How much to feed two fish

[Reef Shepherd]

1 year Old 60 Gallon FOW 40lb LR
Params are all 0
Lighting 4X54 Blue and White 10k running, Actinic's 11 hr Whites 9.5hr
Reef Octopus HOB Skimmer rated for 100 gallons
Using RO/DI Water
Running Carbon and GFO (just started but Algae gets worse since)
Scrub rocks with a toothbrush once a week and siphon.
Dose with Algaefix as directed for about 10 doses now.

Hair Algae Out of Control, Cyano picking up as well so nutrients must be a problem.

I'm feeding about a 1/6 of a cube twice a day. Rinsing cube before feeding. Storing cube in sealed tuperware in fridge for about three days until gone. 1 Flame Angel, 1 six line wrasse, 2 cleaner shrimp, 2 emerelds crabs, 1 boxer crab, 3 nassarius, 5 astrea, about 50 tiny turbo snails (adults died), 7 hermits.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/59869252@N04/5469366675/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59869252@N04/5469366491/
This picture shows the algae the best (or worst)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/59869252@N04/5469366779

 

[Korrine]

At feeding time do you turn your pumps off? I'd go ahead and turn them off so the fish can catch more and easier. Go get some pellets for now(hope they'll take right to them so it's easier). Feed as much as they can catch, maybe a dozen, but dropping in just a couple at a time so you can really control it. I'd suggest New Life Spectrum pellets and Forumula 1 and Formula 2 pellets for a good variety.

If you have excess phosphates, which sounds likely, gfo can become exhausted quickly. I'd change it every week for now and see what that does. Some may suggest more often for now.

How old are your bulbs?

 

[Korrine]

Could change more water at a time too.

 

[YiatzOfEden]

Wow that's some crazy algae!

Completely off-topic, sorry but how do your six line and flame angel get along? Ive got a 6 line and thinking of good tank mates for him for later...
but anyway I usually feed some shavings off of my cube (ends up being about 4-5 shrimps) 2x a day and a couple pellets for the 3rd feeding, but I only have the 6 line and some cleaner crew (and a much smaller tank) I have some algae but its mostly from the newish tank and slowly disappearing.

What I usually tell people for feeding (when I used to work with freshwater) is to just feed until your fish are full. You should be watching their feeding habits anyway. Yes they'll keep eating no matter how much you feed them, (mine are pigs) but you can tell when their bellies are happily rounded and they start to slow down on stuffing their faces. As long as you don't feed them so much to where they hate themselves for eating so much (like me with pizza).
Good luck and happy algae hunting!

 

[Reef Shepherd]

Korrine - Lights are 4 months old. I just bought the whole light system then, it's a Sundial. Algae does seem to be most prolific in lighted areas which I assume is natural but I turned back my lights to a 6hr White 8 hr Blue today.

I used to turn my Fluval canister filter off but forgot last week to turn it back on for 24hrs and killed all my ampipods in the canister. Dumped them all out and washed the media and foam and started over. But algae was already bad b4 that.

Phosphates read 0 but I'm sure they would with so much algae. What's ironic however is that as soon as I started dosing algaefix, the cyano came up meaning to me that something else needed to take the nutrients.

Yiatz - The flame is a bully and chases the wrasse pretty hard. I was worried (see an earlier post) but everything turned out good since the wrasse has plenty of rock. I must be feeding too much frozen but I wash it and feed it slowley through a syringe. That way I can push a little in at a time over a 3 minute period. Fish eat like it's their last meal. It is funny though to see the wrasse's stomach. It looks like a snake that has eaten an egg.

I haven't added anything to the tank in 2 months and am dying to build my mini reef but don't want to with the algae situation already what it is.

 

[wmdick_2007]

The angel needs some green --- put a big load of carbon in a filter for a few days and use a little phos-ban --- a little at a time and find the right spot --- I add phos-ban to my skimmer tank when I feel a need. The slime algae / bacteria will eat that hair algae !

 

[jokim]

water changes are the best, and emerald crabs.

 

[Reef Shepherd]

After reading this article
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/sept2002/chem.htm

It makes me believe my aragonite sand absorbed phosphate before I started doing all these things in my tank to reduce it and it is now releasing it back in? Says to increase PH maybe I'll try that.

I tried putting some cheato in the display tank but it got covered in algae and died. It never looked good healthy anyways possibly bing at the bottom of a 24 inch tall tank.

I have increased my water changes as well... I just don't expect it to get worse after a tooth brush scrubbing. I can try pellet feeding but I was always told frozen was better.

 

[Angel*Fish]

In my opinion when you introduce animals that eat some of the most beneficial CUC in your tank, you are asking for algae. That would be your six line wrasse and your crabs. You are feeding really lightly, so what do you think they are are going to go after? You also probably kill some when you scrubs the rocks. From what I've read there is no such thing as an herivorous crab, only omnivorous.

In my experience, keep your tank free of pod predators and in the long run you will be alge free. When people buy animals to be keep their algae lawn mowed, they are taking care of it after the fact. So what is the point of this tpe of CUC? If these crab and bazillion snail CUC's were so good, no one would have algae probs.

Maybe we're not talking about the same snail, but 50 turbo snails is not the right way to treat these animals.

 

[Reef Shepherd]

I agree Angel, 50 is too many snails... I only added 3 turbo and I am assuming they reproduced because now I have many many tiny snails that are slowley getting bigger. They are about a quarter of the size of a pencil eraser now.

I'm not planning on adding anymore creatures that "eat" algae. The problem is definitly bigger then that. And the wrasse is my first warrior, I plan on keeping him. He is an entertaining fish despite feeding off liverock creatures.

 

[Angel*Fish]

I agree Angel, 50 is too many snails... I only added 3 turbo and I am assuming they reproduced because now I have many many tiny snails that are slowley getting bigger. They are about a quarter of the size of a pencil eraser now.

I'm not planning on adding anymore creatures that "eat" algae. The problem is definitly bigger then that. And the wrasse is my first warrior, I plan on keeping him. He is an entertaining fish despite feeding off liverock creatures.

Sorry, I assumed you bought them.

After looking at your pictures, in my opinion you need LOTS more live rock. I'd at least double the amount:
1) it will help your algae problem
2) because that's not nearly enough rock for a dwarf angel. They need the rock stacked high with lots of spaces inside to swim in and out of

No crabs or other pod predators works - I know from experience. Six lines are cool fish, but there are plenty of others in the sea.

 

[Reef Shepherd]

I would like to add some more live rock. I think that is a good idea that couldn't hurt. Got a coupon in the mail today as well. Thanks Angel.

 

[Reef Shepherd]

The Curse of Angel!

The Curse of Angel!

Since my last post on here I did add 23 pounds of more liverock to bring my total to about 70 pounds in a 60 gallon.

However I believe my CUC eating creatures have been cursed by you Angel! Since then, I watched a hermit try to scamper across the sand shell less and get cut off and murdered by another hermit before he made it to another shell. It was quite a brutal scene I hadn't seen before. First his claws were ripped off and then it looked like he was put in a choke hold of sorts. I seperated them but it was somewhat too late because then the cleaner shrimp swooped in and took him behind the rocks and ate him.

A little less dramatic was my 6-line I just found behind the tank as my dogs were trying to get at him. My tank is covered except for about 1 inch in the rear on one side where my HOB skimmer doesn't allow the lid to slide all the way back. That wrasse was indestructable and has weathered many of my learning blunders. Unfortunatetly, he found one I never thought possible.

 

[Angel*Fish]

I'm so sorry . I've lost a couple of fish that way and it's just so heartbreaking. 6-line are tough little buggers - may he RIP.

Crabs will eat anything including each other, apparently - that must have been pretty awful to watch.