Retired Docs ramblings and some basic questions

[Drblakjak55]

Starting this blog basically because I'm a retired doc with a lifelong hobby of guppies to oscars. Now with a 30g Rainbow tank. A 125g African Cichlids tank for thirty years. And this 90g mixed reef for two years that,knock on wood, continues to slowly grow.

I have a question and a problem.
Question is can you just mix GFO with activated carbon together in one reactor?
Problem is cotton candy like algae throughout my cheato. None in tank and growing like crazy. Some pics.....




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[Paulywalnuts]

Looks like coralline algae doc. Maybe spawn/ bloom. I hate gfo . Try feeding less or weekly water changes to get phosphate, nitrates down. IMO the less additives the better. Except alk, cal,mag. I bet your mag is low. Beautiful baby by the way

 

[Drblakjak55]

Thanks Pauly. Coralline in the chaeto? I do 20% changes every two weeks. Phos always 0.1. Was 0.4 before gfo. Last mag check was 1320. I'm a granddad so I like to feed the babies and the fish


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[MBC2012]

Great looking African tank Doc. Brings back my early years. Had a 75 with a few different spieces of Aulonocara Peacocks. Were you T. Dubois breeding or did you just have a huge harem tank?

As to the red algae in the huge, could maybe red slim? Lack of flow with cause this. Definitely see signs of Phosphate a nitrate in the star fish pic. The green hair algea is a dead give away. Have you tested for nitrates?

 

[Tweaked]

Not sure if you are doing it but that chaeto should be pulled. The point of growing it is to export nutrients. That ball should be trimmed weekly and only leave a little bit behind each time. Blast it with light, preferably a LED grow light with primarily Reds- look on Amazon. That will triple your chaeto production and thus nutrient export.

 

[jml1149]

Yes, you can mix GFO and carbon, no problem. Just don't let it tumble. Not as efficient as separate, but will work.

 

[Paulywalnuts]

I get the same probleem with my cheato at times. I trim and shack it around often. What is leaching those phone in your system? Are you feeding frozen? Some dry foods are loaded with crap. What phos test are you using? What are you nitrates?

 

[Drblakjak55]

Without daily vodka nitrates run 40. With it 10.
Phos is 0.1 down from 0.4 after starting gfo. Call it a dirty tank.
I feed PE frozen mysis and flakes, Nori. Fish fat and healthy
Thanks Jml - will trickle through.
I remove a large softball of chaeto weekly growing under a 53Watt Home Depot halogen light.
These red algae quarter inch puffs are throughout the chaeto.


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[Drblakjak55]

So the new questions: 1. Fish feeding. Flake three times a day consumed in thirty seconds with frozen twice a week too much? Than target feeding corals with Brightwell zoo and microvore twice weekly. If this is no good what are good foods or what components go into diy frozen foods? 2. Sand. How much is still needed in a two yr old 90g tank with 90lbs rock. Thousand spaghetti worms seem happy.
3. Green Hair Algae. Personally great place for the mandarin to graze. Is there a rent a sea hare program? If I attack with wire brush and forceps the ones I allow to grow and pull off it seems I'm slowly winning the battle. That and chicken baster to blow the stuff I think the algae feeds on that collects in nooks.


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[Drblakjak55]

Great looking African tank Doc. Brings back my early years. Had a 75 with a few different spieces of Aulonocara Peacocks. Were you T. Dubois breeding or did you just have a huge harem tank?

As to the red algae in the huge, could maybe red slim? Lack of flow with cause this. Definitely see signs of Phosphate a nitrate in the star fish pic. The green hair algea is a dead give away. Have you tested for nitrates?

This African tank self developed into a two species tank over the thirty plus years it's running. Every three months the Duboisiis have two litters going. The other species I thought are called pseudo hap cylindricus but I could be way off. They always have babies going. Anybody want to trade duboisiis for judichromis or labs.


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[Drblakjak55]

Back to red slime but only in the chaeto question.
Any other thoughts? Would the cheato tolerate peroxide or bleach to wash out these little cotton candy algae collections.


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[Drblakjak55]

Other question out there is low phosphate foods? If I grind up fresh clam, scallop, shrimp and freeze it, is this low phos? If the fish gobble up flake in thirty seconds does that increase total phos?


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[Tweaked]

Back to red slime but only in the chaeto question.
Any other thoughts? Would the cheato tolerate peroxide or bleach to wash out these little cotton candy algae collections.


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I would rinse or shake out in a bucket of water. Peroxide is typically used to kill or burn algaes so not recommended.

 

[JD06351]

Hey doc, love the african tank. I wouldn't mind picking your brain a bit on it since you've clearly have been successful having it up for so long. I'm picking up a 120 this weekend and plan on doing africans in it.

 

[Drblakjak55]

Chaeto is basically a big ball so I'll try a fresh water rinse and clean off the fuge walls. The African tank is 98% self sustaining. 25% water change with rift lake salt monthly. Clean the Eheim Pro2 canister every two months. Bulletproof fish.

Question for the crowd: How often, if at all, do you blow out nooks and crannies in live rock and between corals with a turkey baster??


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[Paulywalnuts]

I blow off the rocks weekly. Blow out any low flow areas. You don't want detritus build up or uneaten food to collect. I know it's easier but, flake food is loaded with crap that can cause higher nitrates and phos. I bet if you illuminated that. Jack your flow up, it would make a big difference in the test readings. Is your skimmer large enough? Work properly?

 

[Drblakjak55]

Thanks Pauly. Skimmer is Bubble Magus Hero 180 works great in nine to ten inches of water. Similar to a Curve 7. So...

The question is how often does a five inch Tang need to eat vs a
two inch wrasse. Lots of places say three times a day. So if they
scarf it down in thirty seconds does it effect phosphate?


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[Paulywalnuts]

When the food comes out it does. I have some large fish. 3x a day is a lot of feeding. Once a day frozen with couple drop vitachem will keep them fat and healthy. A little nori here and there..also.

 

[Drblakjak55]

Retired Docs ramblings and some basic questions

If I don't feed them they start to complain. Banging their heads on the glass. Threatening the coral. Chopped up clam scallop shrimp a better choice in terms of phos? They love Nori


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