itsyahboydanny Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I have bad base rock thats leaching phosphates, causing a losing battle against nasty hair algae. I don't really care for the rock anyway. Would it be possible to swap 100% of my rock for fully cured live rock? Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 What's your feeding regime like? What are your phosphate tests like? Any from just before adding live stock? Switching out for cured live rock definitely works, but before doing that I just want to know with 100% certainty that it is a leaching problem. Link to comment
itsyahboydanny Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 What's your feeding regime like? What are your phosphate tests like? Any from just before adding live stock? Switching out for cured live rock definitely works, but before doing that I just want to know with 100% certainty that it is a leaching problem. Well I haven't tested the rock but Im pretty sure that its leaching. the rock came from a sketchy LFS. No algae before livestock. I only feed like 10 .5mm pellets to my clown a day, and he eats it all pretty quick. I always change at least 1 gallon a week ( 5 gal tank ) Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Well I haven't tested the rock but Im pretty sure that its leaching. the rock came from a sketchy LFS. No algae before livestock. I only feed like 10 .5mm pellets to my clown a day, and he eats it all pretty quick. I always change at least 1 gallon a week ( 5 gal tank ) Hm... well even though the rock came from a sketchy LFS, doesn't necessarily mean it is bad. Test it if you can. The fact that your clown eats all the pellets is rather inconsequential, as most of it comes out as poop anyways, which is basically nutrients to be uptaken by bacteria. Or algae. Or both. Link to comment
itsyahboydanny Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Hm... well even though the rock came from a sketchy LFS, doesn't necessarily mean it is bad. Test it if you can. The fact that your clown eats all the pellets is rather inconsequential, as most of it comes out as poop anyways, which is basically nutrients to be uptaken by bacteria. Or algae. Or both. How would I go about testin the rock? while in the tank, wouldn't the algae hold the majority of the phosphates? I don't feel as though the little bit I feed is causing such a large algae problem, I also vacuum my sand for poop and have a good water change schedule that I would feel would take care of excess nutrients. Plus the tank is only 4 months old.. Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 How would I go about testin the rock? while in the tank, wouldn't the algae hold the majority of the phosphates? I don't feel as though the little bit I feed is causing such a large algae problem, I also vacuum my sand for poop and have a good water change schedule that I would feel would take care of excess nutrients. Plus the tank is only 4 months old.. You can take a piece of rock out and place it into a separate container with salt water (preferably with heating and circulation). Leave it for a while and then test phosphates. I am not saying the feeding is definitely a problem, but it could be. After all, if you think about it, 10 pellets a day is 300 pellets a month, or 1200 pellets over the past 4 months. Of course a lot of the nutrients would be removed with gravel vacs and water changes, but still. Link to comment
itsyahboydanny Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 You can take a piece of rock out and place it into a separate container with salt water (preferably with heating and circulation). Leave it for a while and then test phosphates. I am not saying the feeding is definitely a problem, but it could be. After all, if you think about it, 10 pellets a day is 300 pellets a month, or 1200 pellets over the past 4 months. Of course a lot of the nutrients would be removed with gravel vacs and water changes, but still. what should I feed then? fish gotta eat lol Link to comment
Azedenkae Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Oh no, I am definitely not suggesting not to feed. XD I'm just saying probably even better phosphate control is required. Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I agree with Azedenkae, it's more likely to be the fish than leeching rock. You have a clown fish in a 5 gallon tank. You're overstocked, even with one fish. Assuming you don't have a sump/fuge or a massive canister, your chances of ever having a pristine "clean" tank are rather low. There are a few things you can do. You could focus on macroalgae (which scrub nutrients from the water very effectively) rather than on corals. You could add a fuge, again with tons of algae. Or you could return the clown fish to the LFS and get some inverts, which have much lower feeding requirements. You can also up your water changes. The problem is that you don't want to stress out your fish too much, so you could do something like a gallon a day. Link to comment
seabass Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 It is possible that the rock is leaching phosphate, but I wouldn't just assume that it is. Confirm that it is or isn't before rushing into anything.Starting over with fully cured live rock does not mean it will support your current livestock. We slowly build up our livestock, so that the bacteria populations can gradually adjust to the new bio-loads. The rules don't change when replacing your rock.That said, I've helped another reefer (who asked for advice when doing this same thing) replace all of their rocks and transfer the inhabitants of their tank. And while the switch went without any problems, they are now experiencing new algae problems.If this rock is leaching phosphate, it can be extremely frustrating and potentially costly to fight. To replace this rock with live rock, you must first fully cure it in a separate tank or container (this must be done even if the rock is sold as cured live rock). In the example above, after the rock had fully cured, I had them use a bottle of Dr.Tim's One and Only nitrifying bacteria just prior to the transfer. This tank had one juvenile clownfish, a few coral, and a cleanup crew.Without proper nutrient control, your algae problems will resurface. But leaching rock does make nutrient control a real problem. A good low range phosphate test kit (or ULR phosphorus checker) will help you determine if the rock is leaching, and help you manage phosphate levels once the algae is under control (as you'll want to keep it between 0.01 and 0.03 ppm). That's right, your tank will do better with some phosphate than with no phosphate, but you can start having problems as it creeps above 0.03 ppm. Link to comment
itsyahboydanny Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Thanks guys, I'm going to test this live rock out how suggested and I'll update when I figure it out, also I am considering taking my clown out. Thanks for all the input and advice, much appreciated! Link to comment
Partially Submerged Posted January 25, 2015 Share Posted January 25, 2015 Make sure you find a good home/good LFS for your clown if you decide to take it out. I've been saying this a lot lately, but I love porcelain anemone crabs for picos. To me, they are the perfect tiny tank inhabitants, and they are very entertaining. Maybe less so than sexy shrimp, but they won't munch on corals like sexies sometimes do. Link to comment
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