Hey guys,
I have posted a few times in this forum about some trouble I am having with my 20g reef. It is getting out of control now and I am infested with a variety of things: LOTS of aiptasia, vermetid snails and hydroids. Tons of amphipods that are the size of a dime or bigger.
It is probably a combination of these pests that is killing my zoanthids..I test 0 / 0 / 0 ammonia, nitrate, ite. SG at 1.024 and pH at 8.4. 500gph of flow. I use 2x 10k T5 HO bulbs. (I have seen reef tanks thrive solely on T5 HO bulbs, so please don't turn this into a lighting argument) - LFS owner told me to remove one bulb because the light was too high..this improved things slightly. No skimmer - Again...I have seen thriving tanks with and without them. I spot feed the zoanthids Oyster Feast at least twice a week, and I dose the tank with Seachem Fuel as well. I test the water just about every day and water change often with aged water.
No livestock - I was considering putting a small six-line wrasse in there to be an exterminator, but with how badly this tank is turning out I am thinking of jumping ship. (This tank is only a few months old...I bought LR and zoas from the same owner, same tank, and transferred them to my new tank with new aragonite live sand.)
I might see what the LFS can trade me for my ~30lb LR and the zoas. (They are still very much alive but need a lot of TLC and the LR has great coraline algae growth). I got a rimless 12g that I am thinking about turning into a planted tank instead - way easier IME and gorgeous if done right!
I think I have bit off more than I can chew trying to create a nano-reef as my first SW tank, despite having 17 years of experience with freshwater tanks (I'm 24.. started my first tank at the ripe age of 7! :D) The LFS owner told me that nano-reefs are the hardest of all, and that I would have had an easier time starting on at least a 55g.
I love aquariums and fish, especially reef fish and inverts. You guys on here have stunning tanks and it's truly a talent that you have to keep them thriving. I have never been so humbled by the aquarium hobby as I have with reef keeping, and I don't like to see animals suffer during my learning process. I just wish I had known what to look for when buying the live rock.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, and I will still do anything that I can (limited $) to save this tank.
Here's the pics..sorry, TRT wasn't letting me upload so I had to make a photobucket.
I have posted a few times in this forum about some trouble I am having with my 20g reef. It is getting out of control now and I am infested with a variety of things: LOTS of aiptasia, vermetid snails and hydroids. Tons of amphipods that are the size of a dime or bigger.
It is probably a combination of these pests that is killing my zoanthids..I test 0 / 0 / 0 ammonia, nitrate, ite. SG at 1.024 and pH at 8.4. 500gph of flow. I use 2x 10k T5 HO bulbs. (I have seen reef tanks thrive solely on T5 HO bulbs, so please don't turn this into a lighting argument) - LFS owner told me to remove one bulb because the light was too high..this improved things slightly. No skimmer - Again...I have seen thriving tanks with and without them. I spot feed the zoanthids Oyster Feast at least twice a week, and I dose the tank with Seachem Fuel as well. I test the water just about every day and water change often with aged water.
No livestock - I was considering putting a small six-line wrasse in there to be an exterminator, but with how badly this tank is turning out I am thinking of jumping ship. (This tank is only a few months old...I bought LR and zoas from the same owner, same tank, and transferred them to my new tank with new aragonite live sand.)
I might see what the LFS can trade me for my ~30lb LR and the zoas. (They are still very much alive but need a lot of TLC and the LR has great coraline algae growth). I got a rimless 12g that I am thinking about turning into a planted tank instead - way easier IME and gorgeous if done right!
I think I have bit off more than I can chew trying to create a nano-reef as my first SW tank, despite having 17 years of experience with freshwater tanks (I'm 24.. started my first tank at the ripe age of 7! :D) The LFS owner told me that nano-reefs are the hardest of all, and that I would have had an easier time starting on at least a 55g.
I love aquariums and fish, especially reef fish and inverts. You guys on here have stunning tanks and it's truly a talent that you have to keep them thriving. I have never been so humbled by the aquarium hobby as I have with reef keeping, and I don't like to see animals suffer during my learning process. I just wish I had known what to look for when buying the live rock.
Any advice is greatly appreciated, and I will still do anything that I can (limited $) to save this tank.
Here's the pics..sorry, TRT wasn't letting me upload so I had to make a photobucket.
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