Kijho's Fluval Spec V - Retired (almost)

[Kijho]

1. mix new water in bucket

2. add powerhead

3. add dry rock

4. remove a small rock from your tank, scrape off bubble algae, dip in H202 / water mix for 1 min

5. add that small rock to seed your dry rock

6. add ammonia if you have any

7. wait 2-3 weeks

8. swap out bubble rock from your tank with new dry rock.

 

that's what I would do but i will let others chime in too. i assume u r only removing one big bubble rock and not ALL the rocks right?

 

That sounds very good thank you for laying that out so nicely for me haha, I'm at almost 9 months and still get confused sometimes!

 

I would plan on only removing 1 rock at a time. The concern though, would be... both have bubble right. Would putting my new freshly cycled rock in 3 weeks in be pointless if I left the 2nd rock full of bubble algae too? I should just take both haha... I perhaps could remove one ENTIRELY right now just pull the entire thing out and dunk it in h202 solution and them leave it in a bucket of SW. Then get my new rock and let that go for 2 weeks then remove the other bubble rock - put the new rock in. = 1 rock, no algae haha.

[ninjamyst]

I think it's still fine to remove one at a time. You may still get some bubble algae on the dry rock but at least it will be manageable and you can take it out to manually remove. If you are able to go from 1,000 bubbles to 10 bubbles, it's still a win =).

[Kijho]

I think it's still fine to remove one at a time. You may still get some bubble algae on the dry rock but at least it will be manageable and you can take it out to manually remove. If you are able to go from 1,000 bubbles to 10 bubbles, it's still a win =).

 

Heh very true, very true. I think before I plunge $450 into a very overpriced Nuvo 20 (and additional $ in bigger heater, lights, etc..) I should really put more effort into the Spec V again.

 

So I made a trip to my LFS today just to browse... found this. Looking at this photo, does this appear to be a "dry reef rock" that I could use?? Or is this something for FW? Not sure.. It said "reef rock" on it @ $4/lbs..

 

Next, I found this colony of zoa's for $60. This wonderful looking colony is on a ROCK. What appears to be a nice pest-free clean rock.. I mean, really.. there's so many zoa's I don't even think there's room for any pests haha.

My thought would be to buy this from the LFS and completely swap it with BOTH of my existing rocks at home. This is sitting (and has been for a bit of time I presume) in their display tank. Nice clean looking tank with fish and other stuff in it. Would already have a strong foundation for filtering, right?

 

What are your thoughts?

[Kijho]

[cswan19]

Hey man, sorry to hear about your troubles! Thats alooooooottttt of bubble algae

Also as far as the rock goes, I really like that one with the zoa colony on it! But where would you fit all your other corals from your current rock lol

[Kijho]

Hey man, sorry to hear about your troubles! Thats alooooooottttt of bubble algae

Also as far as the rock goes, I really like that one with the zoa colony on it! But where would you fit all your other corals from your current rock lol

 

I would put them somewhere haha .. all over the sand, make an acan garden and a ricordia garden. Probably transplant them back onto frag plugs and possible hide some egg-create under the actual sand to keep the plugs there.

 

Thanks for your support cswan, your tank has become such a great looking reef.

[ETucc]

See if you can try and find out more about the dry "reef rock." One concern would be that it could contain phosphates. It's nice to buy rock from a vendor that certifies it reef-safe.

 

As for the zoas, I'd say grab it up if you want to. Seems like a good bet to me!

[ninjamyst]

I agree with cswan. Those zoas will grow quickly and cover the entire rock. I rather get a zoa rock with more colorful zoas =). Does Bulk Reef Supply ship to Canada?

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-reef-saver-dry-aquarium-live-rock.html

[Kijho]

I agree with cswan. Those zoas will grow quickly and cover the entire rock. I rather get a zoa rock with more colorful zoas =). Does Bulk Reef Supply ship to Canada?

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-reef-saver-dry-aquarium-live-rock.html

 

Do you like the rock then, or should I find one with more color haha? I don't think BRS ships to Canada If I go the route of dry-rock maybe I'll send an email, rock shouldn't be too bad... I guess the weight though.

 

Really liking the idea of just swapping that rock out. It's in a nice clean DT so it's already cured, it's already cycled, just swap and pray haha. Should be good though. I'd possibly find another small rock and maybe I can ask one for from their DT's to help put the torch coral on over in the corner. Then ric's and acan garden on each side.

[TheDude324]

BRS dry rock contains a lot of phosphates so tread carefully. the zoa colony is the way to go.

[aviator300]

I hate to have to suggest this but i really think the only way you're going to beat bubble algae when it gets to that point is to get rid of ALL the rock in that tank, put your livestock in some sort of quarantine tank, and completely disinfect your whole system. I know it's a real hassle and very discouraging but if even 1 spore of the algae remains in the tank it will spread again, If you could not keep it from spreading the first time, why do you think you could control it next time. I dont mean at all to offend you but the brutal truth about bubble algae is that you have to eradicate it right away at the first bubble or two or else you end up with what you've got now.

 

I know all this from experience. Bubbles started appearing on some bad LR i bought for my first tank a year ago and i started gradually trying to eradicate it with peroxide dips, etc to no avail. I got more aggressive and replaced the rock with dry rock but i guess the algae had invaded one of my corals that i missed and POOF, more bubbles began appearing on the new rock.

 

I finally got rid of it by tearing the tank down, dipping and then QTing all my corals and beginning again with a new tank, fresh BRS Reef Saver dry rock, and sterilized anything that ever touched my old tank. Since then, i have not had a single bubble in any of my 3 tanks in the last 6 months.

 

Again, the best of luck and i only composed this to try to help out FWIW. AVIATOR

[Kijho]

Again, the best of luck and i only composed this to try to help out FWIW. AVIATOR

 

Thanks for the input mate, we'll see how things go!

 

The way things got so bad is basically one day I was plucking some bubble off and one got loose and floated around the tank. Couldn't get it with tweezers in time - got right thru the "grill" on the powerhead and just ... life was over Everywhere.

 

I'd plan to remove all rocks, I could dip some corals but I don't think dip kills bubble does it? I guess H202.. is that safe for corals?

I'd just remove all rocks basically and put all new media in the filter setup.

[aviator300]

50% H2O2 and 50% tank water. submerge for 3 minutes, rinse in tank water and put back in tank. This is a pretty conservative treatment but will kill bubble algae as well as spores. I can't really say about it's safety with SPS but i've used it on everything else.

 

Sometimes polyps wont open back up for 24 hrs but most open right away and some even stay open during treatment. I wish you the best of luck. I've been following your thread and I really believe that first tanks are really good as learning experiences and don't always last a long time or at least that's the way it was with mine. So i just keep plodding along looking for that magic combination that will give me a long living, beautiful tank.

[ninjamyst]

I do the same when I see bubble algae. They usually come on frags. I take the frags out, manually remove with a tweezer, dip in H202 mix for a min, put back into the tank. So far, no massive bubble invasion that I can see. Although I have seen new ones pop out once in a while. I just manually remove them outside the tank as soon as I see them.

 

I have read mixed opinions on BRS dry rock and phosphate. I thought it was mostly an issue with their pukani rocks. I started with dry vidarock and also went through several phase of algae (bryopsis, GHA, turf, etc).

[aviator300]

I have BRS Reef saver dry rock without any PO4 leaching at all in 6 months.

[Kijho]

I do the same when I see bubble algae. They usually come on frags. I take the frags out, manually remove with a tweezer, dip in H202 mix for a min, put back into the tank. So far, no massive bubble invasion that I can see. Although I have seen new ones pop out once in a while. I just manually remove them outside the tank as soon as I see them.

 

I have read mixed opinions on BRS dry rock and phosphate. I thought it was mostly an issue with their pukani rocks. I started with dry vidarock and also went through several phase of algae (bryopsis, GHA, turf, etc).

 

I plan to put all my corals in the sand anyways (except the one rock I'd buy, covered in zoa's... no room for bubble haha) ..

I'd be able to take them out if I found a big issue come up.

[ninjamyst]

what are you planning for biological filtration if you only have one small rock??

[Kijho]

what are you planning for biological filtration if you only have one small rock??

 

It's a fairly decent size!! Almost as big as current rocks! (Just, a tad bid smaller and minus the "arch" I have setup)

[ninjamyst]

It's a fairly decent size!! Almost as big as current rocks! (Just, a tad bid smaller and minus the "arch" I have setup)

hahah...it looks small in the picture =P.

[Kijho]

Took the first step tonight, moved several corals from the (current) rock setup and placed them nicely along the front in the sand. They should play well together.. I hope haha...

 

Also pulled one of my snails out, he had some bubble on his shell poor little guy.. extra luggage haha. Removed the bubble and he's very happy haha.

[Kijho]

Hah, shrimp decided to play musical chairs last night with my coral frags in the sand. They all remain right-side-up but in different spots...

[ETucc]

Any updates brother? How's the rescape coming along?

[Kijho]

Any updates brother? How's the rescape coming along?

 

Corals are all in the sand! I need some more nassarius' though, sand becoming a bit dirty haha. New rock very soon I hope! Will be putting both out and just swapping directly in and praying it's okay, . Will monitor closely though and do rapid WC's as needed.

[ETucc]

Corals are all in the sand! I need some more nassarius' though, sand becoming a bit dirty haha. New rock very soon I hope! Will be putting both out and just swapping directly in and praying it's okay, . Will monitor closely though and do rapid WC's as needed.

 

Don't forget, nassarius won't actually eat algae!

 

If I were you, I wouldn't be opposed to just getting new sand...

[Kijho]

Don't forget, nassarius won't actually eat algae!

 

If I were you, I wouldn't be opposed to just getting new sand...

 

Haha no no my sand is good, just some detrius is beginning just because I've got complete frags sitting in the sand I think, it's not bad tho! The nass snails I have do good job in my sand cleaning it up and keeping it nice but I only have 1 left I think... Sand is okay though. That's a real tough one to swap I think, I'd get a whole new cycle. I heard stirring up with the sand can have really horrible side effects!