My first problems

Melosu58 · Oct 27, 2009

I would not use Tap IMO. It is not good for your tank. Some tap water is better than others but that does not mean you should use it. IMO this is a big problem in your tank. I work for a water municipality so I know what they add to water. Things like nitrates and phosphates and silicates. Ammonia and bleach. Good for Human consumption but bad for aquariums esp. reefs. Read this article

Chemistry and the Aquarium

daugherty · Oct 27, 2009

no you still have all the big huge grains in ther that trap crap even if you have ot on the bottom it will eventually come to the surface as the finer sand settles.i would change it if it was my tank.

yote · Oct 27, 2009

After re-reading the OP.I'm thinking you've just got diatoms.Which are to be expected in a new tank,no matter which kind of water your using.IF thats the case,all you can do is wait em out.
But that fact that your reading such high phosphates leads me to think you've got a bad kit or the rock is really been neglected.I'd run the phosphate test again,then double check it against another kit of a different brand and see where it goes.

SeaBee · Oct 27, 2009

I think you should get that questionable live rock out of there. You're not the only one who can't afford 60 lbs of live rock at once, but that bad stuff is ...well bad. So just buy what you can of the new stuff a little at a time. I like to buy a few pieces ech week and spend hours rearranging!!!

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

ok there is something else i've done and who maybe lead to this high phosphate. Even though i didn't had many corals i overfeed with plancton and kent marine microvert. On top of this i was feeding my fishies 3 times daily.

Also i've been running active carbon 30 days without change at each 4-5 days as it should. The spongees were weekly changed but not the carbon.
I'll just shoot some photos of the tank and i'll be uploding them soon

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

i was just doing my readings now. I am using an Instant Ocean tes kit

I can see phosphates were brought down to 0 not even 1
nitrates are 10
no exisstent copper
no ammonia

Ph 8.00
calcium 400

Ted · Oct 27, 2009

qxcontinuum said:
ok there is something else i've done and who maybe lead to this high phosphate. Even though i didn't had many corals i overfeed with plancton and kent marine microvert. On top of this i was feeding my fishies 3 times daily.

Also i've been running active carbon 30 days without change at each 4-5 days as it should. The spongees were weekly changed but not the carbon.
I'll just shoot some photos of the tank and i'll be uploding them soon

Ya over feeding will trash the tank fast. I feed mine every other day. I feed corals once a week. Even now I think I am still over feeding my tanks at times. I make up for that by doing water changes on my bigger tank once a week and on my nano every three days. The 10 gallon doesnt have a skimmer thats why more water changes. Carbon imo is a good thing and I run mine all the time however I change my carbon weekly. If you dont it can start to release stuff back into the water. Oh a option on the crushed coral you have would be to make your own rock. Mix it with portland cement let it sit a day then cure it for a month in a trash can with water changes every day. Lots of people make their own rock. If you want to know how try this [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRBNpmjMcTI&feature=related[/ame]

yote · Oct 27, 2009

Throw that Microvert in the garbage,its nearly 100% nitrates and phosphates by itself.
If your going to feed a planktonic food for the corals,then get something like the Birghtwell Aquatics zooplankton,either size.But only feed about half a cap full once a week.
I've never used the instant ocean test kits,so I dont how accurate they are,but from what you posted,your parameter are actually pretty good.Especially for a 2 month old system.

Bifferwine · Oct 27, 2009

The corals you have shouldn't need all that feeding. And your fish don't need to be fed 3 times a day. Overfeeding and using tap water are probably the two biggest contributors to algae problems.

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

oK so here is my tank.
I've tried to picture the best i could but the colors under actinic blue doesn't ome proprely. I am hapy seeing the rocks i've just brushed few days ago now are having pink and green spots which means the coralline algae is taking place.

As you can see i also have a marine grass growing on top of the rocks. is this god or bad? (not hair algaes) Sea urchin loves this grass.

I have a hammer coral which had only 3 polyps with tenticles but now i can see like 6 of them. However some of their heads were broken by the flow current. They don't like direct current as i've read and medium must be.

The soft corals are doing great. The sea buttons are touche by a red velvet algae and i was thinking to pull them out and brush off that thing until isn't expanding.

The entire floor of crushed corals as well as some rocks is attacked by brown algae and Cyano algae. I will siphon the bottom today

Smitty · Oct 27, 2009

Very nice...The tank is looking good.

yote · Oct 27, 2009

The tank does look good.
But thats not algae growing on your substrate,thats cyano-bacteria.Its caused by a build up of nutrients and phosphates.Probably waste thats trapped in the crushed coral.Getting more flow in there will help to.

SeaBee · Oct 27, 2009

You got any snails or hermit crabs in that tank???

Corals look great, they seem to be ok, unless you got them last week.

That substate at the bottom is going to kill you. All the fish poo and uneaten food is going to get deep in there and make this brown soup, full of nitrates and other stuff.

I would start scooping all that crushed coral out of there with a ladel from the kitchen, plastic. Get as much as you can, then siphon out the rest with a water change.

Then you need to get about 60 lbs of live sand, $22 a bag, 20 lb bags, 3 to start.
Rinse the sand in a bucket full of salt water and add slowly with all pumps and filters off. Let it settle and turn on things real slow until it settles. I think if you do this slowly the fish will be ok, and the corals will just close, like a storm on the ocean.

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

SeaBee said:
You got any snails or hermit crabs in that tank???

Corals look great, they seem to be ok, unless you got them last week.

That substate at the bottom is going to kill you. All the fish poo and uneaten food is going to get deep in there and make this brown soup, full of nitrates and other stuff.

I would start scooping all that crushed coral out of there with a ladel from the kitchen, plastic. Get as much as you can, then siphon out the rest with a water change.

Then you need to get about 60 lbs of live sand, $22 a bag, 20 lb bags, 3 to start.
Rinse the sand in a bucket full of salt water and add slowly with all pumps and filters off. Let it settle and turn on things real slow until it settles. I think if you do this slowly the fish will be ok, and the corals will just close, like a storm on the ocean.

That is porbably the best idea. However i am affraid the rocks will crush.
The hammer coral, disk corals and buttons i have them since the beginning, the big hat one has 1 month, the tree coral has one week.

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

i was thinking to help some how the substrate by planting a few straws in different areas in the crushed corals, this way the substrate will release all the accumulations and gases. Is this a good idea?

Unfortunatelly here in Canada 4 bags of live sand costs 250$

Everything is expensive over here. The regular caraibian sand is about 40$ a bag :-(

Smitty · Oct 27, 2009

You will be better off ordering your supplies and livestock online...at least you get better deals, and better selections than what the lfs may carry...

yote · Oct 27, 2009

The straws will be fartin in a hurricane,they wont do any good.
Just leave the crushed coral thats under the rock work.The sand will eventually filter back through it.Also instead of buying the so called live sand,get dry aragonite sand.Then just rinse it out like Smitty suggested.Its a lot cheaper than the so called live sand to.

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

i am able to make sand from the crushed corals. I can mix them in an industrial mixer with powerfull knives. is it ok?

But the aragonite will mainatin PH?

Bifferwine · Oct 27, 2009

qxcontinuum said:
The regular caraibian sand is about 40$ a bag :-(

Like everyone has said, just buy the regular dry sand.

qxcontinuum · Oct 27, 2009

ok so here is my project;

i am taking a big suction tube and suck the crushed corals on the other end water will flow through a wipe and all the sand and crushed corals alond with creatures will be stopped and saved.
I don't do under the rocks.

After sucking everything i will remove the invertebrates and worms out and ad this crushed corals in a blade spinner. The washing and adding it back as sand.

Theh adding procedure will be more complucated but i was thinking to do it with a thick tubeputting the sand from the top will fall trough this tube and will go nicely in it's place.

The only problem that i am affraid will be a quick drop in PH and alkalinity. I must remove out all the corals of course and the anemone.

Any other advices?

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