Derrick's 26g Bowfront

[Derrick1980]

3 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

Try leaving the lights off for a couple of days, then shortening it to about an 8 hour photoperiod.  That combined with the other things I mentioned should help reduce the algae plague.

Ok thanks.

[seabass]

Once you understand why you have this problem, you'll be on your way to understanding why we made our recommendations.  By starting with tap water and leaving the lights on 24/7, you were destined for algae problems.  Add on top of that, a missing fish and some messy feeding via an auto feeder, and you have a real problem.  You might even be over feeding (it's a common problem with new aquarists).

 

Your tank is becoming saturated with organics and nutrients.  Once phosphate levels reach 0.03 ppm, the stage is set for excessive algae growth.  However, once a bloom starts, the algae will consume the available nutrients from the water column (making the levels test low, even though you still have a problem).

 

The bio-load is also a contributing factor.  The more livestock, the more food, and the more poop.  It all adds up.  It's one of the reasons that people told you to stock lightly.  The heavier the bio-load, the more maintenance and water changes you'll need to perform.

 

Without any problems, I typically recommend changing at least 15% of the water each week (then adjust from there as needed).  That's about a 5 gallon bucket.  However, since you are having problems, I'd probably recommend doing that twice a week.  Can you see why we recommended a RO/DI unit?  That's a lot of water to haul around.  Plus it gets expensive fast.  It doesn't take long before a RO/DI unit pays for itself, and then starts saving you money.

 

When doing water changes, you should also scrape the glass and siphon the detritus off the sand.  It's also a good idea to use a turkey baster to blast off detritus from any bare rock.

 

What is your current maintenance routine?

[Clown79]

Seabass said it all.

 

Algae comes from nutrient levels which comes from

 

1. Tap water use(only ro/di or distilled)

2. Over stocking/over feeding

3. Light period(not nutrient but a fuel to algae)

4. Maintenance lacking: not vacuuming sand bed, not using turkey baster on rocks, not changing media regularly(2 times a week floss, 3 weeks for carbon)

[Clown79]

I forgot to mention corrections

 

So i'd start by 

 

1.Start using ro/di or distilled for top up and waterchange

 

2. Lowering lights to 8 hrs. 

What is the percentages you have programmed. Blue to white?

 

3.Stop auto feeding and feed enough that last only a minute. 

 

4.Change floss weekly

Rinse carbon bag weekly, chsnge every 3 weeks if its reg. carbon.

 

5. Start vacuuming the sandbed every week

 

6. Use a turkey baster(new) on the rocks prior to syphoning  it removes any food and poop buildup.

 

Now the rocks, its best to take them out and scrub them, do a peroxide rinse, and then rinse with clean water prior to replacing. Theres tons of info on the process on here.

 

Getting a decent cuc will help. You have turbos so get some ceriths, nassarius for sandbed, maybe an emerald crab(make sure its ok with the puffer, i'm not sure)

 

There is also a product called Vibrant aquarium cleaner many recommend. But this shoud be introduced after all else is implemented because it will be useless if old habits are continued.

[Derrick1980]

9 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I forgot to mention corrections

 

So i'd start by 

 

1.Start using ro/di or distilled for top up and waterchange

 

2. Lowering lights to 8 hrs. 

What is the percentages you have programmed. Blue to white?

 

3.Stop auto feeding and feed enough that last only a minute. 

 

4.Change floss weekly

Rinse carbon bag weekly, chsnge every 3 weeks if its reg. carbon.

 

5. Start vacuuming the sandbed every week

 

6. Use a turkey baster(new) on the rocks prior to syphoning  it removes any food and poop buildup.

 

Now the rocks, its best to take them out and scrub them, do a peroxide rinse, and then rinse with clean water prior to replacing. Theres tons of info on the process on here.

 

Getting a decent cuc will help. You have turbos so get some ceriths, nassarius for sandbed, maybe an emerald crab(make sure its ok with the puffer, i'm not sure)

 

There is also a product called Vibrant aquarium cleaner many recommend. But this shoud be introduced after all else is implemented because it will be useless if old habits are continued.

Thanks for all the advice!

[Derrick1980]

What do I need to know about dosing since I am going to have to start?  And also what is a decent priced auto doser?  I want to do this right. 

[seabass]

Forget about an auto-doser for now.  In fact, you won't likely have to dose anything for awhile.  If anything, the first step is to get a Salifert calcium and a Salifert alkalinity test kit.  However, soft corals don't consume alkalinity and calcium like stony corals do.  So I think you're good for the time being.

[Derrick1980]

Just now, seabass said:

Forget about an auto-doser for now.  In fact, you won't likely have to dose anything for awhile.  If anything, the first step is to get a Salifert calcium and a Salifert alkalinity test kit.  However, soft corals don't consume alkalinity and calcium like stony corals do.  So I think you're good for the time being.

Thanks.  I'll get those test kits when I can.

[lkoechle]

13 minutes ago, Derrick1980 said:

What do I need to know about dosing since I am going to have to start?  And also what is a decent priced auto doser?  I want to do this right. 

You won't need to dose for a while.  I have about 8 SPS/LPS in my lagoon right now and water changes are still keeping up fine. 

 

You are going to need a test kit for calc, alk, mag.  I like Red Sea Pro's kit but everyone has their personal preference.

You're going to need to test daily to see what your changes look like (when you are ready or think you're ready to dose to see if you're ready to dose).  Every reef is going to consume at different rates.

And you're going to need to dose by hand for while, once again, to ensure you're measurements are accurate before relying on a doser. 

 

This is something YOU NEED TO RESEARCH.  This side of reef keeping is where the "hard corals are difficult" comes from.  Its easy once you get it tuned, but you need to understand what is going on in your tank and how it all works together.  The three components: calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity all affect each other and also affect another big measure: pH.  This is something you need to research and understand how they interact.

 

Read this:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/12/chemistry

This:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/2/chemistry

and this:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/7/chemistry

 

Is it intricate and science heavy?  Yes, but thats what this hobby is.

 

For automatic dosers, I use the Apex DOS (its not set up yet on my lagoon, because like I just said, I don't need it yet) but BRS makes a cheap option.  With dosers though, you do get what you pay for.  Stepper motors liek those in the DOS and comparably priced dosers are far more precise with far less failure rates.  But these are $300+ pieces of equipment.  If a doser fails, you can kill your reef.  

 

But you won't need anything like that for awhile.  In the mean time, research research research!

[seabass]

21 minutes ago, Derrick1980 said:

Thanks.  I'll get those test kits when I can.

No rush, you don't have any stony corals.  If I was to suggest a test kit for you, I'd tell you to get a Hanna ULR Phosphorus Checker.

 

Edit: A Salifert phosphate kit is also acceptable, but isn't as high resolution.

[Clown79]

You only dose when there is a need and the only way you will know is by testing. 

 

I suggested researching the subject for when you will need to dose because when you start adding lps, its almost a given.

 

 

I had to start dosing when i added lps, weekly water changes didn't help with the daily consumption of alk and ca. 

[Derrick1980]

Doris the puffer likes squid.   I tried brine shrimp, krill, and oysters but she won't eat them. I really need some lil snails for her to wear down her teeth.  It's on my to do list.  She is also afraid to go to the bottom of the tank in front.  She'll go to the bottom behind the rocks and sometimes she will swim in between the  rocks but mostly stays above them.  She tried picking at the coral, but I guess it wasn't tasty. In spite of reading that puffers aren't reef safe she is turning out to be a good fish.  Anyway hope this may inspire some of you to consider a saddled toby.