Hi All!
Intro
I'm in my thirties, I live in the northeast USA, and just started with aquaria about 1 year ago. I started with planted freshwater tanks. I was successful with a nano tank with shrimp and I've since upgraded to a 30 gallon with moss, shrimp, a few little fish, and lots of plants (I'll send a pic as soon as I can).
Foray into Saltwater
I was always hesitant to get into saltwater but about four months ago I took the plunge. I found a setup on craigslist for about $60. It was a 12 gallon tall and it came with a metal halide. The guy who sold it to me told me it would be fine for soft corals. The short story on that tank is, well, disaster. I didn't have much in it but nothing survived. It was very disheartening. But I did learn a lot.
Take 2
I spoke to an expert who explained that I should have gone with more water volume and that I needed a sump with protein skimmer. He also explained a lot about water parameters and the time involved. I decided to give it another shot. I found another setup on craigslist but this one was 30 gallons with a 10 gallon sump, protein skimmer, Orbit LEDs, live rock, and water. The tank had been run for 2 years when I bought it with a blue angle fish, a large hermit, and an anemone. I moved the tank and all the water. When I got home I set it up with all original water. I also got an RO/DI machine in the deal!
The first thing I did was bring the blue angle and red hermit to a reputable store. They were happy to accept them. I got some cool live rock in trade. I decided to keep the anemone because it's just so cool! The sump was overflowing with two kinds of green macro algae so I removed some to make room. I also added some red macro-algae to the sump and main tank. I'd like to populate all sorts of cool macro-algae in the tank cause I like the way it looks.
After a couple months I moved some stuff around. The tank was too close to a window and grew a ton of hair algae. I removed the rocks, submerged them in tank water without light for 3-4 days, then scrubbed the hair algae off. I moved the tank to a less sunlight area (my apartment is bathed in sunlight but I went as far from the windows as possible) and setup the live rock again. The anemone moved around a bit but found a new home. I feed it twice a week. It seems to be happy but doesn't talk much about its feelings. Since I set it up I've been doing water changes once a week to twice a week to try to lower nitrate and phosphate.
The Current Setup Situation
Attachment 136737
Filtration
I have the protein skimmer, the macro algae, deep sand in the sump (3-4 inches), sand in the tank itself (about 1-2 inches) and phosban and carbon in the sump between the refugium and the return chamber.
Attachment 136777
Attachment 136745
Lighting
The Orbit LED is set for about 12 hours of total light with the blues in the morning and night (sunrise / sunset) and I've toned down the max intensity to 75% for the blues during the day and 25% for the whites during the day.
The light on the refugium algae is on 24/7.
Attachment 136801
Flow
I have two powerheads. Last week I moved the powerheads closer to the surface where they suck in air and create bubbles. The return hose from the sump also creates a lot of waves and bubbles. There's a little foam on the surface in the tank at the moment. I like the look of the surface movement and the bubbles.
Attachment 136793
Water
Nitrates did spike during the move and I'm told this is due to nitrates escaping from the sand. Phosphates and other nitrogen compounds have always been low and haven't changed over time. Doing weekly water changes of about 25% total water volume, the nitrate levels have declined. So have phosphates. But nitrates and phosphates are still too high for me to start adding anything and I'm also concerned that the tank may be cycling.
Nitrates remain in the 20-40 ppm and phosphates just above 0.25 ppm. My water change is RO/DI water with Reef Crystals to 1.25 salinity mixed with air stone and heater to 78F for 24 hours. Then I remove 8 gallons from the tank and then pump in the new 8 gallons. I'm mixing in a LDPE #4, 10-gallon garbage can I got at restaurant depot.
I also have Magnesium low at 1250. Calcium is good in the 450 range.
Temp has been between 78 and 80 this summer, with occasional spikes at 81-82. Now its at a solid 78.
Concerns
1. I'm not sure if I'm moving in the right direction to get nitrates and phosphates low enough for corals. They're low, and levels have gone down, but I'm not getting past the 0.25 ppm phosphate and 20-40 ppm nitrate levels.
2. pH has been in the 7.8 - 8 range consistently. I realize this is "ok" but I'd be more comfortable with an 8.3. I have used Marine Buffer with my top-off water and that would raise pH to 8.3 temporarily. I have also used the Calcium Buffer liquid, which does not seem to have much effect on pH. It will raise it up to 8.1 temporarily. At one point I did get cloudy precipitation in the tank when adding buffer but that went away when I added straight RO/DI water on the next top off. kH hardness seems to be consistently really high. It is 12+ degrees. Just yesterday I noticed that the pH of my water change water after mixing with reef crystals was only 7.8! I added marine buffer and it brought pH up to 8.5 but after 24 hour mix the pH in the garbage can is back to 7.9 and everything is coated in a light, white, slippery film. Why would this happen? My RO/DI machine kicks out TDS 1-2 water. I was under the impression that LDPE #4 was safe.
3. I'm not sure the protein skimmer is working at peak efficiency and I'm not sure how to test or improve this. It does suck air into it and make a nice bubbly soup. It used to kick off brown sludge a lot more but doesn't that much now and the top part doesn't fill with the large bubbles like it used to. Is this cause my water is cleaner or because it isn't working?
4. Since the algae removal some hair algae is growing back. I have also had some of the clear slimy stuff in the past week or so. I'm not afraid of a little growth but I'd like to get things stabilized and under control. I wiped some off the glass but I still have some on the top rocks and coating the red algae in the tank.
Attachment 136785
So there you have it! I've been reading up on this forum and other sites a lot. Learned a lot but still very much a noob to this stuff. Any thoughts, insights, suggestions, encouragements welcome. Please no snarky comments. Questions let me know! Thanks!
Intro
I'm in my thirties, I live in the northeast USA, and just started with aquaria about 1 year ago. I started with planted freshwater tanks. I was successful with a nano tank with shrimp and I've since upgraded to a 30 gallon with moss, shrimp, a few little fish, and lots of plants (I'll send a pic as soon as I can).
Foray into Saltwater
I was always hesitant to get into saltwater but about four months ago I took the plunge. I found a setup on craigslist for about $60. It was a 12 gallon tall and it came with a metal halide. The guy who sold it to me told me it would be fine for soft corals. The short story on that tank is, well, disaster. I didn't have much in it but nothing survived. It was very disheartening. But I did learn a lot.
Take 2
I spoke to an expert who explained that I should have gone with more water volume and that I needed a sump with protein skimmer. He also explained a lot about water parameters and the time involved. I decided to give it another shot. I found another setup on craigslist but this one was 30 gallons with a 10 gallon sump, protein skimmer, Orbit LEDs, live rock, and water. The tank had been run for 2 years when I bought it with a blue angle fish, a large hermit, and an anemone. I moved the tank and all the water. When I got home I set it up with all original water. I also got an RO/DI machine in the deal!
The first thing I did was bring the blue angle and red hermit to a reputable store. They were happy to accept them. I got some cool live rock in trade. I decided to keep the anemone because it's just so cool! The sump was overflowing with two kinds of green macro algae so I removed some to make room. I also added some red macro-algae to the sump and main tank. I'd like to populate all sorts of cool macro-algae in the tank cause I like the way it looks.
After a couple months I moved some stuff around. The tank was too close to a window and grew a ton of hair algae. I removed the rocks, submerged them in tank water without light for 3-4 days, then scrubbed the hair algae off. I moved the tank to a less sunlight area (my apartment is bathed in sunlight but I went as far from the windows as possible) and setup the live rock again. The anemone moved around a bit but found a new home. I feed it twice a week. It seems to be happy but doesn't talk much about its feelings. Since I set it up I've been doing water changes once a week to twice a week to try to lower nitrate and phosphate.
The Current Setup Situation
Attachment 136737
Filtration
I have the protein skimmer, the macro algae, deep sand in the sump (3-4 inches), sand in the tank itself (about 1-2 inches) and phosban and carbon in the sump between the refugium and the return chamber.
Attachment 136777
Attachment 136745
Lighting
The Orbit LED is set for about 12 hours of total light with the blues in the morning and night (sunrise / sunset) and I've toned down the max intensity to 75% for the blues during the day and 25% for the whites during the day.
The light on the refugium algae is on 24/7.
Attachment 136801
Flow
I have two powerheads. Last week I moved the powerheads closer to the surface where they suck in air and create bubbles. The return hose from the sump also creates a lot of waves and bubbles. There's a little foam on the surface in the tank at the moment. I like the look of the surface movement and the bubbles.
Attachment 136793
Water
Nitrates did spike during the move and I'm told this is due to nitrates escaping from the sand. Phosphates and other nitrogen compounds have always been low and haven't changed over time. Doing weekly water changes of about 25% total water volume, the nitrate levels have declined. So have phosphates. But nitrates and phosphates are still too high for me to start adding anything and I'm also concerned that the tank may be cycling.
Nitrates remain in the 20-40 ppm and phosphates just above 0.25 ppm. My water change is RO/DI water with Reef Crystals to 1.25 salinity mixed with air stone and heater to 78F for 24 hours. Then I remove 8 gallons from the tank and then pump in the new 8 gallons. I'm mixing in a LDPE #4, 10-gallon garbage can I got at restaurant depot.
I also have Magnesium low at 1250. Calcium is good in the 450 range.
Temp has been between 78 and 80 this summer, with occasional spikes at 81-82. Now its at a solid 78.
Concerns
1. I'm not sure if I'm moving in the right direction to get nitrates and phosphates low enough for corals. They're low, and levels have gone down, but I'm not getting past the 0.25 ppm phosphate and 20-40 ppm nitrate levels.
2. pH has been in the 7.8 - 8 range consistently. I realize this is "ok" but I'd be more comfortable with an 8.3. I have used Marine Buffer with my top-off water and that would raise pH to 8.3 temporarily. I have also used the Calcium Buffer liquid, which does not seem to have much effect on pH. It will raise it up to 8.1 temporarily. At one point I did get cloudy precipitation in the tank when adding buffer but that went away when I added straight RO/DI water on the next top off. kH hardness seems to be consistently really high. It is 12+ degrees. Just yesterday I noticed that the pH of my water change water after mixing with reef crystals was only 7.8! I added marine buffer and it brought pH up to 8.5 but after 24 hour mix the pH in the garbage can is back to 7.9 and everything is coated in a light, white, slippery film. Why would this happen? My RO/DI machine kicks out TDS 1-2 water. I was under the impression that LDPE #4 was safe.
3. I'm not sure the protein skimmer is working at peak efficiency and I'm not sure how to test or improve this. It does suck air into it and make a nice bubbly soup. It used to kick off brown sludge a lot more but doesn't that much now and the top part doesn't fill with the large bubbles like it used to. Is this cause my water is cleaner or because it isn't working?
4. Since the algae removal some hair algae is growing back. I have also had some of the clear slimy stuff in the past week or so. I'm not afraid of a little growth but I'd like to get things stabilized and under control. I wiped some off the glass but I still have some on the top rocks and coating the red algae in the tank.
Attachment 136785
So there you have it! I've been reading up on this forum and other sites a lot. Learned a lot but still very much a noob to this stuff. Any thoughts, insights, suggestions, encouragements welcome. Please no snarky comments. Questions let me know! Thanks!
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