1st SW/Reef Tank: 14g BioCube

[astiesi]

reefsmoker - Thanks for the heads up, I did keep the lights out during the cycle.

nstiesi - I will snap some pics today.

[astiesi]

I finally snapped a pic of my new Hammer Coral. I was excited to find what seems to be a new branch/head after getting it home. Is this how these corals propogate? You can barely see it just coming off the main branch in the picture below. Look right below the Nerite snail.

It took two days to open due to a power outage the day after bringing it home but it seems to be very happy now.



Also a new FTS.



For my next additions I would like to add a fire shrimp and some zoa frags. The only remaining problem is the hair algae that remains. I will be posting a separate thread on this problem.

[AndtheBonus]

Cool! Looks good!

[nstiesi]

Nice! Hammer looks more open there than it did yesterday.

[astiesi]

AndtheBonus - Thanks for always stopping in and checking out the pics, I'll keep posting. Looking forward to seeing your progress once you get started.

nstiesi - Its looking better and better everyday. Still waiting for the GSPs to open. I'll let you know when they do.

[astiesi]

Just a quick update...

Last night I went out and bought some PhosLock and added it to the second filter chamber. I did this to try to get a handle on a growing hair algae and cyano problem. This morning I added a turbo snail to the CUC to help with the hair algae. My CUC now consists of:

8 nassarius snails
4 nerite snails
1 turbo snail

I may add another turbo if needed but I wanted to go slow so my CUC doesn't get too large and starve once the algae is under control.

[astiesi]

Here are some pics to go with that last update.

Here is another pic of the Hammer Coral. It is currently as big as it has been since bringing it home from the LFS.



And here is a good pic of the algae problem I am fighting. It is getting worse everyday and if anybody has any good suggestions I would love to hear them. Thus far I have added PhosLock and a Turbo Snail. I am hesitant to reduce my light schedule due to the Hammer looking so healthy.



Here is an updated FTS. You can see how the algae is spreading if you compare to the FTS from 8/4/08.

[nstiesi]

That hammer really is looking good......

And I am next in line for phosban, too.

[tippMANn98]

How long are your lights on for, and which set is on at which times?

[astiesi]

The daylights run 7 hours a day, actinics come on an hour before and stay on an hour after. Moonlights are on 24/7.

[tippMANn98]

and thats it? how much do you feed? what do you feed? how do you have the back chambers set up?

[astiesi]

The lights are on timers so the duration has been constant.

I have been feeding once a day, a combination of small pellets and frozen mysis shrimp, rinsed in RO/DI water. Since I only have the one fish I feed very little.

As for the back chambers, in the first I have the Oceanic Biocube skimmer. In the second I have live rock rubble along with filter floss, which I change weekly, and the PhosLock. I also have been running carbon 2 weeks in, 2 weeks out. The third chamber has the return pump and the heater. I removed the sponge from this chamber as well.

[tippMANn98]

Hmmmm, I took out all my LR rubble I had after a few months, it really really collected a lot of detrius and crap. Maybe try a reef grade carbon, like chemi pure elite, maybe something to pull out the phosphates a little better. How about your water change water? is it a good source of r/o, that could be a sign as well. The filter floss will get clogged and make a water flow trap. that sponge is good for bubble control and to catch large pieces of stuff. I rinse that one every week. as for filter floss, I just use it AFTER the cleaning day to polish the small particles out of the water.

[astiesi]

R/O water has tested out ok, no phosphates or nitrates. I may have to try the chemi pure elite next. I'll give the PhosLock and CUC a couple days to see if things are getting any better. Thanks for the advice.

[tippMANn98]

see, I have never been one to have luck with any kind of "quick" phosphate remover, locks, sponges, NONE of that crap, and to me its just that. There is a LFS I go to up here that doesnt sell chemipure, the lady says stopped selling it 9 years ago....blah blah blah..... I love this stuff, and the improved ELITE is some really really good stuff. When I started getting brown, I switched my R/O source, and did 2 5 gallon changes in a week on my 29g cube....