Some questions....

Neoz

Neoz

New member
I have some questions in no particular order. I apologize if they seem senseless or in-experienced. I'm just trying to learn more about this hobby.

1) Is there a site or place to read up on what is or isn't good for our tanks in the line of pests? Something that includes pictures so I know what I'm looking for.

2) Does Coraline need light to grow and spread Thur out my tank? How many hours a day should one run MH's? I ask this because I generally run mine 5 hours a night. But on weekends I tend to almost double that. But the results aren't good. I always see some algae outbursts on my rock from that. But I would like to extend my MH period. My bulbs are brand new 10K XM's. 175W.

3) Speaking of Algae. Is there a site or place to learn the different kinds of algae and the corrective action to battle it.

4) In one area of my tank about 2" or so I have cob webs. What would cause that? There is plenty of flow there because I can see them moving but they are attached on each end. The area in question is about 1/2 way up my tank and is attached to a frag of coral. I plan on getting pictures up tomorrow as I don't have my camera today.

5) Last but not least I lifted a small rock in my tank only to find white cocoons attached to it. One end is open and something black is alive in there. Could they be from snails? Awhile ago I posted about a snail ID and was told it was a Stomatella Snail. Last week myself and my wife quit counting after 60 of them suckers. Could it be one of them. They come out in full force after the MH's go off. They are jet black with a silver shell. Again I will get pictures of the cocoons tomorrow.

Thanks for any help.....
 
Re: Some questions....

It is my experience that blue actinics help best with coraline algae growth. I have been keeping my blues on 24/7 for the past few weeks and I have noticed massive coraline growth throughtout the tank. I have only been running whites for 2 hours a day as well.

Coraline needs calcium, strontium, and iodine for growth, so if you aren't against dosing, these may help.

The white things may be pineapple/urn sponges. Without a pic, it's hard to say. I have them growing all over the under sides of my rocks and in my overflow/sump. Just found out today they aren't bad. They tend to polish your water.

I have found that posting pics to the forum is the best resource. There is an amazing group of people here who are all willing to share information.

Hope this helps.

Tim


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brief replies

brief replies

1) melev (that's his username on RC) has a site that shows pix of reef aquarium pests

2) corallines need light to grow. The amount of light required depends on species of coralline. Magnesium is very important to coralline growth

3) RC is as good a site as any to ID algae and learn how to control it

4) Vermitid snails?

5) cocoons or sponges?
 
5380 said:
What exactly is your daily photo schedule?
Click to expand...
who's schedule are you interested in?

Dave (Neoz)- I would get your lights on timers and run them the same every day. Read the magnesium article in the RC Reef Chemistry Forum. Not only will magnesium encourage coralline growth but (depending on what supplement you use) it can actually inhibit the growth of "bad" algae.

Research Kent Tech M ;)
 
It would be thread hijacking to ask you G. I'm of the same opinion as you on this, same time each day even if it is from 6pm to 2am.
 
Testing of Mag has always been good. Looking back at my test logs it shows mostly around 1440ppm or above. Only one test showed results of 1350ppm and that was over a month ago. I test about every 2 weeks now using Salifert test kit. When I first started I tested quite often.

For what its worth I don't dose or supplement anything yet. Unless my parameters are off, I don't correct anything. Thats probably not good. I should probably be using at least Kalk I would think.

My photo period is VHO's on at 3:00pm till 11:00pm. MH's on at 4:00pm till 9:00pm or 9:30pm. None of my lights are on timers. I should go buy some. Will my corals and tank do better with a consist light schedule?

Off to read that Mag article.... Thanks for the input everyone.
 
My photo period is VHO's on at 3:00pm till 11:00pm. MH's on at 4:00pm till 9:00pm or 9:30pm. None of my lights are on timers. I should go buy some. Will my corals and tank do better with a consist light schedule?
Click to expand...

OMG yes

And to give you just a simple average answer on the lighting times. I would go 12hrs actinic only, and start with like 6 hrs of days.

900am-900pm actinic only

1200pm-600pm actinic and days

Corals and fish all react to set lighting times. Corals will close or expand at diff. times of the day. My fish even have diff. behaviors in the day and at night.
 
Being no one is home during the day and we leave very early in the am. Would a schedule like the one below be ok. We like to view the tank at night so we would want the MH's on some time during the early evening. How about...

Set actinic schedule for 12:00pm till 11:00pm

MH's from 1:00pm till 7:00pm.
 
You can get a pretty cheap light timer. I'd go for it. I also run my actinics for 12 hrs. MH's are on for 7.5 hrs. I ramped up to this over the years. When my present tank was new, I only ran MH's for 6 hrs because of the algae blooms that can plague new systems for the first 6 to 12 mos.

Dave, you're obviously a guy who loves the hobby. You've jumped in with both feet. I don't feel out of line in recommending you get a computer. It'll make your life easier. Reef Keeper, Neptune Aquacontroller etc...
 
Ive been eyeing a Reef Keeper Cully. I'm upgrading all of my equipment as I go. Started with all my Ballasts, next were the bulbs, then the Vortech, next week on the group buy from Bulk Reef Supply I'm placing my order for a Octopus Extreme 250. Then will come my RKE.

Its tough to budget for this hobby with my twin daughters in college. But thankfully I have a understanding wife who just wants our tank to look like the ones posted on Reef Central :lolspin:

Didn't have the heart to tell her even with all the new equipment it will take a few years.. ;)
 
I agree with Mark. Don't start sinking money into timers. A controller will do the job of timers (plus much more).
In the meantime I'd run actinics for at least 12 hours. 12PM to 12 AM or similar. Pull the plug when you go to sleep for now.
 
Also I've learned an awful lot from browsing the general forums and making it a point to read as many of the "What the HECK is THIS?!?" posts that you see often. Most of the time they are either aiptasia, stomatella or a sponge but you still see some of the rarer oddities of the hobby often with people chiming in with identities. I've learned just as much if not more from browsing more or less random posts than from researching with a specific cause. Cheers!
 
As a note, I HIGHLY recommend the RKL / RKE, though I realize you (generally like all of us) are running on a budget. I have the RKL and love it. The cost differential between the RKL and the RKE is essentially the same as the upgrade cost from Digital Aquatics. So, you may want to consider simply purchasing the RKL now, and upgrading to the RKE later (which is what I planned to do).

If you do decide to temporarily use an inexpensive light timer, I have use the one above sold through Harbor Freight. It worked great for me. You can find the EXACT same timer on other websites sold for a lot more money. So, Harbor Freight is probably the best place to get it.
 
Even the timers at Weggies are great for just your normal plug. Home Depot has 3-Pronged Digital Timers for $12 and Wal-Mart has a few types as well and they work fine.
 
Re: Some questions....

I started with the digital timers from home depot, and they worked great. I just recently upgraded to the Neptune Systems Apex controller and I love it. Does a fantastic job, easy to configure and I can check on/control my tank from my iPhone. I also have a Vortech MP40w PH and they are releasing a module for the Apex to monitor/control it wirelessly. Can't wait.


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