Proxo Fluval Evo 13.5

[afcajax73]

Frustrating! 

 

I took a bit of algae to my LFS and they gave me some Flux Rx to try. I added it as per the instructions about 6 days ago and so far it’s not done anything 😧but I have heard it can take a few weeks 

[Proxo]

Yeah i've so much long brown algae i might make some wigs out of it.
Not sure why i'm getting so much, phosphate and nitrate is 0 and 5. 

Might have to try a different light schedule on the prime. 
Although starting again has crossed my mind a few times!

I'll grab some pictures soon.

[Wonderboy]

If you start again, build another system and leave this one running in the meantime - that may help give this one the time it needs to balance out 😆

 

What is the CUC that are you working with?

[Proxo]

3 turbo snails
3 Nassarius snails
2 hermit crab 
1 emerald crab.

Stock is 2 small clowns and 1 royal gramma.
Think i could add more CUC? 

[Wonderboy]

Yup, without concern; I have very close to that much CUC in my 2.5G  :]     ... the CUC inclusions should constantly be adapting to circumstance - if something is starting to take foot that you don't want, patiently, try to find something to eat it. Every system is different, so no one can say exactly what you need. If you see the hermits picking at it, more hermits (smaller ones do less damage (to coral) if concerned - I like blue legs myself (typically opt for one per gallon) and don't forget the extra shells or they'll fight and kill each other  :[    ...if it's the snails, more snails (tiger trochus are the most veggy aggressive I've seen - and can upright themselves). 

[Proxo]

Thanks, i'll up the CUC when i can get to the shop :D. 
How long do you guys have your lights on for too? 
And anyone with a fluval evo 13.5 and prime, what light schedule you using? 

[Wonderboy]

I run 12 hours on 12 off (w/reverse 'fuges) when algae in DT is under control. I Reduce to 10 hours if algae acceleration is more persistant than previous. 8 - 6 hours if algae is becoming a problem. Since I'm almost to it, no black outs, slows down finding balance IMO.

[Proxo]

I was running the same but i think the prime was too high, i've tried a lower setting...
I'm not sure if it's the lighting or the algae causing problems for my corals.

I mean i know algae in a certain stage can be harmless but if it's growing around coral surely that'll upset them? 
If not then my lighting is to blame, my biggest zoa colony is pretty much done for but i've seen growth in the new frags.

A little colour lost though, i've not been up with water changes for 2-3 week due to personal things.

[Wonderboy]

Sounds like the light was mostly too powerful for the circumstance - I notice that when algae is photosynthesizing at a "threshold" rate due to a combination abundant nutrient and light availability, it's probably producing too much oxygen which IMO can cause fluctuations of pH (even just at the site within a system where it is being produced) and irritate coral flesh. I've seen zoas struggle to open all the way also when light is too intense - partial open zoas or shrinking zoas suggest the animal is attempting to balance metabolic intakes/protecting itself - algae won't care how much light there is. It's a little tricky to find a balance, but less is usually more, and then work your way up from there. IME, you can always add to the CUC if algae is persistent. Color loss may be signs of bleaching? How are things looking now?

[Proxo]

Sorry i've not been in touch - hit the fed up stage lol.
Most of my zoa's are opening fine but the color is not so good, the one zoa that has started to die off is pretty much completely gone.

the kenya tree and the toadstool doesn't open much lately but the acans/micromu whatever the new name is are doing pretty well.
I've turned the lighting down a fair bit and they've seemed to open more now, the zoa's at least. 

The algae is still a problem though, it's got better - i'm blasting it with a turkey baster then changing the filter floss after a day or so.
The extra cuc i will add when i can get to the lfs, i mean not only will it help it's a small tank so the extra things to watch is a bonus too.

Thank you all for your help and not giving up on my noobness 😄
As a new comer to reefing i always heard things will look great then you'll hit a problem until you sort your balance out, was the same with my freshwater when i went harder to keep plants
now that tank runs without me touching it, just with more money on the line with reef, it's a little heart breaking but i'm not one to rush into massive changes to fix things as that can make it worse.

Really is amazing how the  difference is so slow compared to freshwater.

I'm going to do a slightly bigger water change tomorrow or tuesday, then some smaller ones in 3-4 day staggers, just to make sure the water chemistry is okay (even tho i test)!
tank is running at a 30x turn over with the flow away from the hammers, zoa's... (kind of pointed at the toadstool so that could explain that reason of it not opening)

i'll throw some pictures up after the water change, show you the nice coral i stole (not literally, price wise).

once again thank you all, if i get this running to be over grown with coral you all deserve a frag. 


 

[Proxo]

Right, i'm pretty sure my lighting was too high, too quick (as you do when you get a new toy).
I've switched back to the Davidsaxby prime schedule it's apperantly a low intensity version - though i might tweak the whites!
3 week acc @ the following
 

[Proxo]

Also debating on a new computer graphics card which i don't really need (Currently using 2x GTX1080, want RTX2080ti for you nerds) or redsea max e 170 (which i don't technically need either LOL) and getting rid of my freshwater aquarium. Going to the shop for some CUC this weekend hopefully with my eyes closed so i don't see the tanks 😄.

I mean i do love my freshwater aquarium but after i've finished cleaning salt, i think to myself now i gotta do that all over again and leave it for "tomorrow" which never comes. I mean i know a bigger tank is more work but once you've started you've gotta finish lol.

[Proxo]

Went to my local LFS for some hermit crabs, came home with some hermit crabs, frag spawn and a MASSIVE piece of Favia.
And possibly a job at the LFS haha!!

 

[Proxo]

Don't mind the mess, clumsy me put my arm in tank and water overflowed 😄
Algae has got better since i did a big water change and a massive sand bed blast with turkey baster and replaced filter floss every day. 

[Proxo]

Not going to lie, i'm so tempted to buy the redsea max-e 170. But as i'm still learning it's prob best i wait 😮
I'm not sure if you guys ever kept fresh/tropical but scaping them tanks is just rock/wood > plants where you like they grow.

With coral, you end up buying stuff that sometimes doesn't fit into your scape due to the shape/rock it's on.
So i should wait and get that sorted first right? or am i just talking myself out of it lmao.

[Garf]

1 hour ago, Proxo said:

Not going to lie, i'm so tempted to buy the redsea max-e 170. But as i'm still learning it's prob best i wait 😮
I'm not sure if you guys ever kept fresh/tropical but scaping them tanks is just rock/wood > plants where you like they grow.

With coral, you end up buying stuff that sometimes doesn't fit into your scape due to the shape/rock it's on.
So i should wait and get that sorted first right? or am i just talking myself out of it lmao.

I think that is why you go slow. Let the tank get established while you muck around. Two months into my tank, I took a rock out and cut it up. I wish I would have done the same to another large rock I have, at least chiseled some places on the vertical sides so I can could place more frags. If I upgrade (hello lagoon 25), I will not add as much rock, and will use some bio balls or blocks to make up for it. Then I will have room for additional larger frags, or some nice empty space to balance things out. Considering I really couldn't run two tanks, I'd have to plan and make the move in one day. I'd prep by getting my bio blocks/balls established, then move things over. No additional live rock or dry rock to complicate things or cause a cycle. Then i'd either cycle some live rock in a bucket and add a couple months later, or wait and try and find a coral on a nice piece of liverock that would compliment my tank. 

 

Was wondering if I could place one of the bio media thin bricks on the glass to act as a base for a couple pieces of my liverock, giving it a bit more height. Even if covered by sand, I think the media would still do its thing.

[Proxo]

Do you guys use them magnet glass cleaners? because i find they scratch your glass, as u can see from picture above.
Have the same on my freshwater 😕

So i've been using a dish cleaning sponge, might have to find a way to add a little pole so i don't get wet hands 😄 

[billygoat]

Just wanted to toss my 2 cents in here and say: don't give up! It's a rough stage you've reached but if you give the tank time and beef up your CUC a bit I think you will find that things will sort themselves out. Your tank actually looks quite nice IMO and I think it is coming along well despite the setbacks you have encountered. 😊

 

And just to echo @Wonderboy: don't be afraid to add plenty of snails. In my 18 gallon tank I have something like ten Florida Ceriths, multiple Nerites of several sizes, twenty or so dwarf planaxis snails, and dozens and dozens of dwarf Ceriths. Most snails have slow metabolisms and spend at least part of the day resting, so to really do a number on algae you need a good number of them to ensure that at least some are eating at all times.

 

5 hours ago, Proxo said:

Do you guys use them magnet glass cleaners? because i find they scratch your glass, as u can see from picture above.

I use a flipper nano and have recently been wondering if its why a few small scratches have appeared on my tank as well. Is that scratch on the inside or outside of your display?

[Proxo]

On 9/30/2019 at 3:33 PM, billygoat said:

Just wanted to toss my 2 cents in here and say: don't give up! It's a rough stage you've reached but if you give the tank time and beef up your CUC a bit I think you will find that things will sort themselves out. Your tank actually looks quite nice IMO and I think it is coming along well despite the setbacks you have encountered. 😊

 

And just to echo @Wonderboy: don't be afraid to add plenty of snails. In my 18 gallon tank I have something like ten Florida Ceriths, multiple Nerites of several sizes, twenty or so dwarf planaxis snails, and dozens and dozens of dwarf Ceriths. Most snails have slow metabolisms and spend at least part of the day resting, so to really do a number on algae you need a good number of them to ensure that at least some are eating at all times.

 

I use a flipper nano and have recently been wondering if its why a few small scratches have appeared on my tank as well. Is that scratch on the inside or outside of your display?

Thanks, it's starting to look a lot better now, algae would be crazy mad after about 2 days, it's been over a week now and not a single bit is showing.
All my cheato algae died though lol.

The scratch is on the inside, most likely a little sand got onto the cleaner. should really remove it before disturbing the sand but for now i'm just gonna use some cheap sponges.

[Ratvan]

1 minute ago, Proxo said:

Thanks, it's starting to look a lot better now, algae would be crazy mad after about 2 days, it's been over a week now and not a single bit is showing.
All my cheato algae died though lol.

The scratch is on the inside, most likely a little sand got onto the cleaner. should really remove it before disturbing the sand but for now i'm just gonna use some cheap sponges.

Might be worth a trip to Pets at Home?

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish-tank-cleaning-and-water-maintenance/5-in-1-cleaner

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/fish-tank-cleaning-and-water-maintenance/glass-cleaner-handle

 

[Proxo]

On 10/3/2019 at 11:07 AM, Ratvan said:

Might be worth a trip to Pets at Home?

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish-tank-cleaning-and-water-maintenance/5-in-1-cleaner

https://www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/fish/fish/fish-tank-cleaning-and-water-maintenance/glass-cleaner-handle

 

I forgot about these, used to have one years ago they're pretty handy 😄

Update on tank: Algae seems under control, think it was a mix of nitrates and high lighting (mainly the lighting i'd say) - gotta try find that sweet spot.
Corals are looking good, even that dead zoa has been opening up. My hammer seems a little weird lately though (the top one) 1 'branch' of it isn't really opening.
The hammer underneath it has grown though. 

What're these little clam like things i sometimes see on rocks? Seen a few in the LFS display tank, they harmless? 

I'm still thinking on the bigger tank too but can't find one the size to fit my desk 😞

[Ratvan]

1 minute ago, Proxo said:

I forgot about these, used to have one years ago they're pretty handy 😄

Update on tank: Algae seems under control, think it was a mix of nitrates and high lighting (mainly the lighting i'd say) - gotta try find that sweet spot.
Corals are looking good, even that dead zoa has been opening up. My hammer seems a little weird lately though (the top one) 1 'branch' of it isn't really opening.
The hammer underneath it has grown though. 

What're these little clam like things i sometimes see on rocks? Seen a few in the LFS display tank, they harmless? 

I'm still thinking on the bigger tank too but can't find one the size to fit my desk 😞

I'm still trying to find that sweet spot for lighting myself. Down to about 6 hours at the minute i think.

Bi Valves? Harmless filter feeders. I have what I suspect is a marine mussel in my tank at the minute, covered in Zoas. 

What size you looking at stepping up to?

[Proxo]

Well i've got a 60L freshwater next to the evo so was thinking of just getting rid of that and going slightly bigger, so about 140-160L.
I've seen a few, length wise they're fine... it's width that's the problem, as they all have them AIO at the back - i might pull the 2 tanks forward to where a new one would sit and see if i can get away with it lol. 

[Ratvan]

6 minutes ago, Proxo said:

Well i've got a 60L freshwater next to the evo so was thinking of just getting rid of that and going slightly bigger, so about 140-160L.
I've seen a few, length wise they're fine... it's width that's the problem, as they all have them AIO at the back - i might pull the 2 tanks forward to where a new one would sit and see if i can get away with it lol. 

I'm so tempted to go custom for my home reef, i can't see how else i'd get the dimensions that I want. Think it comes out to 55G/210L

60"x18"x12"

[Proxo]

1 minute ago, Ratvan said:

I'm so tempted to go custom for my home reef, i can't see how else i'd get the dimensions that I want. Think it comes out to 55G/210L

60"x18"x12"

Thinking of that too, the one i've seen is 50gal @  (30” x 24” x 16”)
- 24" is like 3" from the tip of my desk with it RIGHT against the wall. 

Problem is most tanks come with the return pumps and that already with it but i've got all that stuff already so might be worth me looking into custom.