achu Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 It has been 6 weeks since I set up my 6 gallon eclipse. Im pretty sure the cycling is done. I think the cpr Bakpak really helped that along. I've already got a tank that is pretty much overloaded with soft corals (green button polyps, neon pink, neon green, orange polyps... mushrooms etc.etc) along with some montipora and 2 small pieces of acropora. (a ton of this stuff is thanks to a frag swap that I went to... ) The tank is loaded with tiny amphipods, worms, "slug"things little brittle star and copepods just reproducing like crazy... they all came from the live rock I got 5 weeks ago... So, just as I'm ready to relax, and not worry about the tank... I see all these little "dots" of coraline algae growing on the front of the tank. Now I know it is great to have the stuff growing... I have some beautiful burgandy/purple stuff growing back onto my live rock and that is cool. BUT, what the heck can I do to stop it from growing on the front of the tank? IF I had a glass tank, I could scrape it off with a credit card, but I have an eclipse... which is plastic! I don't want to scratch the plastic in the process of getting the stuff off! I turned my powerhead to blow straight at the front pane, but is that enough to stop the stuff from growing there? achu Link to comment
Satchmo Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 I don't know of any other way to get rid of it other than a good old fashion scraping. Would a credit card really scratch an acrylic tank? I don't know- I've never owned one (an acrylic tank, not a credit card... although sometimes I wish the reverse were true). Link to comment
chufa Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 I've got the same thing. You can buy an acrylic scraping pad at most LFS's. I use one with no problem. Link to comment
Fishiebusiness Posted September 21, 2002 Share Posted September 21, 2002 Be really careful with the eclipse. I once thought i could scrape some algae off with a plastic spoon. Bad idea, left scratches. Oh yeah, and last week my eclipse 6 cracked half way down. Link to comment
Strife Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 Originally posted by achu It has been 6 weeks since I set up my 6 gallon eclipse. Im pretty sure the cycling is done. Uhhh..you mean cycle has already started Link to comment
glazer Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 Pointing the powerhead directly at the front of the tank may not be what you want to do.... The "spores" will be getting blown directly onto front, only takes a few to stick and blammo. Maybe I am the only one that has experienced this but I have found countless times in the past that whenever I have water hitting the front glass this is usually where I see my first patches of coraline show up...always the light pink kind. Link to comment
Korbin Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 I scrape corraline off my eclipse with a credit card all the time. It doesnt leave scratches. Link to comment
Brianc_4 Posted September 22, 2002 Share Posted September 22, 2002 Scraping with a plastic credit card should be fine, just don't put a lot of muscle into it. If you do not want the coralline to spread, do NOT point a powerhead at it. Placing a powerhead to flow over the coralline is something people do to get it to spread. Current will encourage its growth. Link to comment
achu Posted September 23, 2002 Author Share Posted September 23, 2002 Ok ok... you guys can tell me "you told me so". 4 days later after having moved my powerhead to point towards the front of the tank... I now have some really nice chunks of coralline algae (pink ones!) growing on the front! It is even growing on my Red Sea Ammonia alert thingie!!! Ok, I'll turn it towards the back.... I'm going for the credit card when I get home from work today. I'll be careful! Hmm... I wonder if my calcium levels are too high? Is that why this stuff is spreading like crazy? Then again when I use to have a larger tank.. I also had this problem... Achu Link to comment
mattdog Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 Why is it a problem? It's nature holmes! Just gonna have to scrape it off! Coraline is a calcareous algae and it uses all the calcium it can get to grow. Part of having a reef tank is having to scrape something off, algae or what have you. Link to comment
MrConclusion Posted September 23, 2002 Share Posted September 23, 2002 Gosh, I wish my biggest problem was rapid coralline growth! Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 Achu came out of the closet to get himself criticized It has been 6 weeks since I set up my 6 gallon eclipse. Im pretty sure the cycling is done. ..... I've already got a tank that is pretty much overloaded with soft corals (green button polyps, neon pink, neon green, orange polyps... mushrooms etc.etc) along with some montipora and 2 small pieces of acropora. (a ton of this stuff is thanks to a frag swap that I went to... ) The tank is loaded with tiny amphipods, worms, "slug"things little brittle star and copepods just reproducing like crazy... they all came from the live rock I got 5 weeks ago... So, just as I'm ready to relax, and not worry about the tank... achu YER either very lucky so far, or YER a moron. Time wil tell. : This tanks goes agains EVERY rule in the book .... I hope yer tank crashes. I mean 6 WEEKS ! ? WTF.... and if cutting down on calcium will stop the coraline from growing in yer mind, then youve already proven yer stupidity. STOP, STAND BACK, TAKE A BREATH, EXHALE, and then sit down. .... : READ A BOOK. yer corals will thank you. NOTE: This is not a flame. Link to comment
Korbin Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 Cripes. Yeah, so to summarize everything..... use a credit card. Link to comment
MrConclusion Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 That last post seems a little extreme to me. Whose interest is served by such hysteria? I may be hopelessly naive, but I believe that a post containing the phrase "I hope yer (sic) tank crashes" qualifies as a flame! The fact is, tanks can be set up and completely stocked very quickly. The "cycle" rate at which bacteria multiply to their sustainable population (which depends on a number of factors) is measured in hours or days... not in weeks or months. Whan rapidly stocking a tank, there's a greater chance of catastrophy.. as biological shifts in live rock, live sand, etc can occur as these complex groups of organisms shift to optimal balance for their new environment. These shifts can be slight and unnoticable, or maybe a minor inconvenience, or maybe cause a full-blown crash. However, there are no guarantees, nor are there hard-and-fast numbers. Where are these supposed rules? Nobody can say anything definitive such as "Adding 200 grams of coral and 15 grams of fish will be catastrophic on day 15, but totally safe on day 16." It obviously doesn't work like that. So in the absence of definitive rules we have opinion. There are so many variables, gross and minute, effecting each unique tank that a chaos theoretician would have a field day even considering them. So where do you draw the line? Probably in a different place than others! If someone doesn't like to look at a nearly-empty tank for months at a time, they may choose to stock it faster knowing that they're taking a greater risk. But that's all, just a greater risk. It doesn't mean the tank is doomed, nor is it true to say that slower stocking involves no risk. I apologize for going on at length when it may not be called for, but I was alarmed to see bad wishes expressed for another person's reef tank. Link to comment
spoondigity Posted September 24, 2002 Share Posted September 24, 2002 It may not be the answer your looking for, but introducing Halemeida (spelling) into the tank may help if you don't want lots of coraline growing. This type of plant uses calcium to grow and it will suck up excess calcium for you. Just a thought. Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 not a flame, nope. Im merely calling as it is. read the info as it lays..... "Pretty sure its done cycling" THAT is NOT the way to keep or decide to keep sensitive animals. Ive see this practice of rushing a tank many many many times having a LOT of personal exp in this field, reading threads in various sites fer the past few years, worked in an LFS, Owning a Transhipping company and doing tank maintnance on a large customer based scale. If yer "Pretty Sure" you are NOT sure. and NOT sure is NOT acceptable. ESPECIALY in a small environment, things need to slowly progress. A few pices of corals, or some shrooms, a shrimp, ok. BUT NOT all them at once and SPS too ! The "rules in the Book" is ment as a figure of speech. Opinion is dangerous, so is not listening to reason.: Whan rapidly stocking a tank, there's a greater chance of catastrophy.. as biological shifts in live rock, live sand, etc can occur as these complex groups of organisms shift to optimal balance for their new environment. These shifts can be slight and unnoticable, or maybe a minor inconvenience, or maybe cause a full-blown crash. However, there are no guarantees, nor are there hard-and-fast numbers. this says it all. Link to comment
achu Posted September 25, 2002 Author Share Posted September 25, 2002 Hey dave, I was waiting for the day you were going to flame me. I figured this main post was going to do just that. BUT, you are entirely right on your post. Except the part of "I hope your tank crashes" That was a sweet statement! Something everyone wants to hear! In anycase, yes, 6 weeks is bad to overstock. I completely agree. Especially sps! BUT, how many of you would turn down FREE SPS????HUH???? FREEE???? DAVE????? EH????? LOL As for shrimp and stuff, I'm talking hitchhiker stuff... all teeny tiny... the stuff that crawls out of live rock, only mine have no preditors so my tank has a lot of them. The only things I bought were the mushrooms and green star polyps. I also accepted that dying colt from the store just hoping for a miracle (Hey, DAVE, not that 45 gallon is that large, but I had a 45 gallon reef tank for a few years that I thought was pretty stable) I think my 6 gallon tank would have crashed by now if it was my first tank. Hey, introducing that Colt coral that was crashing was crazy, but, I set up the 6 gallon as a trial thing. I never thought it would hold livestock successfully! Cause, I always figured that a saltwater tank would need to be a minimum of 30 gallons to be somewhat stable. AND what do I mean by "I'm pretty sure the cycling is done"? Well, with my 45 gallon, I think it was always going through cycles... I think that all of our tanks are always cycling. So, I'm "pretty sure the cycling is done"? Well, I'm pretty sure the "new tank" ammonia/nitrite/nitrate SPIKE is done. Hard to say. Everything is testing 0 right now... but I expect it to take at least 6 month for the tank to be truely called "stable". Yup, I'm really surprised that everything is going well so far, but the acropora is actually growing, the montipora is doing great (hard to tell if it is growing, although the long piece has little buds growing out the sides) AND THEY WERE FREE!!! FREE!!! And guess what, YES I really think that lowering the calcium will slow down the coraline growth on the walls. I don't mean stop dosing... I just mean dose a little less Kalk because it really is driving me crazy to have all those "dots" growing on the front wall. So, am I a MORON??? I certainly don't think so. But, you can make your own determination on that! As for my 6 gallon? I was a doubter that you guys could actually grow anything in a 6 gallon. I'm a believer now! (of course, if my tank crashes in 6 weeks... then I can tell you... DAVE, YOU WERE RIGHT! BUT if my tank is doing just fine in 6 weeks DAVE, ARE YOU GOING TO SAY SOME NICE THINGS ABOUT ME????) achu Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 Say some thing nice...... hmmmm You have such pritty eyes OK, TRUCE. From your initial post and the lack of any previous info, My assumption was ya were anoter "Keeping up with the Jonses" reefer. I accept yer correction as to yer ability and past knowlege having now been explained. I ment "I hope yer tank crashes" in a sorta Flat-toned way to be a "lesson" to ya ( or anyone who wants to rush a tank) its PURELY EVIL in connotation, but Ive seen it sooo many times, that I just snap at times. I went off on an employee in a LFS once fer telling a customer something completely wrong just to get the sale on a similar subject. Hehh the customer even waited till I left and outside the store asked me If I would help them... they are now GREAT customers of mine. All slamming aside, I didnt want this thread to get out of control with all sugar coating and no bread fer the loaf..... IM GLAD that all is well on it, BUT dont say we didnt warn ya.... I too Jumpstart tanks. ###### I had a 75 I tore down and makde 3 smaller tanks that were jammed in one hour or so... OF COURSE it was from the established system, but its all good. TTYL eventhough some things in life are free, it doesnt mean ya want them or can support them... like kids. or corals ! Link to comment
achu Posted September 25, 2002 Author Share Posted September 25, 2002 I have puurty eyes? awwww, what a sweetie! Thanks Dave! You've warned me... yup, I know... but, hey... you also know that when your sps are growing out of control and you are either going to throw the stuff away, or if you know someone has a tank that has 0 nitrates, ammonia and nitrites... you'd push the stuff on them too... and knowing that they've had tanks before... you figure, hey, what the heck! So, I never was planning on ever having sps in my 6 gallon. I already think that a 6 gallon saltwater reef is CRAZY! I was only going to put more softies in when I felt the tank was ready.... ok ok... I think you got the point. Moral is: DON"T OVERSTOCK YOUR TANK and expect that everything will be ok. BUT, if someone offers you free frags... feel free to accept and then... Dave and Achu will both be willing to take them off your hands!!!!! By the way, the "mother" colt that I got from the store sick didn't make it. I think Dave was the one that called that one... BUT all of the 4 "arms" that it threw off did make it. In fact I already gave 3 away after they attached to rocks. I think I've just lucked out waaay too much...(or it might have to do with that cpr bakpak hanging on the back of my 6 gallon???) I better be careful otherwise if the bad luck hits... I'm going to have to email Dave and admit that I'm a moron achu Link to comment
Dave ESPI Posted September 25, 2002 Share Posted September 25, 2002 ya. got any pics? im sure it looksnice. you could also try to use a small magnetic felt lined algae pad Glass cleaner on the tank. some of them can be left in hte tank, and it is easier than putting yer hand in every day or 2. and the coraline will still keep growing. If ya cut back to far on the calcium ( around 360, it should be ok, but yer SPS will show really slowed growth. This can cause problems long term, so keep an eye on them. ALso Im glad the Tree coral fraged ok. Ive had miserable times wiht them occasionaly especialy when they melt. ttyl. Link to comment
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