Anna Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 I've started my first nano six months ago. It's a 25 gallon tank with 22 lbs of LR. Now I have 3 fish: two percula clowns and one damselfish, 2 tubeworms, one boxing shrimp, and 2 coralls. I use RO water and make 10% water changes every 2 weeks. There's no ammonia and nitrites. Everything seems to be OK, but I have a problem with alge. They grow pretty fast, esp. on one piece of LR. It looks awful! I'm afraid there are also some blue-green algae (Cyanophyta). I've also noticed small, white spots on my corall. It looks like mold, but the corall seems to be OK. It's alive, so far. Can anybody help me? Link to comment
kimura Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 What's your setup and equiptment like? Ie...Lights, PC? How long are photo periods? Tests...PH, Nitrates, Nitrites, Phosphates......? Oh and if you can do you have any pics of the white spots? Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 have you checked your nitrates or phosphate levels? you may want to back off the feedings to the fish a little. i wouldn't back off feeding the shrimp tho. it may decide to feed for itself! is the one problem algae rock in a dead current zone or by the intake of a filter? if so it may be collecting detritus. or it may be the farm area for the damsel (is the damsel protective of the rock?) those feather duster sheaths are pretty gross imo too :x : maybe contributing wastes thru decay (if they're relatively new additions). the spotting may be sporation or just slight bleaching. are the spots bumpy at all? or they could be mold or even sponges depending on how they look. a pic would help a lot. what kinds of coral btw? Link to comment
LiQuiD Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 yeeeehaaaa, you poped your cherry. And you thought you wouldn't get algae huh. It is now time for the next high tech piece of equipment used in this hobby, the toothbrush. I would as said, check your nitrates and phosphates. If you are not skimming, maybe try doing a weekly water change instead of every 2. Cyano (especially green) can't really be diagnosed without a picture. Same with the white stuff. Snails do wonders when it comes to keeping it at bay, but they will not eat it if it is long enough to be visible. Scrub the rocks as much as you can and then let the snails keep up the rest (I would suggest like 20 astreas). Link to comment
Anna Posted January 8, 2003 Author Share Posted January 8, 2003 Thank you guys for your help! I try to answer some of your questions. I use an undergravel filtration and an external power filter but it's not a cannister one. The rate of flow is about 320g/h. There are also 2 powerheads -the bigger one with the flow rate 263 g/h (sorry, but I have to calculate liters for gallons) is connetced to the undergravel filter. The smaller one pumps 174 g/h. I've got three fluorescent lamps Arcadia Marine White, but my husband and my dad work on new cover and more efficient light source. The photo period is 14 hours (8 a.m. to 10 p.m) - maybe it's too long. I have some photos of the tank but I haven't developed them yet:*( There is no ammonia nor nitrites, but I don't know if my test kits for nitrates and phosphates are OK. Tomorrow I buy new ones and let you know soon. LiQuiD I've bought the toothbrush today! By the way, Happy New Year to you all! Link to comment
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