billdeluz Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 just wanted to tell you awesome setup u have i read this complete as i guest and just wanted to tell you how awesome i think your setup is Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Update: March 11, 2015 Okay guys, lately my picture updates have been awful as my tank has been in a pretty poor state. I was able to get some free time to spend on the tank and got things mostly cleaned up. Here is a before picture of my algae problem (now you know why I wasn't updating with pics so much): Here is a picture I took after spending hours taking apart the tank and getting as much algae off as possible. I also cleaned up the sand a bit too. I wasn't able to get all the algae and I am still fighting it but I am controlling it. I got new filter floss instead of the polyfil I was using. I can already see a HUGE difference. I blow the detritus off of the rocks with my turkey baster and then it gets sucked into the overflow and I clean it out of the filter floss. I have already seen an improvement and some of the algae has disappeared with this method so I will continue this over the next few weeks. After cleanup: New filter floss in the the overflow: Some top down shots: Ricordea: Shrimp decided to make an appearance Macro shot I got with my Nikon. Still practicing and getting the hang of it so any feedback, advice or tips would be appreciated. This is one of my favorite pieces in my tank now and I actually picked up at a reef show for about $10. It colored up really nicely under my LED's. Also a little update on my Apex ordeal: I contacted Neptune's customer service and they are awesome first of all. Very helpful and willing to work with you. I am sending it off on Friday to get repaired and the repair price can range from $0 to $150 depending on the damage. i don't think the damage is too bad but we will see. Regardless $150 is better than buying a whole new system. just wanted to tell you awesome setup u have i read this complete as i guest and just wanted to tell you how awesome i think your setup is Awesome! Thank you! I can't tell you how much it means to me when I see messages like this. It makes my day Glad you are enjoying the tank. Link to comment
billdeluz Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 wow you put a dent on cleaning that tank good job Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Great job man I've had a tank look that bad and cleaned it up nicely so I know how many hours of work it takes lol o run phosguard from now on and I haven't had an algae bloom since except for the occasional film algae on the glass after a week lol Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 wow you put a dent on cleaning that tank good job Haha thanks! Things are still clearing up nicely and hopefully it will all be gone soon. algae makes a nice tank look like crap. Great job man I've had a tank look that bad and cleaned it up nicely so I know how many hours of work it takes lol o run phosguard from now on and I haven't had an algae bloom since except for the occasional film algae on the glass after a week lol Ive heard of phosguard but have also heard that it can cause problems if you run it all the time. You haven't had any problems with running it all the time? Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Haha thanks! Things are still clearing up nicely and hopefully it will all be gone soon. algae makes a nice tank look like crap. Ive heard of phosguard but have also heard that it can cause problems if you run it all the time. You haven't had any problems with running it all the time? Nope I've been running it for 3 weeks straight im afraid to take it out and leave it out but you probably should take it out after a week or so Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 I have the awesome opportunity to have access to the Mote Marine research and student labs and so I decided to bring in the only coral that wasn't glued down and check it out under the microscope. I was able to get a few awesome shots of the corals as well. Eagle Eye zoanthid coral: It was tough to get it into good focus cause it was such a narrow depth of field. I took quite a few shots at all different focus points so that i could focus stack it using lightroom and photoshop but it wasn't coming out right. Maybe there was too much movement, idk. Either way it was cool to see the coral under the microscope. Nope I've been running it for 3 weeks straight im afraid to take it out and leave it out but you probably should take it out after a week or so Things seem to be getting better as far as algae but if i see it on the decline I might try out the phosguard. Thanks for the tip! Link to comment
ninjamyst Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 wow, that before and after FTS is pretty shocking. great job on the cleaning. Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 wow, that before and after FTS is pretty shocking. great job on the cleaning. Haha, thanks ninja it took quite a while but the tank is looking nice again. Link to comment
2004jeeplaredo Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Update: March 11, 2015 Okay guys, lately my picture updates have been awful as my tank has been in a pretty poor state. I was able to get some free time to spend on the tank and got things mostly cleaned up. Here is a before picture of my algae problem (now you know why I wasn't updating with pics so much): Here is a picture I took after spending hours taking apart the tank and getting as much algae off as possible. I also cleaned up the sand a bit too. I wasn't able to get all the algae and I am still fighting it but I am controlling it. I got new filter floss instead of the polyfil I was using. I can already see a HUGE difference. I blow the detritus off of the rocks with my turkey baster and then it gets sucked into the overflow and I clean it out of the filter floss. I have already seen an improvement and some of the algae has disappeared with this method so I will continue this over the next few weeks. After cleanup: New filter floss in the the overflow: Some top down shots: Ricordea: Shrimp decided to make an appearance Macro shot I got with my Nikon. Still practicing and getting the hang of it so any feedback, advice or tips would be appreciated. This is one of my favorite pieces in my tank now and I actually picked up at a reef show for about $10. It colored up really nicely under my LED's. Also a little update on my Apex ordeal: I contacted Neptune's customer service and they are awesome first of all. Very helpful and willing to work with you. I am sending it off on Friday to get repaired and the repair price can range from $0 to $150 depending on the damage. i don't think the damage is too bad but we will see. Regardless $150 is better than buying a whole new system. Awesome! Thank you! I can't tell you how much it means to me when I see messages like this. It makes my day Glad you are enjoying the tank. looks great! Love the zoa rock. Wish mine had more on it. Looks like your doing good with the camera. If you can always try and shoot square to the glass even shooting at 1 or 2 degrees off with macro will distort the sharpness. I also find setting a manual White balance to the same K rating of the lights help match as close to what your eyes see. Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 20, 2015 Author Share Posted March 20, 2015 Thanks for the tips! I'm not sure I know how to match the k of the white balance to me lights. I'll have to play around with it and figure it out. Also, I had to go up north with my family due to a death in the family. I have a family friend stopping by my house every few days to feed and top off the water. Hopefully nothing goes wrong and all is well when I return. I will post updates when I'm home. Link to comment
2004jeeplaredo Posted March 24, 2015 Share Posted March 24, 2015 Thanks for the tips! I'm not sure I know how to match the k of the white balance to me lights. I'll have to play around with it and figure it out. Also, I had to go up north with my family due to a death in the family. I have a family friend stopping by my house every few days to feed and top off the water. Hopefully nothing goes wrong and all is well when I return. I will post updates when I'm home. sorry. Its kelvin white balance, so if your LED are 10,000k then set the WB to 10,000k. If your lighting is higher then 10,000k on your camera should be close, all of my photography was done that way on my Nikon D3s Link to comment
Juuls Posted March 26, 2015 Share Posted March 26, 2015 What a transformation I hope it maintains it's wonderful refreshed look whilst you are away. And sorry to read about your loss. Link to comment
cswan19 Posted March 29, 2015 Author Share Posted March 29, 2015 sorry. Its kelvin white balance, so if your LED are 10,000k then set the WB to 10,000k. If your lighting is higher then 10,000k on your camera should be close, all of my photography was done that way on my Nikon D3s Ill have to check it out. I am still quite a newb with this photography stuff so I will have to explore the white balance menu and see how to do that. Thanks for the tip though, if I can figure it out Im sure it will make a big difference What a transformation I hope it maintains it's wonderful refreshed look whilst you are away. And sorry to read about your loss. Thanks, I appreciate that. Unfortunately upon my return my tank was once again covered in quite a bit of algae. I cleaned it up again but it stills looks kind of dirty. Question: I think I have a phosphate problem as my nitrates aren't high but algae is growing super quickly. I am going to take some water to the LFS tomor so they can test for phosphates. If they are indeed high I was thinking about adding one of two things. The phosguard was an option. I have heard good things about it from other members on the forum and think I might give it a try. I also went to the Coral mania reef show yesterday in Tampa and saw some new things from aqua vitro, one of which was called remediation. Heres what it claims to do: What do you guys think? Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 3, 2015 Author Share Posted April 3, 2015 Anyone have any idea what is going on? This algae is out of control... Not sure what to do. Im gonna pick up a phosguard and throw that in and do a WC probably about 50% to try and vacuum the crap out of the tank. Any other tips? Im getting very frustrated as I put alot of work into my tank trying to keep it clean but it still looks like sh**! Ugh so annoying lol Its like a very slimy looking stringy algae, and it multiplies very very fast. Sometimes it looks as if it has small bubbles in it, but only by my power head, so it may just be bubbles that got stuck in it. Ill take a picture tonight, maybe I can get an id on it. Any advice is appreciated. Link to comment
sedatedlabmonkey Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 I haven't read your whole post, but what chemical medias are you running? In my spec I'm running fine filter floss prefilter that catches tons of nastiness from the overflowing water. I also use carbon, a bag of gfo, and a bag of purigen. The fine floss gets tossed pretty much daily, I feed the tank relatively heavily. I have very minimal algae growth in the tank so far. I have to add supplemental foods for some of the cuc to keep them happy. I'm also doing 1 or 2 small water changes a week. 3/4 to 2 gallons depending on what's going on in the tank and length of time since last change. Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 6, 2015 Author Share Posted April 6, 2015 Hey guys, hope everyone is enjoying their Easter! Here is the current state of my reef... :/ Im gonna go and pick up some phosguard tomor and hopefully it will help. Anyone know what kind of algae this is? Link to comment
kimberbee Posted April 6, 2015 Share Posted April 6, 2015 Anyone know what kind of algae this is? The ugly gross kind? I hope you can get it under control! Link to comment
BurningChrome Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 could it be cyanobacteria? Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 I am thinking it is dinoflagellates? Can anyone confirm this? Link to comment
Kijho Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Hey Cswan, I have no idea what kind it is sorry I can't give much feedback on that BUT..... I've been having good results using Phosguard + 'AlGone' pads beneath my filter floss! You can also pickup filter floss made to reduce algae, I don't know how good it is but might be worth a try? I'd probably try and scrub/ suck as much out as possible. Do some big WC's, and then be consistent with the new filter media. I swap my AlGone pad every week and it comes with 6 in a box (small)! Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 10, 2015 Author Share Posted April 10, 2015 Hey guys, thanks for all the advice and tips. I just did a big water change and scrubbed down my rocks (again) to get most of the algae out. I also picked up phosguard. It comes pre-bagged and says to use one bag for each 30 gallons. Does that mean I need to cut and rebag the phosguard for my 5 gallon? Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Update: April 12, 2015 The algae is still kicking my butt! I picked up some phosguard and put that in there on Friday and I plan to leave it in there for about a week. I also changed my chemi pure blue in hopes that it will help with the algae as well. I did a big WC and cleaning to get most of it out and haven’t seen grow back as fast as it usually does but it is still growing I believe. The fact that it is growing slower is a good sign that the new media and WC may be helping. Here are a few photos of my tank, some corals I already had as well as some new frags I picked up at Reef a palooza (which I had an amazing time at can’t wait for the next one!) GSP growing well on the false wall: New Magician palys: Anyone know what any of these are? There are a few different types on the same plug, I know the one polyp are eagle eyes but as far as the rest, I am not sure: Ricordea Garden and Close ups: And lastly, a FTS 4/12/15 (still a bit dirty /: ) Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 Has anyone used Reef Nutrition's tigger pods before? I met a guy from the company named Chad at Reef a Palooza this weekend and he gave me a 6oz. bottle to try out with my tank. I would love to know your guys thoughts on the product. Link to comment
cswan19 Posted April 13, 2015 Author Share Posted April 13, 2015 What do you guys think about adding a yellow clown goby? Do you think it would do okay in my tank or do you think Loki, my sixline wrasse, would bully it? My shrimp and sixline get along like buddies. I would love to have a YCG that would perch around on my different corals but not if he would be unhappy cause he was getting bullied. I got my wrasse back in the middle of january so he has been in the tank for about 3 months or so. What do you guys think? Link to comment
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