In over my head Update!

Fastrd, I dont get over that way much but its nice to know that there are semi local people around. Walnut Creek nice place to live!

Today I checked the water myself for the first time:^: Ph 8.0 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 0 water temp is at 80*F. Is the Ph okay? I am starting to see a fine green haze of algae on the tank and on top of the sand. If you look at the pic of the tank before I got it you will see what I am worried about. Keep in mind that the LR, sump, tank, have been up and running for years just neglected for the last year. I added 3 bags of live sand and all new water 6 days ago.
Also the tank came with a UV and Rio 1400 pump thing that was never used. Should I try to hook this up to the sump and will it help kill the algae spores? There is only about 12 small brownish polyps in the tank now.
 
Your PH is fine. Anywhere between 7.8 and 8.4 is acceptable. The UV is good to help prevent fish from getting sick and if you have one you may as well run it. However, it will probably do nothing to help stop algae. As for the extra pump, the more flow the better really. If you have somewhere where you don't see a lot of flow and don't mind the looks of having another pump in the tank it will do nothing but help. Agae has a harder time growing in high flow areas. What all do you have in your sump already? Get rid of the bio balls and the micron pad (those can also be nitrate traps iirc) and instead in the sump keep a protein skimmer, and a refugium. A refugium usually consists of a deep sand bed or miracle mud, live rubble pieces of rock, and most importantly lots of chaeto. Personally, I don't even care to keep the sand and rock and just have chaeto in mine. Having those in place occompanied with weekly water changes should keep your water quality in excellent shape. However, algae blooms to some degree are unavoidable after the first few months of a new cycle. If you want to take your fight on algae a step further you can purchase reactors to run GFO and Carbon. Some of the cleanest tanks I have seen do this.. here is an example of a simple way to do this: Tank of the Month - April 2009 - Reefkeeping.com. But really anyway you can get some good activated carbon thru your system will help deter the elements which help algae thrive. Such as running Purigen or Chemi-pure elite in media socks or trays. Hope this helps! :mrgreen:
 
I like the variety of colors, corals, aquascape, and over all simplicity of it. I copied him on several things that I really like. Such as having different sections for different type of corals. He has one for leathers, zoas, sps, lps, so on and so forth. I find it very aesthetically pleasing as well as it intrigues my mind on the variety of marine life. Seems like he has something from every aspect of livestock that is reef safe. Hope that makes sense because it seems to have came out as somewhat of a ramble. I also really like the lights combo of hallides, actinics, and moonlights. And most importantly everything is plush and thriving even though he has kept his equipment to an extreme minimal and very simplistic... he even uses baking soda and limewater for his dosing lol. This is very satisfying to know for a cheapskate like myself. Something about seeing people using 4 ft of space for there tank and then having a 20 ft. garage full of thousands of dollars worth of doohickeys and gadgets just to run their tank is a big turn off for me and that is what I find for most of the TOTM I see.
 
Bifferwine said:
OFF TOPIC WARNING: ggNoRe, I'm curious as to why you linked to that particular Tank of the Month? I'm just wondering, because that one has always been one of my least favorites for some reason. What do you like about it?
Click to expand...

wow that tank is one of my inspiration tanks :D ... what don't you like about it? or maybe what do you find it lacks
 
Dakwan said:
wow that tank is one of my inspiration tanks :D ... what don't you like about it? or maybe what do you find it lacks
Click to expand...

To me, it looks hodge podged together. Seems like everything is just thrown around. Check out Ccapt's build thread. I think he's got one of the nicest tanks I've ever seen.
 
NP. From what I have read about it when set up right it does actually work. Personally, it seems like waaaay too much work. I rather spend the $150 and rinse out a cleaning cup every few days. But if you don't mind the handy work and want to save some dollars it is a great alternative.
 
Piratefish said:
ggNoRe Thanks for the info.

I just read the post about the algae scubber. Is it one of those things that sounds too good to be ture??? Cause I was going to get a skimmer.
Click to expand...

JMO.But I dont think that any kind of algae scrubber or refugium will take the place of a good skimmer.
 
So Im growing algae:grumble:. I talked with the other LFS guy today and seeing how there is nothing in my tank he said I should turn off the lights. Was this just a newbie mistake, and should I have known this before starting a new tank???
 
You can turn the lights off.But no matter what you do,your eventually gonna algae.Thats just part of the hobby.The trick is in learning how to CONTROL the algae.
All new tanks go through a few different stages where algae blooms are gonna happen.Its got to do that to balance itself out.
 
Piratefish said:
ggNoRe Thanks for the info.

I just read the post about the algae scubber. Is it one of those things that sounds too good to be ture??? Cause I was going to get a skimmer.
Click to expand...

I use an algae scrubber...They work and work well. (I DIY'ed it from that same thread) They're easy to build, cheap, and easy to care for.I don't use a protein skimmer. However, I agree with Yote, I think it's irresponsible of me to say just use an algae scrubber. But, if you add it to a system with a protein skimmer, if you build it right and clean it regularly you'll never have algae. You'll have a total of about $10 invested in the scrubber and about $20 in the lights. I Guarantee that if you add it to your system, after 4 weeks you'll never have algae again.... I've got a 180g tank that has never had an inch of algae in it. I don't know why more people don't use them, you have to clean a protein skimmer more often that a algae scrubber. Just an FYI.

But like Biff said, you'v gotta figure out why you have algae in the first place..Lights, flow, feeding, etc.
 
I noticed something weird going on in my tank. My sand had a fine film of algae on it, but now there are "clean" spots where the sand is white. They are roundish about the size of a Snapple bottle cap. There is nothing in my tank snails crabs fish...
 
Yes there is LR in the tank. It is many years old, I dont know how long it has been the tank but at least 5 years.

Should I have more than one powerhead in a 55g tank? The lights are old and need replacing but I want to do clams so I want to upgrade to Mh. What do you think about Aquaticlife? R7S HID Light Fixtures 48"
420206
​
Light 48IN 2-150W R7S
DE HID 4-T5 HO 4 Lunar
420206
​
Light 48IN 2-150W R7S
DE HID 4-T5 HO 4 Lunar
 
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