Feeding percula clowns

[Five.five-six]

I have a CL BC29, it's 20 days into cycling and I started it with all dead rock save one 2 pound piece to seed it and live sand.   I'm feeding my 2 perculas 1/3 cube of mysis every day but the tank is being overrun with red slime algae and bright green slime algae.  Po4 and NO3 are 1 and 20 respectively.  I suspect the dead rock is leaching because I am running about 1/4 pound of GFO, phosgurd pads and have some cheato running in the fuge.   

 

My question is:  is that enough and proper nutrition for the perculas?  I'm afraid it's not enough as I doubt the tank has much little stuff growing for them to eat and I'm afraid to feed more because I want to grow corral eventually.    

 

TIA  

[WV Reefer]

15 minutes ago, Five.five-six said:

I have a CL BC29, it's 20 days into cycling and I started it with all dead rock save one 2 pound piece to seed it and live sand.   I'm feeding my 2 perculas 1/3 cube of mysis every day but the tank is being overrun with red slime algae and bright green slime algae.  Po4 and NO3 are 1 and 20 respectively.  I suspect the dead rock is leaching because I am running about 1/4 pound of GFO, phosgurd pads and have some cheato running in the fuge.   

 

My question is:  is that enough and proper nutrition for the perculas?  I'm afraid it's not enough as I doubt the tank has much little stuff growing for them to eat and I'm afraid to feed more because I want to grow corral eventually.    

 

TIA  

Feed them only enough so that all the food is eaten. Turn off the pumps so they can get every piece.

 

 I feed my clown once a day. He would eat all day if I let him.  

[Five.five-six]

Thanks.  But what about my nutreant levels?  

[SaltyBuddha]

Do water changes to get rid of the excess nutrients.

 

If you started with "dead rock" (ie. rock that was in saltwater and has been sitting out for a prolonged amount of time) a lot of the nutrients stored in the rock will come back out. Dead algae, corals, inverts and anything else that was hiding in the rocks will leach nutrients. Usually people refer to this as dry rock. How you introduce dry rock depends on the situation. For some people that put a small amount (relative to the amount of liverock) in a mature tank will just throw it in without any effects. If you are starting a new tank with it, most people will scrub off all the junk and soak it for a while. This process is called curing. Dry rocks will leach ammonia, nitrates and phosphates back into the tank. It will leach for a while and the best way to handle it will be water changes. 

 

For future reference, this is the best article I've found regarding curing.

 

http://www.reefaquarium.com/2013/curing-rock-for-marine-aquariums/

 

Just do more water changes to keep the levels down for the fish in there. You can feed every other day and they will be fine as well. I feed 4 times a week with 3 different types of food. 

 

https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

This is also a good site for an algae reference and the best place to buy a CUC. They will take care of a lot of algae. The one you have is most likely cyano. The above guide shows you how to address this. 

 

Make sure you are using RO/DI water. If you use tap water you are automatically putting in excess nutrients to your tank and algae will thrive on it. 

[Five.five-six]

Yes, I am using RO/DI watter, reads 0ppm.   The rock was fairly bleached on the outside but, yea, stuff inside dies.. It was practicly free, so I guess this is the price I pay.    I've had a long day, I'll read your links in the morning.  Thank you

[Five.five-six]

12 hours ago, SaltyBuddha said:

https://www.reefcleaners.org/nuisance-algae-id-guide

 

This is also a good site for an algae reference and the best place to buy a CUC. They will take care of a lot of algae. The one you have is most likely cyano. The above guide shows you how to address this.

 

Quote

"Cyano" as it is commonly referred to is one or more species of cyanobatceria. It occurs commonly in almost every reef tank at some point, and is caused or encouraged by a number of reasons including:

Available nutrients - Especially phosphates and iron in this case.

Low flow/Dead Zone - Cyano prefers growing in low flow areas.

Warmer Water - Cyano tends to grow faster in warmer water than in cooler water

 

 

 

Well, I'm running about 1,800 GPH of flow  in a 29 BC and tank temp is under 78, so it's most likely the nutrients

[Clown79]

Fish need a varied diet. Alternating is best

 

Feeding frozen every day will increase nutrients.

A good pellet food should be incorporated.

 

Feeding what lasts no more than a min. Is fine 

[tyg]

The best frozen feeds you can get are Reef Frenzy or Rod's. I only feed Reef Frenzy 1-2 times per week due to costs and pellets most other days. Remember that it is okay to fast your fish for a day or two every week and the pellet food is a complete feed.