vlangel
Premium Member
So far the ulva seems to be doing well. Dave and I have our SC grandchildren from now until July 16th, so if I don't post a lot, you will know that I am occupied otherwise.
High Nutrient Macro Algae/Sea Grass Reef
- Thread starter vlangel
- Start date
So far the ulva seems to be doing well. Dave and I have our SC grandchildren from now until July 16th, so if I don't post a lot, you will know that I am occupied otherwise.
vlangel
Premium Member
I did a very thorough deep clean (almost to the point of a minor overhaul) of the display tank this afternoon, since I have a couple day break from the grandchildren. With Rice Krispie continually relocating sand, my tiered effect had deteriorated into a rolling hill look. Also a thick layer of sand and detritus was covering the rock and even some coral.
To remedy the situation I took all the rock and coral that were not foundation pieces out and placed in buckets. That way I could repair the retaining wall rock and restore the tiers. When I put the rock and coral back in the scape changed somewhat but I like it. I had to examine the buckets well to make sure no creatures were in the rock and had fallen out. I surely did not want to discard them with the water that I was throwing out. Turns out that bandit, the masked goby and Cheerleader, the pom pom crab had done just that. Worse than that I found either Jet or Piper(I can not tell them apart) one of my green gobies fell on the floor. I am not sure how long he was there before I saw him but I picked him up and he moved, so I quickly put him in the tank. I think he will be ok. I hesitate to do such drastic cleanings for just that reason that one of my beloved creatures could accidently perish, but the tank really needed the change. Hopefully everyone comes through it unscathed! When it all clears up I will take a pic.
To remedy the situation I took all the rock and coral that were not foundation pieces out and placed in buckets. That way I could repair the retaining wall rock and restore the tiers. When I put the rock and coral back in the scape changed somewhat but I like it. I had to examine the buckets well to make sure no creatures were in the rock and had fallen out. I surely did not want to discard them with the water that I was throwing out. Turns out that bandit, the masked goby and Cheerleader, the pom pom crab had done just that. Worse than that I found either Jet or Piper(I can not tell them apart) one of my green gobies fell on the floor. I am not sure how long he was there before I saw him but I picked him up and he moved, so I quickly put him in the tank. I think he will be ok. I hesitate to do such drastic cleanings for just that reason that one of my beloved creatures could accidently perish, but the tank really needed the change. Hopefully everyone comes through it unscathed! When it all clears up I will take a pic.
Good idea. The sand moving critters can play havoc with aquascapes. I'm excited to see your newly refined scape!
vlangel
Premium Member
I decided to test my nitrates and phosphates after the mini overhaul. Whew, the nitrates were up there at 50 ppm! Even for my high nutrient tank that is not acceptable. I am somewhat amazed that my inverts were doing ok with the nitrates so high. A surprising find was my phosphate were only .25 ppm which although high for some tanks, that is pretty much where I run mine. Maybe the red macro algae are utilizing the phosphates more than the nitrates?
Anyway I emptied the 20 gallon sump and syphoned out all the detritus that has settled in it. That way not only am I removing more detritus but also I am doing about another 15 gallon water change. Other than lowering the temperature a couple of degrees it is a fairly non-invasive change that may make a fairly big difference for the good.
Anyway I emptied the 20 gallon sump and syphoned out all the detritus that has settled in it. That way not only am I removing more detritus but also I am doing about another 15 gallon water change. Other than lowering the temperature a couple of degrees it is a fairly non-invasive change that may make a fairly big difference for the good.
I imagine your mini overhaul upset the biological filter, causing the Nitrate bump. You might try putting an Ulva plant up high, in very bright light, where it can rapidly take up nutrients.
vlangel
Premium Member
Thanks for the tip Michael! Yes I will try that.
Oh well! Nature does it's thing, and we adapt.
vlangel
Premium Member
Ha ha, yes, we adapt.
I have been consistently doing 5 to 8 gallon water changes to bring my nitrates down and it has been effective. This morning I tested and they are 25 ppm, which is very much in line where I want them to be. The phosphates are .5 ppm which is ok if I can keep them there. Apparently my tap water has phosphates which I know because it has chloromines which causes high phosphate readings. I guess I need to replace the cartridges in my RODI unit, (or at least replace the resin ) to lower the phosphates a bit. At any rate the coral look better and the macro algae should still have enough nutrients to thrive.
I sent you a message.
Wow, that looks amazing! Nice job. Of course we need a pic of the fuge too…
vlangel
Premium Member
Definitely will get a pic of the fuge as well. Since they are on opposite light cycles the fuge will have to wait a day or so when I can get it with the lights on.
I love the color green of the shoal grass. It's a great contrast against the red macros.
Yeah, plus that was a great pic too!
vlangel
Premium Member
Looks good! I'm sure you'll have better luck with these, with your new lighting and substrate. Nice that your peppermint shrimp comes out in the open. I thought mine was gone until I started leaving a baited trap out for fish.
vlangel
Premium Member
Yes, that one is a bold one. I may actually have 2 more in there but I have not seen them in months.
Yes, I really hope these grasses make it as I love how they look.
Chasmodes
Well-known member
Well, I'm finally caught up on your thread Dawn.
First, regarding cleaning off your hardscape, a buddy of mine uses a pump for the new water going in during water changes. He uses that water input to clean off his hardscape, sending detritus into the water column to be picked up by strong, supplemental internal filters that he uses only during water changes. They remind me of internal versions of the old diatom filters. Anyway, his water change causes the detritus to suspend in the water column while the supplemental filters (along with his built in filters) to clean the water. At the end, he has cleaner water and a cleaner hardscape.
Pretty cool about collecting stuff from Chincoteague. I just did the same thing not that far away, a bit further South, Oyster VA and a few other places on the way North. One of my more pleasant catches, other than a new female striped blenny that I was thrilled to catch, but a hermit crab that I didn't know lived in the Bay, the thin-striped hermit crab (Clibanarius vittatus).
I couldn't see a lot of your pictures while catching up, but did see the most recent ones. Do they have some kind of time limit and then get automatically deleted or something? Sorry to hear about your blennies. The saddled blenny from KP might be a nice addition. Not tiny, but not big, and is more of a carnivore, and they look quite attractive. Of course, I've also been following your YT channel. Your tank and fuge look fantastic.
First, regarding cleaning off your hardscape, a buddy of mine uses a pump for the new water going in during water changes. He uses that water input to clean off his hardscape, sending detritus into the water column to be picked up by strong, supplemental internal filters that he uses only during water changes. They remind me of internal versions of the old diatom filters. Anyway, his water change causes the detritus to suspend in the water column while the supplemental filters (along with his built in filters) to clean the water. At the end, he has cleaner water and a cleaner hardscape.
Pretty cool about collecting stuff from Chincoteague. I just did the same thing not that far away, a bit further South, Oyster VA and a few other places on the way North. One of my more pleasant catches, other than a new female striped blenny that I was thrilled to catch, but a hermit crab that I didn't know lived in the Bay, the thin-striped hermit crab (Clibanarius vittatus).
I couldn't see a lot of your pictures while catching up, but did see the most recent ones. Do they have some kind of time limit and then get automatically deleted or something? Sorry to hear about your blennies. The saddled blenny from KP might be a nice addition. Not tiny, but not big, and is more of a carnivore, and they look quite attractive. Of course, I've also been following your YT channel. Your tank and fuge look fantastic.
vlangel
Premium Member
Thanks Kevin for taking the time to read my thread. I need to keep your water change filtering detritus tip in mind. That should not only help the the hardscape look cleaner but I bet it would help with the nitrates levels too.
That is cool that you did some collecting of your own. It's sounds like you scored some great finds with the blenny and crab! I wished I lived close enough to the ocean to do that every year.
As far as my pics, I did not realize that if I deleted a pic from my Google photos that they would not be viewable in my thread too, doh! I really am an dunze when it come to tech stuff. Lesson learned the hard way!
Chasmodes
Well-known member
LOL. Yeah, me too. The tech world seems to be passing me by, unless required by work. I get the hang of that stuff, but, my performance would go down if I didn't learn it.
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