I am having problems with red cyano and hair algae in my 30g tall that have 5 erectus. I do a 5g water change every week. I currently have a emperor 280 and one ph that occilates in front of the sea fan. I get cyano on the horses and behind the fan and certain places on rock. My question is would an emperor 400 be too much flow? I am hoping the extra flow would help and I really do not want to add a skimmer on this tank. I do not have enough room for a fuge either. I already have some phosban in the filter to help. I feed twice a day (mysis) which is contained for the horses.
too much flow??
- Thread starter NONNA58
- Start date
Hmm... Well, I hope the added flow helps with your cyano problem, but your primary issue is nutrient export. You have eliminated two of the three best ways to eliminate excess nutrients leaving you with just water changes (dilution).
If upping the flow dosn't work, try increasing the volume of your weekly water changes.
Are you growing macro in the tank? If so, is it growing well enough that you are able to harvest some weekly or bi-weekly? This would/should help a lot with controlling excess nutrients.
Maybe I should also back up a little and ask how much hair algae and cyano you have. Does it cover half or more of the tank? A quarter of the tank? What one person thinks of as a problem may not be an issue for others.
Fred
If upping the flow dosn't work, try increasing the volume of your weekly water changes.
Are you growing macro in the tank? If so, is it growing well enough that you are able to harvest some weekly or bi-weekly? This would/should help a lot with controlling excess nutrients.
Maybe I should also back up a little and ask how much hair algae and cyano you have. Does it cover half or more of the tank? A quarter of the tank? What one person thinks of as a problem may not be an issue for others.
Fred
Fred,
That was the other thing I was getting ready to do was increasing the volume of water change. I realize that I have a nutrient problem and I successfully have been harvesting caulerpa. I harvested too much about 2 months ago and the caulerpa has not caught up on the growth that it normally does. The hair algae is not too bad. It is on a few spots in the tank but on the spots it is on it is heavy. The cyano is not that bad either but I try to take things at hand before they get out of control. I need to buy more caulerpa this week as well to replace what I harvested last month. Usually it grows like crazy but not this time.
That was the other thing I was getting ready to do was increasing the volume of water change. I realize that I have a nutrient problem and I successfully have been harvesting caulerpa. I harvested too much about 2 months ago and the caulerpa has not caught up on the growth that it normally does. The hair algae is not too bad. It is on a few spots in the tank but on the spots it is on it is heavy. The cyano is not that bad either but I try to take things at hand before they get out of control. I need to buy more caulerpa this week as well to replace what I harvested last month. Usually it grows like crazy but not this time.
ManfromAtlantis
New member
I got my first two (Black) seahorses today. I am just curious as to why you dont want a skimmer in that tank.. I have one I was planning on using in my Seahorse tank.. Thanks.. JG
pledosophy
Active member
:wavehand: Welcome to Reefcentral.
Many people stay away from protein skimmers with seahorse tanks because there is ancedotal evidence linking them to GBD, they remove the nutrients that help macro's and corals grow, and they remove pod life.
I like to use them in sumps in Reef tanks, but I do not use a skimmer on my horse tanks. Lately I do not use them on my reef tanks. I find other methods more effective. My reefs are thriving, conditions are optimum. JME
Many people do use protein skimmers on horse tanks and love them.
Nonna,
I would up the WC to a 10g weekly. It's not that much harder to do 10g's. I used to do 20g's a week as part of my regular maintance.
Also when your doing WC's syphon out the areas on the rock and clean off any plastic things in the tank.
I would remove the biowheel, not a fan IME.
I would also keep the lights off for 48 hous continously to kill the bacteria. Often times old bulbs change there light spectrum as they age and shift towards being more favorable to nuissance algae. I would also check your PH level to make sure it is where it should be. JME.
Many people stay away from protein skimmers with seahorse tanks because there is ancedotal evidence linking them to GBD, they remove the nutrients that help macro's and corals grow, and they remove pod life.
I like to use them in sumps in Reef tanks, but I do not use a skimmer on my horse tanks. Lately I do not use them on my reef tanks. I find other methods more effective. My reefs are thriving, conditions are optimum. JME
Many people do use protein skimmers on horse tanks and love them.
Nonna,
I would up the WC to a 10g weekly. It's not that much harder to do 10g's. I used to do 20g's a week as part of my regular maintance.
Also when your doing WC's syphon out the areas on the rock and clean off any plastic things in the tank.
I would remove the biowheel, not a fan IME.
I would also keep the lights off for 48 hous continously to kill the bacteria. Often times old bulbs change there light spectrum as they age and shift towards being more favorable to nuissance algae. I would also check your PH level to make sure it is where it should be. JME.
ManfromAtlantis
New member
Thanks pledosophy..
NONNA58..Best of luck with your tank..
NONNA58..Best of luck with your tank..
Have you measured nitrates lately?
I find in my tank that when my macro stops growing it is actually short on nitrates.
It is possible that there are enough nutrients in your tank to grow cyano, but not enough to keep the macro going. When my macro stops growing, I actually dos a little calcium nitrate to get it going again.
I do have some hair algae in my tank, but it stays in one area and is easy to harvest as well.
Fred
I find in my tank that when my macro stops growing it is actually short on nitrates.
It is possible that there are enough nutrients in your tank to grow cyano, but not enough to keep the macro going. When my macro stops growing, I actually dos a little calcium nitrate to get it going again.
I do have some hair algae in my tank, but it stays in one area and is easy to harvest as well.
Fred
Pledosophy,
I am going to try 10g from now on. The only plastic that is in the tank is the PH and the return of the emperor which I admit I clean once a month. The snails usually do a good job on those peices. I also clean off the rocks everyday with the turkey baster after feeding the horses. I don't think that I could run the emperor with out the biowheel though. Why do you think that is harmful to the tank? Also the bulbs are only 5 months old.
Fred,
The nitrates are atleast 50+ and the calcium measured at 490 last month. I am laying off the two part.
manfromatlantis-good luck with your horses!
I am going to try 10g from now on. The only plastic that is in the tank is the PH and the return of the emperor which I admit I clean once a month. The snails usually do a good job on those peices. I also clean off the rocks everyday with the turkey baster after feeding the horses. I don't think that I could run the emperor with out the biowheel though. Why do you think that is harmful to the tank? Also the bulbs are only 5 months old.
Fred,
The nitrates are atleast 50+ and the calcium measured at 490 last month. I am laying off the two part.
manfromatlantis-good luck with your horses!
:eek1:
Yikes! You need some additional nutrient export. Consider doing several 10g changes in the first week to get your nitrates down to something more reasonable and then continue on with once weekly changes.
Do consider a skimmer as a possibility if water changes don't help manage the nitrates.
By the way, I know that DanU is not that concerned with high nitrates (don't know what he might consider too high though) relating to seahorses. I just don't like to see them that high.
In the fresh water world, nitrates at these levels would cause serious health issues to the tank inhabitants (such as damage to the gills). I do not know what is different about salt water.
Fred
No, no room for a fuge. The tank is in the family room and the 62" tv is on the right of it. Sliding glass doors to the left. I am trying to keep the noise down as well that is another reason I don't want a sump and skimmer. I also do not want the micro bubbles as I have seem to do well w/o GBS in my horses.
DanU
New member
Although I wouldn't freak out with the nitrates at that level, I would take measures to lower them. A couple of large water changes would be more effective than several small ones. The fuge idea is a great one, but I understand the space limitations.
Having the tank near the TV concerns me. I would imagine that a 62 inch TV would have a pretty good sound system. One stressor that is often overlooked is sound and vibration. This can lead to long term low level stress. Paul Anderson at the University of Florida is currently working on a study on this: (http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/Gradstds/PAndersonresJan06.pdf#search="paul anderson seahorses sound")
This may or may not be a factor in your setup but you should be aware and give it some thought.
Dan
Having the tank near the TV concerns me. I would imagine that a 62 inch TV would have a pretty good sound system. One stressor that is often overlooked is sound and vibration. This can lead to long term low level stress. Paul Anderson at the University of Florida is currently working on a study on this: (http://fishweb.ifas.ufl.edu/Gradstds/PAndersonresJan06.pdf#search="paul anderson seahorses sound")
This may or may not be a factor in your setup but you should be aware and give it some thought.
Dan
Given the fact that the TV is so bright at night when the lights are off that I have sewn a cover for the tank to keep the light out. There used to be a 52" there a year ago when I first set up the tank and I had no problem with the sound. We do not use the sound from the TV at all. That is turned off and we use a speaker system which is placed around the room. It really is not directed at the tank at all. But my husband has been having hearing problems lately and has had the volume up lately! Maybe this would be a good excuse to make him turn it down!
pledosophy
Active member
Have you tried Barry white to increase the breeding?
IME Seachem's nitrate reducer media is a great product. I made a nitrate filter out of a Rio 90, a Aquafina watter bottle, a couple feet of airline and a jar of the nitrate media. Nitrates dropped to 0.
Large water changes are great, make sure to test your source water to know it is clean.
The tanks I have run with biowheels have always had high nitrates, after the biowheel is removed, the nitrates went down. If you can just pop out the biowheel, I would try it.JME
Also 5 seahorses in a 30g is a high bioload, you will need some type of better filtration then what you currently have to solve the problem.
Curious as to what your biological filtration is like. How much rock do you have? What was the source of it?
IME Seachem's nitrate reducer media is a great product. I made a nitrate filter out of a Rio 90, a Aquafina watter bottle, a couple feet of airline and a jar of the nitrate media. Nitrates dropped to 0.
Large water changes are great, make sure to test your source water to know it is clean.
The tanks I have run with biowheels have always had high nitrates, after the biowheel is removed, the nitrates went down. If you can just pop out the biowheel, I would try it.JME
Also 5 seahorses in a 30g is a high bioload, you will need some type of better filtration then what you currently have to solve the problem.
Curious as to what your biological filtration is like. How much rock do you have? What was the source of it?
