Love our clownfish pair ! 
be sure to post us some pics !
be sure to post us some pics !
Kyle's RSM 250
- Thread starter kyley
- Start date
Nowellsy SNR
Active Member
Great looking Zoas there next on my list!!
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
Looking good kyle...Do you ever see any aggression between the Skunk and Fire shrimp?
kyley
Active Member
Thanks! Eddie, no, no aggression between the shrimp. The skunk cleaner seems to get scared and dart away from the fire shrimp once in awhile, but that's it. They even seem to share the same general territory most of the time. Usually the fire shrimp stays hidden and the skunk cleaner is out a lot more. The peppermint shrimp doesn't ever seem to be near the other two. All 3 are a lot of fun, but the skunk cleaner is clearly the most personable. TTYL,
--Kyle
--Kyle
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
kyley
Active Member
Hi all, well, looks like I have my first algae bloom... I'm out of town until late tomorrow night (my wife told me about it and sent a picture). Looks like a brown film is covering some of the glass all of a sudden. I assume this is largely due to feeding the shrimp some (and adding nutrients)? At any rate, any suggestions for what I need to do when I get home tomorrow night? I don't know what's happened with the levels since I left yesterday, but NH3, NO2, NO3 were all at 0 and then I did a 10% water change Friday (I'd also just replaced one of the carbon filters with chemi-pure elite). Thanks,
--Kyle
--Kyle
reefhusker
Member
Kyle, whats the yellow thing in pump #1 chamber? Nice pics! I see you added lots more flow.
kyley
Active Member
Hey reefhusker,
The yellow thing is a sponge filter that I'm accumulating bacteria on to use in a quarantine tank (yes, I'm going to try to quarantine for fish beyond my first one - a tank-raised ocellaris clown which I planned to get on Monday - but now probably won't b/c I need to learn more about what to do with this algae bloom first...).
The Koralia 2 I haven't even turned on yet. Because everybody here talked me into it, I'm going to get the Vortech MP20. Someone locally is offering a used one for $200 (cost of the MP10), so I think I'm going to get that (hard to resist). TTYL,
--Kyle
The yellow thing is a sponge filter that I'm accumulating bacteria on to use in a quarantine tank (yes, I'm going to try to quarantine for fish beyond my first one - a tank-raised ocellaris clown which I planned to get on Monday - but now probably won't b/c I need to learn more about what to do with this algae bloom first...).
The Koralia 2 I haven't even turned on yet. Because everybody here talked me into it, I'm going to get the Vortech MP20.
Someone locally is offering a used one for $200 (cost of the MP10), so I think I'm going to get that (hard to resist). TTYL,--Kyle
kyley
Active Member
Okay, so I read a bit more about the algae blooms - I know it's normal (just frustrating - brown diatom algae popped up on much of the glass and rock). But I was all ready to get my first fish on Tuesday (1 ocellaris clown). So I have a few questions:
1. Should I hold off on the fish? Or does the Algae bloom pose no problem for the fish (or hold off simply b/c I'd add more nutrients to the tank for the fish - food)?
2. Is there any danger to my zoanthids or shrimp?
3. Should I add more to my CUC (I assume the real solution is finding the problem though)?
4. Could it be something with the Protein Skimmer not working well? It's probably due for cleaning...
5. Should I not feed my shrimp (I don't know if there's enough in the tank for them to find to eat?)
Thanks,
--Kyle
1. Should I hold off on the fish? Or does the Algae bloom pose no problem for the fish (or hold off simply b/c I'd add more nutrients to the tank for the fish - food)?
2. Is there any danger to my zoanthids or shrimp?
3. Should I add more to my CUC (I assume the real solution is finding the problem though)?
4. Could it be something with the Protein Skimmer not working well? It's probably due for cleaning...
5. Should I not feed my shrimp (I don't know if there's enough in the tank for them to find to eat?)
Thanks,
--Kyle
The diatom bloom is a good sign, it means your tank is in the final stages of the initial cycle. Also, it is not uncommon to have little mini blooms after the tank has been up for a few months, it can take months for a new tank to become stable. You might wait until the bloom clears up before you add the fish. The diatom bloom does not last very long. It will not harm any of your tank inhabitants.
If you want to feed the shrimp but don't want the food flying all over the tank just feed them by hand. Mine are so accustomed to hand feeding that they swarm my arm during every time i reach in for something.
Unless the skimmer neck is really gunky I would hold off on cleaning it. Even then, the slime build up in the skimmer neck help the bubbles and skimate "climb" the neck.
Did I read you are a scuba diver ?
Great pics by the way.
If you want to feed the shrimp but don't want the food flying all over the tank just feed them by hand. Mine are so accustomed to hand feeding that they swarm my arm during every time i reach in for something.
Unless the skimmer neck is really gunky I would hold off on cleaning it. Even then, the slime build up in the skimmer neck help the bubbles and skimate "climb" the neck.
Did I read you are a scuba diver ?
Great pics by the way.
Kyle - this is normal new tank progression - it will last until the silicates are used up in the sand.
I remember it happening at about month 6 - 8 week in... lasted a month or so, will not hurt anything, I remember when it happened, I was like "bummer" I wanted to have a pretty reef tank like everyone else, now I have brown algae, which in my tank was followed by green hair algae. It all passed, once the silicates in the sand were exhausted, my tank been 99% algae free since.
Just keep up your maintenance, water changes & fresh carbon (CPE). If you want, you can run your lights for like 5 hours a day for a few days to knock it back, but no need really, just part of normal new tank progression (with one assumption - you are not overfeeding).
It is a good time to beef up your CUC snails, they will have more to eat now. But the real key is to let it run the course & look at it as not a bad thing
I remember it happening at about month 6 - 8 week in... lasted a month or so, will not hurt anything, I remember when it happened, I was like "bummer" I wanted to have a pretty reef tank like everyone else, now I have brown algae, which in my tank was followed by green hair algae. It all passed, once the silicates in the sand were exhausted, my tank been 99% algae free since.
Just keep up your maintenance, water changes & fresh carbon (CPE). If you want, you can run your lights for like 5 hours a day for a few days to knock it back, but no need really, just part of normal new tank progression (with one assumption - you are not overfeeding).
It is a good time to beef up your CUC snails, they will have more to eat now. But the real key is to let it run the course & look at it as not a bad thing
reefhusker
Member
Kyle - Thanks for whooping our tails on Sat. (lets play football, ha ha) Anyways, whats involved in a quarintine tank? Cost and supplies. My wife will probably shoot me of i spend much more $$$ but after reading a post on ich it seems like it is almost a necessity! I'm going to drop about $800 today on LR from Pac. E. AQ.
redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
Kyle - The bloom is normal tank progression. You can siphon it out if you want or leave it in to consume silicates faster.
Congrats on your Vortech, you will love it...
Congrats on your Vortech, you will love it...
kyley
Active Member
Hi All, Thanks for the replies and advice. I assume I should keep scraping the algae off the glass? I'm still torn on getting the clownfish tomorrow (my son's really excited to get our first fish). If the bloom is going to last a month or more (likely?) I don't want to be waiting *that* much longer to get a fish...
Conched, yeah, I have been feeding the shrimp by hand (so fun!). I've been feeding a pinch once a day (and not much of it seems to escape them). Yes, I am a scuba diver (you can see photos of my dives at the link in my sig).
Glenn, I don't think I'm overfeeding (only a pinch a day for the shrimp - nothing else to feed) but maybe the excess is starting to accumulate from the past week of feeding them. I don't want to add too much more to the CUC, but most of my snails are really small types (ceriths, nerites for example). I might get 2 more scarlet reef hermits, 1 more turbo, 2 more astraea, and maybe another cerith (I like the nerites, but they're hard to come by here).
reefhusker, no problem on the game Nebraska kept it close at halftime though! Quarantine tank? You should read this article (long) and this thread for clearer setup info. Many insist on quaranting your fish (insist that it's a necessity). But a quarantine tank can be very cheap. For mine, I have an old 10 gallon tank that had a simple fluorescent hood (all I need unless I choose to quarantine coral), I bought a simple sponge filter ($10) and an air pump for it ($10) [I think some would use a powerhead for this; not sure which is better], need to get a cheap heater ($15?), and I guess that's it (you don't want a powerhead to provide a lot of flow in the QT). No sand, no live rock, etc. - just regular water changes when you're quarantining fish. $800 on live rock? Wow, I spent $300 locally and thought that was a lot! How many pounds? I think I posted in your thread about some good reasons to consider buying locally (and I bet you could even buy from some local reefers for cheaper). If you could save that much money, you could get your QT, an MP10/20, an ATO, etc.
Eddie, don't have the MP20 yet, but very likely... Ugh, this is a money pit (er, swamp)! Heh heh... Take care,
--Kyle
Conched, yeah, I have been feeding the shrimp by hand (so fun!). I've been feeding a pinch once a day (and not much of it seems to escape them). Yes, I am a scuba diver (you can see photos of my dives at the link in my sig).
Glenn, I don't think I'm overfeeding (only a pinch a day for the shrimp - nothing else to feed) but maybe the excess is starting to accumulate from the past week of feeding them. I don't want to add too much more to the CUC, but most of my snails are really small types (ceriths, nerites for example). I might get 2 more scarlet reef hermits, 1 more turbo, 2 more astraea, and maybe another cerith (I like the nerites, but they're hard to come by here).
reefhusker, no problem on the game
Nebraska kept it close at halftime though! Quarantine tank? You should read this article (long) and this thread for clearer setup info. Many insist on quaranting your fish (insist that it's a necessity). But a quarantine tank can be very cheap. For mine, I have an old 10 gallon tank that had a simple fluorescent hood (all I need unless I choose to quarantine coral), I bought a simple sponge filter ($10) and an air pump for it ($10) [I think some would use a powerhead for this; not sure which is better], need to get a cheap heater ($15?), and I guess that's it (you don't want a powerhead to provide a lot of flow in the QT). No sand, no live rock, etc. - just regular water changes when you're quarantining fish. $800 on live rock? Wow, I spent $300 locally and thought that was a lot! How many pounds? I think I posted in your thread about some good reasons to consider buying locally (and I bet you could even buy from some local reefers for cheaper). If you could save that much money, you could get your QT, an MP10/20, an ATO, etc. Eddie, don't have the MP20 yet, but very likely... Ugh, this is a money pit (er, swamp)! Heh heh... Take care,
--Kyle
If your tanks finished cycling (ammonia, nitrites = zero & water changes have brought nitrates to zero) you are safe to add a fishie or pair
and oh yea, you always will be cleaning a small amount of green slime from glass, but lots of snails will minimize this... pretty easy I do it once a week right before my weekly water change.