rgslady
Member
Sorry for my long absence...and now here at work so right now I can't post any new pics. For the most part, things are going well. My RS 250 still my pride and joy. The 14 g biocube also doing great.
Then there's the 29g pony tank. Ponies and pipefish are doing awesome. I also have three small cardinals and a helfrich's firefish in there. The all get along nicely. My biggest problem with the pony tank is the algae. It has been a problem literally since the onset. Initially, I thought it might be the live rock I purchased...totoka. Very bumpy, porous rock...tough to keep clean. I would not buy it again. So I have no doubt that is part of the problem. Second, you gotta feed those ponies twice a day, frozen mysis. I got them, and the pipefish trained to feed from a feeding dish, which is literally an upturned clamshell. And feeding frozen twice a day poses it's own issues. I try to take out all uneaten food after a half hour of feeding time. The green algae on the glass is relentlous. That tank looks it's best first thing in the morning..then with the lights on all day, the algae just takes over. I clean it twice a day, but never seem to make any headway. Tank params are good. Stevie T rack with seagel and purigen. And Aquamaxx HOB skimmer (rated for 75g). Also have Vortech 10 in there, a recent addition I thought would help, but doesn't seem to. Then again, I can only keep the flow rate limited because of the ponies. Tank temp is 74.
Just did practically a major overhaul on that tank, cleaning everything I possibly could. Have been trying API marine algae fix, to no avail. I know what the algae requires, nutrients and light. The tank is 4 months old. I limit the lighting from 8 am to 6 pm. And do my best to remove uneaten food. Just don't know what else I can do at this point...
Do you think it would do any harm to turn the lights off for a few hours midday? Don't wanna mess with those little pony heads! And a last resort, which I dread, would be to change out the live rock completely...expensive and time consuming.
Thoughts, suggestions?
Then there's the 29g pony tank. Ponies and pipefish are doing awesome. I also have three small cardinals and a helfrich's firefish in there. The all get along nicely. My biggest problem with the pony tank is the algae. It has been a problem literally since the onset. Initially, I thought it might be the live rock I purchased...totoka. Very bumpy, porous rock...tough to keep clean. I would not buy it again. So I have no doubt that is part of the problem. Second, you gotta feed those ponies twice a day, frozen mysis. I got them, and the pipefish trained to feed from a feeding dish, which is literally an upturned clamshell. And feeding frozen twice a day poses it's own issues. I try to take out all uneaten food after a half hour of feeding time. The green algae on the glass is relentlous. That tank looks it's best first thing in the morning..then with the lights on all day, the algae just takes over. I clean it twice a day, but never seem to make any headway. Tank params are good. Stevie T rack with seagel and purigen. And Aquamaxx HOB skimmer (rated for 75g). Also have Vortech 10 in there, a recent addition I thought would help, but doesn't seem to. Then again, I can only keep the flow rate limited because of the ponies. Tank temp is 74.
Just did practically a major overhaul on that tank, cleaning everything I possibly could. Have been trying API marine algae fix, to no avail. I know what the algae requires, nutrients and light. The tank is 4 months old. I limit the lighting from 8 am to 6 pm. And do my best to remove uneaten food. Just don't know what else I can do at this point...
Do you think it would do any harm to turn the lights off for a few hours midday? Don't wanna mess with those little pony heads! And a last resort, which I dread, would be to change out the live rock completely...expensive and time consuming.
Thoughts, suggestions?
