ReefADoRe’s Biocube 16g - A very hard journey

[ReefAdoRe]

Update on my Biocube:

I was able to get most of the algae off - with the addition of some new from the Live Rock; along with this came the pests, Aiptasia, which I have been trying to eradicate little by little.  I know it will take time.  I added to tiny peppermint shrimps.  I think it will take some time for them to grow large enough to start eating the a-hole anemones, but size hasn’t stopped one of them from picking at my BTA 😞

 

I used Blue Flux RX to rid the tank of the algae problem; after the 14 day mark, I scrubbed the rocks in the tank, and completed 30% w/c’s for the next 3 days.  Everything seems to be in good order.  I just began my pico tank - and what I am hoping to do is grow corals in there, and begin adding to my biocube.  

 

Lessons learned - will never use live rock again.  

- Will keep to a consistent maintenance schedule.  

- will utilize vinegar to clean all my equipment monthly 

- will clean the back chambers of my biocube!

- will definitely use a protein skimmer at all times on my biocube 

and a few other things along the way.  But I’ll save those for future posts.  This is definitely a journey.  And no matter how much you’ve picked up along the way, there is always more to learn.  

 

 

 

[Tired]

Actually, not using live rock is the best way to get an algae problem. Algae is impossible to keep out of your tank- it comes in on frags and snails. If you use dry rock, there's nothing in the way of competition to stop hair algae and other pests from rampaging all over it. Live rock, since it tends to have algae growing on it already, is more difficult for hair algae to run amok on. Scrubbing the rock also removes some of that helpful, space-occupying, non-pest algae, which can provide more of a foothold for pest algae. 

 

The best way to get rid of hair algae, for good, is to let your tank mature. Keep nutrients lowish (but not zero! That'll get you dinos, which are far worse, and will starve your coral), have an appropriate cleanup crew, and wait. Poisoning it out only removes it until more is added on something, then it can and will try to come back. 

 

There are many species of peppermint shrimp in the hobby. Only a couple will eat aiptasia, and none are completely safe with corals and anemones. Aiptasia-X, or covering them in liquid superglue (with the rock out of the water), are generally more effective. 

[ReefAdoRe]

Thanks for the advice Tired - the live rock brought the Aiptasia - and came with a crazy amount of GHA.  Hence me saying I’d rather take the long route, and use dry rock 😉 too many problems come along with it.  

 

As for the maturity of the tank - I couldn’t agree more.  I think my maturity & discipline as an aquarium person is probably the MOST important thing in this hobby (have had the tank since 2018 - pretty mature).  I think that this is something I got wrong for a long time - it’s not the maturity of the tank, but my own.  

 

I will be patient with the Aiptasia - I bought my peppermint shrimp from AlgaeBarn (which are the Aiptasia eating type), and also tank bred which is awesome!!!  I am also utilizing Aiptasia X during weekly w/c’s - but what I have learned from this is that they multiply insanely when you scare them with this.  So while it works on the 15 that you got that day, the next day you have 20 more and so on.  I also use epoxy to plug up the holes where they were, and they seem to just push right through it.  Like with everything in this hobby, patience is a virtue.  

 

Thanks so much for your reply ☺️ It’s great to be back.

[mcarroll]

Been a long period of time, so a recap....

On 9/17/2019 at 6:51 AM, mcarroll said:

you pulled algae like this:

 

Pulling the algae from the tank is all you should have done, while leaving the animals completely alone.  

 

You seem to have missed the video on 9/17 because just a few posts later on 9/23 this was you...

 

On 9/23/2019 at 8:25 PM, ReefAdoRe said:

I am starting to get the GHA all over again. I do not know how to prevent this or fight it. Everything is squeaky clean. Suggestions? Ideas? 

Don't know how?!  That was the whole point of the video!  😉

 

10 hours ago, ReefAdoRe said:

I used Blue Flux RX to rid the tank of the algae problem

And now you pop up with this off-the-cuff maneuver.....which didn't work. 

 

It's like you didn't read (or heed) any of the algae advice you got from me or anyone else.  😑

 

10 hours ago, ReefAdoRe said:

Lessons learned - will never use live rock again.

That is not the lesson at all.

 

Watch the video:  No drugs.  No numbers chasing.  No yanking the rocks out of the tank to clean them.  

 

Just hand pulling the algae, and the addition of snails.  👍

 

Easy-peasy!

 

You still seem to need an adequate CUC, BTW.  And going forward try removing long algae by hand as the @Melev video illustrates.  👍

 

9 hours ago, ReefAdoRe said:

I am also utilizing Aiptasia X during weekly w/c’s

You really need to hit them every day if there's a real problem.  

 

Multiple times per day if you can – every time you see them "out", if you are able to you should take a shot.

 

If you're scaring them, and not killing them, then you are doing something wrong in the process.  Watch the Joe's Juice and Aiptasia X official videos on YouTube to see how to do it...hopefully that will help.  (All you're doing is feeding them...you aren't stabbing, injecting or even touching them.)

[ReefAdoRe]

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Been a long period of time, so a recap....

 

You seem to have missed the video on 9/17 because just a few posts later on 9/23 this was you... 

I finally learned how to do what you did in quoting specific pieces! (Not the point here, but I got excited).  I got the idea in using blue flux rx from this video ☺️ def headed the advice of Melev (and yours) - and now I do not have GHA at all, with some good filtration, and maintenance schedule, it has not returned.  

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

 

Don't know how?!  That was the whole point of the video!  😉

 

And now you pop up with this off-the-cuff maneuver.....which didn't work. 

It did definitely work - Melev’s advice I mean ☺️

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

 

It's like you didn't read (or heed) any of the algae advice you got from me or anyone else.  😑

 

That is not the lesson at all.

Believe me... I most definitely appreciate, and follow all the advice given here.  Sometimes it is very hard to do just one thing and stick to it - but I did and it worked! (With patience of course) 

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

 

Watch the video:  No drugs.  No numbers chasing.  No yanking the rocks out of the tank to clean them.  

DEFINITELY learned this outright.  Taking out the rocks and scrubbing them a year ago, just cycled my tank all over again (that was my lesson) - and it didn’t help!  Consistency and patience is key! 

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

 

Just hand pulling the algae, and the addition of snails.  👍

 

Easy-peasy!

 

You still seem to need an adequate CUC, BTW.  And going forward try removing long algae by hand as the @Melev video illustrates.  👍

 

You really need to hit them every day if there's a real problem.  

The Aiptasia, I am scared to dose every day, because of my BTA.  Doesn’t like it at all.  

 

19 hours ago, mcarroll said:

 

If you're scaring them, and not killing them, then you are doing something wrong in the process.  Watch the Joe's Juice and Aiptasia X official videos on YouTube to see how to do it...hopefully that will help.  (All you're doing is feeding them...you aren't stabbing, injecting or even touching them.)

Touching and killing finally figured it out (YouTube is a savior) - I watched a video on BRS TV and they spoke about an entire process they follow; I have started to complete the process using Aiptasia X and epoxy putty.  There was a big one by my BTA, and I completed the process, watched the thing implode, and then sucked out the left over A.X. During w/c.  It’s really great stuff!  ☺️

 

Last but not least, THANK YOU for your response, and attention!  I truly appreciate all of your advice!  🙏🏻

[ReefAdoRe]

On 9/7/2020 at 3:43 PM, Tired said:

Actually, not using live rock is the best way to get an algae problem. Algae is impossible to keep out of your tank- it comes in on frags and snails. If you use dry rock, there's nothing in the way of competition to stop hair algae and other pests from rampaging all over it. Live rock, since it tends to have algae growing on it already, is more difficult for hair algae to run amok on. Scrubbing the rock also removes some of that helpful, space-occupying, non-pest algae, which can provide more of a foothold for pest algae. 

Thats’s exactly where all types of cyano and GHA came from!  a Snail!  Geez Louise 

On 9/7/2020 at 3:43 PM, Tired said:

 

The best way to get rid of hair algae, for good, is to let your tank mature. Keep nutrients lowish (but not zero! That'll get you dinos, which are far worse, and will starve your coral), have an appropriate cleanup crew, and wait. Poisoning it out only removes it until more is added on something, then it can and will try to come back. 

Completely agree! 

On 9/7/2020 at 3:43 PM, Tired said:

 

There are many species of peppermint shrimp in the hobby. Only a couple will eat aiptasia, and none are completely safe with corals and anemones. Aiptasia-X, or covering them in liquid superglue (with the rock out of the water), are generally more effective. 

This is the approach I’m taking now 😉 work little by little and patience... I noticed my BTA does not like it though! 

[Tired]

There's some great irony in your cleanup crew introducing algae, huh? But it's inevitable either way, assuming you're adding frags. Algae can come in as spores or not-particularly-visible patches on frags, even if you went so far as to scrub things clean before adding them. 

 

Your BTA shouldn't be hurt by the aiptasia-control measures. The control measures are meant to be directly added to the pests, to harm only those pests. Did you get any of the stuff on it? 

[mcarroll]

On 9/8/2020 at 10:11 PM, ReefAdoRe said:

I got the idea in using blue flux rx from this video ☺️

???  

 

That video does not mention that product.

 

The video showed how to pinch out green algae by hand and gave guidelines for adding cleanup crew.

 

He does mention a completely different product in the video called Phosphate Rx, which is lanthanum chloride, which is just a phosphate remover.  (One that most folks should generally not use.)  

 

Phosphate Rx has nothing to do with removing the algae.  It only has to do with removing phosphates.

 

He was only commenting that this treatment seemed to make the manual removal go faster.  

 

(To which I'd say: maybe, maybe not.  From instance to instance algae can be different.  Lots of potential factors.)  

 

At any rate, Phosphate Rx wasn't his message, or what the vid was really about.

 

The job of manual removal goes the same way without the phosphate remover.

 

No medications are needed to remove algae from a fish tank.  😉

 

(It might be worth saying that I don't recommend that type of phosphate remover for those with small tanks, anyone who isn't an expert....or anyone at all, generally.  I definitely don't recommend anything like the product you used. )

 

On 9/8/2020 at 10:11 PM, ReefAdoRe said:

The Aiptasia, I am scared to dose every day, because of my BTA.  Doesn’t like it at all.

What kind of reaction are you seeing?  Any chance you can get a video of it?

 

Are you sure it's not just trying to eat it?  Can you be more careful with the applicator syringe?

 

On 9/8/2020 at 10:11 PM, ReefAdoRe said:

I have started to complete the process using Aiptasia X and epoxy putty.

The epoxy would be a likely irritant.  

 

Regardless of what the BRS video you mentioned said, it should be 100% unnecessary to use anything but the aiptasia treatment to treat the aiptasia.

 

I'm not sure what "touching and killing" means with respect to aiptasia.  If you have to touch one to apply the product because of some particular circumstance that's one thing.  But you shouldn't need to touch them 99.999% of the time.  Touching them would make success less likely...at least in my experience.  The Aiptasia X product is all that should touch them ideally.

[ReefAdoRe]

It’s amazing what opening up the aquascape can do for the flow, and the way your fish swim!  Just sharing a new learning - I got rid of a large piece of live rock that my two clownfish were always hiding behind.  Replaced it with a smaller, bridge type rock, that I pieced together with putty.  So now they’re swimming under, over, front - it’s just amazing what is has done - and now it is even more pleasant to stare at.  ☺️ Super happy about it.  Before and after pics - it just looks like a more inviting, and open space.  Small change, large difference.  🥳

 

Thanks for reading!

 

[ReefAdoRe]

After 3 years of having the Biocube up and running, I have my first corals!!!!  ☺️

(just added my Neme in there b/c it’s pretty)