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Help with Tank

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Mario

Junior Member
Location
Westchester New York
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Hey all

Any help would be appreciated. Here is a photo of my (current) tank. Problem is STILL algae despite since Aug 8th 2007 addition of a refugium.

Tank parameters: 26 gallon,
SG 1.025,

pH 8.4,

Alk 3.0mg/dl, goes to 2mg.dl,

calcium 135mg/dl,

nitrate 0mg, phosphate 0 (using aquarium systems and salifert-dont know how accurate this is, but the tests are accurate using the reference values for Salifert)

Temp 80.1 degrees F

Change 50% of water a mont or 10 gallons using Petco Sea water..those things are handy

Top off water Cystal rock Premium RO water, with Ca, K and Mg added

Feed the three small fish once every two days a pinch of Prime Reef Flake food.

So whats wrong with my tank and algae. Bryopsis before the refugium , calerpa mexicana.

Some corals do well and others don't...no idea why...

Any suggestions?
 

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M

Mario

Junior Member
Location
Westchester New York
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
cali_reef said:
?? why? what if he only have it on 6 hours a day?

Manually remove as much algae as possible, do a large water change immediately. Test the water you are using from Petco for Po4, No2 and No3 before you use it more. Cut down your photo period a bit, it will help too.
Click to expand...

I have the MH on for about 10 hours a day. The PETCO water has "0 mg nitrates, Alk is 10 mg/dl;no phosphate for what that means' It seems ok.

I do not have a clean up crew I must say, ie urchins, snails, hermits, etc I must say. Maybe thats the issue?
 
mstrofdisaster

mstrofdisaster

Smokin' Reefer (aka KRS)
Location
Great Neck, NY 11020
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Mario said:
I have the MH on for about 10 hours a day. The PETCO water has "0 mg nitrates, Alk is 10 mg/dl;no phosphate for what that means' It seems ok.

I do not have a clean up crew I must say, ie urchins, snails, hermits, etc I must say. Maybe thats the issue?
Click to expand...

You need about 6-10 mexican turbo snails, and some ceriths. Also some red and blue legged hermit crabs. You will start to notice the difference in a few days time.
 
loismustdie

loismustdie

chicks dig beckett men
Location
Brooklyn
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Mario said:
I have the MH on for about 10 hours a day. The PETCO water has "0 mg nitrates, Alk is 10 mg/dl;no phosphate for what that means' It seems ok.
Click to expand...
The way you said this with the quotes around it tells me that this is what you are reading off of the bottle. Just so you know, there is no regulating what can be written on the side of the bottle on anything in this hobby. How do you think Marc Wiess products gets away with what they claim on their bottles?

Without proper testing, it is impossible to say if it is good or not. We've had batches of high quality salt mixes turn up undesirable nutrient levels during testing, so I think it would be safe to assume that Petco premixed salt water is tap water (maybe ran through a sediment filter) with some low quality, low budget salt mix. I woulnd't be surprised if it has a lot to do with your problems. But again, to be fair, it is impossible to say without testing. I saw you mention Catalina in another thread. My advice is to stay away from anything with the catalina label on it.

I could have told you the fuge won't make a difference or only make it worse. I always tell people thinking of using refugiums to look at members tanks who use refugiums and members tanks who don't. They usually decide to not use refugiums. Think of how much money you wasted on a fuge and how that money could have put you closer to a better skimmer.

Clean up crews are band aids and in some cases only increase bioload (remember, they eat the algae, then **** it out... turning it right back into food for more algae). In my 180, I don't think I ever had more than 20 snails in it (until they started breeding like crazy). I would get a very modest amount of snails and don't bother with hermits. They'll only kill your snails.

Get a better premixed saltwater brand. Check with chiefmcfuz for info on that. Find someone close to you with testing equipment. Looking at your photos, even inaccurate tests will be better than nothing. Consider a 2 part solution for Ca, Alk, Mg.

Reefing is very expensive. Even on smaller tanks. I would keep this in mind and consider spending future money on better equipment rather than any live stock. First on my list would be testing equipment and a better skimmer.

The reason you have some coral doing well and some not is because the hardest thing to do is run a mixed reef. Some corals like certain conditions, some don't. Pick corals that are able to survive your equipment and husbandry capabilities.
 
Last edited:
M

Mario

Junior Member
Location
Westchester New York
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
loismustdie said:
The way you said this with the quotes around it tells me that this is what you are reading off of the bottle. Just so you know, there is no regulating what can be written on the side of the bottle on anything in this hobby. How do you think Marc Wiess products gets away with what they claim on their bottles?

Without proper testing, it is impossible to say if it is good or not. We've had batches of high quality salt mixes turn up undesirable nutrient levels during testing, so I think it would be safe to assume that Petco premixed salt water is tap water (maybe ran through a sediment filter) with some low quality, low budget salt mix. I woulnd't be surprised if it has a lot to do with your problems. But again, to be fair, it is impossible to say without testing. I saw you mention Catalina in another thread. My advice is to stay away from anything with the catalina label on it.

I could have told you the fuge won't make a difference or only make it worse. I always tell people thinking of using refugiums to look at members tanks who use refugiums and members tanks who don't. They usually decide to not use refugiums. Think of how much money you wasted on a fuge and how that money could have put you closer to a better skimmer.

Clean up crews are band aids and in some cases only increase bioload (remember, they eat the algae, then **** it out... turning it right back into food for more algae). In my 180, I don't think I ever had more than 20 snails in it (until they started breeding like crazy). I would get a very modest amount of snails and don't bother with hermits. They'll only kill your snails.

Get a better premixed saltwater brand. Check with chiefmcfuz for info on that. Find someone close to you with testing equipment. Looking at your photos, even inaccurate tests will be better than nothing. Consider a 2 part solution for Ca, Alk, Mg.

Reefing is very expensive. Even on smaller tanks. I would keep this in mind and consider spending future money on better equipment rather than any live stock. First on my list would be testing equipment and a better skimmer.

The reason you have some coral doing well and some not is because the hardest thing to do is run a mixed reef. Some corals like certain conditions, some don't. Pick corals that are able to survive your equipment and husbandry capabilities.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your rather stentorian email.

1. I read the values off the box as WELL as tested the water. I am aware of the phosphate issue. I will also call the PETCO folks with the number listed and see what they say. It is interesting about the premixed water. Interesting about the Cataline water too

2. The Refugium ( in MY case) worked very well indeed. It was not a quick fix though (what is - yes not even Bush's tax cut for the rich). Added MH 150 watts on June 10th 2007, Added the refugium, sand and chaeto on August 8th 2007. Noticed the bryopsis decreasing a month later, and by Oct 1st 2007 no more bryopsis,

BUT.......

The amount of calerpa mexicana grew so that I was removing an handful every other week from the display tank.

I then removed the calerpa every week with bi weekly 5 gallon water changes, so very little calerpa,

BUT.........

Brown algae is starting to grow (not cyano or diamtomacous) but the kind that grows on the lagoon rocks on the reefs.

Hence.......

Nutrients are coming from somewhere and being consumed in different species of algae. Where from??? Dont know..I have three small fish fed, every three or so days.....(I feel bad not feeding more often, then I remember they spend energy reproducing, finding food, running from predators).....

3. Yes reefing IS expensive and I know that, however, I dont buy coral/etc on a whim by any means...


Thanks
 
loismustdie

loismustdie

chicks dig beckett men
Location
Brooklyn
Rating - 100%
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well, if posting some info is what you consider stentorian, that's fine. I'll take that. If you would rather be spoken to in sound bites, I can do that too. But I usually like to back up info.
Your pic on post one is not an indication of a "refugium working very well indeed". I'm not sure what Bush has to do with it, but since he's blamed for everything else, why not call your algae problem his fault?
Post in the newbie section, you'll be given the sound bite you would like to hear. "add a refugium... it worked wonders for me" and I guarantee that person will not post a pic. Go in the advanced forum, you'll get an explanation of how and why to do something based off experience and pics to back it up.
I thought by your original post of this thread that you were looking for some help. As a member of a discussion forum, I thought I would throw some things out there that I have experienced and what I think would work for you.
My bad, Mario. You're tank looks great and there isn't much I can do to help you out.
 
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