Cream City Reef: New Macro Photos!

[brandon429]

Your green can easily be beaten with the peroxide method. most dont want to use that as a first resort. so, when you get tired of seeing it, pm me and it will be gone in a week. if it comes back, repeat, such is reefing. algae are permanent fixtures in our tanks. Knowing that re treatments are likely, most dont even want to start, so the algae remains. either way is fine by me. but any of those rocks can be lifted out and treated, so its quite easy to wipe all the green out of that tank in 7-9 days. it will look brand new. then you refocus on good prevention

 

if you can figure out how to strip phosphates out of the water, maintain your coral health, and actually get that to work as many have posted that would be ideal. Usually the breakdown to trying the peroxide method is about 6 months of frustration then they come to the thread all dejected but they leave with much praise lol wondering why they waited that long and had to keep making a bunch of excuses to everyone (its a new tank, its cycling, thats normal for a new tank)

 

no its not. it is easy, possible, and advised from those who deal in fixing others tanks to simply never permit algae to be there.

[wow.such.chris]

any of those rocks can be lifted out and treated, so its quite easy to wipe all the green out of that tank in 7-9 days.

 

It's not actually the rocks that are all that bad, its the entire rock wall that definitely cannot be removed that I'm wondering about. I don't think peroxide is quite the bet method right now. I'm brushing and manually removing the majority and am fine with this as its working. I was looking for a snail suggestion to get what I cannot. For example, I've heard good things about trochus snails...

 

Im using RO/DI water and GFO, what more can I do in the way of prevention?

[brandon429]

thats about it Id say, phosphate control is the current way most use. if you are using preventatives as a remover, expect probs. or maybe not if you get lucky! The threads have tons of treatments options for in tank use if ever needed. As soon as you are tired of seeing it, it can be fixed very easily. but keep trying natural methods first, its always the usual course.

[Chew_Magna]

Since your rock is mostly fixed in place with no risk of being moved too much I say get a turbo and/or an urchin.

[wow.such.chris]

December Update - Death Tank.

 

Additions: Green zoa of some morph...

 

Deaths

-Yellow fiji leather: Slowly eaten by keyhole limpet.

- Ocellaris clown: http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/336646-help-missing-livestock/

- 2 trochus snails: ammonia spike?

- 1 scarlet hermit: ammonia spike?

 

Been a rough month for the tank. I blame finals... Clown death led to more algae, still fighting it hard. Losing hope for this tank.

 

On the plus side, the stuff that has survived this all has shown some reasonable growth. Also, I got an internship at the aquarium I work at. Just a little 3 hr/wk gig to get my last credit for my bachelors. I'll be helping the curator with the 2x120gal propagation bins. Pics to follow!

 

Parameters just for fun:

Salt: 1.025 pH: ~8.2 NH3: 0 NO2: 0 NO3: <2 ppm Alk: 3.5 meq/L Ca: 395 ppm

 

Sorry ahead of time for the lack of quality...

 

FTS 4 months in.

 

 

Little Acro frag that looks horrible. It bleached out right away but its starting to color back up. Has shown reasonable growth in a months time. Acclimation is my problem. I keep burning things ie cyphastrea.

 

 

Caulastrea and acans doing swell as always.

 

 

1 week here, starting to bud. Check out that algae!

 

Top down.

 

 

I'm not adding jack to this tank, unless its macro, until the new year. I really need to solve this algae problem.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Hmm...Are you testing your phosphate levels? Sometimes the presence of high phosphates can contribute to nuisance algae. Also, I skipped around this thread, so I'm not sure if you have a sump/fuge. If you don't, I suggest you get a HOB fuge filled with Chaeto to lower your NO3 and PO4 levels (don't forget to use a reverse photoperiod or your pH goes out of whack) and compete with the nuisance algae for nutrients.

 

Also, invest in more CUC. I suggest you get a tuxedo urchin and some zebra turbo snails. I have an urchin and a turbo, and they're one efficient algae-eating team. If you feel up to it, get a sea hare temporarily and then rehome it once the algae is all gone. Do cover your intakes because it's toxic when it dies though. Other than that, I strongly suggest you reduce your light cycle to a max. of 6 hours a day.

 

If you're not using RO/DI, now would be a good time to start. Or you can switch to DI (pricey, but that's what I'm using before I get a proper RO/DI unit) and buy some DI from the store nearby your home.

 

I'm so sorry that algae has overridden your tank like this. I loved your scape and had been tagging along sparingly. To see another fellow reefer suffering from algae issues is heartbreaking. But don't give up on your tank even if it doesn't look too pleasing right now. You've invested a lot of effort in this hobby, and with the necessary measures, you will succeed. Just don't give up.

[Chew_Magna]

I wonder if somewhere in the process of the diy if something was used that's contributing to the algae.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I wonder if somewhere in the process of the diy if something was used that's contributing to the algae.

 

That did occur to me as well.

[wow.such.chris]

I wonder if somewhere in the process of the diy if something was used that's contributing to the algae.

From the mass amount of searching I've done prior to starting this I'm pretty darn sure eveything should be fine. Same ingredients as Kannin on RCs 220 rock wall. Also, check out HVanis "The Dragon Lair." He went through a similar algae problem with his wall. Just in case this thing was left to cure for a couple months before water touched it. Not saying that it's not the wall, just saying why I don't think it is. Plus, I'm not takin it out haha gotta make it work!

 

Hmm...Are you testing your phosphate levels? Sometimes the presence of high phosphates can contribute to nuisance algae. Also, I skipped around this thread, so I'm not sure if you have a sump/fuge. If you don't, I suggest you get a HOB fuge filled with Chaeto to lower your NO3 and PO4 levels (don't forget to use a reverse photoperiod or your pH goes out of whack) and compete with the nuisance algae for nutrients.

 

Also, invest in more CUC. I suggest you get a tuxedo urchin and some zebra turbo snails. I have an urchin and a turbo, and they're one efficient algae-eating team. If you feel up to it, get a sea hare temporarily and then rehome it once the algae is all gone. Do cover your intakes because it's toxic when it dies though. Other than that, I strongly suggest you reduce your light cycle to a max. of 6 hours a day.

 

If you're not using RO/DI, now would be a good time to start. Or you can switch to DI (pricey, but that's what I'm using before I get a proper RO/DI unit) and buy some DI from the store nearby your home.

 

I'm so sorry that algae has overridden your tank like this. I loved your scape and had been tagging along sparingly. To see another fellow reefer suffering from algae issues is heartbreaking. But don't give up on your tank even if it doesn't look too pleasing right now. You've invested a lot of effort in this hobby, and with the necessary measures, you will succeed. Just don't give up.

 

I'm not testing for phosphates. I don't see the point really. Algae is growing, therefore phosphates must be present and they must be stopped at the source.

 

No sump. HOB AC70 containing in this order: Sponge, Carbon, Phospure pads (GFO, carbon, etc), and lastly purigen. Stuff gets changed out more than neccessary.

 

Had chaeto in the HOB at first. Didn't like the light at night (in my room) and the chaeto was always escaping into the display. Plus I've read that small amounts of macros don't do too much for mutrient export. Regardless, I've been on the hunt for some nice looking macros to throw in the display.

 

The CUC is definitely lacking. 3 nerites, 70+ dwarf ceriths.... idk how I got so many in there, woops but I have no trouble keeping NO3 down so they stay. I will look into an urchin/turbos. LFS owner suggested going with trochus over turbos and I listened, then they died....

 

Reducing light cycle to 5 hours!Kannin Reef foam

 

All water coming in is RO/DI and always has been. (I've heard fresh membranes can cause algae issues?)

 

Thanks for the ecouragement. I'm not giving up until August. Then my lease is up and I'm either moving this tank if its cleaned up/established. Or peroxide treating the rocks and starting fresh with no foam anything. Only time will tell.

[RollaJase]

My trochus snails died ad well when I first added them to my tank, my salinity was way off and they died, list a few hermits as well. Ill never use a hydrometer again, refractrometer all the way. If you wanted to clean the algae up quickly I'd possibly suggest draining as much of the water as possible and scrubbing it off. Then running a gfo reactor to help clear up the remaining stuff.

[HVani]

I was about to pop in and say I had the exact same problem with my rock wall. My skimmer helped but in the end it took almost 6 full months for all the algae to go away. My hermit crabs and urchin kept it at bay while it used up whatever nutrients it was living off of. I do not recommend and urchin with a rock wall though, they do a lot of damage. Once it got down to just patches here and there I did manual removal. Then one day it was just all gone.

[wow.such.chris]

I was about to pop in and say I had the exact same problem with my rock wall. My skimmer helped but in the end it took almost 6 full months for all the algae to go away. My hermit crabs and urchin kept it at bay while it used up whatever nutrients it was living off of. I do not recommend and urchin with a rock wall though, they do a lot of damage. Once it got down to just patches here and there I did manual removal. Then one day it was just all gone.

 

Thanks a lot for chiming in, I was really hoping for your advice. Especially since I was just about to introduce a Tuxedo urchin. Gonna be patient and ride this out with biweekly manual removal. I've probably read your entire thread half a dozen times. Thanks for taking an interest and go Wisconsin!

[Chew_Magna]

Know what I'd do? Since you only have a few coral put them in a bucket with a powerhead and a heater, put your light over it and blanket the tank for a few days.

 

Better yet do what I did on my 40b a while back. I spot treated all the gha with peroxide and then did a two day lights out. I did it in a stocked tank, just turned off all the pumps, took my turkey baster and slooooowly squirted all the bad spots, right into the roots and out into the body of it. Let it sit for a few minutes and watched it bubble. Did a 5g water change, lights out for two days. After the two days it all disappeared.

 

I had one casualty doing this, my skunk cleaner decided it wanted to constantly play in the bubbles and the next day it was dead. Shrimp are highly sensitive to peroxide.

[wow.such.chris]

Know what I'd do? Since you only have a few coral put them in a bucket with a powerhead and a heater, put your light over it and blanket the tank for a few days.

 

Better yet do what I did on my 40b a while back. I spot treated all the gha with peroxide and then did a two day lights out. I did it in a stocked tank, just turned off all the pumps, took my turkey baster and slooooowly squirted all the bad spots, right into the roots and out into the body of it. Let it sit for a few minutes and watched it bubble. Did a 5g water change, lights out for two days. After the two days it all disappeared.

 

I had one casualty doing this, my skunk cleaner decided it wanted to constantly play in the bubbles and the next day it was dead. Shrimp are highly sensitive to peroxide.

 

Yes, Chewski, YES!

 

When the clown died I contemplated perxode treating all the rocks I planned on pulling out but never thought to remove the corals and treat the whole tank... duh I cant believe I overlooked that scenario.

 

Gonna read up on peroxide treatments and try it once finals are over. I'm confident I can beat this within a month. Thanks for the tips/ecouragement guys. Man, N-R rocks!

 

 

Chewski, what did you mean "blanket the tank?" To prevent O2 from entering?

[Chew_Magna]

Chewski, what did you mean "blanket the tank?" To prevent O2 from entering?

No, literally put a blanket over the tank so no light gets in. Leave it running, just no light.

[wow.such.chris]

Oh haha. herp derp...

[ward827]

Chews right on. And if you can take the corals out, drain and save your water,
then peroxide drip your rocks, it will work wonders! After, just put the water back in.

I did it and my tank is as good as new! I was so close to throwing in the towel.

Peroxide saved my tank! Good luck man. W-

[wow.such.chris]

January Update

 

Got the day off so I though I'd update you all a little early. This should be my most pic-heavy, comprehensive update.

 

Additions

-Six line wrasse

-Branching frogspawn?

-Big ole turbo snail

 

No deaths this past month.

 

Parameters

Salinity: 1.026

pH: ~8.1-8.2

NH3: undetectable

NO2: <0.01 mg/L, barely detectable

NO3: ~1-3 mg/L

Alk: 3.7 meq/L

Ca: 410 ppm

 

Still working tons on irradicating GHA. I planned on removing livestock and H2O2 treating but am having progress without such drastic measures so I'm going to try and get some macro and continue with the manual removal. The turbo addition is seeming to help. I'm starting to suspect the wall has been leeching phosphates (no test to confirm) and it's just a matter of time before it stops. I'm thinking that if it's still a problem after 6 months, peroxide will be the solution. For now its 2 WCs a week and much brushing/basting.

 

On to the lousy iPhone pics!

 

FST taken today. 25% WC yesterday and filter cleaned today.

 

 

 

Side shot.

 

 

Acro and new green w purple tip frogspawn? sold as torch... idk what it is.

 

 

These acans were the first coral added. Grown a decent amount and finally sprouting a new head.

 

 

Zoas I got 1 month ago. Started as 1 polyp, now 4. Looking forward to a whole ton of these guys.

 

 

Left side of the tank. You can see the pink growth of trupet coral coming through it's epoxy base. Also can hardly see but, new green shroom in the top left. Hoping to make the left-hand shelf into a zoa/mushroom garden.

 

 

Another shot of the new Euphyllia.

 

 

Right side. Six line can be seen.

 

 

Here she is again.

 

 

Caulastrea top down. Can be seen splitting!

 

 

Top down.

 

 

Contents of my AC70 inTank media basket.

 

 

Xmas gifts!

 

Got some dry rock, old coral skeletons from my uncle from Milwaukee Aquarium Society many moons ago.

 

 

 

 

Got a cool terrarium from my girlfriends grandma, along with a baster and The Reef Aquarium vol 1.

The plan is to make a minature scene with a japanese black pine bonsai centerpiece.

 

For those who don't know I work at an aquarium in a science and technology museum called Discovery World in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

 

Here's a shot of Lake Michigan from the 2nd floor.

 

 

Here are some shots of their seahorse tank as requested by Llama.

This tank is supposed to emmulate an eelgrass bed with the caulerpa. Also houses some small green filefish, a sea biscuit, a pair of white striped cleaner shrimp, a couple pipefish, and about 10 seahorses. Idk the variety, havent read about them much.... This is, by far, my personal favorite tank at the aquarium.

 

 

 

 

[Chew_Magna]

I think that's a hammer instead of a frogspawn.

[MyLiquidBlue29BC]

I think that's a hammer instead of a frogspawn.

+1. The barnacles really look great incorporated in the wall like that!

[wow.such.chris]

I think that's a hammer instead of a frogspawn.

 

Its tentacles do have a v-like shape, but theyre very small and not tapered nearly as much as other hammers/anchors I've seen. All I known is that it isn't a torch like it was advertised. When Euphyllias grow do tentacles split or do new ones grow from the base? What it looks like to me are like fused frogspawn tentacles.

 

+1. The barnacles really look great incorporated in the wall like that!

 

Thank you very much, its fun to watch the six line hang out inside of them.

[1.0reef]

Very nice, GL with the indoors bonsai.

[wow.such.chris]

New super orange zoanthids. Slowly but surely building a garden.

 

 

Purple and green maxi mini. I had it higher up on the rock but I'm assuming it didn't like the high flow and moved itself down into a crack.

 

Also bought an orange spotted shrimp goby but the pictures were horrible. I'll try again later.

 

Very nice, GL with the indoors bonsai.

 

Thank you. I know next to nothing about bonsai. Any pointers? Is it difficult indoors? Is the 8" bowl too small?

[1.0reef]

Go to some bonsai forums, indoors is harder.

[Mr. Microscope]

Hey Sooch! It's so cool that you work at Discovery World. What happened to the frag swap they used to have? I was at one I think October of 2012 (or maybe it was 11?). It was a really good scene. I wish it would happen again. (I'm from Milwaukee BTW )