Blinkgyrl2987 Posted February 22, 2004 Share Posted February 22, 2004 Hey Everyone, Okay I have some questions. I know that the use of a syphon in a saltwater aquarium is debated.... obviously there are the good effects and the bad. I was told that in a closed in tank like the "JBJ nano cube that if i do not syphon to pick up the wastes on the bottom f the tank that I will have a huge build up of ammonia because there is no way for this stuff to get out. Keep in mind there is no skimmer. So for the past 2 weeks when I have done my water changes I have used a syphon...it seems to work well.... my question is Should the "bacteria" be able to break stuff like the snails waste down on its own or not? I notice that before the next week is up that there are lots of small string like wastes all over the sand ( from the snails I assume) But is this normal? should I be syphoning to pick this crap up? The other thing is that I don't even have all that many snails! I have 5 ( 3 astraea and 2 margarita) I know I need more but I am reluctant to get them because of the mess they make! Aren't these guys supposed to be a Clean up crew...lol Well anyways the other question is The brown algae blooms... I'm pretty sure my cycle is over by now ( its been like 2 and 1/2 months) But I have nitrate like 10-20 ppm.... I am doing water changes every week! HOw else can I bring it down.. I feel that this is the cause of these frequent blooms of algae. Also is my nitrate too high to safely add a coral such as a mushroom or some sort? Thank you for all your help. Megan~ Link to comment
Blinkgyrl2987 Posted February 22, 2004 Author Share Posted February 22, 2004 Oh I also forgot to add.... I am using the stock pump for the nano cube along with a mini-jet 606..... I added the extra flow thinking it would help keep algae down...... shouldn't this be enough?.... I feel like if I were to add any more current that I would be blowing the snails off the glass! i mean I have like 300 gph in a 12 gallon tank! ( well maybe not that much but you know what I mean) Welll anyways Thanks again. ~megan Link to comment
Tempest Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 IMO you should not stir up the sand bed any more than absolutley necessary. Opinion is divided as to whether or not you need to siphon the bottom of the tank. If you change the water regularly and have a diveristy of scavengers (different types of snails, hermit crabs, conches etc.) you should'nt need to clean the sand very often if at all. The trick is to get the right kind of critters so they clean the sand. I've never had a problem with snail poop in my 6 or 10 gallon tanks. Nitrate of 10-20 isn't bad. If you keep getting algae outbreaks check the water for phosphates and use phosban or rowhapos if necessary. Link to comment
jaguilar Posted February 23, 2004 Share Posted February 23, 2004 megan, your nitrates aren't really that bad. i'm sure some shrooms or zoos would be fine in there. if your really worried about it, you should try using chemi-pure. it's enhanced carbon that works really well at lowering nitrates and phosphates. i had a problem with cyano(red slime) and diatoms(brown junk on sand), and in the two weeks that i've been using this stuff it hasn't returned at all. it really clears the water up noticably, and all of my corals seem to have opened up more since i started using this stuff. i was skeptical at first, but now i am a true believer in this stuff. another thing about this stuff is that it can be used for up to six months with just the occasional rinsing off of the bag to get rid of the junk that builds up on it. i forgot to mention that before i switched to chemi-pure, my nitrates were constantly at about 20, but since the change, they have been between 0-5. it's worth a try... j... Link to comment
yOyOYoo Posted February 24, 2004 Share Posted February 24, 2004 I'm pretty sure the Astrea snails will not go on the sand bed. Not sure about those Margarita snails. I only have two cerith snails in my tank (my two hermits stole the other two cerith snail shells) and they do an excellent job of cleaning up the sand bed. I like Cerith snails because their shells are long and small, so they don't get in the way. These snails clean every nook and cranny of the tank, live rock, glass, and especially sandbed. I have a JBJ too and I have never cleaned or stirred or siphoned my sandbed for over 9 months. Yet it remains pristine. I had a slight diatom bloom after adding 3 corals at once, but the two Cerith bulldozers took care of it in 1-2 weeks. I also have nassarius snails that bury in the sadbed and hermits and sexy shrimp occasionally sift through the sandbed, stirring it. I would NOT syphon out sandbed if I were you. Get some Cerith snails. Don't worry about the snail poo. It will decompose naturally. Link to comment
Blinkgyrl2987 Posted February 24, 2004 Author Share Posted February 24, 2004 Okay I appreciate all the great advice.... I am gonna try some of the ideas you mentioned.... Just to let you know i ditched my hermits ( because of how they were killing my snails) for a larger snail clean up crew! Now I have 3 astrea, 3 margarita, 4 cerith, and 4 nassarius. I love the nassarius! As soon as I dropped them in the started burying! Oh and this weekend I added a blueish purple mushroom coral... Apparently they are deep water corals and are not collected as much? Does anyone know anything about these? i notice that in the morning before the lights come on that the mushroom shrinks up a lot. Is this normal? I also need advice on other corals I could get later on.. thanks a lot. ~`Megan Link to comment
Tempest Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 It's normal for soft corals to shrink up when the lights are off and they will sometimes do this during the day. No worries. I have bluish/purple mushrooms as do many others. Treat them like any other mushroom. I've found that they become more blue with morel ight, but this may be a coincidence (sp?). Link to comment
rehren Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 leave the sand alone. over time it will start taking better care of itself, and if you fuss with it now it may not work well later. it might be agitating to see stuff on the sand, but just let it be. Link to comment
Blinkgyrl2987 Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 hey do you have any idea what the specific name is for those mushrooms( blueish purple ones) I can't find anything about them anywhere! I am a freak and everything I buy to put in my tank I have to write about in my journal... so far i have nothing to say about my nameless shrooms! Can anyone help me out? Thanks Megan Link to comment
rehren Posted February 25, 2004 Share Posted February 25, 2004 do you have any photos of the mushrooms? do they look like this: but with more blue? Link to comment
Blinkgyrl2987 Posted February 25, 2004 Author Share Posted February 25, 2004 Yep those are mine exactely! tell me all you know or maybe send me some good websites.... I can't find them Link to comment
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