hexedagain
New member
You have a pm.
Maybe this is a stupid question but can someone help
- Thread starter reeffreak9
- Start date
waterfaller1
New member
What fish are in this tank?
InLimbo87
New member
Are the MJ400's the only flow you have going through that tank? If so, I'd suggest replacing them with higher flow pumps as 200gph in a 30g tank is way too little for any sps to do well. I have more than 5x that for flow in my 30g mixed sps/lps/softie reef.
Also, what are your other test parameters? Have any phospates? nitrates?
How about temperature/ph swings?
Also, what are your other test parameters? Have any phospates? nitrates?
How about temperature/ph swings?
nauti1us
ORCA President 2007~2008
FWIW... I had a bit of a wake up call a few months ago.
My calcium levels were lower than what I would have liked them to be, but still I had visible growth on the tips of my acros. My pH and Alk were also a bit lower than I would have liked.
Polyp extension on some of my acros were visible, more at night. But many acros never really extended thier polyps like I had seen in other tanks or store aquariums until... someone pointed out teeny tiny little red dots on the tips of some of my acros... Almost impossible to see... yes, red bug...
After (3) interceptor treatments follwed "by the book" and one month later, I have incredible polyp extention. The likes I've never seen before. I'm seeing measurebale color changes and acro growth unlike what I've witnessed in the past. Oh yes, and BTW, I never adjusted my Calcium or Alk at that time to account for these changes.
No one wants to consider RB, but I have news for you, I'll bet more folks have it than they'd like to believe. This small little reef community of ours does alot of frag swapping and buying and very few of you use quarentene tanks...
FWIW...
Matt
My calcium levels were lower than what I would have liked them to be, but still I had visible growth on the tips of my acros. My pH and Alk were also a bit lower than I would have liked.
Polyp extension on some of my acros were visible, more at night. But many acros never really extended thier polyps like I had seen in other tanks or store aquariums until... someone pointed out teeny tiny little red dots on the tips of some of my acros... Almost impossible to see... yes, red bug...
After (3) interceptor treatments follwed "by the book" and one month later, I have incredible polyp extention. The likes I've never seen before. I'm seeing measurebale color changes and acro growth unlike what I've witnessed in the past. Oh yes, and BTW, I never adjusted my Calcium or Alk at that time to account for these changes.
No one wants to consider RB, but I have news for you, I'll bet more folks have it than they'd like to believe. This small little reef community of ours does alot of frag swapping and buying and very few of you use quarentene tanks...
FWIW...
Matt
chrisstie
Premium Member
I've treated sps that go into my tank with TMPCC.. Matt maybe you could describe what and how to look for these guys?
My SPS are doing great but I am always so afraid that one day I might find something nasty in my tank and if they are hard to see, I wonder if there is a way one would be able to see them before you start seeing your sps getting eaten and looking bad
My SPS are doing great but I am always so afraid that one day I might find something nasty in my tank and if they are hard to see, I wonder if there is a way one would be able to see them before you start seeing your sps getting eaten and looking bad
waterfaller1
New member
QT.
Chrisstie, they are tiny, they move around, & are bright red. I have some photos if you would like to see.
nauti1us
ORCA President 2007~2008
I try and post this link each time I send out a monthly club meeting, especially for those who are thinking about bringing frags to auction.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1053076
There's tons of info out there... Unfortunately, if you've never seen RB before, it's almost impossible to see it by yourself... Who knows how long I had it in my tank before it was pointed out to me... some people claim the only way they see them is with a macro lens on a really good quality camera... but I was able to see them once I understood what I was looking for.
And Marcye's new microscope sees them "real" well. It's very cool to see 'em actually chomping down on coral tissue up close in person... They're like itty bitty tiny monsters !
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1053076
There's tons of info out there... Unfortunately, if you've never seen RB before, it's almost impossible to see it by yourself... Who knows how long I had it in my tank before it was pointed out to me... some people claim the only way they see them is with a macro lens on a really good quality camera... but I was able to see them once I understood what I was looking for.
And Marcye's new microscope sees them "real" well. It's very cool to see 'em actually chomping down on coral tissue up close in person... They're like itty bitty tiny monsters !
waterfaller1
New member
This has most of the pics I have...
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=903839
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=903839
nauti1us
ORCA President 2007~2008
On Caroles post, the 3rd picture down shows what you might be able to see. On my corals the red dots were even smaller than those shown on that photo. I had to really focus my eyes right down onto the coral tissue at the light tips of the acros... it took some time for my eyes to adjust.
Notice how the polyps of the coral are tightly withdrawn.
Notice how the polyps of the coral are tightly withdrawn.
chrisstie
Premium Member
Thanks for the pics- some i've seen but some in there are new and give a better perspective of what to keep an eye out for so if there is a problem you can nip it in the bud before you start having a skeleton collection
It looks like they would be really difficult to see on a darker background but maybe not since they are ... they remind me of tiny crumbs of those cheesy cheetos things (not to be confused with chaeto)
Mj 400s are kind of weak. i have one for my 10g QT tank and it.. I don't know... if you dont see any signs of bad water, bad bugs, or anything I'd maybe try a 600 or a 900.. I have my sps in the tank lined up to be where the powerhead is shooting- its very strong mostly indirect flow since there are rocks\corals\what not that come into play. My Mille looks like its hair is being blown in the wind the way they do those glamour shots
It looks like they would be really difficult to see on a darker background but maybe not since they are ... they remind me of tiny crumbs of those cheesy cheetos things (not to be confused with chaeto)
Mj 400s are kind of weak. i have one for my 10g QT tank and it.. I don't know... if you dont see any signs of bad water, bad bugs, or anything I'd maybe try a 600 or a 900.. I have my sps in the tank lined up to be where the powerhead is shooting- its very strong mostly indirect flow since there are rocks\corals\what not that come into play. My Mille looks like its hair is being blown in the wind the way they do those glamour shots
InLimbo87
New member
Even two 900's is too weak for a 30g with sps. I would consider two tunze nanostreams (or similar) such as the hydor koralia's. Or maybe one nanostream and a 900 or something like that. I would really be shooting for at least 900-1000 gph in that tank, preferably with some sort of random flow from a wavemaker, scwd, etc...
chrisstie
Premium Member
With a mix of things in a reef I'd think a nanostream would blow the bejeesus out of anything not SPS in the tank.. it does a great job in my 55 with my return pump flow.. I have a second that i haven't used just because of my shrooms\LPS on the bottom that don't seem to fare well with the blast
InLimbo87
New member
I doubt that there would be any ill effects to running the nanostream on a 30g tank, as the flow is pretty wide and its only about 600 or so gph. The softies may not like it at first, but with acclimation to the flow, will not have problems. Like I've said before, I have a mag 5 return (250 gph with head loss), a seio M620 (600 gph), and a maxi-jet 1200 (295gph) all in my 30gallon cube, and it isn't even that tumultuous. The softies, and lps are all doing great, and my sps seems to do better and better the more flow that I add.
I am going to put a wavemaker on the mj1200 though soon to add some random flow for the tank. I think one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to mixed reef style tanks is that it is very easy to get "too much flow" for softies. Sure, if it is a big change at first they will not like it, but will become acclimated to it fairly quickly. My softies are still reproducing like nobody's business, and my fish love the flow.
I am going to put a wavemaker on the mj1200 though soon to add some random flow for the tank. I think one of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to mixed reef style tanks is that it is very easy to get "too much flow" for softies. Sure, if it is a big change at first they will not like it, but will become acclimated to it fairly quickly. My softies are still reproducing like nobody's business, and my fish love the flow.
chrisstie
Premium Member
Hmm its the acclimation period that my softies didn't like. I have a lot of mushrooms and if they get too much and don't get with the program quick enough they up and leave their rock and then its like easter egg hunting
Heck I had a stupid little colony of zoos come unattached overnight from a rock I need to track down
Heck I had a stupid little colony of zoos come unattached overnight from a rock I need to track down
InLimbo87
New member
jsl6v8- To have the same ratio I have in your 55g, you'd have to have right around 2000 gph, which is hardly that much more than your current 1500 gph. I was suggesting to him to stick to the 900-1000 gph range, which is actually right in the range of what you are doing with your 55 (which as you say, is showing great results).
I am planning on putting the maxijet on a wavemaker, so that it becomes more of an intermittent strong burst for random flow, and less of a continuous flow pump, also.
All I was trying to get across is that his flow could very well be the main contributer to his sps polyps not opening up. I wouldn't even run a softie reef with that low of flow, as its less than 10x the turnover of his tank. And SPS are much more flow demanding animals.
I am planning on putting the maxijet on a wavemaker, so that it becomes more of an intermittent strong burst for random flow, and less of a continuous flow pump, also.
All I was trying to get across is that his flow could very well be the main contributer to his sps polyps not opening up. I wouldn't even run a softie reef with that low of flow, as its less than 10x the turnover of his tank. And SPS are much more flow demanding animals.
i dont know...my 90g has very mild flow. 800gph in fact and my acro extend pretty full. may jus be a combination of many small things. heavy flow is not the best for your coral either good flow is gental and sweeps the entire tank. just enough to mix but not quite a constant blasting. best bet would be a single controllable tunze to really help with the variation of wave strength.
dont judge your flow rate based on manufacturer spec. if you have multiple powerheads and switching currents then you are increasing the load on each of the pumps and actually decreasing there efficiency by a good percentage.
dont judge your flow rate based on manufacturer spec. if you have multiple powerheads and switching currents then you are increasing the load on each of the pumps and actually decreasing there efficiency by a good percentage.
