Reef Sanctuary - General Reef Aquarium Discussion

Reef Sanctuary - General Reef Aquarium Discussion http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums Post all your general reefkeeping questions here. en Fri, 20 Nov 2009 22:22:42 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/images/misc/rss.jpg Reef Sanctuary - General Reef Aquarium Discussion http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums Question about cycling a tank http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52626-question-about-cycling-tank.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:39:34 GMT Okay, I know how to cycle a tank. Just finished cycling my new nano aquarium. My question regards my brother-in-law's tank. They currently have a 50 gallon corner unit that we have been looking to replace because of filtration issues (not enough room for sump/fuge, etc) and inadequate lighting for corals. They are going today to look at a 65 gallon aquarium/sump/MH lights/UV sterilizer system that is NOT running. I do think they will buy it as long as it is in decent condition because it is an awesome deal I found on craigslist. The would be getting the entire system for less than the cost of the lights.

Anyhoo, my main question is a local reefer posted on the local site and is breaking down his 120 gallon aquarium. We are probably going to be buying all the live sand and live rock for the new aquarium from him. I don't particularly care for the LR in the system they already have (not many nooks and crannies) and I hate their substrate which is rather course crushed coral. We might also be upgrading the sump to his already-running 55 gallon sump if it will fit in the closet we'd like to put it into. So while the aquarium they would be buying is not a currently running system, everything going into it would be from an already running tank. Will we still see a cycle in that case? I'm assuming that the rocks and sand already have all the nitrifying bacteria built up which is what cycling does so since it is already there, will the system still cycle or will it be possibly just a brief cycle? ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion Cloudburst2000 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52626-question-about-cycling-tank.html A little help plz... http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52612-little-help-plz.html Fri, 20 Nov 2009 01:48:25 GMT What type of clam do I own. Here are a few pics. Image: http://i189.photobucket.com/albums/z182/jnohs/DSC_7880.jpg What type of clam do I own. Here are a few pics.

]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion jnohs http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52612-little-help-plz.html suggestions for clown fish hosting http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52607-suggestions-clown-fish-hosting.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:32:04 GMT Have decided that nems are not the way for me to go in an effort to get my osc clowns to leave my toadstool alone. Does anyone have suggestions of what I should buy? These two clowns have killed my bubble coral and now they are making a mess of my toadstool. Thanks, Bubba Have decided that nems are not the way for me to go in an effort to get my osc clowns to leave my toadstool alone. Does anyone have suggestions of what I should buy? These two clowns have killed my bubble coral and now they are making a mess of my toadstool. Thanks, Bubba ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion no1bubba http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52607-suggestions-clown-fish-hosting.html new here and need a bit of help http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52601-new-here-need-bit-help.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:42:08 GMT Hey Reefers

I need a bit of advice
I have done some testing on my water for the 3rd week in a row now with these readings
on API test kits
RO/DI water
PH7.9
kh 16:smack:
calc 440
nitrate 0
amo 0
phos .05
I cant seem to find out what is going on
I started dose Klak yesterday . with no change in readings
I'm so cnfzd:

I have LPS,SPS,Softies
and have had them for about a month and I'm seeing reproduction in my
Xeania, candy cane, Zoas and and growth in my monti

should I get a new test kit for the KH ?
how can I lower the KH
is there something I'm overlooking here
37g seaclear tank with built in sump with cheato in it
2 hydor 1 aiming up for aeration
custom skimmer

thanks
Nick ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion Vegasreef http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52601-new-here-need-bit-help.html powerheads off http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52579-powerheads-off.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:23:20 GMT I heard my cat behind my tank stand last night. Thought nothing of it. He goes back there all the time. Anyhoo, woke up this morning and realized that both my powerheads were off. So I look behind my tank and the powerstrip the powerheads were on was off. I think the cat must have stepped on the little on/off switch on the powerhead. That's the only thing I could think of. The cat was relegated to the bedroom and bathroom last night (locked in) for making too much noise running up and down the halls so it had to have happened before then. So I'd say before 9PM. They were on at about 7:30PM when I checked tank temperature so they were off anywhere from 7:30PM to 9:00PM until this morning at 7:30AM. I turned the powerstrip back on when I realized it was off. HOB filter was still operating so tank was getting a very minimal amount of flow at the least. I guess I'll just see how this affects all my corals *sigh* ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion Cloudburst2000 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52579-powerheads-off.html question on fragging http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52571-question-fragging.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 04:44:14 GMT hey guys/gals i have a dumb question,first off im not a fragger,though tomorrow i'll be getting a pom pom frag hopefully,anyways,right now in my tank i have a LR piece with a kinda cool looking orange spong on it,i can take a pic of it if need be to make sure it is....it actually formed another orange spong on the other side of the same rock,im just wondering,can i slice some of it off,place it on another rock and it spread? ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion nightfire76 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52571-question-fragging.html bad purchase??? http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52568-bad-purchase.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 03:10:55 GMT Hey Everyone....i am a newbie to reef keeping ( 4 days). i have had a few successful fish only marine tanks, and impulse bought a nano-reef on craigslist. I know,dangeroous move, but videos looked good and tank looked pretty healthy in person. ANYWAY....i brought it home and set it up somewhat the same as it was. I added some t5 ho lighting (6400kx2) because it was only running on 96 watts of pc. The tank is 45 gal, had a crazy homemade filter consisting of two ten gallon tanks underneath one a refugium and the a sump with sand, rock, and a skimmer. two powerheads in tank for circulation. This guy was DESPERATE for money so i bought it for almost nothing and like an idiot changed the filter to my hang on 3 gallon job with pre,sipporax( ceramic cylinders), and some of the rock from his sump. I kept his skimmer also, not sure what brand but does awesome! My problem is this: The tank looks ok, some algea from the move, lots of inverts( urchins, crabs shrimp etc. all looking great) small corals, but vrey healthy looking, a few fish...wrasse, goby, cleaner wrasse, clown...but after testung for nitrates today for the first time, they are about 40 to 50ppm!!! How the hell is it living? The tank must have been that way cause if i started a new cycle, then it would not be at that stage yet...right? What should i do? water changes, chemis? help is appreciated. Hey Everyone....i am a newbie to reef keeping ( 4 days). i have had a few successful fish only marine tanks, and impulse bought a nano-reef on craigslist. I know,dangeroous move, but videos looked good and tank looked pretty healthy in person. ANYWAY....i brought it home and set it up somewhat the same as it was. I added some t5 ho lighting (6400kx2) because it was only running on 96 watts of pc. The tank is 45 gal, had a crazy homemade filter consisting of two ten gallon tanks underneath one a refugium and the a sump with sand, rock, and a skimmer. two powerheads in tank for circulation. This guy was DESPERATE for money so i bought it for almost nothing and like an idiot changed the filter to my hang on 3 gallon job with pre,sipporax( ceramic cylinders), and some of the rock from his sump. I kept his skimmer also, not sure what brand but does awesome!
My problem is this: The tank looks ok, some algea from the move, lots of inverts( urchins, crabs shrimp etc. all looking great) small corals, but vrey healthy looking, a few fish...wrasse, goby, cleaner wrasse, clown...but after testung for nitrates today for the first time, they are about 40 to 50ppm!!!
How the hell is it living? The tank must have been that way cause if i started a new cycle, then it would not be at that stage yet...right? What should i do? water changes, chemis? help is appreciated. ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion rudedogg http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52568-bad-purchase.html High nitrates, lot of algae http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52566-high-nitrates-lot-algae.html Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:40:04 GMT Hi all, Two weeks ago I started to see a lot of diatom in sand and algae in LR and tank walls. My readings are: Nitrates 20ppm:bouncebox Phosphates 0ppm PH 8.2 Salinity 1.026 Calcium 420 My RO water is::whstlr: Nitrates 0ppm Phosphates 0ppm So... what could be the problem? Right now I only have in 75g tank and 20g sump: 1 medium yellow tang, 1 six line warasse, 1 chromis, 1 damsel. Change about 10g every two weeks. Clean my sock twice a week. I only have two sponges at skimmer and return pumps but I think they dont catch a lot of detritus. Please, comments?:ponder2: :winner: ??????? Hi all, Two weeks ago I started to see a lot of diatom in sand and algae in LR and tank walls.
My readings are:

Nitrates 20ppm:bouncebox
Phosphates 0ppm
PH 8.2
Salinity 1.026
Calcium 420

My RO water is::whstlr:
Nitrates 0ppm
Phosphates 0ppm

So... what could be the problem?

Right now I only have in 75g tank and 20g sump: 1 medium yellow tang, 1 six line warasse, 1 chromis, 1 damsel.

Change about 10g every two weeks. Clean my sock twice a week.
I only have two sponges at skimmer and return pumps but I think they dont catch a lot of detritus.

Please, comments?:ponder2:

:winner: ??????? ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion r2d2 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52566-high-nitrates-lot-algae.html Phyto fertilizer(FOOD) http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52563-phyto-fertilizer-food.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:40:12 GMT what can be used that would be safe to add to my tanks that can be store bought. with out having to purcase over net what can be used that would be safe to add to my tanks that can be store bought. with out having to purcase over net ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion antdizzle http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52563-phyto-fertilizer-food.html gobie vs algae blenny http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52558-gobie-vs-algae-blenny.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:37:32 GMT Hi all, I need to add a sand mouver critter to my tank because my gobie past away. I dont know if add another gobie because eating problems with previous or add an algae blenny. does blennys move sand? My gobie used to keep it bright white and now is to brown and red... Greetings Hi all, I need to add a sand mouver critter to my tank because my gobie past away.
I dont know if add another gobie because eating problems with previous or add an algae blenny.
does blennys move sand? My gobie used to keep it bright white and now is to brown and red...
Greetings ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion r2d2 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52558-gobie-vs-algae-blenny.html Coco worm and the peppermint shrimp. http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52557-coco-worm-peppermint-shrimp.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 22:16:16 GMT I was wondering if any body has some advice for me. I have a peppermint shrimp that about 2 months ago seemed to be attacking my feather duster. A couple days later the feather duster was dead. I did not know if it was dying and the shrimp was going after it for food or if the shrimp killed it. I just purchased a coco worm. Two times I found the worm lying on the sand not on the rock where I had placed it. I thought it may have been a snail causing it to dislodge, so I was looking into some sort of glue to keep it in place. Last knight I found the shrimp peering down the tube of the worm. I am worried that he may have been the culprit and will kill it. The shrimp is very aggressive but is a blast to watch when I feed him. I did some research prior to buying the coco worm for this reason and found nothing saying that they will not play nice together. I also asked the LFS and was told that the shrimp would not be a problem. I would greatly appreciate any advice or experiences that others my have had with this combo. I was wondering if any body has some advice for me. I have a peppermint shrimp that about 2 months ago seemed to be attacking my feather duster. A couple days later the feather duster was dead. I did not know if it was dying and the shrimp was going after it for food or if the shrimp killed it.
I just purchased a coco worm. Two times I found the worm lying on the sand not on the rock where I had placed it. I thought it may have been a snail causing it to dislodge, so I was looking into some sort of glue to keep it in place.
Last knight I found the shrimp peering down the tube of the worm. I am worried that he may have been the culprit and will kill it. The shrimp is very aggressive but is a blast to watch when I feed him.
I did some research prior to buying the coco worm for this reason and found nothing saying that they will not play nice together. I also asked the LFS and was told that the shrimp would not be a problem.
I would greatly appreciate any advice or experiences that others my have had with this combo. ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion magnum http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52557-coco-worm-peppermint-shrimp.html just started a new reef tank:) http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52550-just-started-new-reef-tank.html Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:03:01 GMT Hi everyone its been awhile :) ok so this is a new reef tank it's been setup and running 5 days and already have a diatome bloom my 29 and 55 took 6-7weeks to get to this point what do you think?? ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion cindyp http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52550-just-started-new-reef-tank.html I Need Advice http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52507-i-need-advice.html Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:18:21 GMT i just picked up a frag pack of sps pocillopora. the largest is doing awesome but the two smaller ones polpys wont open(its been 4 days) i currently have a 20w atinic and a 20 w 18000k over a 10 gallon. i was told this was enough light but should i add more?. had my water tested and everything was fine besides a small amount of phosphate. i also have zoas and xenia in the tank i just picked up a frag pack of sps pocillopora. the largest is doing awesome but the two smaller ones polpys wont open(its been 4 days) i currently have a 20w atinic and a 20 w 18000k over a 10 gallon. i was told this was enough light but should i add more?. had my water tested and everything was fine besides a small amount of phosphate. i also have zoas and xenia in the tank ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion caseyjones818 http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52507-i-need-advice.html Reef Roids http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52506-reef-roids.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:50:37 GMT anyone use this food before? Just dosed for the first time and I've never seen corals respond this quick. Everyone knows its time to eat ;D SPS are all sliming up and the Zoas looks very different. It looks like coral frenzy but more of a fine powder. ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion Varga http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52506-reef-roids.html <![CDATA[what i'm looking at for fish stock in a 75g]]> http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52500-what-im-looking-fish-stock-75g.html Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:12:18 GMT Let me say if this should be in another forum please move it and let me know in PM, Thanxs.

The fish I been looking for my reef tank once it's up and running I'll list. Please let me know If a certain species can cause a problem with other's.

Cleaner Wrasse ( Labroides dimidiatus ) remove from list.
Flasher Wrasse ( Paracheilinus sp. )
Velvet Fairy Wrasse ( Cirrhilabrus luteovittatus )
Shrimpgoby - Barbershop ( Stonogobiops sp )
Shrimpgoby - Bumble Bee ( Amblyeleotris wheeleri )
Tiger Goby ( Valencienna wardii )

With the shrimpgoby's the barbershop and bumble bee I want one of them so what pistol shrimp will be good for them.

I'm more concern with the wrasses if they would be friendly between each other and goby's. but if there could be potential problem with one of the wrasses which one. The same goes with goby's, I do like to have a tiger goby and one shrimpgoby in the tank.

*** Side note***

While I work on getting the equipment for this reef, I decided to start working on a list of corals, inverts(including CUC), and fish that I would like to have in this tank. These list will be individual until I make the final decision and compile a master list with everything for the stocking of the 75 reef tank. ]]> General Reef Aquarium Discussion SiNiStEr NaTiOn http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/general-reef-aquarium-discussion/52500-what-im-looking-fish-stock-75g.html