ok, troops, listen up...and pass it on!

Sk8r

Staff member
RC Mod
Newbies can help a lot---by answering things for other newbies like: the questions just keep coming, sometimes 3 and 4 pretty much the same every few hours.

1. what do I do about hair algae? The answer: get rid of the phosphate that came in with your live rock or from tapwater, if you aren't using ro/di. First, use ro/di. Then get either a fuge or a phosphate reactor going. No phosphate = no algae. Note: testing for it won't work unless it's in the water. It's usually in the algae.

2. I found a bristleworm. Should I kill it? The answer: no. They're valuable to your tank. Just wear latex gloves when handling rock, where they hang out. They won't hurt your corals. If your fish gets bristled, it'll fall off after 2 days and your fish will get smarter.

3. I have high nitrate. Why? THe answer: filters are the likely culprit. Change them every 4-5 days. Or do without them altogether.

4. Should I use the bioballs that came in my sump? Not good: withdraw them, if they're in use, handful a day until gone. Better for your tank.

5. my snails keep dying: snails have to be acclimated just like fish, even more so. And the pointy snails aren't good on fine sand: they'll die if they fall over. Get them back on the rock with chopsticks if they fall over, or shove them over near the glass.
 
especially the bit about the phosphate, i just dont think new reefers realise just how damaging the stuff is, great point sk8r, hope some of them actually take note, since i added my reactor the system has drastically improved
 
Actually I'm a new reefer/newb. I am going to take note of everything on here. I dont use filters anymore, and never used bioballs, but I do need to take note of everything else on there. Really good post for people like me. Thank you.
 
Probably not that great, snorvich. I've come up from base rock---eventually got rid of the algae, but I wouldn't be surprised to know that's a problem.
 
You are right sk8r, thanks for the short reminder. Can you refer me to a post about a phosphate reactor, where the obvious questions can be answered without having to rehash them?
 
Bio-balls are a very efficient biological filter media. The key is to keep them clean. If maintained properly, they will not produce excess nitrates. They simply provide a highly oxygenated area for biological bacteria to grow, thus converting waste to ammonia, nitrites, and finally nitrates.
Also, if you have a fish only tank without a lot of live rock for decoration, bio-balls are going to be a good choice for biological filtration. Again - the key is keeping them clean. Use good mechanical filtration via filter floss, etc. before water gets to the bio-balls, and keep that mechanical media cleaned, or changed often.
 
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