FAQs on Reef System Operation/Maintenance 12 Related Articles: Reef Maintenance, Marine System Maintenance, Reef Set-Up, Refugiums, Reef Filtration, Vacations and Your Systems Related FAQs: Reef Maintenance 1,  Reef Maintenance 2,  Reef Maintenance 3,  Reef Maintenance 4, Reef Maintenance 5, Reef Maintenance 6, Reef Maintenance 7, Reef Op. 8, Reef Op. 9, Reef Op. 10, Reef Op. 11, Reef Op. 13, Reef Op. 14, Reef Op. 15, Reef Op. 16, Reef Op. 17, Reef Op. 18, Reef Op. 19, Reef Op 20, Reef Op. 21, Reef Op. 22, Reef Op. 23, Reef Op. 24, Reef Op. 25, Reef Op. 26, Reef Op. 27, & Marine Maintenance,  Reef Systems 1, Reef Systems 2, Reef Set-Up 1, Reef Set-Up 2, Reef Set-Up 3, Reef Set-Up 4, Reef Set-Up 5, Reef Set-Up 6, Reef Tanks, Reef Lighting,  Reef Lighting 2,  Reef Filtration, & Reef Livestocking,  Reef Livestocking 2, Reef Feeding,

Small Marine Aquariums Book 1: Invertebrates, Algae New Print and eBook on Amazon: by Robert (Bob) Fenner	Small Marine Aquariums Book 2: Fishes New Print and eBook on Amazon: by Robert (Bob) Fenner	Small Marine Aquariums Book 3: Systems New Print and eBook on Amazon: by Robert (Bob) Fenner

- New Marine Aquarist, Not-so-new Questions - Hey Bob, Great site you all have here. Very informative. I am a newbie in the saltwater tank arena and need some direction. I have had planted freshwater tanks for years but I just got a 29 gallon saltwater tank with live rock from a person who was getting out of the hobby. Here is my set-up. 29 Gallon long tank 24" light with a coral bulb 18" light with a standard aquarium bulb SeaClone 100 protein skimmer Bio-wheel 330 power filter underwater heater (don't remember the watts but the temp is staying very constant) About 9 pieces of live rock 1- tomato clown 1- blue damsel 1- spotted hawk 1- brittle starfish 1- emerald crab (just died) 3- small hermit crabs 3- small snails Substrate is live sand This tank has been set up for over a year. I had to move it 40 minutes from their house to mine last Friday January 28, 2005. I drained about 20 gallons out of it so my wife and I could lift it. I had two 5 gallon buckets, so I saved 10 gallons in them lined with non-scented garbage bags and put that water back in when we got home. I mixed up 10 gallons of saltwater (she had some Oceanic salt left over so I used that). I did everything that she said she was doing. SG 1.023 etc. The tank has been set up in my home for less than a week and here is what is happening. Brown diatom blooms are starting on the sand and some of the live rock. The emerald crab died Tuesday night. I have fed the fish the canned pellet food that she was using once a day. Not more than they ate in 3-5 minutes. I also put in some brine shrimp that she used. One little cube once this week. I have not seen the hawk eat yet (shrimp or pellet). The live rock has little feather dusters and anemones on it and I made sure some of the food got to them. They grabbed the little pieces of shrimp and ate it.  <Some clues to your problem are right here... you are over feeding this tank. The fish should eat all they can in three minutes, no more. Likewise, if you're not seeing certain fish eat, that means the food is rotting somewhere in the tank. Also, the featherdusters are not capable of eating any of the food you've listed so I'd stop trying to make sure they get any. This excess food is likely a culprit in your diatom algae bloom, but also probably not the only factor. The tank move would have stirred up the sand which would have had some detritus in it... this would also provide a nutrient source for the BGA and get you to where you are today.> This is were the tank has tested all week. SG =1.023-1.024 Temp =76 PH =8.2-8.4 Ammonia= 0 Nitrate=0 Nitrite=0-10 and here is the bad one. Calcium = 700-900 I have not added any calcium even though she has supplements for it. I am going to go get some more salt today (different company) and do a water change. How much should I do? I think the diatoms are due to the 10 gallons last week, but I don't want to keep the calcium that high. I could sure use the advice on what to do.  <Keep up on the water changes - don't add alkalinity buffers, and as you've already noted, don't add any calcium. As for the BGA blooms, please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bluegralgae.htm > Thanks...Judson <Cheers, J -- >

Green/brown hair algae problem Hello Bob, I need help!!! I have a 115 gallon saltwater reef tank for the past two years. Suddenly, I have a green/brown hair algae problem and don't know what to do. I have the following in the tank. Eheim filter system along with the installed filter system built into the tank itself.  150 lbs. of live rock, Two percula clowns, Yellow tang, Hippo Tang, Cardinal, six line wrasse, flame angel, flame hawk, coral banded shrimp, a cleaner shrimp, and a half dozen hermits and turbo snails. I have it professionally maintained with water changes every two weeks and yet the hair algae problem is driving me nuts. The tank is located in a room with a skylight but does not get direct sunlight but for 1-2 hours at most and I only have the lights on for 4 hours a day. Please help me.. thanks, John Eckert <A few things at play here very likely... Your live rock is "exhausted" in terms of ready solubility and its bio-diversity and abundance... You should add and/or replace a good part of it (25% or so)... possibly the same with your substrate... otherwise, the same dozen or so approaches to algae control apply. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/index.htm  Bob Fenner>

Coral ID and Reef Husbandry 1/23/05 Dear Bob and Crew, <howdy!> My name is Dean and I am an aquaholic. <I like to drink water too... every day. No worries> I have what my LFS identifies as a cup coral in my 55 gallon Tank.  <yep... Turbinaria peltata. A very hardy coral that favors feeding small meaty foods like mysids once weekly for starters> It is some type of plating coral. I watched this coral for several weeks at the LFS before I purchased it. I feel confident that if it could survive in their tanks, then it would survive in mine. <This Turbinaria is an excellent starter coral indeed.> I have extensively researched your site and to no avail at an accurate identity. Would you please review the attached picture for me. I have this coral at the top of my tank. It is approximately four inches from the top of the water and the lights are sitting directly on the cover glass.  <moderate to strong turbulent water flow is the key with this species> It is probably six inches from the light source. This coral has been in my tank since August 2004 and I did quarantine it for four weeks... <excellent to hear! Thank you> ...before introducing it to my display tank. When you look down at this coral from the top, it appears that some of the tissue is receding.  <not uncommon... a bit of damage or lack of feeding over time. Resume good water quality and feeding and it will heal fast> But if you look closely at the picture along the lower edges, you can see a new row of polyps starting to grow and the tissue is spreading on the non-light portions of the rock. What are your thoughts? <I like natural vanilla (bean) ice-cream... thanks for asking> Tank Parameters: 55 Gallon Oceanic Flat Back Hex Tank. It has been in operation for two years. Lighting consists of two 40 watt 20K Coral Life bulbs. <change these every 6-10 months for best coral health> Penguin 400 filter. HOT Magnum Canister Filter. DIY Downdraft Protein Skimmer. About one cup of tea color skimmate every one/two days. <good start... do dry smaller bubbles or a lower active foam/water interface in the skimmer neck to be able to collect darker/more dense skimmate> 20 percent water change per month. 150 pounds of base rock mostly covered with pink coralline algae. Plenum with three inches of aragonite on top. Several Yuma Ricordea Mushrooms. One Ptergogorgia guadalupensis. One three inch Coral Beauty. One Four inch Yellow Tang. One four inch Lawn Mower Blenny. One Coral Banded Shrimp. Too many button polyps and sun polyps to count. Started with only one sun polyp and four button polyps free from the LFS. Ammonia has always tested "0". Nitrite has always tested "0". Nitrate "0" to only a trace. Calcium normally runs 350. pH is normally 8.2/8.3 during the day. I did test it early one morning this weekend, before the lights came on, and it tested about 8.0. <do raise this to 8.3 minimum> Alkalinity test normal to high with a Red Sea pH/Alkalinity test kit. I drip Kalkwasser for the make-up water. I currently have a small trumpet coral in my quarantine tank to be moved to my display tank next week. Could you recommend a location after reviewing the full view if my tank. I really enjoyed the CMA. I have read it several times from cover to cover. I also have a copy of your Reef Invertebrates in the mail for my birthday. Your help would be appreciated. Thanks Dean <best of luck and life to you my friend. Anthony>

Algae & Star Regeneration 1/19/04 Basically, I had a 90 gallon system for two years, I just recently moved and managed to transfer over 2/3 of the water.  I just assumed that the whitish sandy stuff on my live rock was simply sand from re-setting up the tank at its new location.  Upon a more closer look, it does in fact look like sand but appears to be hanging onto the live rock (some of the power heads too).  Does this seem to match the description of any algae you are aware of? <hmmm... not sure without a pic. Sounds more like bleaching of some corallines or the like from light shock (rock exposed to light while out of water)> As well, I have a dark purplish/greyish matter (algae?) hanging off some of the live rock.  It falls off easily enough when brushed against.  Should all this be removed? Is it harmful? <please do keep siphoning, yes... doing water changes and especially pay attention to your skimmer. Tune it so that you get a full cup of skimmate daily if you can> For a fish/invertebrate system (crabs/snails, brittle/serpent stars) how important is lighting? <lamp color is not that important to sighted animals... photoperiod is more of an issue - give natural 12/12 cycles or something close> I have just a basic florescent light that I have had now for just over two years.  I don't mind algae, as long as it is good algae.  One last note:  my red serpent star lost a limb, starting right at the disc, and now has a gaping hole to be seen through his mouth and where the limb once was.  He is still alive and appears to be trying to feed on some plankton that I put under him.  He is in quarantine.  At this point, would you say he is a goner?   <without any history on the animal (new import or established, etc.) its hard to say. Have you been target feeding it several times weekly? Critical.> I strongly suspect that my water quality was to blame.  Even though once setup I promised to do everything right, there was an issue with my canister filter where it wasn't running for perhaps up to 10 days.  I have done two partial water changes since then in the last two weeks. Thanks, Dave <best of luck. Anthony>

Polyps, Open Brain Coral & Blue Mushrooms Hi Salty Dog,<Hello Helena> Nitrates that are high are usually turning the color dark orange to almost red in the beaker--it reads at around 80.  But, everything else seems fine. My light wattage is 28 watts on 10 hours a day (timer).  I have another 10 watt light that came with the tank, but that's not on a timer, so as soon as I'm home, I turn that on as well.<Helena, that is nowhere near enough light for corals unless the 28 watts you mention is a typo.>  I believe the lights are less than what is in the store, but they told me the lights would be fine for the corals I have, as long as I keep the 28 wattage on a 10 hour timer per day.  Also, I read that nitrates affected the ability for livestock to breathe, and could kill them if it got too high? <I don't recall you mentioning the use of a protein skimmer.  If you do not have one, they are an excellent investment, and will help lower your nitrates.  James (Salty Dog)> Muchas gracias for your continued advice!
Polyps, Open Brain Coral, & Blue Mushrooms I just did a water change on wed. 1/12, about 8 gal. change on a 30 gal. Tank. My nitrates are back up again between 40 and 80 only 4 days later. How do I keep them down?<Do not overfeed, feed only what the fish will actually consume. Do a 10% water change weekly and the use of a protein skimmer will help to lower the nitrates.>  The store game me Kent Marine nitrate sponge about 1 and a half months ago to put 2 bags of it in the sump.  However, it doesn't seem to be lowering my nitrates.<You have to attack the cause of the nitrates.  All these things are band aids, temporary cures.  Without removing the source of dissolved organics etc, the nitrates will just return.  The use of Chemi Pure or Bio Chem Sorb absorbs a lot of dissolved organics also.>  Could the water test kit be off? If so, is there a more accurate way of testing the water?<You could take a water sample to your LFS and have him test it and see if he gets the same readings> Or should I just not worry about it...???<Getting the nitrates down is important for a healthy looking tank. Thanks, James (Salty Dog)>

Tank Questions Hi guys,<Hello Jennai> First off, I'd like to thank you for your efforts- It's difficult to sift through the mountains of information available on the web, and nice to find an excellent resource such as yours that covers nearly everything!! I have a few questions. I currently have a 30 gallon SW tank- 1 inch of crushed coral, 1.5-2 inches of live sand, about 50 lbs of LR, a HOT JEBO skimmer (we'll get to THAT in a moment), 2 filter systems running bare for flow, a powerhead for flow and a Coralife hood with 2 50/50 65 watt bulbs (2 blue colored and 2 white colored). The bio load is fairly light I believe- 1 clown, 1 pink Condy (not in a relationship with the clown- apparently my clown didn't read the book that says they like anemones!)<Your clown read the book but the anemone this guy likes is not in the tank>, 1 enormous brittle star (about 6 inches across!-maybe time to turn him in?) 1 cowry, 2 turbo snails, more spaghetti worms than I can count, a VERY healthy copepod and amphipod population, lots of bristle worms (not the fire ones) and a zillion and 2 baby feather dusters (primarily red in color, but a few white, and a few brown and white). Who knows what else I've got in there! It's been running about 2 years now- I want to upgrade my skimmer as the one I have hasn't kicked up foam in quite some time (though it started to again a few days ago)- the foam I DO get turns into a green tea sort of water in the cup, and doesn't smell of anything but saltwater Do you clean your skimmer every week?  It is very important for efficient operation of the skimmer.>- I do have a brown algae issue and want to get that cleared up- I do a 30% water change every week,<10% would be enough, Jennai> and will do more if I see the algae is picking up, which slows it down some- I blow off the rocks, and fan the sand to kick some stuff up, but I'm still battling- the cowry and snails are helping, but not enough. What my plan is, and please correct me if I'm going the wrong way) is to add a new skimmer<Try cleaning the skimmer first if you haven't been on a weekly basis> and then more clean up critters.<More critters wouldn't hurt> My goal is to have a couple of more fish, and then mushrooms and polyps and things that my lighting can cover (I'm at about 4.5 watts per gallon, what CAN I have?)<You could have just about any of the soft corals you want.  The bubble, elegance and brain corals should survive with your lighting>- So- I was looking at the CPR BakPak2R and was wondering if this truly WILL cover me for what I need?<If you must replace the skimmer the CPR unit is a good unit for the money.>  I don't have any plans to upgrade the size of the tank, thought a 36 gallon bow front may be an option later- my tank is on a second floor, so weight is an issue- I'm afraid to go any larger than 40 gallons-<There are people who keep water beds on the second floor with no problems.> All my water tests are at 0 except the nitrates which come between 10 and 20 ppm- What do you guys think?<I think your on the right track.  To help remove dissolved organics the skimmer can't remove you might want to try a unit of Chemi-Pure in one of your filters.  This is an excellent product.>  Thanks VERY much in advance for your help- I greatly appreciate it!! (sorry for the novel!!)<No problem Jennai, Thank you.  James (Salty Dog)> Jennai

Low alkalinity v high calcium Dear All <Peter> Hope you are well... <Yes, thank you> ... and now the problem. A few weeks ago I seemed to have a good calcium level in the tank (LR, 5 fish, soft corals, thin layer of aragonite sand) of c 450. <Actually, this is a bit high for most situations, practical matters, mixes of hobby livestock>   (The tank is 6 months old, and everything is looking great and acting normally - and lively - as far as I can see.) That level has now risen to over 500.  Could that be due to the 'Calcium+3' I had been adding once a week? <Yes> I have decided to stop the addition of Calcium+3 and see if the level comes down a little - is that a good idea? <Yes>   The alkalinity is now low.  Is there a direct relationship between these two? <Yes. Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/calcalkmar.htm> I hope to wait for a water change or 2 to see if things get back to normal.   Any suggestions - please!! Peter Hosier <Read the Related Articles and FAQs (linked, in blue, at top). Bob Fenner>

Reef operation Hello Bob & Crew, After finding your wonderful site 6 months ago and hours of reading my tank has really improved. I have a 90 gallon reef tank that has been up and running for about a year. From your advice I have changed my external pump to a much more powerful one and have removed power heads, Changed the lighting to more watts and now I'm working on my sand bed. I have about a 1/2" of Carib Aragonite sand for a base now. My question is, can I lay sand over the top of that with more of the same grain size or should I take that sand out and go with a sugar sized sand?<You can lay more sand on top as long as you do it a little at a time like a cup per day.> Also what is the least amount (inches) can you use and still have the effects of a DSB? (Trying to keep the cost down a bit)? <I would go for a minimum of 4" for a deep sand bed.> Second question: I have a lot of these little white fuzzy things on my live rock (almost look like a very small version of the end of a Q-tip). I have not found anything on WWM that really resembles them. Thanks again for all your help!! <The small "little white fuzzy things" might actually be bits of uneaten food.  Also, it could be an animal of some kind.  Could you possibly be more descriptive of the potential animal.  Good Luck MikeB.>

Grey slime in reef I am hoping that someone can give me a CLUE as to what a slime is in my new reef tank. It looks like a grey mucus with bubbles in it. I still only have the basic start up of Chromis and emerald crabs, hermits as well as two star fish. I also have a fire and coral banded shrimp. I am very concerned about starting to insert soft corals into the tank without knowing what it could possibly be. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Guys <Mmm, likely some mix of populations of algae, bacteria, slime molds... should "disappear" with adequate circulation, aeration, lack of overfeeding. I'd siphon out for now. Bob Fenner>

Reef Operation <Hi Crystal> To the awesome WWM crew... The setup: 75 gallon Tenecor with 5x5 corner overflow (ordered Durso standpipe for this) Overflow feeds to 22x13x16 wet/dry (recently removed bio-balls) > wet/dry to Red Sea Berlin protein skimmer fed by Rio HP2500 pump Back from skimmer to wet/dry and up to tank via Little Giant 2MKQX-SC Return flow to tank via two ? inch centipede tubes Approx. 35 lbs. Lalo live rock and 45 lbs. Fiji <you need about 20 to 30 more pounds of live rock if this is to be your sole means of biological filtration> Approx. 1 inch crushed coral with 1 inch medium grade sand on top Wave 2K wavemaker only on at feeding time for 5 minutes or so (too noisy) One Rio 180 on opposite side of tank from return flow for dead area circulation Using Oceanic salt mix for SG 1.024/PH 8.3/temp 72-74/0 nitrites/0 ammonia/40-80 nitrates Tenecor Power compact lighting 2- 96W 10KK white bulbs & 2- 96W 03 Actinic bulbs Tank up and running approx. 7 months The livestock: 1 yellow tang (3 inch); 1 regal blue tang (1 ? inch); 4 blue-green Chromis; 2 ocellaris (still babies); 1 watchman goby; 1 hi-fin banded goby; 1 choc. chip seastar; 1 Sandsifting seastar; 1 skunk cleaner shrimp; 1 peppermint shrimp; 1 scarlet cleaner shrimp; approx. 12 hermits (dwarf blue legged and scarlet); 1 astrea snail; approx. 12 bumblebee snails <I wouldn't be adding any more fish to this setup> Now for the questions: Is the protein skimmer alone enough filtration without any filter pads or bio-balls?<Yes, along with the live rock.>  Should I just leave my wet/dry with only water in it and siphon the junk off the bottom at regular weekly water changes?<You can do this.> Any ideas on how to get my nitrates down? <The fish load isn't helping the nitrates any.  Doing a 10% water change weekly will help by way of dilution.>  I've been battling them forever and this is why I finally took out the bio-balls. Would another protein skimmer in the sump area help or perhaps another filter of some sort? I would love to someday (after I get my nitrates down) get anemones, corals, clams and am aware that my choc. chip star is not reef safe. Can he live in my sump as long as he can't get at the Rio pump?<I would try to trade him in for a few more hermits.> If so, would I need to hand feed him or is the junk from the tank flowing down good enough? Along this hopeful line of adding reefy stuff- what exactly do I need to get my lighting sufficient for these kinds of creatures? I am considering taking out the wavemaker because of aesthetics and the fact it's not used all that much due to noise. What powerheads should replace this for enough water circulation for an eventual reef?<You would want a minimum of 750 gallons per hour of flow, either combination of your Little Giant and power heads.>  I've read about quieting the noisy trickling into the sump from the bulkhead by removing the drip plate and screwing in a piece of 1 inch PVC. How far down into the sump's water should the PVC be submerged?<You don't want to do this.  The drip plate serves as a means for removing CO2 and super aerating the water.> OK, I think this is maybe my last question...for now. I am not at all confident in my feeding schedule. For the livestock I currently have, is a ? inch piece of frozen Mysis and some Spirulina flakes once daily three times a week and a generous pinch of New Life Spectrum pellets with a frozen Formula Two cube on the other days of the week good? I do mix it up sometimes and use a frozen Marine Cuisine cube instead of the Mysis shrimp or maybe a frozen Spirulina cube instead of the Formula Two.<Did your mother ever put more food on your plate than you could eat?  You should only feed a little at a time, feeding slowly till they show signs of losing interest.  Never put in extra so they will have a bedtime snack later. James (Salty Dog)> Thank you so much for your help. I've spent countless hours obsessively reading the WWM. I just want to make sure I'm doing things the right way for these awesome creatures that I have the privilege of providing a home for. -Crystal

An almost ecologically balanced tank Hey Bob and Crew: <This would be crew :P> I've been reading your articles for days now. Some of my questions I've figured out (yea!), but I still have more. <Not a problem, glad you read the archives instead of giving me a 10 page list of questions! ;P> I have a regular size 55 gal 55 lbs live rock remora-C skimmer!! <Nice, I love mine> heater-temp 78-80 F 1 powerhead                              260 watt 50/50 compact <remember, actinic is only for aesthetic reasons, it doesn't do much for photosynthetic inverts> Fluval in the tank canister (media removed) <Use it to run a high quality carbon and phosphate remover> 3 damsel fish <Fun little guys, dunno what ppl have against them> soft corals-xenia, Buddha's hand live sand @ 1 in crushed coral @ 1 in <in the future, don't use crushed coral, CaC03 doesn't dissolve at sea water pH, and the grain size is too large> RO water system <Make CERTAIN you buffer it> Coralife salt mix water tests are within acceptable limits <What are your 'acceptable' parameters? > I know that it is very important to first decide what you want in your tank.  Well I've decided I only want critters that will help keep my tank healthy. Here are some suggestions that I've heard at the SDMAS meetings: To keep the sand clean-goby (ex. engineer goby). cleaner shrimp, snails ( which type I'm unsure of) <Skunk cleaners are cool little dudes, all sand sifting gobies are neat and most are hardy> To keep the algae under control-tang (ex yellow eye tang) <NO tangs in a 55 please!  Not enough swimming room, they will become stunted and die> ( yes I do weekly 10% water changes and hardly feed my fish and I still get algae on 1 live                                                                 rock)  Can you recommend a few of each type of critters that are hardy and very good at keeping my reef tank clean? <I would order the cleanup crew pack from www.garf.org, they have all of the snails\hermits you need, very decently priced.  Stay away from the GARF 'grunge' though - in my experience it's completely mis-advertised.  You may also want to get more snails over the hermits, they tend to be a little destructive, though they don't exceed 1" or so> joy joy <Quite so.  M. Maddox> Ocean Beach, CA. P.S. I'm not very interested in hard corals, all the guys at SDMAS say I should use T5 lighting instead of 50/50 compact fluorescents.  They say the bulbs don't last as long, but the lighting is much better for the corals.  <Hmm, I thought t5 bulbs lasted longer...PC's are gone after 6 months.  As for the PAR, I'm really not sure.  Time to check the archives> Please e-mail me!!! <Just did...so there! =)>

Cleaning pre-filter media, adjusting Aqua-C skimmer, pH/KH issues, hair algae... reef operation/maintenance! Thank you so very much for your quick response. <No problem :)>  I do have about 70+ lbs of live rock in the tank. <All good>  As for feeding, I just feed formula one or formula two cubes twice a day.  I only feed one cube at a time, so I do not think that it is a overfeeding issue, however as you know, the foam pre-filter on the overflow box does get quite dirty and I do clean it about three times a week.  I will begin to either clean it daily or just do away with it all together. <No, probably not overfeeding...I'd ditch the foam altogether, you can use a 100 micron filter bag for catching particulate wastes...just be sure to empty it every other day or so> As for the remora, when you say to adjust it are you talking about adjusting the spray injector? <No, just the cup level.  I've noticed if I move the skimmer cup down below halfway, I actually get less skimmate.  Just mess around with the collection cup until it's producing 1-2 cups a week> I do clean it on a regular basis because of the brown sludge that builds up inside the chamber that leads up to the skimmate holding box. <Don't clean it more than twice a week, as it will interfere with the skimmers ability to collect foam> I was wondering, is there a relationship between high nitrates and pH and also KH? <technically, no>  I cannot seem to stabilize the ph at 8.3, the closest I can get is 8.0 and the kH is around 7 which I know should be at 9 or even 10.  I use reef buffer by Seachem but still have the problem of maintaining these measurements. <Low pH will definitely keep the algae blooming...try to raise it to 8.4-8.5 with slow Kalkwasser drips overnight.  Also, make sure you have good water circulation (10-30x tank turnover power hour), and possibly light a refugium on a reverse daylight schedule>   As for the wet/dry, I will remove the rock from the trickle chamber and out it back in the tank.  I am bit unsure as to how to convert it into a refugium as there is just a piece of egg crate that is the bottom support for the media that goes in this area.  The water comes down through PolyFilter first then down over the live rock and then is sent through a foam polishing block that leads to the main sump where the water return pump is located.  <Put in some rubble\sand, add macroalgae and a light, and there ya go> Thank you so very much again for your time and assistance as I do appreciate it very much.  I just want to get on top of this before I pull my hair out! <Join the club :\  Been battling hair algae for two months...it's just now starting to go away now that I added two refugiums, drip Kalk, 25% water changes weekly, SeaChem's carbon, phosphate remover, and stopped dosing calcium gluconate.  I still feed heavily though!> Bryan <M. Maddox>

Complete Tank Break-Down Hi WWM crew <Hi! Ryan with you today.> You've always helped me with my weird questions in the past, so here's another one: <Shoot> I have a 150 gallon 6 yr old reef.  For various personal and professional reasons, it has suffered severe neglect during 2004.   The fish (blennies, gobies, tang, mandarin, clowns) are fine, water changes have been done every 2-3 weeks in my absence so water quality parameters are currently fine, but the tank is a veritable farm of Caulerpa (the fern-like and grape-like varieties) and Aiptasia.  I have been using your varied recommendations for Aiptasia control for years, (only thing that ever really worked was keeping peppermint shrimp in a separate tank and moving my rocks in and out every couple weeks, that was incredibly high maintenance but worked for a long time) but I've just lost the battle for good.  I put in 2 large Berghia and 20 peppermint shrimp as a parting effort to save the tank in July, but to no avail.  It appears I now have approximately 1,000,000,000,000,000 Aiptasia, and all my corals are stung to death.  The only thing I have left is some nice huge mushrooms that have been tougher than the Aiptasia. <Tough luck!  Let's get you set up properly for next time.> After much soul-searching, I decided I do not want to get out of this lovely hobby and will need to essentially start over so I'm not fighting this losing battle forever. <Good choice!> There should not be Caulerpa in my main tank, that's a mistake from 2000, and I can be far more aggressive about Aiptasia control the second time around.  I have been trying to figure out how to start over.  What do you think of this plan?  <Fantastic.> 1. Remove half my live rock, "sterilize" it with fresh water, sunshine, and my garden hose, then set up a circulating tub with "live sand" from a bag and let the whole thing cycle for a few weeks. <No, I'd do this.  Take a tub of saltwater, and put one rock at a time.  Use a toothbrush to get every little piece of anemone off the rock.  Then pour saltwater all over the rock, taking any last little pieces away.  Repeat with all rocks.  Then get yourself a bottle of Joe's Juice.  This still really works, as long as it's not in the display tank.  Monitor the rocks, outside of the display, and treat any pop-ups with Joe's Juice.  6 weeks from the last anemone sprout, you're ready to roll.  This is a much faster process than killing your rock and starting the entire process again- This can take years to get great purple rock.> 2. Remove other half of live rock and all the substrate, replace with new live sand and semi-sterile rocks. <Just let the substrate run fallow for some time.> 3. Throw out old substrate, sterilize and cycle the second half of the rocks, and replace them a few weeks later. <I think you ought to try the scrubbing, rinsing and Joe's Juice in quarantine before a full surrender.> If you think this is a bad plan, I would love to know what you would do? Also, I have several questions about this plan: 1. When cycling my rocks in a tub, what should I do about lighting?   <You can use sunlight, a single MH pendant, or 2. Do Aiptasia "humors" persist in water, or can I keep some of my water if I'm not scraping and damaging Aiptasia? <Yes.  Run carbon during this period for great results.> 3. In the same vein, will Aiptasia in my refugium spread to my main tank so do I need to dump the refugium too? <Yes- Same process with the rocks and substrate> 4. Should I remove my mandarin, as I will now have a "new" tank?   <Unless you can supplement his diet with Cyclop-Eeze, DT's, then yes.> 5. Any recommendations on how to save some of my mushrooms?  I think I can detach some of them from rocks and walls, should I glue them to something or will they be ok floating free and eventually attach to something? <I'd cut a yogurt container in half, and add some rubble.  Then put a mushroom in there, and cover it with netting of some sort.  They'll re-attach quickly, and can be kept in these little "Forts" until you're ready to go> 6. Any recommendations for specific sources of stuff to restore my lovely array of feather duster worms, mysterious small algae & growths, Mysis shrimps, coralline algae, all the beautiful things I'm going to be sacrificing?  Maybe a few new live rocks from my LFS, some GARF grunge? Other recommendations?  I know it will probably be a year or more before this tank looks good again but anything I can do to speed it up would be great. <After your rocks are back in the main tank, I'd buy a nice big piece of show quality rock (QT'd of course) and add it to increase biodiversity.  As long as you wait a month or so before adding fish, the variety of life should be restored rather quickly.> 7. One of the mistakes that led to this chaos is overfeeding that I started when I got a lovely 7 inch long watchman goby last year.  His total mass was just a little less than all my other fish put together. He is slow to come out of his hole for food and really big, and started looking skinny because the food was all getting away from him.  I doubled the amount of food and direct it toward him with a turkey baster, but there has been a fair amount of floating excess food.  How do you guys handle a fish like this?  He looks great now. <I'd use a feeding tube- Air pipeline with a baby food syringe.  Works great for a little more control.  He'll even put his mouth right to the tube once he's used to the pattern.  You could also use a feeding hook like the type that you'd use for a lion- Put a larger chunk of fish or shrimp on the hook and let him pig out.  Good luck, Ryan> Thanks for any input Tracy Creek :-)

55 Reef set-up, operation Hi WWM crew. I recently set up a 55 gallon reef tank about 2 weeks ago. I have 60lbs of Arag-alive Bahamas oolite, 45 lbs of Fiji live rock from LiveAquaria.com which took 5 days to cure, a sand sifting star, 2 peppermint shrimp but one died 2 days after I put it in, 12 red leg hermits, 3 blue leg, 15 turbo snails (about 6 aren't moving so I put them in a separate container and took out the ones that where stuck to the side. 4 I think are dead. they smell pretty bad). My equip. is 260 watt Coralife lunar Aqualight, Eheim pro II 2026, aqua c remora which I set up about 2 days ago, and a Rio 800 power head. I filled my tank up with freshwater from my faucet (well water that passes through 2 carbon filters and a water softener) and mixed the right amount of salt to it. I waited 2 days and check all of the levels. Then I added my sand which I opened the bags underwater and I spread it around. I waited 2 days then added my live rock to the tank. There were still some coralline algae on it since it took 5 days to cure. I set my light system for the actinic for 14 hrs and my daylight for 12 hrs. It ran for 4 days and then I added 10 Turbos, 10 red legs, the sand sifter, and the shrimp. I started adding coral-vital to speed up the growth of my coralline. I did a 25% water change with RO water I got from my LFS which I work at, because my phosphates were .5. I started getting brown algae on my substrate and live rock in a few places, then on the glass. About a week later my substrate was all brown and so was the live rock, on the glass were patches of algae and this single hair like matter about 1/2 long on the glass all over. Over 3 days my water started to get cloudy, on the 3rd day I couldn't see the power head in the back of the tank. the first 10 inches from the top was like white cloudy water and as it went closer towards the sand it become a yellowish-brown like a urine color. All my levels are fine (I have been testing my water everyday) I bought the skimmer right after I came home from school and I saw this and I got next day shipping so I received it the next day. It has been running for about 3 days and the foam is white and it produces about 1/2 cup full of brown water everyday (I have it on the lowest setting collecting as much as it can, otherwise I get nothing.) I don't know if the snails that I think died caused this or the coral-vital. I put a bag of Phos-guard, Chemi-pure, and reef carbon in the filter. What could be causing this?? Thanks Joe <Joe, Sometimes if you do too much you can hurt your tank.  This time I think that might be the case.  When you say all things are fine what do you mean.  I need numbers in regards to your water parameters.  It sounds like you are going through what I would call a bacteria bloom.  The best thing to do in that case is just to leave the light off and let the tank cycle itself out.  Do not anything else to the tank and leave it be.  I would say that the light cycle is too long.  Leave the actinics on for 12 hours and the daylights for 10.  But, leave the lights off for the time being.  Do not change the water until you test it and get back to me.  Good luck. MikeB.>

New tank problems Hi WWM crew. <Hey Joe, MacL here with you today.> I recently set up a 55 gallon reef tank about 2 weeks ago. I have 60lbs of Arag-alive Bahamas oolite, 45 lbs of Fiji live rock from LiveAquaria.com which took 5 days to cure, <Wow fast> a sand sifting star, 2 peppermint shrimp but one died 2 days after I put it in, 12 red leg hermits, 3 blue leg, 15 turbo snails (about 6 aren't moving so I put them in a separate container and took out the ones that where stuck to the side. 4 I think are dead. they smell pretty bad. <They definitely can get stinky.> My equip. is 260 watt Coralife lunar Aqualight, Eheim pro II 2026, aqua c remora which I set up about 2 days ago, and a Rio 800 power head. I filled my tank up with freshwater from my faucet (well water that passes through 2 carbon filters and a water softener) and mixed the right amount of salt to it. <Have you tested your well water for metals like copper and lead? I would definitely have them run a comprehensive test on it.> I waited 2 days and check all of the levels. Then I added my sand which I opened the bags underwater and I spread it around. I waited 2 days then added my live rock to the tank. There were still some coralline algae on it since it took 5 days to cure. <I'm with you so far.>  I set my light system for the actinic for 14 hrs and my daylight for 12 hrs. It ran for 4 days and then I added 10 Turbos, 10 red legs, the sand sifter, and the shrimp. <Was there already algae growth for the turbo's? They will starve without enough algae for them to eat.> I started adding coral-vital to speed up the growth of my coralline. I did a 25% water change with RO water I got from my LFS which I work at, because my phosphates were .5. <Yowzah that's high unless its part of that beginning cycle and if so then we may have discovered your problem.> I started getting brown algae on my substrate and live rock in a few places, then on the glass. <That's typical of a beginning tank.>  About a week later my substrate was all brown and so was the live rock, on the glass were patches of algae and this single hair like matter about 1/2 long on the glass all over. <Eek hair algae.> Over 3 days my water started to get cloudy, on the 3rd day I couldn't see the power head in the back of the tank. <Did you run any tests then? Sounds like either a major algae bloom or major ammonia problems.> the first 10 inches from the top was like white cloudy water and as it went closer towards the sand it become a yellowish-brown like a urine color.  All my levels are fine (I have been testing my water everyday). <Do you mind me asking what exactly you are testing and what the exact readings are? That makes a huge difference.> I bought the skimmer right after I came home from school and I saw this and I got next day shipping so I received it the next day. It has been running for about 3 days and the foam is white and it produces about 1/2 cup full of brown water everyday (I have it on the lowest setting collecting as much as it can, otherwise I get nothing.) <It does take a while for a skimmer to break in as well in my experience, they don't really get going good for a week or so.>  I don't know if the snails that I think died caused this or the coral-vital. <I would hold off on adding anything at this point until I knew what caused the problems. The snails could have died for a lot of reasons, they don't like temperature fluctuation, ph movement or salinity changes, as a few examples.>  I put a bag of Phos-guard, Chemi-pure, and reef carbon in the filter. What could be causing this?? <The death of the snails could have caused a rise in ammonia. There's actually a few things that could be doing it.  The carbon should be taking out any ammonias and most floating stuff.  I'd really like to know about your readings. What's your ph? Don't worry Joe, we will get this all figured out for you. MacL> Thanks Joe

MMMM....Tangy Good morning, <Morning! Ryan with you today> this is a great site with outstanding information? it's been truly beneficial!  I have a few questions for you this morning.   Over the last 2 months I've been up grading my tank by putting in a 20-gallon fuge (already have many pods), 30-gallon sump, 440-watt VHO system and a 5-inch oolitic sand bed (sugar size) in main tank. <Sound like a man with a plan> This is in a 55-gallon tank with approximately 70lbs of live rock in main tank and roughly 20 in fuge (have a 4 inch sand bed in fuge with 130 watts of PC).   In main tank I have 2 1-inch Sebae clowns, a rock anemone, 15 assorted snails, 15-20 small red and blue-legged crabs.  Only one major upgrade yet to add and that will be a new Aqua-C Urchin Skimmer for my sump (currently have a cheap air-driven model). <Ah, you'll revel at the quality change.>      I would like to add a pair of yellow headed or dusky Jawfish to my tank.  However, I am concerned that they will disrupt my deep sand bed and ruin its intended job.  Is this a valid concern? <They certainly will eat beneficial pods, and in mass.  But, the sandbed won't be entirely compromised- Still a lot of value as a filter.> Also, do you recommend I add any sand sifters to my tank such as brittle stars? <No, they're sifting in an effort to eat up all your hard-grown critters!>    I plan on adding a few corals to my tank and was thinking to go with Xenia, Frogspawn and torch (or I may go with Xenia and a few leathers, not sure yet).  Do you recommend going with a more powerful skimmer or do you think the Aqua-C Urchin will handle the toxins released by the corals and anemone? <Adequate skimmer for this application...Circulation will be your issue!  You've got to keep it suspended in the water column for the skimmer to pull it.> I also have a Penguin 440 in my garage which I could use every so often with activated charcoal to help reduce any toxins. <You can add a bag a high flow area of your sump instead...The Penguin will only add nitrates to your system in the long haul.>     This past week when I arrived home I went to check on my tank and found my yellow tang (had him for 2 years) caught in my rock anemone. I immediately pulled him out and he was in rough shape (ripped up fins and red streaks down his body that looked like rug burn). <I suspect he was ill to begin...Unlikely that he was caught in full strength.> I've had both for some time and I find it surprising he was caught by the anemone and wonder if he could have been sick and possibly weakened before this event? <Mind reader!>  I certainly plan to keep the anemone because it's hosting my two clowns and I really like his colors (deep purple and an almost fluorescent green body).  Perhaps I won't replace the tang, I was worried he'd outgrow my tank...do you recommend any other algae eaters that are fairly active? <Sure, your arm, a razor blade!  Adding bio-load is NEVER the way to reduce your algae issues- Instead increase circulation, and reduce nutrients.  The skimmer should assist quite a bit.> I thank you in advance for you help. <Anytime! Ryan> Best Regards, John McCloskey

What's That Smell? Hello and thanks yet again for helping so many people like me out! <We're thrilled to be here for you! Scott F. here today> Just have 3 quick questions for you that I can't seem to find in the FAQ's 1.  For a 12" CPR hang-on refugium, what type of lighting works best?  I am looking at a 2x13W PC unit and my choices of bulbs are:  6,500K white, Actinic and 11,000K white.  I am planning on growing some red macro algae (my tang's favorite) with some Caulerpa.  Going to have 4" of Mineral mud in the bottom. <Personally, I'd go with the 6500k in a refugium, especially if your intent is to grow macroalgae. Aesthetics is a second here-utility comes first.> 2.  I am getting an AquaC Remora skimmer to replace my SeaClone100.  My SeaClone is kicking out about 1/8 cup of green liquid and white foam daily.  I know that the Remora needs time to "break in".  My question is should I keep running the SeaClone for 2-3 weeks until the Remora is at 100% or just swap them (and keep a close eye on Chem levels)? <Not a bad idea to run them both at the same time for a while, but not necessary. It would be interesting to compare performance of the two, so this would be a neat experiment, I suppose> 3.  I have a sponge filter on my 500gph powerhead and I remove and clean it with my weekly 10% water change. When I do, it REALLY STINKS like dead, rotting fish!! It is bad enough to make me gag and I was a paramedic for years, and a med student now so that is hard to do (I talk blood & guts over dinner).  My Whisper filters smell the same but not nearly as bad.  Is this normal or is there something going on? <Well, these types of filter media really attract a lot of organic detritus, and stuff can decompose rapidly. This is why we advocate thorough cleaning and/or replacement of these media very frequently. It could be that there is some anaerobic activity occurring in the sponge, which can account for this stench. I prefer activated carbon, which can easily be replaced, and has the added advantage of providing nutrient absorption> I have been battling red slime algae for the last month, but the war is being won as there is less and less of it lately! <Excellent! Just stay at it!> Is this just what the algae smells like or is this the "good" bacteria in action?  Ammonia and nitrites been zero for months. <Sounds-er- smells like it> Thanks for everything!  Reading the daily FAQ's is one of the better parts of my day! <And answering them is the best part of mine! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

Getting Back Into The Hobby- And Staying In! Hello, <Hi! Scott F. at your service!> Writing to you about my  2 year old 46 gallon bow front tank. It currently is running a Aquaclear Pro 75 wet/dry filter with a large mag return pump not sure of the rating and a Aqua C Remora skimmer. 3 good size powerheads circulating the water along with Coral Life PC lighting:1 50/50 strip 96 watts, 1 actinic blue strip 96 watts and 1 10,000k strip. There is about 35 lbs of live rock in it along with a mixture of crushed coral and live sand totaling about 3-4 inches deep. It had been a decent reef system for sometime, till most of my coral and coralline died and a lack of interest grew due to lack of funds at that time for the upkeep. <That will do the trick!> Let's just say, as the subject says, that I have renewed my interest in my tank and would like to get it back to all its glory.   <Cool!> Here is what I have done so far to get it back to that. I would just like you to comment on what I have done and if there is something I am sure I have overlooked. <Sure> Ironically, as the rock and coral died I am happy to report that all my fish and some strong coral have survived and are doing well: 1 Sailfin Tang 1 Hippo Tang 2 Yellow Tailed Damsels 2 Clarkii Clowns 1 Hawkfish 1 Lyretail Wrasse (was told was reef safe yeah right!) 1 Cup Coral and some brown polyps. 2 red brittle stars <Well- not to pick on you- but you asked for an opinion. I really think that you have too much life in this sized tank. Do be sure to reduce the population to a more manageable level for long-term success. The Sailfin can reach almost 15 inches long- it simply needs more room, and the Hippos is not far behind!>   About two weeks ago, as I was really looking at my tank, I noticed a brown/reddish film on all the rocks. As I knew this is algae and can't be good. I then totally rearranged the rockwork so that all the algae was out of the light. I then measured the phosphate level and was off the charts at 10 ppm!!! <Yep! Light plus nutrients equals algae bloom!> So I changed 50% of the water and I can't remember the last time I did that (shame on me). <Hey- at least you recognized that!> I used natural sea water this time because the tap water is high in phosphate, and I can't afford an R/O unit and the level went down to 2ppm. The natural sea water suggests 25% change once a month and I bought enough for 3 months. <You might want to look into the long-term cost of this idea. In the long run, the initially higher investment in an RO/DI unit might save you $$ over time> To combat the rest of the known phosphate I am using Polyfilter and Detox 2 (a form of carbon) in the wet/dry. Hopefully this works. As you have stated that wet/dry's are quote "nitrate factories", I want you to know that most of the time the reading is low. <Good...Keep in mind that there are other factors that contribute to nitrate in aquariums, such as your source water quality, etc.> I have started testing the water again and the levels are: ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 2.5 to 5 max ph 8.2 alk normal to high (don't have a numbered test) phosphate 2 <Still higher than you'd want for the long term> calcium 600 (yikes) <Wow! Do recheck this...> I currently have ordered a strontium, magnesium, carbonate (should be used for alk I take it), borate, along with Iodine and Iodide tests. Do I need an Oxygen test and silica test? got mixed thoughts on those. <I would not personally go crazy with Strontium and Iodine test kits. If you're doing regular water changes with a good quality salt mix, you really don't need to concern your self with some of those levels. You'll be replenishing them regularly with this practice. Do consider silicate, however- as it is a major contributor to some nuisance algae problems.> What levels should the strontium, magnesium, carbonate be? <Do consult a good book on marine water chemistry. Again- I wouldn't go crazy worrying about these levels...> After reading about the calcium levels I have to get it down, how do I do that other than just not dosing the tank? <That's the best way in the short run!> I have read about the snowstorm affect from too much calcium. With all the supplements on the market I am most confused as to what I need to use. <Less than you might think> I currently use most Kent products: Micro-Vert Coral Accell Coral Vite Marine-Cc Seachem Reef Builder trace elements strontium Tropic Marin magnesium Tropic Marin Calcium (have discontinued due to high reading) Iodine and iodide even use x-garlic on the frozen foods I ordered some supplement that helps regrow the coralline algae. <Wow! You are keeping the supplement manufacturers in business! The adage about "If you're going to use something- test for it" may not be totally applicable here...You plan on testing for lots of stuff...My real thought is to STOP adding stuff! Ask yourself why you need to supplement these things? If your salt mix is of good quality, and if you are making regular water changes- do you really need to add all of this stuff? Things like "trace elements" and "vitamins" are vague, and may simply contribute to nuisance algae growth...Try taking a break from additives for a while. Put the money into saving for an RO/DI unit and a good book on water chemistry. Better in the long run!> I think I might be overdoing it but I just want to get the tank healthy again. That's why I ordered all the tests which are most Reef Status brand. <Nothing wrong with testing, but I think that you're driving yourself crazy, and making things more complicated than they need to be here...Just slow down and do it the simple way. If testing (for BASIC stuff, like calcium) indicates the need to add more, then do so. But don't get yourself back on this crazy treadmill that so many people get on to- it just leads to empty pockets and empty aquariums!> When you do add another coral does Lugol's Solution really help with the acclimation process? <It has some antiseptic properties, but can be dangerous to some corals...> Is there anything else I should use or drop out from that list above? <See my rant above!> One more thing, the lights I have are a few years old should they be replaced when I do get the new corals? <I'd replace bulbs every 6 months to a year> I am sorry that this is so long and I hope to hear back from you. Thanks so much Jim Stephen <My pleasure, Jim! Keep it simple! Regards, Scott F.>

Beginner setup questions Hi...I am planning to setup a reef aquarium soon, some of my friends said it's a good start as an aquarist. But there are some of my friends (more than the ones that agree) told me to stay away from setting up a reef aquarium. << Crazy friends, find new friends.  Just kidding, I'm sure they are just hesitant because it can be challenging to the unprepared individual. >> They said the percentage of a successful reef aquarium setup is very low. << I wouldn't say it is very low.  I'd say it is very, very low. >> I am living in Malaysia (near the equator), the weather around here is hot almost all year round. << Wow, do I wish I lived there.  Just call me jealous. >> I observed my freshwater aquarium and the temperature is around 30 - 32 degree centigrade, sometimes 33. I am not looking forward in using a chiller. So, what should I do & what are the important things that I should be aware of (temperature, minerals, water quality, supplements to use)...? << I would stay clear of supplements for a long time.  I'd worry about live rock, filtration, lighting, things like that.  I'm not sure what you have available there (maybe everything we have here, maybe nothing we have here).  Lighting is the big question, it will make a difference in what you can keep and what temperature you will have. >> If I am able to setup a reef aquarium, I plan to keep 1 or 2 anemone and some corals. What kind of anemones and corals should I look for as a beginner (if possible anemones & corals that does not need very cold temperature.) << Xenia, mushrooms, anthelia, Sarcophyton. >> Can I add in fish in the reef aquarium...? << Absolutely.  If you ask me the purpose of a reef tank is to make a nice home for the fish.  (but don't tell Calfo I said that) >> If can, how many can I keep in a reef aquarium (I am planning to use a 48in. X 18in. X 18in. aquarium) << Hmm, like 5 or 6 medium sized (3 inch) fish should be fine. >> and what are the fish that are safe to keep with the presence of anemones and corals...??  << Just about all damsels (Pomacentrids) and gobies or blennies.  Best advice I can give is to see other reef tanks first.  Really, don't jump into this.  And read some books, it will really help for where you are at.  And finally.... live rock is the key to reef tanks.  Make sure you invest in 20 kilograms of live rock. >> Thanks... <<  Blundell  >>

New tank questions - 3/19/04 Hello to whom it may be answering: <Paul here in the hizouse!!!> I have a 29 gallon tank, with about 3 inches of "live sand" which is just a bad of sand with some extra stuff. <???>  Not live but you get the idea. <I think. It will be live once your live rock gets to it. I would add another inch though> I have about 15 pounds of live rock at the moment, <A little more would be useful> planning to get more in the future. <Excellent> The tank has been cycling for almost two weeks. <Still not ready> Haven't noticed many spikes but my Ammonia is 0 to .25, <Wait until this goes down> nitrite is 0, nitrate is definitely present, but not that much. <a by product of nitrifying bacteria will likely always be present> cant remember the exact reading, sorry. Anyway, I have a couple questions and would appreciate your opinion. <OK> A pretty respectable saltwater fish store only near me said I could add snails and shrimp at any time during the cycling process. <Nope. Not respectable with this advice> I have read your web site and see you are very against doing this. <Very against adding fish but ammonia and nitrite will kill anything if there is too much> I can see how it affects fish, but snails and shrimp... does it really affect them as bad? <Usually worse> Also I have an emperor 330 power filter with bio wheel and a couple of power heads moving the water around well. Do I really need a skimmer? <Absolutely. Read about skimmers on our site, mate. We have lots of opinions on this already available to you> Or can I make the power filter work and still have a nice reef tank? <You could likely have a reef setup but it will take a lot of work by you> Last question is, when I got my rock, it had a bunch of reddish growths on it and they haven't died or grown at all in the past few weeks. <Could be anything by that description> I assumed these would grow, maybe I'm just not waiting long enough? <possible but your description doesn't help me to identify what we are talking about. Wait it out. They may grow> That's my guess. Patience is the key to everything saltwater, so I hear <Absolutely!!! It is the hobby of patience and beauty> :) Its just not easy. <Well, you will learn either way> Thanks for putting up with the massive email. <No worries ~Paul> Adam

It's In The Water...Or Is It? Hi Crew, <Hi there! Scott F. at your service tonight!> I have just learned of you website, first time surfing it....AWESOME!  I will  definitely be visiting your site often. <Glad to hear that! We have some good stuff here!> My question:  I am about to take the plunge from a fish only to reef tank.  I have an Oceanic 105 gal tank.  I currently have in my overflow box a bag of Chemi Pure and a bag of Silicate+Phosphate remover.  I will be using a R/O system to do water changes from this point on.  Is it necessary to continue using both of these chemicals once I use the R/O system?  I have conflicting answers from friends. <Well, here's my take on it: If you're going to use R/O water, and are concerned about residual phosphate and/or silicate (particularly) in the product water, I'd simply obtain test kits for those two compounds and verify whether or not they are still present. In all likelihood, a good R/O system will remove almost all detectible phosphate from the water, but silicate may remain. depends on the level of silicate present in the source water, and the efficiency of your R/O unit. You really need to test to be certain. And, there is no harm in continuing the use of Chemi Pure even if you're using R/O for source water. It's a good product that can help remove a lot of organics from the system. I really like Poly Filter, and use them continuously in every system> Also, when using the R/O water to do changes, what will I need (besides salt of course) to add to the water?  Will I still need to use a de-chlorinator with the R/O water? <You will not need a dechlorinator product, but you may need to buffer the water, as the R/O process removes minerals that help buffer the water. There are various "R/O reclamation" products out their that can do this...Bottom line, however, is that you should always test before adding anything to you water> Thanks!!!! Rob <Any time, Rob! Welcome to the WWM site...Hope that you enjoy the many, many resources that we have here. Feel free to write us any time! Regards, Scott F>

- New Aquarist Confusion! Ahhh! - Well... I recently started a saltwater aquarium, and unfortunately I have been fed so many conflicting opinions that I currently don't know up from down.  <Hehe, unfortunately that happens sometimes>  I was hoping someone could walk me through the proper way to maintain my tank.  I have already been through 2 different types of filters, two different skimmers, a UV sterilizer, and now I am told I should have a sump instead.  Ack!  <I suppose I should start out by saying that there is really no one way to go about it...> My goal:  I currently live in an apartment and am looking to purchase a house within the next 2 years, so I was told that it would be fine to start with a 30 gal tank and move up to a 75 when I finally make the move.  Now I am told that a 30 gal was much too small  to try  and I should have started at with at least 40 gal. <That's splitting hairs. Although tanks larger than 30g will be much more stable and forgiving of water quality woes, you can absolutely be successful your first time around w/ a 30>   Well, that damage already being done....can someone give me tips on the proper way to maintain a standard 30 gal long tank? <Let's see whatcha got...>   I currently have and Eheim Ecco canister filter, a Seaclone venturi skimmer, a 9 watt UV sterilizer (do not have turned on, was told to use after an unmanageable green algae bloom in the 3rd week after I started the tank... <Hmmm...>)  .. and lighting is the CoralLife 36" 96 watt 50/50 compact fluorescent  (10,000K daylight and 50% actinic 03 blue)  That is all the equipment I have and was told that I would need for a small reef tank.  ( I have recently been told that the canister was unnecessary. ...and Ebo-Jager heater.  <For starters, you definitely need a heater unless you keep the room at a constant 78-81 degrees! The canister filter is unnecessary provided you have ample live rock in the tank. The protein skimmer was a good idea, but the reasoning for the UV is off. It seems you have been guaranteed an algae problem, and unless it's green water, that sterilizer won't do a thing. Do check out the following link: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm for the ins and outs of preventing problem algae growth. In your case it will pretty much boil down to purifying your incoming water and limiting other incoming nutrients.> In the tank I have 30lbs cured live rock, and 40lbs of live sand, a green Chromis, yellow tail damsel, painted parrot wrasse, and scooter blenny. Inverts I have 2 emerald crabs, 10 red legged hermits, a serpent star, and a feather duster.  Corals I have a pulsing xenia, green mushroom, fox, and Goniopora (yes, I know, found out after it was given to me by a friend)..... <In the near future, I would suggest adding an additional 96w power compact to this setup to keep these corals happy long term> Water is at 78 F.. salinity 1.023 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 5 calcium 450 ph 8.2-8.3 supplements = c-balance & sea elements by Julian sprung = 1x per week <Since you're adding a calcium and alk product, you should test your alkalinity (aka carbonate hardness) and determine whether or not it is at an acceptable level.> coral food = Bioplankton = 1 drop every other day light on 12 am- 12 pm new salt water = tap treated w/ Seachem dechlorinator, Kent salt mix, ph 8.2  <I would suggest purifying your tap water by reverse osmosis or deionization (preferably both!) means. Check out: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm> mix = 10% change 1x every other week, was not enough so now once a week.... I would really like to maintain a healthy 30 gal reef until I move into a larger place....is there any equipment I should change...things I don't have that I need....water parameters I should fix/ look to maintain......any suggestions?   <I would suggest doubling the lighting, removing all but the activated carbon from the canister filter (and then only use monthly for a week), and working on getting a water purification unit. You may also want to perform a phosphate check and until the incoming nutrients have ceased and the stuff is out of the tank, you may need to run phosphate removing resin.>  I have been given a hodge-podge of info between two reef keepers and the "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" book and was hoping for one straight answer..... <Hah! You'll never get a strait answer in this hobby! Good luck! -Kevin>

Aquarists worst nightmare... So I woke up at 2:30 am last night to every aquarists worst nightmare.. the sound of gushing water.... The front pane of my 40 gal. reef  split from top right side all the way down to the bottom. Grabbing all the Rubbermaid containers, and buckets I could I ran out there and tried to catch as much as possible.. I think I saved about 15 gallons, while the remaining 15 or so marinated the wood floor. Some good news though. Ran out to the store first thing this morning got a new 30 gal tank, I think all corals, fish, crabs, and snails survived, and are now living happily in a (slightly cloudy) but new tank with a brand new 6 inch sand bed. (I was lucky enough to have 90 lbs of  aragonite still out in the garage..) I tried to save as many sandbed clams as I could from the old tank, but only found about a dozen.. ( I couldn't find about 6) not to mention all other life such as worms, copepods, and other misc. bugs that were flourishing in the old sand.. (I couldn't put the sand it in the new tank, b/c of the toxic sulfur dioxide that I could smell after stirring it up looking for my clams.) lessons learned: * Can never have enough buckets, and towels around in this hobby.... * Always have spare heaters and powerheads... * Lastly, (and by far the coolest) Cerith snails are the hardiest things on the face of the earth... I took the tank outside last night after draining it, so it wouldn't spill any more muddy muck all over my floor.. I went out this morning, ands on top of the sand were 5 dried up Cerith snails that had been outside, out of water, in 38 degree temps for 8 hours. I thought what the heck and threw them in the refugium, and within 5 minutes they crawled up on the glass. Who'd a thunk? Any who, my zoanthid fragging will be somewhat delayed due to these unforeseen circumstances. Just wanted to share my story with my fellow reefers. Ciao. J. Blair Miller <Thank you much for sharing... What an ordeal! Glad to see your intelligence, balance has survived along with most of your livestock. Any idea what caused the tank to split? Bob Fenner>

Re: New Reef Tank Setup, attention Mike B. Thank you for your input.<Sure, no problem.>  Just a couple more questions.  How do I get rid of the Mantis Shrimp that inhabits my current rock before it gets transferred to the new tank?<There are commercial shrimp traps that are available or you can sometimes put a piece of shrimp in some panty hose and the shrimp will get entangled.  But, I would recommend the traps first.>  Also, I recently purchased a Pro Clear Aquatics Skimmer for my 100 gallon F/O tank.  It has been running for about a week at the "wide open" setting and is producing a "tea like" skimmate.  The venturi it uses is double ended so would it help to buy an air pump and hook it to the end of the venturi that sucks the air in? <I would use the air pump idea as a last resort.  Try adjusting the level of the collection cup until you get a thicker skimmate.> I also thought about drilling a small hole in the lid and dropping a quality air stone down into the skimmer body.<Don't mess with the design you might make the functionality of the skimmer worse.  I am speaking from experience on this one.>  So I guess I'm wondering if more bubbles, i.e. option 1, or finer bubbles, i.e. option 2, would help me produce better skimmate? <Try the elevation of the skimmer cup first.> Thank you for all your help! <more bubbles and finer bubbles are the way to go but try the skimmer cup then the air pump.  Good luck MikeB.>

Reef set-up and operation Hello, First I must say that this is a very informative site, I have found lots of useful information on here. I have been running my 55 gallon saltwater aquarium successfully for 2 months now.  I previously had it running for over a year until "the great tank crash of 04 which involved an angry ex and bleach *cringes* <Yeeikes!> After all of that I re-designed my tank and decided to go for a reef tank. most of my equipment is DIY: I built my own overflow which is a drain pipe, not a box, its works great, and is very quiet. my sump is a DIY.  its a 10 gallon aquarium.  I basically divided it in 1/2 the first 1/2 has a drip plate followed by my chemical media (PhosBan and Purigen) then various media (lava, ceramic, sand, PVC rings)  The other 1/2 holds my heater, skimmer, UV pump, and return Pump.  I have read UV is not needed, I only got it because I got a great deal on it (32$ for a 13watt) my return pump is a 500gpa Sen pump, I have read they make a nice pump.  I understand 500 gph (probably more like 250 - 300 after the route back up) is not enough flow for reef so I invested in a oscillating power head rated at 270 gph. (it also acts as in-tank mechanical filtration)  and then of course my lighting.  I built a wooden canopy and use standard all glass lids.  my lighting is 1 96watt 50/50 power compact bulb and 1 250 watt 10k metal halide bulb the fixtures are both DIY I bought bulbs wires reflectors and ballasts separate.  I also have a 1 watt white led for moon light.  That is the current extent of my system.  I plan to add a refugium and use only life rock in my sump in the future.  I understand this is the best way (with water changes) to keep nitrates down and finish the nitrogen cycle. <Yes, among other benefits>   As far as additives all  I use is B-Ionic and Combi-San My question to you is:  Is all of this equipment enough, my chemistry is almost perfect, 1.022 spg   8.4 ph  great buffering steady 450 ppm of calcium, nitrates are lowering (from 80 - 40ppm) Is this all sufficient or am I missing something, thanks in advance Zach <Sounds like a very nice system. Bob Fenner>

Reef system questions I have been reading the information on your website for months now...I never miss the daily FAQ's.  I am an ADDICT!  They are always interesting and informative.  This is the best website I have found for all my aquarium questions. <Thanks, MikeB helping you today.> I have read all the FAQ's on the below questions but I wanted to confirm a few things that seemed somewhat inconclusive to me within the existing information. 1. I have an algae blenny with a "black eye".  One of  his eyes is swollen and has been for about 5-6 days.  I read that Epsom Salts can help, but can these be used in the display tank, or must I quarantine him?<It depends on if it is a reef tank.  If it is then, no.>  If they can be used in the display please confirm how much should be used per gallon, how/if it will affect salinity and how to remove if it needs to be removed.<1 tbls per ten gallons and the only way to remove it is to do a water change.> I would rather leave him in the display, he has many quiet places (mostly on the top of the powerheads) where he can be alone, and no one is picking on him. 2. I have read all I can on the need for hard foods for triggers to help maintain their teeth.  But I was confused as to whether this concept applies to the Niger Trigger? <Yes, it does.>  If it is necessary/good for him can you tell me what to feed and how to feed it?<As many meaty varieties as you can.  Krill, clams, shrimp, mussels, cockles, mine like broccoli.> 3.  I have an issue with my pH, and want to keep some Xenia.  I can maintain the pH at about 8.2 if I use Marine Buffer.  It seems that when I add it in the morning over a period of days I get a reading of 8.2 after the lights go off and about 8.0-8.1 right before the lights come on in the morning.  But when I stop adding it...it drops within a few days to 8.0 pm and about 7.9 am.  Should I add Marine Buffer everyday? that doesn't make sense to me. Should I use baking soda? everyday?  Also, I keep a window open most of the time in the living room near the tank.  My alkalinity is 3.2meq/L (2.5 meq/L with another test) but it is hard for me to tell from reading here if this is high enough considering it is not usually discussed using meq/L.  What should the reading be in meq/L if 3.2 isn't high enough?<3.2 meq/l alkalinity is sufficient.  You might have to add a marine buffer and calcium everyday based on your consumption rate of your corals.  If there are not a lot of corals in the tank then there might be a significant bioload decreasing the ph.  Remember the PH will always be lower in the morning.> 4. Nitrates remain at around 15-20ppm.  I have slowed down the feeding for my fish and do 15-20% water changes every 1.5 weeks or so. I have tested my source water and nitrates are 0.  I am using a canister filter, but it is well maintained.  I rinse the media every other water change and change the media every 2-3 months.  Using mechanical filer media (foam etc), bio-Chem Zorb, Phos Zorb and nitrate sponge media in a bag which gets 1/2 changed every 2 months.  I have no room for a refugium, and any macro algae in the main tank gets eaten by the tang (including the beautiful ruby red outcroppings of algae I USED to have, not sure what it was exactly, it just grew out of some of my live rock everywhere). Below I have pasted my information for my tank (and some previous comments from your site- from Bob I believe): 65 (deep tank) gallons with 4 inch sand bed and about 45-50 lbs LR 1 MH 175W 10K and 1 55 watt PC actinic 1 star polyp, 1 frogspawn, 1 plate coral, 1 mushroom rock fishes are (all are pretty small): pygmy angel purple tang algae blenny Niger trigger yellow Coris wrasse maroon clown Sri Lanka Dottyback water parameters: 1.024-1.025 SG at 77 degrees F calcium 450 phosphates 0 nitrate <20 nitrite 0 ammonia 0 pH am 8.0, pH pm 8.1-8.2 alkalinity 3.2 meq/L or less 2 pumps with 300gph circulation each Prizm protein skimmer (if you can call it that, looking to upgrade to AquaC this month) <Hee hee, good idea> Filstar canister filter (mech. filtration, nitrate sponge, Phos Zorb, Biochemzorb) I do 10 gallon water changes ever 1.5 weeks with aerated, pH adjusted water.   I would really answers to my questions, and any comments on my setup.  All advice is welcome and MUCH APPRECIATED!  You guys are the best! <All I can see is that there needs to be a bigger protein skimmer based on the fish load of the tank.  That could be one reason why your PH will not stay stable.  Otherwise, it looks like everything is good.  MikeB>

A bit of encouragement with new tank! Hi Crew! Been reading your site for some time - it's great, there's a lot of very useful info on it, but this is the first time I've asked questions. Not a complete newbie - I've had a fish-only tank for a couple of years but have just ventured into a larger reef tank. Just want to make sure everything's good because it's a lot of money and I want it to last some years! I'm hoping to hear a "hang in there, it just takes time!". Specs: 96x18x24. 60x15x15 sump (approx 750 l / 160 g before rock displacement). 3 overflows into sectioned sump. 1000 l/h pumped to 1500 l Deltec skimmer (good dark soup 1" worth in cup every 2 days or so). First sump section runs through bioballs (? black 1in diam plastic high surface area balls). Second trickles over plenum 24x15x(1" void, 1" coarse, 3-4" fine, 2" water). Then over refugium 18x15x(3" miracle mud, 4" water) with some form of Caulerpa/moss - growing wildly (fills the area), back into a top up area and pumped 3500l/h back to tank with 3 return areas. 7x 1000 l/h powerheads. 160lbs live aragonite sand from birth. 40lbs (dead) aragonite added later to top DSB up, currently about 3". Plenty of (dead) ocean rock plus about 50lb live rock. 4x38w + 4x56 (cover length of tank) T5s 50/50 marine white/actinic running 9 hours per day + 1x38 plain actinic as a dawn/dusk extra hour. Sump lit by a 1x38w Triton daylight (12h through night). All RO water using Tropic Marin salt. Auto top up system from an RO reservoir, aerated and heated (also used to mix up for weekly change - it equates to about 6.5% of the total water). Tank running for 3 months with a 4" regal tang, a 4" yellow tang, 2 common clowns, 4 chromis, 1 six stripe, largish brittle star (about 12" leg span), handful of red legs, blue legs, Turbos, 2 sand sifting stars. Everything is 1-2 years old. (Yes it's a lot to start with, but logistics dictated that they had to move house quickly - I moved all the filter media etc out of previous home to help acclimatize). Everything looks healthy. Mushrooms on LR growing madly. Small fanworms(?) appearing all over the place. Some green algae. Brown and red bloom pretty much gone. Small purple patches appearing on the dead rock. Tons of life after dark. Water temp is 78-82. 0 ammonia/nitrite. Nitrate is sat at about 12.5 (ish - the Tetra test is a bit vague). dKH 8. SG 1.022. ph 8 Now, to the questions: 1. With the hardness and all that aragonite, why is the ph 8? I've read you section on ph and understand the issues, but with it buffered why would it drop? I've been told that the RO top up doesn't help, but again I would have thought that would only be the case if the buffer was used up? I water changed a good 25% in the last week to try and adjust it but no change! <8 is not all that low.  What time of day are you testing it?  You can always add some Kalkwasser to your top off as well.> 2. About a month ago I put in a large piece of xenia (don't ask me the exact type - purple stalks and arms with a greenish centre!) which I broke into 3. All 3 were fine until recently. 2 are spot on, but the other just doesn't come out. It had some purple nudis on it but I don't think they were eating it, as I've seen them on the others at times. A handful of polyps come out every now and then. When sleeping it looks darker that the others, as if it has a film of algae on it. I've tried "jet washing" it with a powerhead but it doesn't seem to help. Any suggestions? <Could simply be damaged from fragging, or a lighting issue, or maybe even fighting with another coral.  Try moving it to where the healthy looking ones are and see what happens.> 3. My nitrate is not reducing. With the plenum, Caulerpa and liverock I would have thought it would? Have I not given it long enough? I'm wondering if the DSB in the tank is maybe not deep enough (it's around 3"ish) - would it be contributing to the problem if it wasn't? 4. Am I right in thinking that I shouldn't siphon either the DSB, the plenum sand, or the mud and leave it to the critters? I've got some algae on the surface of the plenum, but have just chucked 5 Turbos and a sand sifting snail in to help. 5. My highest 2 powerheads have both got venturis which are bringing a very small amount of air in. I did this to further break the water surface and increase oxygen transfer. I have a fully covered tank so not worried about salt creep. Is this a good idea? Some of the fine bubbles float in the water, and I've been told it could harm the fish, but I don't understand how this is different to waves crashing in the sea? <Fine bubbles are harmless to fish and corals, for the reason you just pointed out.  There's tons in the ocean!  With an overflow to your sump and a skimmer, I don't think the venturis are all that necessary to provide oxygenation.  Personally I would take them off along with the cover to your tank so that more light can get through.> 6. I feed Tropic Marin frozen brine shrimp and Mysis. I'm feeding a meagerly 1 blister cube per day alternating between the two. (Plus the odd bit of Caulerpa from the sump for the tang). I have always dropped the frozen cube in the tank. All the fish love it and fight (not literally!) over it. Is there anything wrong with doing this? I've had mixed opinions about frozen straight in the tank. I've also tried putting it in the return of the sump so it is pumped into the tank, but again mixed opinions of clogging the pump (the Mysis is too big for this really). Even TMCs website says with the frozen packs you can just dip the corner of the packet in the top of the tank and feed what comes off. <It's much better to thaw your Mysis in a separate container (I use a shot glass :D ) and strain out the juices (read: algae food).  Also you may consider keeping a clip with Nori, broccoli, spinach and any other seaweed/kelp in the tank at all times for your tangs.  In the wild they're literally feeding all day long.  Change it once or even twice daily to prevent it rotting in your tank though.  The diet of the regal is mostly meaty but it will graze on it.  The yellow will really go to town on it though.  An occasional feeding of Caulerpa probably won't hurt, but feeding it too much is not suggested.  It contains a lot of toxins.> 7. Anything else I should be thinking about? <Hmm, not that I can think of.  Sounds like your tank is off to a great start!  Good Luck! Regards, Matt> Sorry to bombard with questions, but thought it better to save them up with the tank specs rather than asking all separately and explaining the setup each time! Thanks a lot in advance! Peter, UK Almost forgot!  Your bioballs are definitely unnecessary, and probably contributing to your nitrate problem.  You can yank them out if you like, as the live rock and sand are more than adequate to do it. Matt

Populating a refugium + importance of ALK + Calcium testing Hello, <Hi there> I have been reading your Forums for a couple of weeks now and am set aback at the amount of information. <There is... much to know, relate> I used to run a LFS and went out of business because I was too honest (I was not moving the junk/gadgets). <Hee hee! More important (of course) to be yourself... not gain the world and lose your soul...> I consider myself an intermediate level reef keeper - I know a lot but not hardly enough ;) .  OK, on to my questions: About my system: 55 gallon Reef - In wall installation accessible via closet. 75lbs of live rock DSB 3inches 4 in places Tunze Skimmer 3110/2   *Small I know  :(  I may DIY one, I have an old Seaclone I would like to Mod. <Maybe for experimentation... I'd stick with the under-sized Tunze> 2x refugiums, one is sump/fuge combo 20gal - the other is sump/fuge combo 25gal driven by one Mag Drive 350gph. Temp 73 PH 8.3 Ni Am = 0 Na less than 10 ppm Cal? Alk? 2x 802 powerheads CPR overflow Fluval 302 running carbon only Lighting - Giesemann 350watt 10000K Livestock: 2 Domino Damsels - 1 Sailfin Tang <Hard to add more with those Dascyllus present> 20 snails/20 hermit crabs 1 BTA  (MIA) 2 cleaner shrimps 1 peppermint shrimp 1. I hear everyone talking about all the cute little bugs in their refugiums - How does one *populate a refugium?? Does it just happen by itself? How do I get all kinds of critters in there? <Can add directly (as in a "kit", e.g. from IPSF.com, InlandAquatics.com...) or the self-producing LR route> 2. Can I have only micro Algae in the refugium or should there also be live rock?  both refugiums have DSB's. <Better to have LR and macroalgae...> 3. If I am using store bought water form a Winemaking store (completely deminerialized)  + instant ocean, and a 10% water change once per week, should I still have to watch my calcium levels or should they even out? <Likely will be okay... is there something "that wrong" with your source water? What? I would get/use test kits for Calcium (though not Magnesium Strontium) and alkalinity if you were/are concerned> *I have good purple coralline growth* <Bingo! I would not worry re the above> 4. What is the importance of checking the Alk levels? <Mmm, another "window" on what's going on, might go on in ones system. Many folks, mainly due to over-crowding, over-feeding, lack of maintenance have shortfalls of alkaline reserve... suffer further troubles in algal proliferation, livestock health as a consequence...> 5. I have been having problems with algae in the display tank (the reasons I recently installed the fuges) I have been told it is red slime algae, but it looks brown - It covers everything in it's path - heck it even grew on my Yellow Cuke. It looks like an old opaque spider's web.  I cannot understand what is causing this... any hints or things to look out for? <Cyanobacteria/BGA can be any color (is it slimy?)... with time, the refugia will clear this up... I would not be concerned> 6. On a side note - I bought a BTA about a week ago and he seems to have disappeared. <Happens... if "unhappy" can scrunch down to a very small zot in size> I thank you in advance for all information/help/pointers/tips you may offer. <Glad to share> PS Where do I see the answer to my questions once you answer them - do I check in the Forum? <We send all back to queriers, and later post to the Dailies, then later to separate FAQs files. Bob Fenner> Robert Martin

The Evolution of A System Hi crew, <Hi there! Scott F. with you tonight!> I am done upgrading my 90 gallon (48x18W x24D).  Prior to the upgrade,  I had 346 watts PC mixed, Seaclone skimmer, and 3 power heads.  It was a  disaster due to inadequate equipment, and poor choices of corals. <Unfortunate, but a part of the learning curve in the hobby. As long as you learned from your mistakes and share with others, your animals will not have died in vain> Sorry to  double check with you, but I want to have corals thrive. <No need to apologize!> I upgraded to 2 x 250watt HQI, 10,000K Ushio halides, plus a 96watt PC  10k/actinic. <Nice!> I added a Turboflotor 1000 skimmer, and a closed loop- 7  outlets, with a total of 4000 GPH running through them. <Sounds great! Make sure that the skimmer yanks out at least a couple of cups of dark, yucky skimmate per week!> I am about to buy (over a few months) several Acropora( blue/pink/green), a Plate Coral, 2 or 3 clams, a few LPS, along with the surviving Green Star Polyps, Red Goniopora, and bleached Bubble Tip Anemone. <Not the best mix of animals, IMO. I'd choose one type of coral (LPS, SPS, Softies or even anemones) and work with that. In the long run, mixing different animals from vastly different environments and niches is problematic...It will be hard to supply conditions where each can thrive. Do consider "specializing" a bit!> The Green Star and Flowerpot responded VERY well to the new lights, opening fully.  Will my severely  bleached anemone eventually regain its original color? (it is half way out under  the new halides).   <Really hard to say...These animals can be difficult to keep, and slow to recover. Keep supplying the best care possible, and hope for the best; or, better yet- provide dedicated systems to keep them!> I cannot thank you enough for the advice both you directly and your website have provided me for years.   James <We're thrilled to help, James! I do recommend starting with captive grown SPS "frags", rather than wild colonies. Captive propagated corals give you a much greater chance of success! Keep learning, growing and sharing! Best of luck! Regards, Scott F.>

Reef Op. Q's Hi, <Hello> Had a few questions about my tank that I was hoping you would be able to help me out with. <Well let's see what we can do.> My situation is that I have a 3 foot tank (55 gallons or so) with a sump/bioballs. It has been up and running for about 3 months. It is stocked with the following - 27 pounds of live rock - an anemone - a melanopus clown fish - a mushroom coral. - a starfish. - a sea urchin Levels are fine, except my salinity is on the high side. (I am trying to bring it back down again). 1) The temperature in Australia is getting hot as we are going into summer and I have seen my tank get up to 84F - Is that acceptable? <For long term that is not good.> If not, how can I bring it back down?<Taking the lids off the tank is always a possibility, reduces the "greenhouse" effect.> If possible I don't want to go for an expensive solution. Are there fish that will with stand higher temps? <Most reef fish can handle the temp. short term but long term it stresses them out.> 2)I don't get much algae on the live rock or substrate, but seem to get a bit on the glass. I spend a fair amount of time taking it off with a razor blade. It is quite hard to get off. I suspect that this could be the result of indirect sunlight during the day or too much feeding. Do you think it would make a difference if I were just say to cover up my tank with a sheet during the day?<That algae sounds like it could be coralline algae.  If it is then it is not a bad thing.> Why is it that you never see algae problems in stores?<They employ someone to scrub the tanks 8 hours a day.> Is that because they scrub them down before opening hours? Or do they do something that is an insiders secret.<Yeah, pay college kids and high school kids to constantly clean the tanks.> Does having some algae in the tank promote more algae? <No, but if the algae sexually reproduces then yes.> Or does this not make a difference? Algae doesn't have spores does it?<I am not sure what you mean but it can grow more prolific than corals.> 3) When I bought my tank (new) it came with a protein skimmer - it doesn't seem to have a brand name on it.  Although I believe it is a venturi style skimmer. It is essentially a powerhead that blasts water through a tube and into a plastic flask where it gets bubblier and then collected (in my sump). The strange thing is that I never get any of that really dark waste in my collection cup. All I get is something which is clear with a browny/yellow tinge with bits and pieces of small fragments floating in it (perhaps uneaten food) and smells a bit bad.<This is called skimmate.  Try raising the collection cup.  That usually makes a difference.> So it appears to be working to some extent, but not like I would expect. I have taken it in to the store, and they tried it out on their live rock tank and it was producing instantly. Do you think there is something wrong?<Probably not.> How can I test it?<Move the cup up and down.> Playing with the tap on it doesn't do much except vary the rate at which it fills. Over 3 months, I haven't noticed anything different in what is produced. Incidentally, I do 10% Salt RO water changes every week. <Note, the skimmate is resultant of the amount of Dissolved Organic Matter. If you are doing a 10% water change a week you might be keeping your water fairly clean and the skimmer doesn't have to work as hard.> Thanks for your help!<No problem, Good Luck!!! MikeB> much appreciated. Regards Simon

Nitrates and water changes (reef) Hi Crew, thanks for taking time to help people. I have two quick questions for you. The main one is about nitrates and water changes. I started a reef 4 months ago. I started slowly and took my time I learned that with freshwater planted tank). <A good lesson, place to start> I have to say that up to now everything is going smoothly and still got now major problem. My tank is 90G with a 20G sump. I think the fish load is quite light : 5 chromis, 2 tank bred ocellaris (why buying wild caught?), 1 bicolor blenny and 1 yellow tang (I bought it a week ago). I also have 2 cleaners shrimp, and a bunch of blue legs hermit and snails. I'm not planning other fish in the short term, I think it is ok like that. I had a little bit of nitrates at the end of the cycle process, but since then, nothing. It always reads 0 (SeaChem test kit). I compared with my FW tank, I used another test kit (aquarium pharmaceutical), it really seems to be 0 :) I don't feed a lot (learned that in FW). Up to now I only do 5% water change every 2 weeks. My question is : Since all my parameters are ok (nitrates, calcium alk, iodine, magnesium) and everyone seem happy and active, should I bother doing more frequent water changes ? (I know you suggest bi-weekly water changes) <Bi-weekly should be fine here... as you state, due to low bio-load and feedings> My other quick question is related to my 2 cleaners shrimp. Last week when I got my yellow tang, I think it got cleaned something like 50 times by the cleaners on the first day. I did not expect that the first day :) Since then, nothing. Every time the tang is coming by the shrimps, they seem to ignore it and refuse to clean. I'm not really upset but it looks strange. It went from total cleaning to no cleaning. I just wanted your opinion on that. By the way, the shrimps and the tang are very active. <Don't be dismayed... they will "get together" when this benefits both of them... Likely the tang is now "very cleaned up" and does not require their service> thanks a lot !!! your site is great Philippe St-Onge Montr?l, Qu?ec <Merci my friend, Bob Fenner>

9 month old reef tank Hi there,<Hello,> I have only recently come across your website and it has such a wealth of info on fish keeping.<Thanks>  Well, I've had a 130 lt reef tank for the past 9 months.  Filtration is via approx. 18kg of live rock, a hang-on skimmer (inherited) run by a 1500lph powerhead and a Penguin 170 hang on filter (with Bio wheel and carbon pad.  My LFS suggested that I have no substrate, actively siphon off any detritus and use the Penguin filter in addition to the live rock and skimmer.  Skimmer produces approx 1/4 cup every week -after reading your site, I realize I will need a better skimmer and expect to get more of the gunk out.<Yes, a bigger skimmer is always better.  Gunk=Dissolved Organic Matter.>  As for lighting, I've just gone with 2 double fluorescent lights (1 blue actinic, 1 Arcadia marine white and 2 Powerglo) - I will get a larger tank and metal halides in 8 months when I move.  As for circulation, I've got 2 powerheads 1200lph and 900lph - is this overkill for a 130ltr tank?<No it is not overkill as long as the power heads are not directly on the corals.>  The tank has an anemone, a number of hard corals (brain corals, etc) and a leather coral.  All appear well established and in some cases grown beyond what I initially expected.<The lighting provided is a little to weak for the types of corals that you are keeping.> For fishes, there's a 5cm common clown (7 months in the tank), 8cm bicolor blenny (6 months in the tank), 4cm Dottyback (6 months in the tank) and a 7cm emperor angel (2weeks in the tank). I won't be adding any new fishes to the tank until I set up my new tank in 8 months.<The angel will outgrow the tank and may pick at some of your corals.> Unfortunately, I don't have a quarantine tank.  I will set one up when I move.  The clown, blenny and Dottyback had settled into the tank in no time and accepted all foods. I feed a variety of frozen foods (have taken your advice and limited my use of brine shrimp and feed more Mysis instead) and Nutrafin's marine complete food.<Wise choice.>  I used to do a 10% - 15% water change every fortnight, but after reading your article on water changes, have changed the regime to 10% every week for the past month.  I get pre-made salt water (good quality) from my LFS and for top up water I use RO. I replace the carbon in the Penguin filter every 4 weeks and add trace elements weekly according to manufacturer's instructions. <Good practices.> Ammonia and nitrite have been 0 (not detectable per my test kit) since the cycling phase.  Nitrate has consistently been between 10 to 20ppm - more recently 10 to 15ppm. Temp 26 degree Celsius and SG 1.022 to 1.023. PH has always been stable at 8.6 - even in the cycling phase.<8.6 is high for PH try and keep it around 8.2-8.3>  Not had any disease outbreaks or algae blooms - the blenny and my turbo snails seem to keep the algae under control.  The clown, blenny, dotty and inverts all appeared fine, which prompted me to decide to get the emperor angel.  I realize he will need a larger tank and will not be suitable for a reef tank - this will be catered for in my new setup in 8 months.  When I first introduced the angel to the tank, he was behaving normally i.e. picking off rocks, etc.  He took to all foods (including dried food) since day one!  However after 4 days, he was at the rear of the tank and not keen on food.  I did a 10% water change and he was fine again the next day.  Now in his second week, he again went quiet to the rear of the tank yesterday.  I did another 10% water change and it does not appear to have improved things.  He does not seem keen on food this morning although, he still does eat lettuce.  His breathing appears accelerated and remains at the rear of the tank, however no signs of external parasites, skin patches, etc.  Do you think it is caused by one (or more) of the following reasons? Lack of oxygenation - the penguin filter, skimmer and the powerheads should provide enough aeration/ circulation (but the cover glass covers 80% of the surface, the penguin filters flow back outlet into the tank is unhindered).  The other fishes do not appear to have any breathing difficulties. <The amount of aeration seems to be fine.> Too high a temp - it's heading into summer here in Australia and I don't own a chiller.  The water does not get any higher than 29 degrees Celsius.  <That is a little high but it should not be a problem for the fish.>     Insufficient buffering capacity/ alkalinity - This was suggested to me by another fish store that recommended I test this in addition to testing the PH.  He mentioned that this is one of the major causes of fish death, whereby the PH drops overnight resulting in undue stress to fish.<This is true.>  Also, I don't use Kalkwasser, etc. My LFS claims this is not necessary nor testing for alkalinity/ buffering capacity, just keep up with good husbandry practices and test for PH, SG, Nitrite and Nitrate. <That is not true.  Your alkalinity could drop and your PH could remain stable.  Try testing your water at night and then in the morning.> Now, do you think alkalinity could be my problem - should I head out and purchase an alkalinity test kit and if necessary administer buffer?  <It wouldn't be a bad idea.  I don't think that would be the problem.> What else could be the problem? I am worried for my underwater charges... Thanks in advance, really would appreciate any input on this. <Hello, MikeB here.  I would test the alkalinity but I don't think it is having a direct effect on the health of your fish.  It might have an indirect effect in regards to the PH but with a test kit that will tell.  My feeling is that there might be something picking on the fish or something stressing it.  A large fluctuation in temperature will do it.  My feeling is that it might be getting sick.  The best thing for you to do is to put it in a separate tank and keep an eye on it.  Broccoli is a good food for the fish and it will not deteriorate in your water right away.  Look at its eyes and make sure they are not cloudy.  Emperor angels are susceptible to flukes and other parasites that might not always be visible to the naked eye until it is too late.  Good Luck. MikeB>

UK Reef Operation hi my name is Tracy    <Hello, mine is Bob>                              I am new to this hobby I have had my marine tank for over twelve months now   it is a Juwel 190 corner tank in it I have 3 seahorses two saddleback clowns  one male and a female I also have a yellow tang and a Naso unicorn tang I have  a male and female scooter blennies and four cleaner shrimps I have turbo snails  hermit crabs and a orange spot sand sifter snail  and some Cerith  snails. I love my tank and my fish. but I am worried that I may of over stocked  my tank <Mmm, not too crowded> I do have some live rock in the tank and all my fish seem really happy I  have an external filter and a Vecton <For U.S. readers this is a line of UV sterilizers made by TMC in the UK> I also have an Eco Aqualizer on the tank I  use tropic Marin pro reef salt because I was told its the best. <It is> I put marine  snow in the tank once a week I was told to do a water change of 20% every month I  use de ionized water am I doing the right thing <Sounds like it> I have just bought your book  reef invertebrates I have read some of it and it is brilliant. I was wondering  do you know how to get rid of hair algae only I have it growing on my sea fan I  don't want to get rid of the fan because my seahorses rely on it to hold on to  and I do like the fan when its not got hair algae on it. <Best to locate the fan in a darker area (likely off to either end) of your tank, look into means of limiting nutrient concentration in your water... improving your skimmer performance by cleaning it every month while doing your water changes... and I would reduce or eliminate the use of the "Marine Snow" product... not of much actual nutrient value> also can you tell me  what the temp should be for a marine tank I have some corals in my tank as well I  have a leatherhead some xenia and two large mushrooms I had some polyps they  were yellow in colour but they seem to be disappearing <The mid to upper 70's Fahrenheit> I don't know why I have 3  white lights and 1 blue is this enough or do I need more I also put some live  aragonite sand into my tank about 8 weeks ago. so please could you get back to me  and let me know if I am doing the right thing I would be so grateful for some of  your good advice.                                           look forward to hearing from you.                                                     yours sincerely                                                                                         Tracy Craven. PS this is my sons computer and some times he won't let me on it so if you   don't mind would it be alright to give you my address I know I am a pain but its just incase I can't get to use the computer, my address is XX Hampden grove   Eccles Manchester m30 oqu my phone num is 0161 786 XXXX thanks, Tracy can't   wait to hear from you. <Mmm, I do hope you get online and see this response. Bob Fenner>

Live Rock Hello, I jus set up a 155 gal tank, with live sand and live rock, the water was already cycled, should I still wait few weeks to introduce some fish and corals? <There will always be a bit of a mini cycle, even with cycled rock.  It's a good idea to let it wait for a few weeks, yes.> I am using a sump with bio balls the skimmer and miracle mud with sand bed and Caulerpa, and some carbon. My Live rock has a chocolate like color on it how could I clean it and it is full of calcareous alga, should I take it off? <Nothing wrong with calcareous algae!  I don't know what the other stuff is, but you can probably leave it on unless it's obviously dying or decaying.> Could I brush the rock to remove the dirtiness from it with a toothbrush? <Or use a turkey baster...> What supplements should I add to my water? Kalkwasser, calcium in liquid and what else? <Calcium supplements are probably not needed just yet.  If you plan on adding some stony corals down the road they will be necessary.  In the meantime, small frequent water changes should suffice.> Well Thank you much.

Questions on temperatures - 11/17/04 Hi guys. First like to thank you for the great site, I have been finding so much info here. <Excellent. Tis our modus operandi!> But I do have a question. I have had my saltwater tank going for 87 days now. <2 and a half months is still quite a new tank in my opinion.> 45 Gallon tank, 44 lbs. Live Rock, (2) AquaClear 200, (2) Powerhead 402, Red Sea Prizm Protein Skimmer, 30lbs. Seeded Aragonite powdered sand, 40lbs. Crushed Coral Substrate. <The sand is underneath the crushed coral? Not necessary to do this> (2) 30W Aqua Glo "12 hours/day" (2) 10000K Blues "14 hours/day" Livestock: (1) Bianni Cardinal, <Banggai??> (2) Pajama Cardinals, (1) Scopas Tang, (2) Clownfish "Percula", (1) Dwarf Lionfish, (1) Coris Wrasse <Too many fish for this small a set-up The cardinals are a good choice, the clownfish is likely fine, the Scopas, the Lionfish, and the Coris concern me. This a quite mis-understood fish. The usually range in size but if I were you, I would positively identify my fish and do some research on their size and habitat. I think you will be shocked.> (4) Electric Blue Hermits, (1) Scarlet Red Hermit, (1) Electric Orange Hermit, (2) Mithrax Crabs (1) Pineapple Brain Coral, (1) Xenia Pulsing Coral Temp: 25, <77 Fahrenheit> pH: 8.3,  Ammonia 0.0.,  Nitrite 0.0,  Nitrate 0.0 ,Phosphate 0.1,  Gravity 1.025,  kH: 13 dKH,  Cu 0.0,  Ca 440 I do regular maintenance every week, having got my brown algae under control. <Excellent to hear!!! This the proper way to start out. Good on ya, mate!> My question is this.  I have read that many reef keepers are keeping their tanks between 80-85 degrees.  What are the pros and cons of keeping my tank this warm? <Well, I would rather state, in my opinion, having traveled to quite a few tropical locales and have been diving in various tropical regions, I would be more concerned with the average of low and high water temps as it relates to reef keeping. Do some research after positively identifying you inhabitants, look at their region, there should be some info on the average temps of their location. Then adjust your tank. I personally prefer the average of 77-80. My tanks do tend to fluctuate in temp as lights tend to warm the water a bit. Plus summer temps tend to also help my water to warm. So you may need do some adjusting or add a chiller or something of that magnitude.>  Do corals prefer a warmer tank? <74-84 is, in my opinion considered extreme ends of the spectrum when it comes to most corals> And do you think my lighting schedule is ok? <Should be OK. Watch the corals. For pulsing Xenia it is likely enough light but I think the Pineapple coral will likely need more powerful PAR lighting. I keep my schedule at around 10 hours or so. It really is determined by the animals, then by lighting, then schedule in that order, in my personal opinion. Thanks for participating! ~Paul>

Vodka in a Reef Tank...Ummm, NO. Howzit Guys? Could you please put me on the right track in terms of using ozone to break down nitrate and ammonia in the coral reef environment (3m x 90cm x 90cm) I would also like to ask you if you've heard about using vodka to control algae growth? One other question is my LFS had a 4 large, sexually mature, Banggais. Two seemed to pair of while the other two hovered around alone. When the net dived into the tank they all swam together, leaving their pairs. When they arrived home (90cm x 1m x 45cm) into the Seahorse and pipefish tank, they swam together for a while but then split up. My question is do you think they're a pair? At  the moment they're both on separate sides of the tank Thanks Daniel, from Cape Town, South Africa >>>Hello Daniel, You don't need to introduce any gases to break down nitrate and ammonia in a reef tank. That is what your live rock and sand beds are for. Keep it simple. Good news, vodka will indeed kill algae in your reef tank if you add enough of it, so will gasoline, diesel fuel, acetone, bleach and formaldehyde. They are also effective at killing fish, corals and all other inverts. As far as your cardinals go, sounds like you have a pair, but it will become obvious soon enough either way. Good luck Jim<<<

Reef operation Hi guys and girls, <Hello!!> Top site, thanks so much for being a window on the fish-keeping experts for us! <That is what we are here for> I have followed the advice on your site and haven't had any problems at all with my marine set-up which has now been running for over a year, everything is  funky and going great guns. <Congratulations!!> I have a custom-built 90gallon (UK) tank with LOTS of premium grade live rock (sorry, I don't know the weight but at least half the tank volume is taken up with it). I have a high water turn-over and a 4inch DSB which is well established. Levels are spot on and fish, inverts and soft corals are  all doing well. I have always wanted a reef wall type of look after getting  hooked on the fish and corals seen whilst diving and am very happy with my  tank. <There is nothing more beautiful either.> The question I have is one of fish selection. At the moment I have a Maroon Clownfish (four inches at present and perfect) and a Gramma Loreto (five inches  and stunning) I have had a swap around and a couple of fish have now gone to a friend's 400gallon tank so I am looking for a couple of new fish. I have a few soft corals and will be adding to that number over the coming months, I would appreciate your thoughts on which fish would go well in my tank with its current inhabitants being taken into the equation. I like the Maroon and Gramma for their different looks and swimming styles so would love to have  fish that are different again, colourful and active. Being hardy would also be a  bonus (I would rather continue my success rate than cause fish stress or worse, by my blundering around - no pun intended Blundell!) as would a propensity to  not munch on soft corals (does that rule out all dwarf angels?), the Gramma is a  bit feisty and has the occasional chase-down of the Maroon, but nothing too bad. <There are many of fish you could put in that reef tank of yours that will do well.> Just to give you an idea what my tastes are, I love the look of Moorish Idols, Jackknifes, Maroon Tangs, Leopard Wrasses - anything colourful and energetic and I'm not too into small, schooling fish. Sorry to have waffled on but your help would be most appreciated. <Not a problem I could be long worded myself.> I don't know many people who can offer me the experience you guys can and look at this as a major part of my research before buying any more fish. Thanks, Tony C <Tony,     Hi, I hope I could provide some insight to your current situation.  In a 90 gallon reef tank you can put a large mix of fish together.  I don't want to be the one to say what you should or should not keep as pets (as long as they can live comfortably in the tank).  Here is my answer.  A Moorish idol could be problematic because it is a picky eater.  Jackknifes and leopard wrasses will eat smaller invertebrates in the tank.  There are various other fairy wrasses that are very colorful (Scott's wrasse, Carpenter wrasse are 2 of my favorites.)  Also, there are many tangs that would do well but will eventually outgrow the tank.  Small angels could be added with caution because they could sometimes nip at corals and I would stay away from the large angels.  Finally there are many different gobies and Basslets that should get along with your Gramma.  Hopefully I was able to give you a good direction to start with.  Good Luck!!!! Mike B>

Tank maturing process Hello Crew! << Hi. >> I have just setup a 50 gallon reef tank about 2 months ago... since then, here is the story. I have a 50 gallon display, about 60-70 lb of LR ( it is "half cured" when I got it, plenty of life left but not bad smell... a 1000 Gph main pump a 33 gallon sump (inside there is a ~20 gallon refugium with 4 inch oolite sandbed. the display has a 3 inch oolite sandbed. lighting is a actinic 30 W T5 and a HQI 250W 10000K as the tank water maturing, I have tested pH, Calcium, NO2, alk. the pH tends to be a little low so I added some pH buffer. I have a couple of question and I would like you to help me! 1. I am going to buy skimmer. is Euroreef ES5-3 a good choice? compare to ASM G2? how about ETSS reef devil? << Sounds like a good choice but I would want to look around and ask many people who have owned them. >> 2. I started to get the brown diatom on my sandbed. I try to cover it everyday by stir/mixing sand at the top layer... currently, there are 2 cleaner shrimps in there. and the rocks are all nice. but I am sure the sandbed is not mature yet (NOT ENOUGH micro/macro Life). I would like to get a sand sifting starfish or urchin to clean the diatom,,, << Bad idea.  The sand sifting star will hurt your pod population and make the diatoms worse.  I would stop stirring the sand bed and just give it time. >> but I am sure they will consume stuff that I need for sandbed as well.. is there a better way to handle these diatom? should I let it be? what should I do? << Let it be. >> 3. I am really scared of adding fish because of ick.. and since the LR is still pretty new, I think I should wait a little longer for additional fallowing period... if I want to get a blenny/goby, how long should I let the sandbed develop before putting one of those in? << Oh, about 4 weeks? >> 4. I have read an article somewhere regarding toxicity of soft corals to SPS's. if I am adding corals, should the sequence be first to SPS/LPS/mushrooms/soft corals??? is it possible to keep nice soft corals with nice SPS??? << Doesn't matter what you add first.  They do great together and I'd add them well before the fish. >> 5. ASKING IT FOR A FRIEND - what is the best way to remove green hair algae? << Hermit crabs and snails. >> his tank currently have only LR and some damsels... and he have a ASM G2 Skimmer in a 155 gallon on 24/7. testing PO4 and NO3 is all 0 (Salifert)... I have suggested that it might be the lighting because he have only NO lighting which are pretty old. will that caused the hair algae growth? << Not cause it, but allow it. >> will it improve if he change to metal halide with correct frequency? (his tank is about 30 inch high and bulbs are aging... that is why I think NO lighting is not adequate) << Well it might make it worse, but I think it will help as it will help allow other better organisms to live and to consume the nutrients instead of the algae. >> please help/ thank you! Eric <<  Blundell  >>

What's Eating His Fish? (11/1/04) Hi: <Hello. Steve Allen tonight.> I have a big problem in my 75 gal. tank. I have over 25 corals (all thriving - doing very, very well), 2 cleaner shrimp (out all of the time), 1 blood red shrimp, a sea cucumber, and many hermits and snails of various types. When tank started up and completed the cycle, I added a pair of Percula clowns, a Catalina goby, and a mandarin goby. All were doing very well. One day I added some new tank mates (among them an Emerald Mithrax crab). Everything was doing well for a few weeks and then, one day I noticed one of the clowns was missing. From that day on, the fish were disappearing (one every few days) and there was no trace of a corpse. For about six weeks, I held off on any new fish purchases, tested the water quality more often (which was spot on), and the corals and shrimp continued to thrive. Last week I tried again (thinking maybe parasites were my problem all along) and introduced a new mandarin goby to the tank. Saw the fish every day for 4 days...then...gone. I have tried a trap...my hermits loved it, but, no Emerald. I cannot find the Emerald (which, by the way, I have not seen since the first week I introduced it to the tank). Any suggestions? I really would love to put fish into this system. Thanks, Dave <I rather doubt that the Emerald killed all of these fish, but they are certainly capable of eating small fish. It still seems improbable that it would take out so many over so short a time. Do you think it's big enough to take a Percula? I'd search around after dark with a flashlight to see if you can track it down. Be patient with the trap--it may take a long time. Perhaps something else is in there, such as a Mantis shrimp, that can also be trapped. Sounds like you covered the other possible culprits. If you can't trap something, you may want to go fish-free for a few months before trying again.>

General tank Questions Hi <Hi ChrisB, MacL here with you tonight> Thanks for all your help you have been giving me......I'd be stuck w/o you guys. But, as usual I still have questions! <No worries> I guess some of these questions sound a bit trivial, but I can't seem to get a real answer for them. SO my tank is 30 gals, with LR, fish, some corals etc. Now my question is.... I have 5 blue-legged hermits, and they get along nicely. I want to add some more, since I've discovered other species (which I know are reef safe. Can I mix different species of small reef safe hermits, or is that ill advised?? <Sometimes they will compete for the different shells> Then, in the same tank, I have a Coral banded shrimp.....He's really funny, always tries to catch the fish, but always fails. Can I add other shrimp to the tank, like candy canes or peppermints, or will they fight? <They will have some territorial problems and the coral banded might be able to catch them> Also, more trivial, the tank has been up for about a year, and all water parameters are OK; Won't list em because if compared to published results....they are the same. I change water every four weeks, I guess a but lazy, but it is done. I have a DIY Schuran skimmer and makes a pitch black skimmate. Kalk is dosed into the small sump. So, I've never really had this problem but I went on holiday a while back, so I replaced the Kalk water (which also replaces evap water) with R/O water just to stop Alk from going too low. When I came back; most of the coral gravel had a light red slime algae over it, only the sand, no where else. So I removed it, vacuumed the gravel, and two days later it was back. What is causing it? I don't have a silicate filter on my R/O but I think the Kalk precipitates it, because I don't have this algae problem when I use Kalk. guess I will change my carbon, do a water change, add a new Nitrate/phosphate absorber sock. <Kalk raises the ph and the alkalinity in the tank and does help keep the tank from having as much red slime> Then lastly, like I mentioned, I add Kalk to the sump. I can't let it drip because I can't get a constant drip rate for the volume I need to add. I add about half a liter of water a day, so I have a dosing pump that does it for me. It pumps 50 ml every 10 min when the lights are out. The intake for the skimmer is quite close to the Kalk water drip nozzle. Question...........Since I've started using Kalk, I get a light brown precipitate forming in the sump, and a light, hard calcium deposit on the pumps in the sump. There is no mechanical filter in the sump, but I was wondering where it came from. <I think possibly you need to let your Kalk settle a little bit more before adding the Kalk water, sounds like too much of it is making it into the tank> Is it the Kalk precipitating, thereby not releasing the calcium into the water. If the Kalk goes into the skimmer, could the high oxygen content in the skimmer cause it to precipitate? If it does, could I dose the Kalk in the stated rate and volume directly into the tank without it affecting anything in the tank? There is a considerable water movement in the tank, so mixing should be quite quick. What can you suggest? <I really prefer to dose something caustic like Kalk into a sump if at all possible.> cheers Chris B

Sand turning colors hi, <Hi Heather, MacL here with you tonight> i have a 29 gallon reef aquarium that has been up for about 10 months. Everything is going great the fish are happy and thriving. <Wonderful!> The problem is that my sand bed is turning colors. First it was brown from the diatom algae. Now the sand is turning a reddish purple and it's in clumps, especially in the back of the tank. I've brought 3 sand sifting starfish. The LFS said that would help, but it hasn't really done anything. <They generally stay low in the sand, you might do better with brittle stars that stay on the top.> My water levels are fine. <Please define fine? totally 0 on everything? What about calcium, phosphates, silicates?>  I brought some phosphate and silicate remover stuff to put in the filter and it's slowed things down a little. <I heartily recommend that if you buy something to take something out of your tank you TEST and see how much is in your tank.> I've read some stuff about sand bed fauna and i don't believe that i have this. How do i go about getting it in my sand. <You can buy pods, stars and other types of fauna from many different places but your sand sifting stars are going to eat them.>I thought a lot of those bugs were bad for your aquarium. <Actually most bugs are good.> I don't over feed, my levels are fine. <Please define fine? if its more than zero then there is something we have to work on> I have a protein skimmer and i do water changes about every 2 weeks - 25% maybe more. I have 1 maxi jet 600 power head that pushes the water around pretty well. The sand is live Fiji pink with aragonite. It's not a real fine grade, but not to course. I don't know what to do? Any help would be really appreciated. <Heather it really would help me to know the actual and not just fine. I think maybe you are dealing with Cyanobacteria at this point but can't tell for sure. A picture would be very handy. MacL>

Can I feed my brain too much? Hi there- May I say again how much I love your site?  I really appreciate the resource.  I actually have five questions for you.  My tank is about 5 months old, 46 gallon, protein skimmer, Eheim filter, halite lights.  I do weekly 10% water changes.  Ammon, nitrates, and nitrites are 0, salinity is 1.024.  I have two perculas, one magenta dottyback (eats my little Bristleworms, by the way), a cleaner shrimp, and various blue-legged hermits and snails.  I have a frogspawn and a hammer and a brain and some star polyps. They have all seemed to have adjusted well, and colors and extension are good, and they have all grown a little bit. >> Great, thanks for the detail!>>   Here are my questions: 1) My brain coral is a pig.  I feed the corals mysis shrimp weekly, and I'm not sure how much the brain would eat at one sitting.  It is about 4" in diameter, and I give it about a dozen shrimp.  Should I keep feeding until it stops engulfing?  It is growing the most. >>Its growing the most because you are feeding it a lot. Great! My rule of thumb is to stop feeding as when you are sure nothing is going to steal the food it is trying to eat. What you are doing sounds good.>> 2) I had not been feeding my star polyp shrimp because I thought it was a vegetarian.  I accidentally dropped one on it a week ago, and it snatched it up, so I gave it about 3 more.  Now it doesn't look so perky.  Did I make it sick? >>'Probably didn't make it sick. Sometimes when corals eat they get kinda quiet for a while. I am not sure which star polyps you are talking about either. Regular Green Star Polyps don't really eat. What did the eating look like, or can you get me a scientific name for the coral you have? 3) My cleaner shrimp has molted 4 times in two months.  Is this bad for its health?  I do supplement with iodine and the calcium level is about 600 (high, I know.  Trying to solve)  Should I be doing anything else for it? It eats like a pig, too.  I thought these guys were supposed to by shy... >>CS can be real personalities. I would guess that he is molting because of the iodine additions. Do you test for iodine? If not, I would stop adding it. A good rule of thumb is don't add what you can't test for. Most iodine level will be kept 'good' by water changes. Have you been doing water changes to get the Ca down? Besides all that it sound like your shrimp is doing just fine. 4) The tank has developed a bad hairy algae problem.  Do I have room to add something that would eat it, and if so, what would you recommend? >> 5 months is around the time that we would expect to see an algae bloom. I would harvest as much as possible to get it and the nutrients it eats out of the system, and cut back on feedings on the tank. I would also crank up the skimmer. The idea is to get rid of whatever nutrients are feeding the algae so the algae will stop growing. It can take a couple of months to see an effect.>> 5)  My tank evaporates almost 2 gallons a day (probably because of the hot lights).  Does this replacement water count towards water changes, by chance? >>Nope, evaporation doesn't count as water changes because the stuff you want to changes with water changes doesn't get evaporated!>> Thanks again.  By the way, my frog spawn continues to excrete brown goo after shrimp feeding day. (I asked earlier if it was coral excrement) It seems to be doing really well, too.  My perculas have started to host with it. --Jill >>Sound good! Rich>>

Breaking down a tank I have a 90 gal show reef with 440 watts of VHO, and 50 gal of refugium for filtration.  In addition I have a protein skimmer.  The refugium has miracle mud crushed coral and plenty of macro growing.  The main show tank has lots and lots of coral, 7 fish, crabs, snails, starfish, etc. The question is how often do you recommend that a tank is broken down and rebuilt to keep the system from a biological crash?   What is your recommended procedure to help keep a tank at good biological levels? >>With proper husbandry you should not have to break the tank down to keep it healthy. Are you running a sand bed? How long has the tank been up? Any particular reason you are thinking about breaking it down?>> Thanks for the help, Craig Walker >>Rich>>
Re: breaking down a tank Actually I'm not thinking of breaking the tank down, in fact I think it is a real pain and would like to avoid the activity as long as possible. The reason for the question is because I have been told by a couple of the local pet store folks that they recommend breaking the tank down every year. >>Yikes! Stop listening to them right away!>> I don't know if the say this because they don't know how to setup a stable tank or perhaps they have a different agenda... like maybe I'll be back to buy more salt and chemicals if I break the tank down more often. >>That seems likely.>> To answer your other question, I do have a live sand bed and the tank was started about 4 years ago.  However, I broke the tank to nearly nothing about 9 months ago so that I could do some serious rearranging and relocation of power heads.  So far all of the tests I perform seem to indicate that the tank is in good shape, 1.023-25 salinity, 8.3ph, 3.2 alkalinity, 350-400 calcium. I would like to leave it alone now and let the coral really spread.  Any reason I couldn't?  Are the recommendations of the local pet store people true? >>I would leave it alone and let it thrive. There is some evidence that a sand bed can 'fill up' and then re release phosphate into the water, but I wouldn't worry too much about it. The time line for the 'fill up' is unknown would vary from system to system. So, practice good husbandry, don't over feed the tank, have good flow and skim well and you should be just fine. >> Thanks for your input, Craig   >>My pleasure. Rich>>

DSB Cleaning Question (10/8/04) Hi folks, <Steve Allen with you tonight.> I have a 54 gallon corner tank, 50 lbs live rock, on a sand and crushed shell bed about 2 inches deep. <This is a difficult depth--too deep to easily maintain and too shallow to provide anaerobic denitrification.> Water quality is good, specific gravity, pH, alkalinity, etc., are good, things seem to be okay. The tank is almost one year old, and there are all kinds of neat things growing up out of the rock - lots of small feather dusters and the like. At this point, we've got a yellow tang <will outgrow the tank--needs a minimum of 75G>, two ocellaris clowns, and a blue damsel, as well as crabs and snails to help keep things clean. The fish are nice and healthy. I'm using a TetraTec PF300 filter and a Berlin Airlift skimmer (I'm thinking of replacing it with a Fluval 200 or similar filter at some point). <The skimmer? Are you suggesting replacing a skimmer with a canister filter? Not a good idea. Canisters need to be cleaned at least once a week.> We'd like to add another couple of damsels <Probably won't work. These are mean, territorial fish. Someone will die.> and perhaps a blue hippo tang in the near future. <No. Tank way to small--this fish needs minimum 125G, preferably more.> Any other suggestions on fish to add? <You should buy Scott Michael's "Marine Fishes" and study up. How about a Flame Angel? Or a Hawkfish. Trade the Tang back for credit toward both. Royal Grammas are nice too. Lots of better choices than the ones you have mentioned.> Recently, I stirred up some of the bed, and noticed that a murky, dark gray cloud came up from underneath. I suspect that I may not have the right critters to dig around underneath, and that as a result there may be a lack of oxygen getting down into the middle and bottom of the bed. <Actually the purpose of a DSB is to create the anaerobic (no oxygen) conditions that foster the growth of bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrogen gas. Unfortunately, yours is a depth that does not accomplish this and is difficult to clean.> What would be the best way to deal with this? <Deeper sand--4+ inches.> Should I go ahead and somehow manually stir up the bed from time to time to get this murky stuff filtered out, or do I need a different kind of critter (we have a sand-sifting sea star, tried to add a second one, but he/she died after a short time)? <These are overrated and unlikely to be able to survive in a smaller tank like this. For stirring the surface, I like Nassarius snails and maybe a burrowing fish like a Shrimp Goby--one has to be sure the rocks are sitting on the glass, not the sand so the Goby cannot undermine them and collapse the structure. Serpent stars are good detritus eaters.> Should I use a siphon to suck out the murk as I'm doing the next water change? <Gentle vacuuming, but not too deep.> Thanks, Otter in Ohio <I highly recommend that you read the FAQs about sand beds. Consider also buying Bob & Anthony's "Reef Invertebrates" for it's excellent chapter on DSBs. Then choose how you want to proceed. Hope this helps.>

Cleaning up the "look" I have a 90 gallon reef tank with a 40 gallon sump, and a 8 gallon refugium inside the sump.....I am fascinated by the refugium...I almost look at it more than the tank....anyway, I have had tank for years.. but never really cared about the overall look of things such as my top off box, refugium, stand, canopy, etc...it's not very pleasing to the eye the way is looks as a display.....but now I want it neat....attached is how I want my new layout...the refugium is going to be on the left and the mangrove tree on the right, and I will probably hide the auto top off system inside the stand under the mangrove aquarium....I have a few questions for you I was hoping you could help me out with.... <I'll try!> 1.  How much light will I need for the mangrove tree? <Its a plant so it needs lighting suitable for a plant to grow.> 2.  In my refugium, for the longest time I had what I could identify as sawtooth Caulerpa.... http://www.fishpalace.org/C_serrulata.html and recently I have added grape Caulerpa.... http://www.fishpalace.org/C_racemosa.html Is it ok to have these two in the same refugium? <Better be cause I have both along with several others. The big thing about the grape Caulerpa is that it goes sexual quick.>  The only purpose of my Caulerpa is nutrient export and to help the breeding or different types of pods? <Pretty much yeah unless you are using it to supplement tang feedings.> I have noticed that the grape Caulerpa grows faster than the sawtooth.  Is there a best type of Caulerpa I should be using. <I like the feather Caulerpa as well but I'm adding grass types these days.>  Or the more different types, the better?  Will they fight each other?  Should I ditch both of them and go with something that will not crash?  <I think you are fine but its always good to have a mixture of things.> 3.  I recently purchased this skimmer on eBay... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46313&item=4326992625&rd=1 it comes with a Rio Pump, which I have heard can be dangerous to a tank (shorting out, sending sparks, knocking out the electricity, causing many livestock deaths)...So I asked some of the reef tank groups I am in, and here was a response I got from a reputable member when I asked him about the Rio pumps....can you confirm?  What pump do you recommend? ****************** It does happen.  Only on the 1700 and bigger pumps (yours is a 2100?).  Sometimes the pump won't restart after it's been shut down.  It then overheats and the coil shorts out.  I had this happen to a 2500 a couple years ago.  You should be OK if you keep the pump clean.  Take it apart and clean the impeller every couple weeks.  Mine was about a year old and I hadn't cleaned it for a couple months when it went bad.  Luckily I found it in time before it nuked anything, though the pump was junk after that.  <I've never used a Rio so I can't comment from personal experience but it makes sense to keep all of your pumps clean. I recommend cleaning the impeller every month.> ***************** Thanks for all the help and advice you have given...I can't count how times I have sent a link from your site to answer a question in some of the groups I am in... <I'm honored and thank you kindly, I will pass the word along. MacL> thanks again...

Nano Death Hi there; much thanks for being available to pick your brains- you're my last hope of getting some straight answers.  I've sent you 2 additional emails with pictures of my poor Nanocube.  This is going to be a long email, I'll warn you now.  I am a complete novice with marine systems; am in need of info that I can't seem to locate on the site regarding many issues.  Decided to get the 'very pretty' 12g Nanocube from local Aquarium store 4 months ago as my first tank (store set up was gorgeous, it hooked me, what can I say).  Followed all instructions from store owner which are: gradual building of live-rock (approx 10 lb? now), sand (10 lbs), 5 electric blue baby hermits and 4 turbo snails, then addition of fragmented tiny soft corals, 20% water changes every 2 weeks (2 g), took out Bioballs and carbon from back of tank, filtration system are the sponges in back of tank only (5 of them), rinsed sponges once a week, lighting system stays on timer 9 h a day, using 'Tetratest Laborette' for water values.<BR>I'm currently a scientist in training (infectious diseases) so I've been a stickler for testing and keeping up with advice from Aquarium store.  Here's the deal: Last Friday the stock was:  4 blue hermit crabs, one 'Halloween' hermit, 4 turbo snails, and 7 soft corals (Image #010) which are (excuse the lack of speciation): red mushrooms (2 species), torch coral, I cant even name the rest - hopefully you can see them?<BR>Values from test kit:  pH 8.3, KH 11, NH3/4 0, NO2 <.3, NO3 12.5, Sal/SG 1.203, Temp 76-78, water obtained from my lab - super ultra pure water, lab grade quality.<BR>All seemed happy, though one thing I can think of that was weird was the growth of red algae in dead space (mainly sand in front), since I started adding my own water (says a lot about our lab, doesn't it?). Keep in mind we had a 24 h power outage (hurricane) the previous Friday (9/17).  Everything survived and values checked out OK (I stirred the tank with a spoon every 15 min, that was fun).<BR>Last Friday (9/24) I bought and added (image #012) 3 additional soft corals (green mushrooms, more green flower like species top right, big bright green species bottom left), 2 scarlet hermit crabs (small), one spotted leg big hermit crab, and 2 tank-reared clown fish who seemed super stressed out.  Also was told to purchase iodine and vitamin/AAcid supplements (Reef plus Seachem) which I also added at this time following bottle directions.<BR>And then crisis struck: 24 h after addition (9/25), a clown fish went down, eventually dying.  I called both the aquarium store (of no help - said nothing I could do, should not have added 2 fish at a time -which they sold me- as my first fish, which they knew) said ammonia levels were toxic (checked out between 0-.25).  Called LiveAquaria.com help line:  said to do immediate 20% water change to dilute ammonia level, repeat every other day until levels were 0, not to feed (frozen brine shrimp), to rinse filters, get more oxygen into system.  I did all of this and the other fish survived and is alive still though I'm super stressed about this crisis and nervous for future.  Fish is stressed, swimming into water flow, not eating but seems hungry.<BR>I noticed Sunday night that 2 corals (one mushroom species and this cactus looking guy (image #012 bottom right) who I moved right next to the said shrooms looked slimy.  Water test: pH = 7.7    KH =10.0  NH4 =.25 NO2 =  <.3  Sal = 1.023 NO3 = 12.5  I added reef buffer to raise pH to 8.0.  Yesterday shrooms turned white, shriveled up, cactus looked necrotic, I removed them both (shrooms disintegrated upon removed, smelled like death).  Water check revealed a definite .25 ammonia level, 10 KH, and pH of 7.7.  I freaked, did a 20% water change last night.  Levels today are better, but ammonia is still questionable:<BR> pH = 8.3    KH =10.0  NH4 =.0-25 NO2 =  <.3  Sal = 1.023 NO3 = 12.5</DIV> <DIV class=RTE>What's your assessment - what am I missing/doing wrong?  Over-stocked on corals, crabs?  Too ambitious with 2 fish?  Following bad advice?  Missing supplemental equipment?    Am also on my way to aquarium store to raise hell with all dead carcasses in tow, though I'm not sure I have the right to do so.  Please advise, I'd like to keep the system going and not let my first experience crush this endeavor, plus I'm sure the aquarium guys would like to live to see tomorrow. Thanks so much for your time and input, Vivien  <<<Greetings, This is getting a bit complicated for you, and I think you need to back up a bit, and build the system SLOWLY. It should be simple, and fun. The fact that you're purchasing species which have requirements and chemical warfare abilities of which you seem to be unaware isn't helping things. If you see a "green species" and you don't know the ramifications of adding it to a system, don't purchase it. Instead go home and read about it.  I think you have combination of effects resulting from stocking the tank too fast, and a bit of chemical warfare between the soft corals. You also shouldn't have ANY ammonia in a mature system. None, nada, zippo!   Mushrooms and torches are fine, but I have no idea what else you have in there. I unfortunately can't see your pictures. Here's what I would do. First, you don't need the sponges. The live rock and sand are the only filters you need. Second, so some reading on soft corals! Some exude chemicals which will quickly build up in such a small system, and this will obviously affect the inhabitants. Some corals may have to be removed. Let the tank stabilize. A pair of perculas is very possible in your tank. Mushrooms, star polyps, Euphyllia (frogspawn, etc) will all live fine together. It should be easy, and you shouldn't have to test everything so often. I never do tests on my nano - ever. I don't add supplements to ANY of my tanks aside from B ionic which maintains calcium and alk levels. I simply change 20% of the water every two weeks, and it's the easiest tank to deal with that I've ever set up. Good luck
Jim<<<

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