. Xenia can survive also in "dirty" water and will use some nitrates and phosphates to make their bodies - so they are beneficial. Xenia also have pulsing tips - not all of them pulse though. Pom Pom xenia I believe pulse. Zoanthids can be really pretty, and over time they will fill in the gaps on the rocks much better than LPS corals. Oh yeah, all forms of anthellia - they grow wild and out of control very quickly, but some forms can be very pretty - and they sway back and fourth in the current. Blue anthellia is also neat - it's kind of like zoanthids - it will fill in all the gaps around the other corals and they are short and stubby.
Don't order nassarius snails unless you get rid of all that crushed coral on top of the sandbed. Nassarious snails like only sandy bottoms.

 

[flower]

Crazy glue GEL will attach the coral to rock. Glob it on good and thick and then immediately place the coral where you want it and hold in place for a moment or two.

 

[bree]

Update:
So I brought in a beautiful purple colt coral and it seemed really healthy... And then it was gone the next day, I mean nothing left- something must have eaten it!
All I had in the tank at that one were 3 blue damsels, 1 tomato clownfish, 1 turbo snail, 4 trocus snails and one tiny unknow crab thing.
The salt has been bumped up to 1.025, doing every other week 25% water changes and filter changes, took out all the crushed coral to leave about an inch of sand and added phosphate remover to the filter, its on an 8 hour timer as well... Yet i Still have a huge algae/ bacteria issue...
And 2 of the damsels randomly died too.. I think te heater went wonky as I had it set to 78 degrees f and when I tested the water it was at 85!.. Some of the snails died too...

 

[travelerjp98]

Lol, this is off topic, but cute dog!