New 55 Gallon Reef Aquarium Build

[Patrick Cox]

Originally Posted by reeftanknewbie

typically you will experience algae blooms as your tank matures. from brown diatoms to green hair algae to red/maroon slime algae (cynobacteria). Patients, time, and nutrient export are key I believe in dealing with all three.

What are the recommended ways to export nutrients? Does the skimmer do this? What about Reactor? Other? Thanks.

[rayn]

Originally Posted by Patrick Cox

What are the recommended ways to export nutrients? Does the skimmer do this? What about Reactor? Other? Thanks.

Best way, water changes.
All others may work somewhat, but tried and true are water changes.

[Patrick Cox]

Originally Posted by rayn

Best way, water changes.
All others may work somewhat, but tried and true are water changes.

Really?? Then does that mean I don't need all of that equipment? I thought that was the purpose. I am getting ready to buy a sump, protein skimmer and reactor with GFO all to fight algae.

And if you primarily use water changes to "export nutrients", then what percentage and frequency would be recommended? Thanks.

[rayn]

Don't get me or my answer wrong. Every piece of equipment has its place. I run a sump and skimmer on both my tanks and a GFO reactor on my large tank. Some equipment just makes your job easier, such as a calcium doser. The skimmer cleans out waste products, the GFO will help take out phosphates. Ammonia breaks down to nitrite which breaks down to nitrate. Where does the nitrate go? I wouldn't trust anything to export that full time, the best way is regular water changes of 20% or so. Even on my large tank running I do that weekly. Also when you premix your salt water it will replenish you face element and nutrient s like calcium, magnesium, iodine, among others. Only other way is to dose and you shouldn't dose without testing.
My opinion, unless you are running a full sps tank and need all the elements at full force, and a perfectly clean tank, you should only have to test for the main ones.

Guess the basis of that rant is you can have a tank only with no sump and it be just as clean as some that run all the equipment. Just depends how much time and energy you personally want to put towards it.

[Palting]

Originally Posted by Patrick Cox

Really?? Then does that mean I don't need all of that equipment? I thought that was the purpose. I am getting ready to buy a sump, protein skimmer and reactor with GFO all to fight algae.

And if you primarily use water changes to "export nutrients", then what percentage and frequency would be recommended? Thanks.

Rayn nailed the answer about equipment, I think.

With regards to water changes, there really is no one answer that is right for all cases. A 10% weekly or a 20% biweekly of your system volume is a good place to start. You then keep an eye on the water quality and what other things you do to determine if that is enough, or maybe even too much, and change it accordingly.

[Coasterfrk]

LOOKING FOR ADVICE.

my tank is at week 2 of cycling and I've seen no readings as far as a cycle goes. I'm wondering If I'll even have one. My live rock did not seem to have allot of dead stuff when I got it and I also added live sand.
Also, my tang is slowly being overtaken by some algae I know one is cyano and idk if the other one is hair algae. I believe my flow is good. I was wondering if I should try to do anything about it.

[streak]

Are you running a ball of chateo or sumthing to compete with all that alge?? when i had my cyno red slime big time outbreak i didnt add chemicals i read about cutting back the light to about 2-3 hours a day some do 3 days no lights but i couldnt do that to my live rock and go backwards 3 months into my own personal cycle before i added a fish or cuc.. I chucked a ball of chateo right into the tank and ran the lights for 10/14 1 day and 2-3 for 3 days and red slime just dissapeared and my skimmer cup was full.. of foul stuff... just what worked for me.. also you running on a timer say about 10 hours a day? you got to have some sort of PO4 feeding this sumthing leaching maybe? im just thinking and trying to be adservant.. anything you have in there made or concrete/coral based product? like gravel substrate? I dont think your feeding anything right now right? Was your rock pre cured? premium stuff like that... or dry. Did you soak it for a week at 80 degrees in saltwater and do water changes before you put in the tank?

[Coasterfrk]

STILL NEED ADVICE.

Since my last post about some algae concern it's taken over my tank. I would say it's hair algae more than cyano. My nitrates and phosphates are at 0. And I'm running chaeto in a refugium. I also moved some up to the main tank for better flow. I just cut my photoperiod down to 6 hours a day instead of 12. Also considering running refugium light 24/7 to grow chaeto. have not done water changes as of yet Any other advice greatly appreciated.

[Palting]

Turkey baste the cyano to get them in the water column and scrape off as much algae as you can, then do a water change. Looking at your pics, seems like you can also stick you hand in there to pick at them. Take the worst rocks you have, and scrub them clean of the algae in the discarded salwater.

I'd turn the lights off in the DT for a week, and leave the fuge lights on 24/7. After that, photoperiod to DT should only be 8 hours. I can't find it in the thread, but what lights do you have, and how old are they?

Time for a clean up crew, biased towards algae eaters.

[Coasterfrk]

Can I add a clean up crew. It's been 2.5 weeks into my cycle and havent seen any spikes in anything yet.

[Surf&turf]

Cleanup crew should be ok. I didn't get much of a cycle, when I setup my 55, using that same live sand.

[Palting]

I believe your cycle is done. The fact that your algae is overgrowing your tank means that they are consuming nitrates, and lots of it. That's why your reading is zero, your algae is just soaking up the nitrates. It also means that you are producing the nitrates, which means that you are breaking down the ammonia and nitrite. Your cycle is done!

Time for a clean-up crew, biased towards algae eaters like margarita snails. I would hold off on adding fish, though. Fish means feeding, which means more ammonia and nitrates, which means more algae. Add fish only after the algae is under control.

[Coasterfrk]

Ok I'm gonna go spring for the clean up crew tomorrow.

[rayn]

You can also take some or all of that rock out and scrub it in clean salt water, then rinse it in clean salt water.

[areeftank]

if the clean up crew is not good enough take out each rock and give it a really good shake in a bucket of salt water and then try to remove all the algae from the sand and glass then its lights out on the DT for a week and run the fudge 24/7 and if that dosent work then i got nothing

[Coasterfrk]

Hey everyone. Once again thanks for your support and help. Sorry for the lack of updates but things have been crazy with both the tank and other things. I added my cleanup crew I bought a reef cleaner kit from my lfs that had 85 crabs and snails and over two weeks they have eliminated my algae problems. A few have died for no reason I think it was just the transfer. But also since then I added the clowns I had in qt and today I added a large polyp rock the picture is with them just opening. So let me know if you have questions comments advice. Etc. Thanks

[dryad001]

This is the writeup Ive been searching for when I start my 55 here in a few weeks.

Looks good to me, but I dont know anything....yet

[Coasterfrk]

WHAT THE HECK ARE THESE THINGS.
so I added my first coral a polyp and 5 days later I happened to be unable to sleep and turned on the tank lights and there are these things crawling on the polyps. They almost look like really tiny bristle worms they are purple and greenish and there are like six of them the largest no more than a quarter inch.

[Coasterfrk]

[irieef]

zoanthid eating nudibranchs..they will destroy zoa colonies.. those things are the devil..take that whole rock out, freshwater dip it and pray, some interceptor would help also..hurry cause once they get to laying eggs, its over for your zoas..

[Coasterfrk]

This is just great. ... Going to try a fresh water dip and in a few days another dip with some treatment. From what my lfs tells me it only eats the zoas so hopefully it stays contained to this area.

[Coasterfrk]

So I did a freshwater dip on the button coral. So far no signs of the nudis. A week after adding the button coral I now added a hammer coral. I dipped it in CoralRX this time before adding it to the tank. I also bought a royal gramma which is presently in quarantine.

[Damsels R Cool]

i'm upgrading to a 55 from my 10 gall reef and the problem i face right now is how to connect the 2 10 gallons under the tank could you go through how you connected the fuge to the sump

[Coasterfrk]

Originally Posted by Damsels R Cool

i'm upgrading to a 55 from my 10 gall reef and the problem i face right now is how to connect the 2 10 gallons under the tank could you go through how you connected the fuge to the sump

I have my entire drain going into the sump where it is heated and skimmed then through a bubble trap to the return section. From there I t the return line most to tank and some to refugium. I then placed a bulkhead in the refugium which is lifted higher then the sump and gravity drains it back to the return section of the sump. I like the way I set it up. If anything I would make fuge higher. I can't get enough flow through the fuge cause the drain pipe isn't slanted down enough.

[Damsels R Cool]

Originally Posted by Coasterfrk

I have my entire drain going into the sump where it is heated and skimmed then through a bubble trap to the return section. From there I t the return line most to tank and some to refugium. I then placed a bulkhead in the refugium which is lifted higher then the sump and gravity drains it back to the return section of the sump. I like the way I set it up. If anything I would make fuge higher. I can't get enough flow through the fuge cause the drain pipe isn't slanted down enough.

so i would have to drill my fuge