110 tall Setup 10/10/12

[FranktheTank110]

Hey guys,

Well i finally got the money and the time to actually get into this hobby coming from cichlids and i absolutely love it. I setup my reef tank originally and have my own RO/DO filtration system with TDS monitor all at 0. I have a rs100 sump on this and went high end on all components. Mechanically it is sound as a bell i even installed a uv light just in case i get any crazy outbreaks.

With that being said i let the tank cycle for 10 weeks with 70 lbs of live rock, 60 lbs of wet sand, and the ammonia went up to 1.0 at one point then it dropped and i have not seen it go up since. The live rock had some hitchhikers snails, and flat purple worms which seem great for clean up. I have never seen any readings on nitrite and nitrate and i still to this day have not done a water change because i don't see any high levels of nitrates. about 3 weeks into the cycle i got the brown algae(Diatoms). That went away and now i have green algae that is extremely annoying. I scrub the walls every couple of days and it just comes back, Ive got about 24 small members of my clean up crew Blue leg hermits and astrea turbo snails. When i added them to the tank it was 12/06/2016 so that was about 9 weeks into my cycle. I also added 2 black saddle crowns at that time. All went well everything tested great so about 3 weeks later i added a rose bubble anemone/ 3 benghai cardinal/ and 1 dragon sleeper goby. I acclimated them to the water for a few hours. The goby disappeared and i lost two of the bengai. The anemone is doing great and loves his mysis shrimp cubes. I didnt realize that my reading was 1.015 and that was low. I thought after i filled the tank up according to the specs it would of been fine. I have since adjusted up a small amount to 1.022 and will eventually acclimate it to 1.025 and keep it there as i want to install some soft coral along with some red sea reef salt. I use Fluval 2.0 lights with the wifi timer. I use the default settings on this light and have 2 on top of the tank with a canopy. My temperature is 78.7 most of the times. The ph of course varies but it stays around 7.8-8.4 depending on the time of the day that i check it. I feed my fish daily as i figured anything can eat a little every day. The anemone gets a thing of shrimp ever few days to a couple.


1.Ok now that you know my history settings, dates and specs. Why did i lose 3 fish they all just disapeared(Thinking my clean up crew got them.)

2. How do i get rid of this hideous green algae that is forming under the gravel on the sides, all over the rocks, and walls.

3. Should i keep adding fish until i see a nitrate reading to change my water?

4. Also does anyone else have experience running a reef tank with fluval 2.0 on a tall tank? I really dont wanna spend the 1200 bucks for the better lights as these say they are reef.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this long story i just want to make sure i answer all questions that could be asked.

 

[RobZilla04]

Slow down!

Try reading some of the sticky's in the New to the Hobby section. You need to get the salinity between 1.024 & 1.026 soon. An anemone shouldn't be introduced until the tank is well established, say 6 months.

You're best bet is to have a clean up crew only at this point. They will produce enough waste to give you nitrates in time. You're still gonna go through phases of algaes and nutrient swings. Best to go slow and learn as you get to each stage. If you crash by getting to far ahead you'll likely quit the hobby.

As for the green hair algae, try a search. This topic has been beaten to death because it is so common. When you get a chance, let us know what your filtration set up is as far as equipment goes.

Best of luck.

 

[FranktheTank110]

Thank You

Thank You

I have been taking advice from my LFS and i guess they just wanna sell me stuff. I thought 10 weeks before adding fish was plenty of time for it to cycle especially after seeing the ammonia spike. The Clown fish that i put in a few weeks ago are doing terrific. I guess to kind of slow down and focus is it possible that my tank has cycled? Trust me i have googled this and searched for it for days and no one can give me a straight answer. I test 2-3 times a week and the ammonia definitely went up to 1.0 and dropped back down to 0 after about a 4-5 days. I however never saw nitrate or nitrite. I am using a eshopps rs-100 sump. Im just blow away about not seeing nitrate and now im losing fish. Thats my major concern. I still have one benghai left and he seems to be doing great.

Thank you for your time.

 

[RobZilla04]

I have been taking advice from my LFS and i guess they just wanna sell me stuff. I thought 10 weeks before adding fish was plenty of time for it to cycle especially after seeing the ammonia spike. The Clown fish that i put in a few weeks ago are doing terrific. I guess to kind of slow down and focus is it possible that my tank has cycled? Trust me i have googled this and searched for it for days and no one can give me a straight answer. I test 2-3 times a week and the ammonia definitely went up to 1.0 and dropped back down to 0 after about a 4-5 days. I however never saw nitrate or nitrite. I am using a eshopps rs-100 sump. Im just blow away about not seeing nitrate and now im losing fish. Thats my major concern. I still have one benghai left and he seems to be doing great.

Thank you for your time.

Ten weeks, I'm sure that you're cycled. The loss of fish could've been due to the salinity. Nitrates will come soon.

It's possible that the LFS is just trying to sell you stuff, on the other hand they are one source of information/research. Compare the info there with what you find here and through your google searches. Then come to a conclusion. Slow and steady is the best approach. Anyone here will tell you that.

As far as your livestock now, you should have a clean up crew (snails/crabs). 2-4 small ones per gallon is a good way to start. A clown or two are okay, they are pretty hardy.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

Hey guys,



4. Also does anyone else have experience running a reef tank with fluval 2.0 on a tall tank? I really dont wanna spend the 1200 bucks for the better lights as these say they are reef.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this long story i just want to make sure i answer all questions that could be asked.

You don't need 1200 lights. Get a few T5 odessea lights off eBay and some good ATI bulbs. I started with expensive LEDs but the corals did not do well. Went to the old tried and true lights, spent 250 bucks on 3, 6 foot fixtures and bulbs and now have more acros than I can stand. Have put T5 on my other tanks too and they've done really well.