Am I on the right track or set for total destruction?

[Striknyne]

Hi everyone!! I am new here and this is my first posting. I have recently(about 2 months ago) purchased a nice little 29g aquaruim and have approx 30 lbs of live rock and 25 lbs of live sand. I have the bio-wheel 220 and a 145 g/hr powerhead. Lastly, my lighting is Coralite 50/50(for future use when i finally reach the point where i can have corals.
In my tank I have a cinammon clown, a maroon clown and a royal gramma. Invertabrates consist of a couple blue legged crabs(some died) and some snails(which I think all have died because they havent moved in days) My tank levels are as follows: Ph 8.4, Amonia 0, Nitrite 0, and Nitrate 10-20 ppm.
Within the last 2 weeks I have noticed my Gramma "flicking" against the substrate and along some rocks. (Which I have been told that this was Ich) From time to time I will notice a white spot here and there on the maroon clown. Lastly, the cinammon clown had some serious problems. There were white spots all over its body and its eyes were cloudy. I started treating the tank with "Kick-Ich" 11 days ago.( i know this because of the treatment schedule) Now the spots seem to be going away and its eyes are not cloudy but I can still see some hint white spots on its body. I was told by my by my local aquarium shop to go through the complete treatment, if the fish still show signs of "ich", start the whole treatment over again.
My questions are: Does Kick Ich really work? It seems strange to me that I have been doing this this long and there seems to be no clear indicator of improvement. In treating with kick-ich am I supposed to leave the carbon filter out for the entire 15 days, possibly even longer if I have to treat again? I am just worried about the quality of the water ie, waste, food, etc.
Finally, there is brown algae pretty much all over the tank(rocks, glass, plants, live sand)? Is this normal? I will appreciate any advice to help my cause.

 

[ChrisRD]

Hi and :welcome:

Your setup sounds OK, although personally I would ditch the biowheel, add a couple more powerheads for better circulation, and get a skimmer.

I've never used that medication so maybe someone else can help you out there. As for the brown algae, it's probably diatoms and pretty normal at this stage. Provided you are using pure source water (most tap water won't cut it, most of us use RO, RO/DI, distilled, etc.) it should subside naturally in time.

On a side note, having two different clown species in a tank that size, particularly those two species, is probably not going to end well. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

cinammon clown, a maroon clown

Especially that maroon...I second Chris's opinion on getting a skimmer, ditching the biowheel and investing in a couple powerheads..

 

[WRASSER]

look in to a small UV light, and you might need to put a heater in the tank,water tempature has a lot to do with stress. and you also might want to get a grounding rod small current can cause stress, the lateral line picks up on it. :wink:

 

[Striknyne]

My apologies for the really late reply. Ditching the bio-wheel....? Do you mean the whole aparatus or just the bio-wheel filter portion? I have already removed the carbon filter because it interfers with the "Kick-ich". Wouldn't I need some other type of filtration besides just the natural filter itself for fish waste, food, etc.?
As far as the UV light goes....I was looking at the Coral-Life Turbo Twist 9v. Does anyone know of this is a good Sterilizer? If not, can you recommend a good one? Same for the skimmer. Also, i was thinking of getting new lighting such as the Orbit. Let me know what you think about this as well.
Thank you all for all of your assistance. I really appreciate it.

 

[ChrisRD]

My apologies for the really late reply. Ditching the bio-wheel....? Do you mean the whole aparatus or just the bio-wheel filter portion?

The whole thing. If you choose to run a filter like that, make sure you're cleaning it very frequently as it will trap detritus and cause water quality problems if it goes uncleaned for extended periods (weeks). You can always run it periodically, or just run without the cartridges and then drop them in a for a few days per month to polish the water and run some carbon.

Wouldn't I need some other type of filtration besides just the natural filter itself for fish waste, food, etc.?

No. The live rock and a good skimmer will provide enough filtration. The skimmer physically removes much of the wastes, and the bacteria on/in the live rock will handle the rest. Perodically running carbon as mentioned above is not a bad idea either.

As far as the UV light goes....I was looking at the Coral-Life Turbo Twist 9v. Does anyone know of this is a good Sterilizer? If not, can you recommend a good one?

Not familiar with that sterilizer, but IMO a UV is optional and is something you can do without (many reefkeepers never use one). Personally, I'd save the money for a good skimmer. An example of a good skimmer for your size tank would be an AquaC Remora.

Also, i was thinking of getting new lighting such as the Orbit.

Not familiar with that fixture. Do you have a link? There's really no need to upgrade lighting unless you're planning on keeping photosynthetic animals. IMO you'd be better off spending some money to get an RO unit if you don't already own one. Having pure source water is one of the most commonly overlooked (by beginners) and IMO one of the most important elements to successful reefkeeping.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Orbit fixture? http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_Orbit.html I wonder if this is what he's talking about.

 

[Anonymous]

I have used kick ich. Awesome product. Purchased a yellow tang online from saltwaterfish, and of course, it had ich.
I took my carbon out for the entire duration of the cycle (it is 13 days if i remember correctly?)
You will still see white spots occasionally on the fish during the 13 day cycle. There is no known medication to cure the actual ich on the fish itself. Once on the host, ich cannot be reached through the layers of the fish's skin. What kick ich does, is it kills the ich during its larvae or pupae (or whatever you call it) stages of the free swimming organism. Since the cycle of this is 3-5 days, that is why you are actually hitting it a couple of times in the 13 day cycle of the medication.
Keep the carbon out, if your tank has decent parameters, this will not affect anything really.

The brown "algae" is usually caused by a poor replacement water source. Are you using tap? Also, too long of a light cycle and overfeeding contribute.

The bio wheel is ok and will work, but you will have to clean it on a continual basis. Thats the problem with mechanical filtration like these or canisters. A weekly cleaning will be needed. Remember the carbon needs to be changed out every 2 weeks or so as well. It is useless beyond that point. I have a canister AND a wet dry due to a limited space for my tank and it works great, but i do clean them both once a week. My next tank will have refug/sump when I go big.

Stay away from a sterilzer. If you use good quality water for replacement, a sterilizer isn't going to do anything more than perhaps also destroy beneficial bacteria, although an experienced reefkeeper may have one on a large, properly maintained tank. I have no experience with this, but from what I read, it isn't a solution to really any problems that a properly maintained tank can handle on its own.

Good luck!

 

[Striknyne]

Thank you for your insight. I will definitely stay away from the UV sterilizer. Also, I think my fish are okay...for now. They are not scratching themselves on the rocks anymore (at least from what I've seen).
Also, I will look into getting a Protein Skimmer. Correct me if I am wrong, a skimmer is somewhat like a filter but better. Any other recommendations on a good skimmer for a 29 gal besides a AquaC Remora?
As for the brown algae....it is still there, however, there are hints of some green and purple. I do have the light on for a long time. It is on from about 8am till 10pm. I will try to cut that down but it will be hard since i am at work from 8-5. But I guess since daylight is longer now, it shouldnt be a problem to just turn it on at night for a little bit. In regards to my water quality, I change the water every 2 weeks about 20-25% using distilled water. I have noticed that my Nitrate level has been sky high recently and I have the slightest idea why. Another thing, I have noticed that my snails die after a couple of weeks of being in the tank. I was under the impression the snails are "hardy"? Any input as to what I might be doing wrong?

Sugar, that is the light that I am speaking about. I do not know exactly how great of a light it is but I was told that it goes through the cycles of the day...dusk, morning, afternoon, and dawn.

One question that I wanted to ask, how do you know when you are ready to add corals and all of the other colorful goodies? My tank is getting rather boring especially with brown live rock in it.

 

[Anonymous]

First off, do not add any corals etc until you fully understand the tank. You will need to learn about the alkaline-calcium-ph chain and how they inter-relate. I suggest another 3 months at least before adding anything. I know, it sucks looking at a brown tank, and it is very boring as far as color-BUT, if you wait and learn all you can, and get a feel for your tank, you will be so much better off! Buying anything now is probably a waste of money.
If you are going to buy anything, dump your current filter system-or at least add the protien skimmer, and yes, it is a filter in a way as it removes things before they turn to nitrate.
Your nitrate is high mostly and probably because of the filtration you are using. I am in the same boat as you, except i ahve both a large canister and a wet/dry. Cleaning them WEEKLY is essential. Add some carbon every oncein a while. Also, you could be overfeeding, or be overstocked with fish. My trates stay around 10 or so, and really that is fine.
As far as the lights, you must get a timer. It is essential, especially for when you do want coral. 14 hrs is way too long. Cut that back by a few for now. But you will definately want a timer later anyway.
Your snails....are you acclimating them correctly? They should be floated in their bag for around 15-20 minutes to correct temp, then use any method you like for the actual water acclimation-I use the "add a 1/4-1/2 a cup of water every 15 min" to theri bag method until i have doubled the volume of water originally in the bag. Then I remove half the water and do it again. Takes a while, but never lost anything to acclimation. Also, when putting them in the tank, make sure theyare up and "running". Snails that land on their backs cannot flip over! So flip them over if they land on the back.
hope this helps

 

[Striknyne]

Gretzky: Thank You. I will hold off on getting the corals and anemones. I was thinking it was too soon anyway since I havent reached the coraline algae stage. I have no idea of the alkaline, calcium, & ph link.
I feed the fish 3 times a day (it ranges from frozen mysis shrimp to formula 2 pellets and some other type of pellet food) and there are 3 fish and 1 cleaner shrimp. Should I cut that down to 2x a day?
The acclimation method is something I have never heard of. I do float the bag for about 20-30 minutes but adding water to the bag is new to me. I make sure that they go in right-side-up. I even go as far as holding them and making sure that they attach to the glass. I will try that method on the next go around.

 

[ChrisRD]

Although certain species of fish may need to be fed more frequently, when it comes to stuff like grammas and clowns, once a day is fine IME. Breaking it up into smaller, multiple feedings is fine, just be cautious of how much total food you're dumping into the system in a day. Overfeeding is one of the most common causes of nuisance algae and water quality problems for new reefkeepers. To compound the problem, newcomers often have an inadequate skimmer to boot.

I agree with Gretsky that the acclimation process should include some water exchange. Many use the method mentioned above, and many use a drip line (same idea, just using a small diameter hose for a continuous drip instead of dumping in small batches of water at a time). Floating the bags really only helps adjust for temperature.

As for Ca/Alk balance - you don't need to sweat it too much. The important thing to remember is that they must remain in balance. It's easiest to supplement them with a balanced two-part additive like B-Ionic or kalkwasser (careful of pH raising effects with kalk though). These methods insure that Ca/Alk will be added in the correct ratios so they don't get out of balance. You need to check your levels with test kits periodically to make sure all is well. If Ca/Alk is rising or falling you have to adjust your kalk or 2-part dosing accordingly.

As for pH, you shouldn't have to do anything special to keep it in a normal range - just take a few precautions. First, make sure you have plenty of circulation and some good surface agitation (pointing one of your powerheads at the surface works well). This will promote good gas exchange which will in-turn promote a more stable pH. Second, make sure you don't put a tight lid on the tank limiting the gas exchange with the surrounding air. A protein skimmer can also be helpful with increasing gas exchange (thereby stabilizing pH).

HTH