cvcdrk's 29g Mini Reef

I may end up doing that!

So here's a quick update (no pics) as I am at work:

I went to the store yesterday and bought some enriched mysis frozen shrimp and some bloodworms. On a whim I decided to try the bloodworms first. I thawed 1/4 of a cube and dropped them in the tank. they fly all over in the water colum but boy was I surprised when my little Scooter GOBBLED them up. Big worms, too...like 1/4 of the size of his head and he shot at one and ate it in one bite....I saw him get a few more too.

So I think i have found his primary food from now on....he seems to really dig the blood worms. The biggest issue for me is getting them to him. Dropping them in the top of the tank isn't a long-term solution because of how slowly they eat. I ordered one of those 21" feeder tube things from Amazon and it should be here this week and I plan to try to feed him with that from now on.

So do you guys think that blood worms are nutritionally ok for him long-term? i will obviously attempt to supplement his diet with other things like mysis (still haven't tried this yet). He did not seem to like brine at all (which now I realize is fine because brine isn't that good more him).

Also, my levels were 0;0;15 when I woke up yesterday morning so I added four more narsissus snails and two margharita snails as well as a porcelein anemone crab which all seem to be doing really well after acclimation.

Pics to follow tonight when I get home from work!!
 
That's good to heat that he's eating bloodworms, but they aren't very nutritional long term, more unless you soak them in garlic and vitamins...then they'll be healthier for him. But chances are, since he's eating bloodworms now, he'll probably end up eating other frozen foods also down the road.
 
Anyway, I tried a mixture now of mysis shrimp and bloodworms. He seems to really like bloodworms but didn't seem to try the mysis at all. I will keep at it.
I bought some more narssarius snails yesterday to clean up the excess food that I am throwing into the tank to get him to eat.

Also, today I came home and the dry rock is covered in a very faint brown colored algae and there are little bubbles forming on the rocks everywhere. Is this diatoms or is it a nuissance algae? I am scheduled to do a water change tonight. The brown algae is also on the smaller powerhead.

The porcelain crab seems to be doing very well. He's found himself a nook in the rocks and is just camping out collecting algae and shit that floats by in the water column (hopefully someone is eating the mysis shrimp I just put in).

The scooter ran away REAL quick when I used the new spot feeder to feed him but as I did it more he didn't seem as scared. I want to get to the point where he knows what's happening and I can just blow his dinner in the sand and not have it all get whisked away by the current in the tank. Should I shut the powerheads off when I feed from now on to make sure he gets as much as possible? Is that ok to do?

I've read about scrubbing the rocks or "sucking" the algae out but I'm not really sure how to do that...and "blasting" the rocks with my spot feeder seems like a bad way to spread the algae even more.....and cloud up the tank.

I disconnected the canister filter and since then I've been having bubbles form on the surface of the water and a weird slick-looking thing when the surface of the water catches the light just the right way. I feel like the canister filter was doing far more good than you guys said it would do bad....but the protein skimmer I got should be here tomorrow. I will hook it up immediately...is that likely to help this situation?

I'd really like to make sure I get control of this algae problem before it becomes a REAL problem.
 
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Yeah, those brown colored algae with bubbles is a sign of an algae bloom in the making. Cut the feeding some, kill the lights back, and do your scheduled wc. The protein skimmer will definatly help.
 
Good.

I just tried "blowing" the rocks with the feeder (effectively a long turkey baster lol) and it did seem to blow some of the algae off and clean out some of the rocks. I will cut the lights back to maybe 6 hours per day for awhile. I could just run with blues for awhile since there's no coral in there yet. Would that be a better plan?

Also, should I do a larger water change than normal? I'm still not happy with my nitrates as it is (they are staying around 15-20ppm). I just ran a battery of tests:

Gravity: 1.0245
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 15-20ppm
Phosphates: None detectable (but its an API kit and I've read there's no good phosphate kits...regardless there can't be much. I use all RO water from Walmart and make sure everything I add says it does not contain phosphates).
Calcium: ~450ppm
pH: 8.1

So my levels seem pretty good to me. Not sure why I'm developing an algae problem unless I was running the lights for too long....they may have had a couple of 10 hour days but most days they were running 8 hours. I will cut them back to say....6 hours?
 
The nitrates could be coming from the rocks, it has been known to happen. But all tanks go through algae stages, you just have to keep up with the maintenance.

The oil slick on the water tell me that you dont have enough surface agitation, so make sure at least one of your powerheads is pointed to the surface and you have a good, strong ripple going. That will take care of the protein build up, but more importantly keep your water well oxygenated.

Just keep trying with the mysid, i also suggest trying sushi roe. And just keep feeding with the baster, he will figure it out. And yes, you can turn the powerheads off when feeding.
 
My Hydor 750gph is pointed upwards. There is surface agitation at that end of the tank. I can't take a pic though so I'm not sure if it is enough. I could adjust it up further. My main worry was adjusting it up too far and then it not contributing to flow in the rest of the tank because the other powerhead is only 250gph.
 
cvcdrk said:
Gravity: 1.0245
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 15-20ppm
Phosphates: None detectable (but its an API kit and I've read there's no good phosphate kits...regardless there can't be much. I use all RO water from Walmart and make sure everything I add says it does not contain phosphates).
Calcium: ~450ppm
pH: 8.1

So my levels seem pretty good to me. Not sure why I'm developing an algae problem unless I was running the lights for too long....they may have had a couple of 10 hour days but most days they were running 8 hours. I will cut them back to say....6 hours?
Click to expand...

You also need to watch what salt your using. Here is a link to a chart to help you out
http://0.tqn.com/d/saltaquarium/1/0/6/a/1/comparisontableofelelmentsenh_500.JPG
 
^^ Will do!

slwedge71 said:
You also need to watch what salt your using. Here is a link to a chart to help you out
http://0.tqn.com/d/saltaquarium/1/0/6/a/1/comparisontableofelelmentsenh_500.JPG
Click to expand...

I use Kent's but read two nice articles about using 50/50 mixtures of some of the more reliable salts and Kent's/Seachem was highly rated so I'm considering trying it. That chart is difficult to understand...and what are they even comparing it too? Natural seawater or just the average?
 
cvcdrk said:
^^ Will do!



I use Kent's but read two nice articles about using 50/50 mixtures of some of the more reliable salts and Kent's/Seachem was highly rated so I'm considering trying it. That chart is difficult to understand...and what are they even comparing it too? Natural seawater or just the average?
Click to expand...

I believe it is the an average comparison.
 
After I looked at this chart I think I'm going to try the Kent. I have enough salt left to do 2 more water changes on both my tanks. Let me know what salt your going to use and how it's working out.
 
I will say kent worked decently well for me in the past. It's also fairly affordable.
I've heard good things about Seachem but never used it.
 
My skimmer just came. It was pretty gunked up so I'm soaking it in the bath tub with hot water and vinegar. It's so much bigger than I thought it would be....I am going to do another big water change today to combat this algae problem and cut the lights for 3 days or so. I don't want this to be a lengthy battle.

I have a feeling that by the time I get the skimmer in there may be a whole new aquascape in the tank. I feel bad for Bernard, though. Do you guys think it would be a good idea to remove him from the tank for a few hours while I do this? How long can he be ok in a bowl or something filled with tank water (I don't have another tank to put him in).

If not I will ust rock it out with him in there and be extra careful.
 
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