THE OFFICIAL ASK ALBERT THIEL THREAD

[albertthiel]

Thanks for all of the replies and info! Yes, I'm quite sure the original one was an anemone by it's foot and behavior. I've also seen a lot of mini carpets around here and it looked just like them, except white in color. I've also never seen any type of mushroom in picture or person, that has the rosy colored mouth all the way around. After comparing the two pictures side by side, I agree they are not the same.

 

I spent a considerable amount of time last night carefully extracting the mystery character from the base rock. And I think I like my new rock arrangement better! Now it is really angry and all shriveled up. It's barely 1" in diameter right now. I'm hoping it extends today for better pictures. After getting it pulled out and seeing it's foot and mouth, I am 100% sure it is some type of mushroom, possibly similar to the pictures posted. It has the bubbly edging like those in the pictures. Carpets appear to have more of a fringe edging.

 

I have the camera battery charged up and ready to go, should have more pictures today.

 

Thanks again,

Shayna

 

Shayna:

 

Thanks for the post and clarification of what you were able to determine. I guess we can then agree that the original one you got was indeed an anemone of some sort, and you indicated that it was a mini carpet. The fact that we thought it was a mushroom may have had to do with the lighting which made it appear different than what it really is or was, as indeed, after all this time, it may no longer be in your tank.

 

I seems that you now have also established that what you currently see in your aquarium is not the same organism, and that it is possibly some sort of Mushroom.

 

How that got into your aquarium is not established and unknown at this time, as you wrote that you have not added anything to the tank in recent times.

 

It however may have come in as a very small form of it when you last added rock or anything else to the tank, and because it was small you just did not notice it. That is not unusual as many life forms get into our tanks as hitchhikers and we never know we introduced them, until they grow and suddenly become very visible.

 

Over time it stayed alive obviously, and now looks the way you showed in the picture you posted for the ID.

 

Once you have a better picture of it when it opens up more so we can better see what it really looks like, and when you post a picture or pictures of it, I guess we will then be able to determine what it is.

 

Thanks for all the feedback, and we'll wait to see what pictures you can take and post. Once we have those we should be able to come up with and ID for you.

 

Thanks also for all your patience, and for taking all the time you are to provide better views of it once you are able to take some pictures of that organism.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Three more gorgeous Coral Pictures

 

© Dr. Sanjay Joshi

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are plenty more on his FB page.

 

Albert

[atoll]

I am somewhat surprised that so few hobbyist are using it,

 

This is the thing I cant understand Albert. Perhaps many in the US are sick of the snake oil treatments due to the US loose advertisng laws when compared to ours in the UK I just don't know and find it baffaling. Not that Oxydators are widely used here in the UK either and I know of only one online retailer who sells them and am not aware of any LFS selling them.

 

It has been available for a long time in the U.S., in fact I was recently informed that it has actually been available in this country since the 80's, and even was written up in a long article TFH (Tropical Fish Hobbyist - Herbert Axelrod's) Magazine (via a pers. comm. with Boomer Bill Wing recently).

Truly amazing that it's not been widely known about as the benefits have long since been established. Mind you I am not surprised given the attacks I came under when I started a thread about Oxydators on this site in another forum.

 

 

For those who want to revisit it functionality and what and how it accomplishes what Les has been pointing out, here are a few links to the current distributor and articles of the Söchting Oxydaters (as they come in various size, one of them small enough to use in a Nano tank).

 

1. http://www.aquariumoxygenator.com

 

2. http://tinyurl.com/8auhkx4

 

3. http://tinyurl.com/9er7dtm

 

4. And a video of how it is used on larger ones:

 

5. http://www.bossaquaria.com.au/sochting-oxydator-mini-45ltr/

 

And there are many more. Below is a link generated by the Search Function on this thread that shows all the posts that have dealt with the Oxydator so far:

 

http://tinyurl.com/9xk9yzw

 

Thanks for that and the links Albert . I did post some myself when I started the thread about Oxydators.

 

If anyone wants more info on how they work and why, feel feel to post your questions here and I am sure that Les will answer them and if not I will.

 

Yes more than happy to answer any questions if I am able to or to point them in the direction of information via links like you have done above.

 

It definitely is one of the only ways of ridding the tank of algae in a simple manner, including cyanobacteria.

 

Most certainly and far safer that administering Hydrogen peroxide direct to the aquarium water.

 

 

The Oxydator Company's website can be find at http://www.oxydator.de/english/soechting_oxydators.html and if you want to get in touch with them, below is a pic of the contact info on their site:

 

 

Albert

Edited September 14, 2012 by atoll

[albertthiel]

Looking for a Black and White Clown

 

As I was looking around for a small Black and White Clown, I came across this one from a tank by an unidentified owner so I cannot give credit to the owner:

 

 

Obviously this looks like a mature one, as the black and white are very well defined and looks like it is real healthy.

 

I would love to get one, but I am just concerned that my Lantern Basslet, which is not very aggressive but is, what I would call, semi-aggressive and can exhibit real territorial behavior, would not tolerate the Clownfish in the tank. Obviously the exact opposite could happen too.

 

Has anyone kept one of each of these together and if so did they play "nice" with each other, or was there a lot of aggression.

 

Black Clowns are said to be mostly mild mannered, but given that it is a Clown, and would be housed in a small tank (20 gallons minus space taken up by rocks) I am concerned that putting one in my tank may lead to one or the other being harassed and breaking out with marine ich/crypto, or getting so stressed out that it would eventually die on me.

 

I have kept many clowns in the past of course with good success, including housing them with lots of other fish, but that was always in much larger tanks.

 

Just wondering if anyone has kept two of those together and what their behavior was. Thanks for any feedback or thoughts you may have on adding the B/W Clown (and to be open about it, my wife is the one who would really like me to get one : - )

 

Thanks

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

This is the thing I cant understand Albert. Perhaps many in the US are sick of the snake oil treatments due to the US loose advertisng laws when compared to ours in the UK I just don't know and find it baffaling.

 

Not that Oxydators are widely used here in the UK either and I know of only one online retailer who sells them and am not aware of any LFS selling them.

 

Truly amazing that it's not been widely known about as the benefits have long since been established. Mind you I am not surprised given the attacks I came under when I started a thread about Oxydators on this site in another forum.

 

Thanks for that and the links Albert . I did post some myself when I started the thread about Oxydators.

 

Yes more than happy to answer any questions if I am able to or to point them in the direction of information via links like you have done above.

 

Most certainly and far safer that administering Hydrogen peroxide direct to the aquarium water.

 

Les:

 

I think that one of the issue may be that the Distributor here seems to focus more on Ponds than on aquariums and does not advertise in the Marine magazines and sponsors some of the larger Forums, so Hobbyists do not "see" it, and do not have a lot to go by in terms of comments made by users.

 

I am sure there are some, but apparently not on this forum, or if there are they are not coming forward with comments so that others start to learn about the Oxydator.

 

It is IMO a great component for any aquarium, especially since so many beginners and even more advanced hobbyists deal with algae problems and with red slime and cyanos, and some even with Dinoflagellates.

 

I even posted pictures of the various models that are available (small, medium and large ) to show everyone that there is a model for Nano Tanks.

 

I am planning on getting one, as I want to be able to cut down on water changes, and chemical compound changes, and I am pretty sure that an Oxydator will help me accomplish that.

 

Once I have done so I'll be able to report on what it is doing for me and my tank.

 

Thanks for offering to answer questions of those who have any, but what I am finding is that even though a lot of members "view" the thread, not that many post questions.

 

But that is fine as my other purpose for the thread is to post articles etc. that are of interest to readers, and pictures of corals and fish, so that readers can see what others who are not necessarily on this forum have, and what some resellers offer.

 

My feeling is that unless the Distributor starts to advertise to hobbyists, and starts dealing with Marine Fish and Coral Pet Stores, the availability of the Oxydator to Marine Reef and Nano hobbyists is unfortunately going to remain low.

 

Given the number of people who have algae and other nuisance growth issues, that is a pity indeed.

 

Hopefully in the near future that will change and more will be known about it by more hobbyists, and its use will increase.

 

Albert

[atoll]

Hi Abert,

I am off to the Liverpool museum and specifically the aquarium which has had some revamping and upgrading done to it recently. I along with others have been invited via Salty Box a UK online marine keeping forum to attend and see behind the scenes. A number of lectures are also planned along with a few films (movies to you) throughout the day. One of the things the museum as asked for is the donation of frags but donations are not necessary for entrance. The museums aquarium does not have a large budget to rely on hence the request for frag donations to hep restock the coral tanks. I will be taking a Duncan's frag ( one of the ones I took in my video on YouTube) and a photosynthetic gorgonian frag. I wont be around here for most of the day as I don't expect to be home until the evening time. I will try and catch up on my return.

 

Liverpool UK World Museum.

 

[albertthiel]

Hi Abert,

I am off to the Liverpool museum and specifically the aquarium which has had some revamping and upgrading done to it recently. I along with others have been invited via Salty Box a UK online marine keeping forum to attend and see behind the scenes. A number of lectures are also planned along with a few films (movies to you) throughout the day. One of the things the museum as asked for is the donation of frags but donations are not necessary for entrance. The museums aquarium does not have a large budget to rely on hence the request for frag donations to hep restock the coral tanks. I will be taking a Duncan's frag ( one of the ones I took in my video on YouTube) and a photosynthetic gorgonian frag. I wont be around here for most of the day as I don't expect to be home until the evening time. I will try and catch up on my return.

 

Liverpool UK World Museum.

 

Nice and that should be an interesting day ... hopefully you'll get to take some pics that you post here, and maybe even a nice description of what they did and the type of tanks they maintain.

 

Have FUN ... I am sure it will be interesting .... and have a great day !

 

Wish I was there :-)

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Snails, Slugs and Nudibranchs - The Good, the Not So Good, and The Bad

 

© By Charles & Linda Raabe

 

Article discusses Snails, Slugs and Nudibranchs and identifies the good and the bad.

 

The article contains a large number of pictures to help you identify what you actually may have or may have seen in your aquarium.

 

Great for identifying Pests.

 

http://www.chucksaddiction.com/Hitchsnails.html

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Bubble Algae - Selected Descriptions, Controls and Comments

 

© Reefkeeping.com and Horge Cortez-Jorge Jr.

 

Deals with a large number of Bubble Algae that may appear at some point in your reef tank, and shows pictures of what they look like, how to control them and more.

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-02/hcj/feature/index.php

 

I believe this is a must read for all reef hobbyists as the appearance of bubble algae is something to be avoided at all cost as they tend to multiply rapidly once they show up, both the Green and Red ones (Chlorophyta and Rhodophyta).

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Oh No .... I discovered a few Red Bubble Algae on a small piece of Rock

 

As I was looking with a little more attention than usual maybe, at the rocks in my tank, I suddenly noticed what appeared to be small Red Bubble Algae ( Botryocladia spp. ), and not one but 2.

 

Fortunately the piece of rock the Algae were on is very small, and sits way at the top of the tank on top of a large rock, and is just about totally covered with red coralline algae. The piece is close to one of the 100 watt lights I use (maybe 8 to 9 inches underneath it).

 

Here is a picture of them:

 

 

 

 

Why these Bubble Algae suddenly appeared is a mystery of course as I did not add anything to the tank for quite some time now, and the algae was not there a few days ago.

 

It is just one more demonstration of the fact that such algae and others can appear at the least expected moment, and even months after a tank has been in operation, and as in my case even when nothing was added to the tank that could have brought those algae in.

 

But, all it takes of for spores to be lodged somewhere in or on a piece of rock, and for the right time and conditions to come around, and the Algae will grow.

 

This algae appears to be Botryocladia spp. but the exact species cannot be determined when the Bubbles are still anchored to the rock (note that algae base indicates that there are at least 52 identified species of Botryocladia algae.

 

Algaebase link to Botryocladia:

 

http://tinyurl.com/99nu7du

 

Manual removal is just about the only sure way to eliminate them but others methods have been reported to rid the tank of them, with varying degrees of success.

 

Also, once they appear and once one removes one or two or even a few more, the likelihood that they will re-appear at some point is high. Reef keepers must therefore remain vigilant and observe regularly what goes on in their tanks and deal with it.

 

In my case, what is surprising, is that nutrient levels are very low : nitrate and phosphate are not even detectable with Salifert test kits, yet the algae found some way to appear and grow anyway. I run a skimmer, use GAC, etc. and try to maintain as high a water quality as I can. Apparently though even with all of that there are still sufficient nutrients for it to grow, and lighting may be part of the reason.

 

To remove them I took the small rock fragment out of the tank, and then pried the Algae off the rock with a knife, then scrubbed it with a stiff bristle brush, and then dipped the little piece of rock in water mixed with hydrogen peroxide at a 50/50 solution for about 15 minutes.

 

I checked all other rocks as best as I could but did not see any sign of more of them.

 

Albert

[gobyguy123]

pleaes help fast!!!! i have a trumpet coral and today when i got home from school it turned white@@@@ whats happening is it dying???

[eitallent]

Hello, Albert. I thought you and your readers may like to see these videos.

 

This is a possible aiptasia sold to me as a Green Button Polyp. I poked at it to see the response. It is definitely not a GBP. Please click picture to see video

 

This is a video of a Nerite snail zooming across the glass and using it's radula like a razor.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM No need to scrub glass with busy Nerite snails around!

Click on the picture to start video.

[gobyguy123]

I just looked it up it said bleaching whats that mean and how do i stop it please pelase

[albertthiel]

pleaes help fast!!!! i have a trumpet coral and today when i got home from school it turned white@@@@ whats happening is it dying???

 

It is hard to say what is happening ... is it getting too much light maybe? Too much flow? Have you fed it and if so what and how often ?

 

Can yo post a picture of what it looks like now.

 

Normally this is a hardy coral. I have one in my tank and it is creamish in color and stays open when the lights are on, but closes at night when it puts out its tentacles.

 

What color was it before ? Is it open or closed ... let's have some more details ...

 

Albert

 

 

I just looked it up it said bleaching whats that mean and how do i stop it please pelase

 

The term bleaching is normally used when a coral loses its color because it expelled its zooxanthellae which give it the color that is has.

 

To be able to help ... see my previous message Gobyguy123.

 

I need more info ... picture would be best

 

Albert

[gobyguy123]

it is green ill get a pic later dads not home

[albertthiel]

Hello, Albert. I thought you and your readers may like to see these videos.

 

This is a possible aiptasia sold to me as a Green Button Polyp. I poked at it to see the response. It is definitely not a GBP. Please click picture to see video

 

This is a video of a Nerite snail zooming across the glass and using it's radula like a razor.

ZOOM ZOOM ZOOM No need to scrub glass with busy Nerite snails around!

Click on the picture to start video.

 

Wow that is indeed quite something but I have not seen Aiptasias with a green center. This could be what is called a Tube anemone instead of what you were sold it as. Could be a Cerianthus type anemone. You could google it and see if that is what you have indeed.

 

And if I were you I would take it back as that is not a Green Button Polyp for sure.

 

Guess some LFS either do not know what they have or they try to get away with selling anything figuring the Hobbyist will not know the difference.

 

And on the snail: yes I have them too and the do the same thing in my tank at times, or they crawl out and I find them on the floor usually in the morning not knowing how long they have been out of the water, but the close their operculum and conserve water inside that way, and when I put them back on a ledge in the tank, it does not take them very long to start crawling around again. Tough creatures indeed.

 

The problem with that anemone will be getting it out of the tank unless you can remove the rock and get it to crawl out and bag it so you can return it. Odd though as normally those type bury themselves into a sandy type bottom but this one looks like it is inside a crevice in a rock but maybe it is near a rock and in the substrate as when I see you touching it I see pieces of substrate being moved and if it is in the gravel like substrate it should be easy to get out. Did you notice whether it had a soft type tube as a base?

 

Cerianthids have tentacles that consists of two sets of distinctly different sizes. The outer set consists of large tentacles that extend outwards. These tentacles taper to points and are mostly used in food capture and defence. The smaller inner tentacles are held more erect than the larger lateral tentacles and are used for food manipulation and ingestion.

 

Here is a link to a video that shows one:

 

 

Thanks for postings the pics and the videos.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

it is green ill get a pic later dads not home

 

OK, please do so, but as I asked in my other messages where is it in the tank? Bottom, mid level or top, and how much light is it getting and what kind of flow is going by it and also as I asked: do you feed it? How often and what do you feed, and also when?

 

Feeding during the day will not do much good as it tentacles will not be out (some short ones may but the longer ones will not be). The longer ones come out when everything is dark around the tank. That is when you can target feed it.

 

Let me have some more information Gobyguy123 so I can try and help you.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

An Aquarist's Journal: Creating a Nano Reef - A 2 Part Article

 

© David Bell and tfhmagazine.com

 

A skeptical Hobbyist decides to set up a Nano Reef after all and describes how he went about it and how he become succesful setting it up

 

Part 1:

 

http://tinyurl.com/9mx35uk

 

Part 2:

 

Has not been released yet but will be at this URL when it is:

 

http://tinyurl.com/9sudhh7

 

Albert

[shadowninja]

shadowninja:

 

Before I give you an answer can you describe your tank a little more, e.g. size, what you have in it, what your current water parameters are (esp. NO3 and PO4), whether you use a skimmer, have a sump or not, what type of other filtration you use, etc. That would help in giving you a better answer.

 

However if you have green algae growing on the glass and maybe elsewhere, and if the "red algae" you refer to are actually slime algae (Cyanobacteria) then I would think that your water quality needs some work done to it.

 

GFO is one chemical to use of course and following the direction on the package should be what you should do, or add a little more than that, and change it more often than recommended to get your phosphates down.

 

You can use other compounds of course such as Aluminum oxide that will also reduce PO4 and some of the silicates in the water (and silicates give rise to diatoms the brown type patches that appear on the substrate usually first but can spread elsewhere).

 

If your water quality is out of whack, and I have a feeling that it is, then doing water changes every day for a few days in a row to bring the NO3 and PO4 levels down, and also the dissolved organics.

 

You should have some GAC in the system too and maybe some Chemi-Pure Elite.

 

When you post your current water quality parameters, and maybe (preferably) post a few close up pictures of your tank, I am sure I can help you a lot more.

 

Let me have the details I asked at the beginning and the results of your tests, and I will gladly give you a description of what I think you should do to get your tank back in shape.

 

Thanks

 

Albert

 

I think I worded it a little bit wrong but my tank is the JBJ 28 HDI model. I have replaced the lights with T5's. I do not have slime algae or any algae on the sand for that matter.

 

The red algae I have the so called red turf algae, I think my question was if use enough ferric oxide then will that inhibit algae growth on the glass, because scraping the glass is tedious.

 

I do not have a skimmer, nor sump. I have chemi-pure in the back chamber though along with purigen.

 

Currently I house:

 

various sps

various zoas

2 percula

1 dwarf angel

2 bengal cardinals

1 watchman goby

1 pistol shrimp

1 maxima clam

 

Thanks,

 

Shadow

[gobyguy123]

 

Here is the pic of my trumpet coral... its kindof hard to tell. But there is white on the left ones.

Also i have a mushroom coral attached to a shell with a hermit crab on it.... Is there any way to take the mushroom of without hurting hte coral???

 

bottom right.

[albertthiel]

I think I worded it a little bit wrong but my tank is the JBJ 28 HDI model. I have replaced the lights with T5's. I do not have slime algae or any algae on the sand for that matter.

 

The red algae I have the so called red turf algae, I think my question was if use enough ferric oxide then will that inhibit algae growth on the glass, because scraping the glass is tedious.

 

I do not have a skimmer, nor sump. I have chemi-pure in the back chamber though along with purigen.

 

Currently I house:

 

various sps

various zoas

2 percula

1 dwarf angel

2 bengal cardinals

1 watchman goby

1 pistol shrimp

1 maxima clam

 

Thanks,

 

Shadow

 

Shadow:

 

You did not post your parameters for nitrate and phosphate but in this case that does not really matter as red turf algae (and hobbyists use red turf for a number of red algae) thrive and grow even in low nitrate and phosphate levels so increasing the amount of GFO will not make a difference.

 

One nutrient they also use is iron and you may want to have an LFS test for it for you unless you have an iron test but most hobbyists do not.

 

Since I did not see a picture of the tank I do not know what type you have, but in reality it does not really matter as all of them are very hard to control.

 

Here are pictures for your reference:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What you have probably looks like one of those, and all are very hard to remove by the traditional methods such as manual removal or injecting with Hydrogen peroxide, or taking the rocks out and boiling them, scrubbing them and so on. Most of those are reported as not to work, as the algae will reappear.

 

As far as I know the one method that has been reported to work best is the use of Mexican Turbo Snails, Turbo fluctuosa, also referred to a Turban Snail, which have been reported by various hobbyists to as consuming them. Note that because they come from colder waters they may need long acclimating outside of the tank to slowly adapt them to the higher temperature of our tanks. Also once they have consumed the algae you want to get rid of they need to be fed seaweed on sheets, or some hobbyists return them to an LFS for credit as if kept and if there is not enough food, they will not survive for very long.

 

 

Here are a few links to articles on controlling algae that you may want to read but I would give that Mexican Turbo snail a shot and put a good number of them in your tank as described in one of the articles:

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/nftt/index.php

 

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-01/sl/index.php

 

Whichever one of the red turf algae you have, getting rid of them is going to be a long process IME and you may have to go through several treatment exercises before they will not return.

 

Hope fully this info helps, and I wish you the best in getting rid of the nuisance algae you have.

 

If what you now see in the tank, please post a picture of what is growing as there is another one that can grow rapidly called Gelidium and that one is easier to remove as it can be manually taken out whereas the ones shown cannot with any success.

 

If you have Gelidium let me know and I'll give you details on what to do to get rid of that one, but it seems from reading your message that Gelidium is not what you have.

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

 

Here is the pic of my trumpet coral... its kindof hard to tell. But there is white on the left ones.

Also i have a mushroom coral attached to a shell with a hermit crab on it.... Is there any way to take the mushroom of without hurting hte coral???

 

bottom right.

 

gobyguy123:

 

Looking at that picture I think I see tissue that is necrotic or missing already, and if you took this while the light were on, the coral should have been extended but they are all closed up for some reason.

 

I do not know and cannot tell why your Trumpet is in the shape it is but something must have happened to it or the lighting it is getting is the wrong one (too strong) or the water current is not right (too high or too low), or it has not been fed for a long time and is starving to death.

 

It does not look good ... tell me also are those red slime algae I see in the picture? If so you have an issue with your water quality and that may be because your nitrates are too high and your phosphates are as well, and there is too much dissolved organics in the water, but from what I see I can only think that your water quality of not as it should be.

 

The Trumpet may not be able to recuperate I am afraid based on what it looks like now.

 

Also in my previous messages I asked some questions to which you did not give me a reply so it is hard for me to know exactly what is going on in your tank and with that Trumpet Coral.

 

On the Mushroom: do the following or have your Dad do it for you ... with a razor blade slide over the shell of the Hermit and cut the Mushroom loose. As you slide over the shell you will be cutting as low as possible at the base of the Mushroom.

 

When it is loose but it in an area where it will not be blown away by the current on some gravel or rubble and let it attach itself to it and when that has happened you can move it elsewhere.

 

And on the tank ... let me have some answers to the questions that I posted in my other messages.

 

It always helps to know as much as possible about someone's tank so that it is easier to give answers.

 

You have sent me a number of messages but none have given me too many details about your tank conditions except for the problems. It is better to give more information, in fact a lot of it, as that makes answering your questions easier.

 

For instance I still do not know where that Trumpet is placed (looks like it is on the substrate and if that is the case that is fine), what light you are using (from the picture it looks like it is very strong light and that is not good for that coral), what current it is getting and what your water quality parameters are. All of that would help me gobyguy123.

 

Anyway, I hope this helps even though it is probably not good news for that coral

 

Also you need to do something about getting rid of those red slime algae if that is what I see.

 

Albert

[neuwave]

Hey Albert,

How's the CO2 reduction methods going? I forgot to mention this before but over the years I've noticed the "chasing ph" slogan all over the net. Even posted by people who started the hobby and never experimented because they "heard or read" on some thread not to chase ph. It's "ok" to have lower ph. I'm not advocating everyone should raise their ph but if you read many threads not to chase ph then it's fairly certain not many people will try to find ways to raise it. If everyone else says its ok.

 

It was about a month or two ago myself, a buddy of mine had a conversation with Tony Vargas. I had missed the first 5 minutes of their conversation because I was busy stuck staring some coral.

As I walked over my buddy started to laugh at me as if I had just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Tony was explaining the changes in ph in his own tank when he had guests over versus the time no one was around. The extra CO2 from the house guests had decreased his ph. So he was explaining the use of media that changed color to eliminate CO2. Soda-lime/CO2 scrubber! Something I had been telling my buddy for months. So I had a "told you so" moment when I got into the conversation. So even though other experts realize the importance of ph levels, the slogan of not to "chase Ph" will hinder the use of products that correct PH. So I doubt many other reefers will start considering the idea of reducing CO2 to improve their ph for the time being.

[albertthiel]

Algae Issues and Problems and Solutions

 

© Sandra Shoup and reefkeeping.com

 

I know that patience is a virtue. Unfortunately, it's not one of mine. As it happens, reef keeping has proven to be the most effective tool I've found for helping me develop the patience I lack naturally. I have to admit, though, even after three and a half years of practice, my impatience can still get the better of me.

 

My most recent lesson in the value of patience has been a four-month long battle with a nuisance red turf alga. (I would like to give you the name of it, but honestly, I haven't been able to get a positive species identification yet.) I've fought all the other algae wars…Valonia, Bryopsis and cyanobacteria, just to name a few.

 

I've done countless hours of siphoning, scrubbing and worrying myself sick that these organisms would take over and ruin my tank. In the end, it always turned out that with just a little diligence and a little time and patience, I was able to win the battle with the alga.

 

LINK:

 

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-12/nftt/index.php

 

Albert

[albertthiel]

Hey Albert,

How's the CO2 reduction methods going? I forgot to mention this before but over the years I've noticed the "chasing ph" slogan all over the net. Even posted by people who started the hobby and never experimented because they "heard or read" on some thread not to chase ph. It's "ok" to have lower ph. I'm not advocating everyone should raise their ph but if you read many threads not to chase ph then it's fairly certain not many people will try to find ways to raise it. If everyone else says its ok.

 

It was about a month or two ago myself, a buddy of mine had a conversation with Tony Vargas. I had missed the first 5 minutes of their conversation because I was busy stuck staring some coral.

As I walked over my buddy started to laugh at me as if I had just got caught with my hand in the cookie jar. Tony was explaining the changes in ph in his own tank when he had guests over versus the time no one was around. The extra CO2 from the house guests had decreased his ph. So he was explaining the use of media that changed color to eliminate CO2. Soda-lime/CO2 scrubber! Something I had been telling my buddy for months. So I had a "told you so" moment when I got into the conversation. So even though other experts realize the importance of ph levels, the slogan of not to "chase Ph" will hinder the use of products that correct PH. So I doubt many other reefers will start considering the idea of reducing CO2 to improve their ph for the time being.

 

Thanks for asking neuwave, and thanks for explaining the background of how got confirmation of what you had come up with an idea, but that as you say no one really seems to pursue because of the reason you mention, with which I agree.

 

It is interesting though that when my pH is at 8.2 or 8.3 all my corals look a lot better than when the pH is at 7.9 or thereabouts and that is why I am trying to come up with a scrubber as I have been posting in other messages.

 

At this point I have to agree with you also on the fact that the way to go is going to be using the Soda Lime as other products I tried either do not last very long, or is not cost effective enough.

 

And I also agree that the "do not chase the pH" is more than likely the reason that so few people are using scrubbers but playing around with additives to raise the calcium, dKH and hope that the pH will follow, when in fact it does not necessarily because the interactions between the various compounds used either create more problems or do not change the swings in pH at all or not that much.

 

A scrubber and adding KW by drip is I believe the way to go and will make maintaining a stable pH a lot easier and a reality.

 

Odd though that some seem to be aware that something must be done about their pH, and that they use sumps and fuges with lighting so that the day and night swings are lowered.

 

It would IMO, and in yours obviously too, be much simpler to use scrubbers to achieve IMO a better result.

 

So my next move will be to set up a Soda Lime based scrubber, and continue dripping KW as I am doing now, and end up with a pH that remains far closer to the desired levels at all times.

 

Small swings will always happen and that is fine, but the swings will be really small and not as pronounced as they are now for a lot of hobbyists.

 

So that is where I am with the scrubber project now ...

 

Any further thoughts?

 

Albert