want to see something very un-actractive? click here (please help)

[MPevine11]

tank is just over 3 months old. look what i have to look at while trying to enjoy my tank.....



*I do a 7-10 gallon water change weekly
*I recently switched salts to "Tropic Marin 'pro reef' "
*I need to test my water and record results
*I just got my Tunze Doc 9002 skimmer running (finished break in today now pulling out skimmate)
*SG=1.026
*Temp, higest it typically gets is 81
*150 watt MH 14k only 3 months old




any suggestions on what to do? this is so annoying to look at. please help

 

[Bruno]

Flow???

How often do you feed??

New tank !!

 

[Mrs. Delta]

You've got some nice cyno growing there. Welcome to reefkeeping. This is a very common occurrence, especially with a newly established tank. Keep up with reducing nutrients and running a skimmer, both should help. Something to stir up the sand will help as well. GL

Don't get too discouraged if it gets worse before it gets better.

 

[MPevine11]

Flow= Vortech MP10 @ about 70% on reef crest random
Koraili nano
and return from my sump/fuge



i feed once a night, either frozen or Formula TWO Marine Pellet



i just finished the "break in" on my skimmer today. its pulling skimmate now

Keep up with reducing nutrients

what do you mean by this?




thank you for the fast replies!
-mike pevine-

 

[Mrs. Delta]

i just finished the "break in" on my skimmer today. its pulling skimmate now

what do you mean by this?

Pulling skimmate is a reduction of nutrients. How much livestock do you have/what is the bioload? You may not need to feed every night, which would further reduce nutrients in the tank.

 

[Behrmon]

Young tank syndrom, as heather said don't get discouraged. I'd maybe up the flow a little and let the skimmer do it's work & maybe feed a little lighter in the mean time. Also maybe a conch.

 

[MPevine11]

where can i get a conch?!?

would he need alot of lighting?

 

[JayM]

a conch is an invert, and requires no lighting. I'd call one of out NH sponsors and see if they stock them. Skipton's had had them in the past as well (where I got mine)

Nassarius snails also stir sand, but you need a bunch of them

 

[MikeG]

This is pretty common with a new tank as others have mentioned. Are you using purified water (RO/DI)?

 

[MPevine11]

yes, but apperntly the TDS was high from one pet store. so now i get it from another. the TDS from the current store was 7 last week...........


if anyone is from NH and has a rodi with 0TDS if possible i'd love to buy from you. about 30 gallons a week...........just till i can buy my own system

 

[biggyclops]

7 is not that bad... 0 would be nice but i run sometimes up to 10 before changing filters.

 

[MPevine11]

before the 7 the TDS it was 59 at the other store wish i bought a tds meter before.....

 

[gweston]

I have similar blooms when my tank was just a few months old. As the tank matured, it just went away. I have used RODI water from day1.

A few things I did

-I was feeding too much. I figured out how much my fish really needed.
-I added a skimmer. Make a big difference!
-Started using chaeto in a sump, knocks nitrates down nicely.
-I put a sock with some carbon and phosphate remover in the sump. I change it out ~4 weeks.
doesn't take much.. like 1/2cup carbon and a level tablespoon of a phosphate remover seems to work well for my ~29gallon system (rinse rinse rinse rinse before use in tank)
-flow is important as others said. Need to balance it out around the tank. I have two Koralias angles slightly upward towards each other on each side. Plus the HOB skimmer output flows down from the back in the center. The sump overflow skims the surface and the returns blow back, one on each end, towards the koralias. My sump flow is relatively low. Small sump (~15gal) with refugium.

Another helpful thing...

I added a single sandsifter star. They don't grow all that large. But they need some sand bed to roam in (yours looks plenty big). I feed it with sinking pellets. Formula 1. A teeny tiny amount is plenty. Like 8-10 pellets per day seems to keep it content in addition to whatever it scavenges. The star does a great job turning over the sand which helps with the algae.

As the tank has matured (going on ~7 months now), I have lots of pods, worms, and critters in the sand bed. Algae on the sand isn't a problem anymore.