So i got the suds issue resolved. Ran the skimmer off and on all day till it stoped. Yay!!! I just started getting some brown alge on my live rock. Is this normal?
You might want to turn off some of your lights. One of the problems people have when starting a new tank is they get all their lights up and run all of them at once! Since your tank isn't cycled, you probably have some amonia building up. Algae will readily use this amonia to fuel its growth. You can prevent or at least reduce this by running only the minimum amount of light. Also if you don't have anything that needs all that light, you are just burning up electricity. Don't let everyone say, oh its normal to have a bad out break of several different algaes when starting a tank. Take away (reduce the light) one of the components the algae needs to grow and it will not get crazy. And you have a great looking tank, excited to see its progress. If you need any help, or have any questions, feel free to call me 501-743-8773. By the way, where are you located? And like Norman said, Thank you for your service to our country!
Haha that's funny you say that. The other day I went by NSA to grab another bucket of salt and they had just gotten in some good looking rock. I was browsing through it and one of the guys that works there(new) asked me about the tank. I told him it's cycling and the first thing he said was, has it gone though the alge stages? Never heard it before but he kind of explained it. With my fresh water tanks I just didn't touch them for like a month, minimum light them did like a 30-40% water change and everything was good to go. My tank has 6 HOt5 bulbs. 3 atentic, 3 daylight. Right now I use 1 of each most of the day/evening because I love the look. Never had a tank so nice . I have noticed some brown alge starting though.
Oh and same goes for you. If you or anyone else needs any help with anything like I said before I'm always down to learn. 210-837-0534. I live in ward. The new neighborhood next to coco's cafe. IDE like to come check your corals out sometime soon.
http://www.reefcentral.org/forums/showp ... ostcount=4 Here a post by Randy Holmes Farley I found interesting... and agree with... if it helps. There are as many strategies for cycling as there are reefers. I never kept mine with the lights off, but some prefer to keep algae down during this period. It is usually not necessary or desirable to add ammonia if you have live rock. I personally do not think that nitrite is worth measuring, unless you just like to monitor things. Unlike fresh water, nitrite is not very toxic in seawater: Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/rhf/index.htm I'd monitor ammonia that will likely come from the new live rock (if that is what you start with), and maintain alkalinity and pH during the cycle. This article has more on parameters to keep in general: Reef Aquarium Water Parameters http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.htm
Feel free to swing by tomorrow (around noonish?). Just give me a shout (501-743-8773) and I can give you directions. I am literally 5 min from you... Quapaw subdivision on left at top of hill before you get to the new cut-through intersection by Middle School North.
Sounds Like a plan! So I think I should put an emergency shutoff float switch in the overflow. Just incase a snail clogs it. How would I wire a float valve to shutoff my return pump? Will
You use it to run a relay that turns your return pump on and off. If you swing by I can show you an example. It is the same idea as a top off pump control.
What do uall keep you tempatures at? just got the digital thermometer in today and im at 84-85 with the heater set on 78... the temp in the house is 76 and the heater light is not on. some sites said 75-80 others said as high as 89.... will
Please don't keep it at 89. My tank runs around 79-80 degrees and I think that is right in the middle. Most of the corals I keep can't handle temps much higher than 84 without bad things happening.
good to know and good thing i do not have any corals. While I was at work this evening my wife turned on all 6 t5's and when I got home the temp was 89.4 and i dont know if its related or not but a secont damsel just vanished. ive searched everywhere... i have a few computer fans laying around that im going to install in the canopy... hopefully that helps as I cannot afford nor have the space for a chiller. will
Will, I like 79-82. I find my corals grow better at a little higher temp than mid to high 70's. The problem with that is EVERYTHING grows better, good and bad, so keep a close watch and catch any problems early. Also if you have any heat issues with your lights or pumps, on an exceptionally hot day your margin for error is also greatly reduced.
If you will look at my 75 I have two of the cheap metal fans from walmart that blow directly across my halides when they are on to try to move some of the hot air from them off of the water surface. Albeit it adds about a gallon of water evap a day it keeps it cool... Look into adding these.... I also have one in the sump area of my Neo... Works great at keeping my tanks at about 80 for average...
the only problem is my canopy is basically sealed. im thinking of cutting 2 holes in the top for fans to suck the hot air that rises out. then maybe one in the side of the canopy and the sump to blow cool air in. watcha think?
You will deffinatly need some holes in the canopy. If it is sealed it will always be hot... Not only is the heat hard on the tank the heat is also hard on the bulbs and and any other electrical divice in there. Heat is bad. I would find a nice cover somewhere... I have seen round louver covers before that look really good when installed on the sides of canopies. At any rate fans are your freinds.
just thought I would show uall a few updates. Bought alot of coral from blake, 2 clownfish, a sailfin tank, and a anemone from miles. just noticed that coraline algea is finally starting to take off today. also added the auto top off and the refugium. the only issue right now is the noise of the powerheads and the skimmer.
