How to go bare bottom

[mooorishidol]

Hi guys
Having good time?

Here to ask anyone of you who can answer my stupid question..

Im trying to get reset my 15g tank because
Getting tired of whole bunch of cyano bacteria every where in the tank.. Now it **** me off..

Oh let me first tell you about my spec

15g, hob, nano skimmer, two powerheads(instead of wave makes), 4 inches of sandbed(crushed coral)
This tank has been nearly 3 months since first setup.

1 damsel! 1hermit! A starpolyp frag! Thats it!
I only have few.. And theres a lot of cyano bacteria..
This **** me off too

What ive done is 10-15% water change every once a week
, feeding lightly, flow control.. dosing seachem stability reguarly even biodigest.. But i cant get rid of them at all..

It just grows like a zombie.. couldnt beat it T T
Im done with it.

What i want is just clear simple good reef tank to watch
like one starpolyp and two of nemos.. ? without cyano

So this time i will go with bare bottom cuz it never has problems like cyano from what i heard.. Is it true?

The thing is..

Q1. If i dont have any sand(crushed coral in my case) does ph level go down quickly?

Q2. If so, should i use crused coral as filter media in hob to keep ph level stable?

Q3. I have seachem matrix. Does it have any fuction like keeping ph level stable?

Q4. Phos comes out from crushes coral??

Like i said i just want simple clear reef tank

Only Starpolyp! 2 nemos! 1 turbo snail

So please let me know how to go bare bottom without cyano problem.. as much detail as possible..

Thank you for reading and any advise..

 

[toothybugs]

Whoa, settle down there

1) Get rid of the crushed coral. It's going to hold so much crap it will give you major issues. In fact it might be a driving force for your cyano issue already. Take it out incrementally because of all the junk it may already be holding.

2) See how things go for a few weeks after the last of the crushed coral has been removed. Keep up with your weekly water changes - in my 15 system, I just take a pail of water once a pay period since I have another 15 gallons in my sump for it. Don't do anything until then.

AFTER that, re-assess your flow (what powerheads are you using?) and other conditions. Then we move forward.

 

[mooorishidol]

Whoa, settle down there

1) Get rid of the crushed coral. It's going to hold so much crap it will give you major issues. In fact it might be a driving force for your cyano issue already. Take it out incrementally because of all the junk it may already be holding.

2) See how things go for a few weeks after the last of the crushed coral has been removed. Keep up with your weekly water changes - in my 15 system, I just take a pail of water once a pay period since I have another 15 gallons in my sump for it. Don't do anything until then.

AFTER that, re-assess your flow (what powerheads are you using?) and other conditions. Then we move forward.

Thanks for your advise. im planning to get rid of crushed coral.. But then wouldnt ph level go down since theres no sand in tank i think i need some replacement to keep up ph level stable.. Can 10% water change once a week cover it up?

 

[Spar]

don't chase pH - in fact, don't even test it as it will only get you paranoid.

test KH and keep it stable via dripping 2-part (soda ash for Alk). this is all you need to do in regard to parameters that impact pH.

crushed coral will make keeping KH stable near impossible, so another reason to dump it, as you are planning to do anyway.

10% weekly WC's or more will help with general issues such as PO4/NO3 creep among adding back fresh elements.

 

[MeghanisradxD]

It sounds like you have done a lot for the tank only being 3 months old.
I would scrap the crushed coral like you said and just let it be for a while. New tanks need time to settle.

How long did you let it cycle? Did you start with dead rock or live rock? Are you using RODI water or tap water?

 

[mooorishidol]

don't chase pH - in fact, don't even test it as it will only get you paranoid.

test KH and keep it stable via dripping 2-part (soda ash for Alk). this is all you need to do in regard to parameters that impact pH.

crushed coral will make keeping KH stable near impossible, so another reason to dump it, as you are planning to do anyway.


10% weekly WC's or more will help with general issues such as PO4/NO3 creep among adding back fresh elements.

Just took them out of the tank

As you recomend im going to maintein my tank only with 10wc and see whats going on

 

[mooorishidol]

It sounds like you have done a lot for the tank only being 3 months old.
I would scrap the crushed coral like you said and just let it be for a while. New tanks need time to settle.

How long did you let it cycle? Did you start with dead rock or live rock? Are you using RODI water or tap water?

I think you got wrong point
Yeah i did a lot ive tried wc, dosing, adjusting flow, nutrient control but these are the ways to keep the tank as it was~ you are saying like i give a lot changes to tank
Then i would say i actualy did not.


Who else going to say wc gives a tank change?
Even dosing, flow, nutrient control.
If my word is too offensive, i apologize

 

[CStrickland]

Your worry about ph and crushed coral is a freshwater thing, not a reef tank issue. I agree with the advice to remove the CC slowly and then give it a few weeks to level out. No dosing etc. just the water changes, try to remove the waste and red stuff when you take out the water by pushing your hose around on the bottom.

If you want other help, you need to have an open mind. The questions megan asked are helpful to you because if you didnt know that 4 inches of crushed coral was a bad idea, and you think the CC and Ph is relevant, then maybe you don't know that tap water is also bad idea, or some other thing. If you are missing a basic thing like that, going bb might waste your time. You don't even tell us what your water parameters are.

Or you can just try bb and hope. That might work. I do think the tank will be healthier without 4 inches of cc, but like megan I'm curious what else you've got going on in there that would lead to issues.

 

[outy]

So this time i will go with bare bottom cuz it never has problems like cyano from what i heard.. Is it true?

..

No it is not true.

Yo have a new tank still adjusting to bio load.


CC substrate does not induce cyano. Unless you let it fill up with gunk. If anything adding sand over the top so gunk cannot get in the gaps would work well.


I would dose with a little chemiclean, and do larger larger water changes.


BB can be a nice way to go, but its not magic and requires a little more attention then a DSB.

 

[outy]

Hi
Q1. If i dont have any sand(crushed coral in my case) does ph level go down quickly?
..

No

Q2. If so, should i use crused coral as filter media in hob to keep ph level stable?

No

Q3. I have seachem matrix. Does it have any fuction like keeping ph level stable?

No

It is garbage for a wetdry filter not used in these types of tanks.

It is however a home for your bacteria, it does produce nitrates as a by product, as that is what nitrifying bacteria does.


It should be removed slowly

Q4. Phos comes out from crushes coral??

No

 

[roli112]

Are you using tap water?