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29 gallon: R.E.E.F Tank


EthanPhillyCheesesteak

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
21 minutes ago, Snow_Phoenix said:

Have you tested the DI you use before mixing it for saltwater, for traces of NO3 and PO4? Have you tested your saltwater after mixing as well? And did you test your water in your tank? 

 

The main issue here is husbandry - your nutrients are coming from somewhere (and no, some chopped LTA tentacles won't cause a continuous outbreak). Btw, nems poop a lot too. Depending on the size of the nem you have, it can present a heavy bioload for your tank. I think your tank can't export nutrients very well right now - I'm not sure how young/old it is, but the system is having trouble accommodating your current livestock as well. 

 

We all do impulse purchases - I get that. Sometimes, I myself am guilty of bringing home things that catch my eye at the store, and I can be a total sap for abandoned or rejected animals. But you have to be sensible and impose a limit as well - basically, have a small bit of self-control. That nem wouldn't have been the last nem you saw on a good deal. Since you're having many issues with your tank and nems in particular, you should have just passed up the offer to buy the nem, even though the deal was cheap. 

 

(You don't have those protectors on your wavemakers yet, either, do you?) 

I have tested my water for it, but not the other things. My tank is a year and a half old. I made a diy protector for my wavemakers out of zip ties and foam from my LFS 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
2 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

You have to post the good with the bad. I had a crazy gha outbreak. I posted a ton of pics still. I also made some youtube videos. The only way to keep track of how things are doing is with videos and pics. If I hadn't done that, I wouldn't know how well I ended up doing. Plus its really nice people can see and comment on something that you may have missed. Everyone really does want you to succeed, but we have to know what we are dealing with to help you out. I don't think anyone wants to be mean to you or have you quit, it's quite the opposite. I like that feeling knowing (at least in my tank) that I'm doing something right as the algae has died back and I can visually see a change.

 

Well whatever you guys want me to do, I’ll do it. I’m open for opinions 

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Thrassian Atoll

I would manually remove it, test your water, stick to a water change routine.  Also, your tank is new.  Your going to have cycles of different types of algae.  Don’t panic, don’t do anything drastic, and don’t keep changing things around.  

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DSFIRSTSLTWATER
7 minutes ago, TILTON said:

I would manually remove it, test your water, stick to a water change routine.  Also, your tank is new.  Your going to have cycles of different types of algae.  Don’t panic, don’t do anything drastic, and don’t keep changing things around.  

That's actually a good point. Just make a small change and see how it works it. This way you can if the change actually worked.

 

41 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Well whatever you guys want me to do, I’ll do it. I’m open for opinions 

 

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ECLS Reefer

@EthanPhillyCheesesteak, your name is so long- I feel like I’m your mom yelling at you because you’re in trouble. I’m gonna just call you Ethan. 

 

I am super new to this hobby, and I’ve had a tank for two months and change. What I’ve done with it I don’t recommend anyone else attempt, because not everyone has the time and resources to sit and nurse an infant tank like I’ve had. But— I feel like that’s the biggest part of why it has been a successful tank so far- because I NURSE it, just like I would one of my sickest babies at the hospital in the CVICU. I see even the smallest hint of a problem- I tweak something to get it back right. But I’m used to dealing with that, and fixing blood chemistry and adjusting critical medications and life support systems, for a living. For a long time. So my approach to this tank is going to be very different from yours. 

 

I say all that to say this— when I see a problem patient with a mystery issue, I go back to the big picture and THEN work on narrowing things down. I have to know everything about them to see what’s making the system tick. So, how about you give us an information dump on your next post, rather than asking us to give you specific fixes for one issue when we can’t see the whole patient. Everything- tank size, filtration media setup, powerheads inside the tank, what equipment are you using, THEN give us the stock info- type of rock, sand, and livestock. Try to make a list of what you’ve done, for what, and when. Let us see it all again rather than piecing it together from all these posts. 

 

Thats my two cents of logical approach to assessment and diagnosis. That’s about all I can offer- once you give the team the information, they can go from there. Yes it’ll take you time and effort, but I guarantee it’ll clear your head some on where you started and where you are now. Maybe you’ll see something you missed. But that’s how I solve problems and get answers that work. Don’t give up yet- go back to step one and trace what you have and what you’ve done.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
7 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

@EthanPhillyCheesesteak, your name is so long- I feel like I’m your mom yelling at you because you’re in trouble. I’m gonna just call you Ethan. 

 

I am super new to this hobby, and I’ve had a tank for two months and change. What I’ve done with it I don’t recommend anyone else attempt, because not everyone has the time and resources to sit and nurse an infant tank like I’ve had. But— I feel like that’s the biggest part of why it has been a successful tank so far- because I NURSE it, just like I would one of my sickest babies at the hospital in the CVICU. I see even the smallest hint of a problem- I tweak something to get it back right. But I’m used to dealing with that, and fixing blood chemistry and adjusting critical medications and life support systems, for a living. For a long time. So my approach to this tank is going to be very different from yours. 

 

I say all that to say this— when I see a problem patient with a mystery issue, I go back to the big picture and THEN work on narrowing things down. I have to know everything about them to see what’s making the system tick. So, how about you give us an information dump on your next post, rather than asking us to give you specific fixes for one issue when we can’t see the whole patient. Everything- tank size, filtration media setup, powerheads inside the tank, what equipment are you using, THEN give us the stock info- type of rock, sand, and livestock. Try to make a list of what you’ve done, for what, and when. Let us see it all again rather than piecing it together from all these posts. 

 

Thats my two cents of logical approach to assessment and diagnosis. That’s about all I can offer- once you give the team the information, they can go from there. Yes it’ll take you time and effort, but I guarantee it’ll clear your head some on where you started and where you are now. Maybe you’ll see something you missed. But that’s how I solve problems and get answers that work. Don’t give up yet- go back to step one and trace what you have and what you’ve done.

Ok, well I have a 29 gallon tank, my filtration is a Marineland filter meant for a 30 gallon tank, but I really want to change that. Does anyone have any recommendations? I have 2 sunsun 800gph powerheads in the tank. I used dry rock from my LFS. I used caribsea Caribbean live sand.  

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak

I have a ocellaris clown 

a gold nugget maroon clown 

a fire fish

a watchman goby

orange spotted goby

a nem that I’m 99% sure that it’s a carpet nem, but it could be a mini maxi

a big long tentacle nem

a zebra hermit

about 8 blue legged hermits

about 10 red legged hermits

2 golf ball sized turbo snails

3 nassarius snails

a pocillopora frag

a dragon soul favia 

a blue discoma mushroom that disappeared 

And 2 acan frags

 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
1 hour ago, TILTON said:

I would manually remove it, test your water, stick to a water change routine.  Also, your tank is new.  Your going to have cycles of different types of algae.  Don’t panic, don’t do anything drastic, and don’t keep changing things around.  

I didn’t know a year and a half was still new? I’ll manually remove as much as possible and I will give you my water test results whenever I have the chance. I usually change about 20% every week.

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ECLS Reefer
21 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Ok, well I have a 29 gallon tank, my filtration is a Marineland filter meant for a 30 gallon tank, but I really want to change that. Does anyone have any recommendations? I have 2 sunsun 800gph powerheads in the tank. I used dry rock from my LFS. I used caribsea Caribbean live sand.  

What chemical media do you have in the filter? What kind of return pump? 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
Just now, Outofstock said:

First things first, you mentioned distilled water. Where are you getting your water from? RODI Unit? Bottles of distilled? The LFS?

Bottles of distilled from dollar store

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1 minute ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Bottles of distilled from dollar store

Dont use that, got to your LFS and buy RODI. Its like 25-50 cents a gallon.

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
Just now, Dirté Sanchez said:

What chemical media do you have in the filter? What kind of return pump? 

It’s a hang on filter, I’m using the media it came with. The sleeves that you just insert into it

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ECLS Reefer
16 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

I didn’t know a year and a half was still new? I’ll manually remove as much as possible and I will give you my water test results whenever I have the chance. I usually change about 20% every week.

How often do you test parameters on your tank? 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
Just now, Outofstock said:

Dont use that, got to your LFS and buy RODI. Its like 25-50 cents a gallon.

I really don’t think my LFS even sells rodi water to be honest 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
2 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

How often do you test parameters on your tank? 

Usually once a week for the regular stuff like ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Once a month for everything else, I don’t own a test kit for everything else, I have to go to my LFS to get that checked 

1 minute ago, Outofstock said:

whos your LFS?

It’s called eastern pet supply, it’s a locally owned business 

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2 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Will a 4 stage be ok? I don’t have that kinda money for anything else

I have a stage 4. Do some reading on their site and compare to your local water. 

 

 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
4 minutes ago, Outofstock said:

I have a stage 4. Do some reading on their site and compare to your local water. 

 

 

Ok I will

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ECLS Reefer
5 minutes ago, EthanPhillyCheesesteak said:

Usually once a week for the regular stuff like ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Once a month for everything else, I don’t own a test kit for everything else, I have to go to my LFS to get that checked 

It’s called eastern pet supply, it’s a locally owned business 

API may not be the best test kit but they are affordable. I’d invest in a phosphates, alk and calcium to complete your kit. Everybody has a different schedule for their testing, some more often and some not. You may need to test a little more often for a bit to establish what’s going on right now in the tank.

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ECLS Reefer
1 minute ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

API may not be the best test kit but they are affordable. I’d invest in a phosphates, alk and calcium to complete your kit. Everybody has a different schedule for their testing, some more often and some not. You may need to test a little more often for a bit to establish what’s going on right now in the tank.

You may also need to get a TDS reader if you start making your own RODI. You have to follow the instructions right to make sure the water comes out with no nasty particles. You can get one cheaply off amazon. 

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EthanPhillyCheesesteak
2 minutes ago, Dirté Sanchez said:

You may also need to get a TDS reader if you start making your own RODI. You have to follow the instructions right to make sure the water comes out with no nasty particles. You can get one cheaply off amazon. 

What does tds stand for? And where can I find a API test kit? Amazon?

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