I need some advice/ guidance......

[Hami4]

So Ive been in this hobby for about 6-7 months now, and I know the basics, and a little extra, but I've run into a couple of problems.

Biocube 14

1st
I have a biocube that has a massive algae outbreak, but I got a clean up kit from reefcleaners.org thinking it would help but no luck.
My ammonia is like at 35ppm or so I have evaporation going on like crazyyyy. Also my take water is zoo growly looking.
In this tank I have corals
Mushroom
Star Polyps
Trumpet Coral
Eagle Eye & Green Zoas
Glove Coral
Birdsnest
Montipora

For Fish
Cleaner Wrasse
Two Clowns
Rainfordi
Peppermint Shrimp
and Clown Goby

I don't know what to do I also have red sludge / slime with the algae outbreak.
Also I just removed a parasite quickly form my clown that was found today and removed today.

Also I have a 96W T5 on there and a Biocube Protein Skimmer. and 5 Mangroves.

Secondly, I just got a 20 long tank, it has a 150w MH over it and it has a HOB filter with some cheato in it, and Im using some cycle starter.
This is going to be a reef tank so I only have a small piece of LR in it, because i want it bear bottom.

So i was wondering how to cycle it and get it started as a frag tank?


Thank You For Reading and all your help.

 

[Peter T]

Hi Hami, are you sure it is 35ppm? That is EXTREMELY high. If it is that high, I would suggest you start doing a series of water changes to get that way down. If you have any Prime or any other ammonia treatment, I suggest you use some as well. I am surprised your fish have not went belly up with ammonia that high. Has your tank finished cycling? How long have you had the Biocube up and running? What are your other water parameters? Im mostly thinking about Nitrate and Nitrite. I wouldn't concern myself with phosphate test too much as you know it is there based on how much algae you have growing. How much LR are you using for your tank?

As for a 14gallon Biocube, your bioload is too high for the tank. You have more fish in your 14g than I have in my 40 breeder and sump. I would definitely return some fish and then start working on getting the parameters under control. Your cleaner wrasse needs a bigger tank for sure and may end up annoying your other fish as it seeks to constantly "clean" them.

Your algae outbreak is likely due to way too much nutrients from feeding the fish and fish waste. The red stuff sounds like cyano to me. There is a thread here in the New to Hobby section that deals with how to combat that. Personally, I am not a fan of ordering reef cleaner packages as they introduce too much CUC at once to a tank. I prefer to add more as my tank matures and demands more. It is not as cost effective, but it is better for the tank in my opinion.

Google cirolanid isopod to see if the parasite your removed from your clown matches. They are usually nocturnal and go into hiding as soon as the lights go on. But hey, you never know. Maybe the isopods (if that is what you removed) in your tank are candidates for the Darwin Award.

On a side note, did you add the lights to your Biocube? They usually come stock with power compact lights, which is usually too weak to sustain SPS corals.

As for cycling your 20 long, you can still use a good amount of LR and go bare bottom at the same time. For space purposes, you can always connect the tank to the sump and keep your LR in the sump so your display tank will have maximum space for corals and frags. I would suggest against the cycle starter. They do not do much in my opinion and is a waste of money.

 

[Hami4]

I think I have two many fish so I hate to see them go but hey I gotta do what I gotta do....

I replace the stock hood with my t5's

And my tank cycled before..

Anything I can do to speed up the cycle on the 20 long?

 

[Peter T]

Be careful if you use Prime or other ammonia products, as they can lower the pH in your tank. But if your ammonia really is at 35ppm, I would be more concerned about that than dropping pH

 

[Peter T]

I think I have two many fish so I hate to see them go but hey I gotta do what I gotta do....

I replace the stock hood with my t5's

And my tank cycled before..

Anything I can do to speed up the cycle on the 20 long?

Your tank may have finished the cycle before, but when you add fish to your tank, you have to add them slowly to give your tank time to build up more bacteria to handle the additional bioload. Adding too many fish at once and/or housing too many fish in a tank puts a serious strain on your tank's biological filter and can crash your tank.

If you want to speed up your cycle on your 20 long, you can purchase well cured LR from a friend or hobbyist that you trust. Then just "feed" the tank as you wait to make sure the tank is cycled. You can also purchase it from a LFS, but I wouldn't take their word on how cured the LR is as their bottom line is to make money.

 

[BossHoggin]

I cant see how anything in your tank would be surviving in 35ppm ammonia, especially SPS. Did you maybe mean to say nitrates at 35ppm or ammonia at 3.5ppm?

 

[Hami4]

Sorry guys I had a typo it's about 25ppm and is there any other way to cycle it without LR because I just wanted egg crate racks in there?

 

[SweetTang]

No....I would say you need LR in a Bare Bottom for sure. You have to have some type of filter, unless you have a loaded sump to go with it (DSB, LR, Large Sump). Don't take this the wrong way, but before you start investing in your frag tank, you need to do some research and get your Biocube under control. With a bigger tank, comes bigger problems. Ammonia should not be that high (even 25ppm) after 6 months, nothing should be alive in there. Either your tests are not reading properly, or you just had a fish die. I would assume you Nitrates are at least double that due to the amount of gunk and bioload you explained. Take a water sample to your LFS and have them test it. Keep working and you will get it....knowlege is key. Not only for the sake of your animals in your tank, but you will also get more enjoyment out of the hobby with a healthy tank! Good Luck!