Hi,
I have a 4g nano reef tank that was given to me in a "running" state about a year ago. I'm a scuba diver... this was all bought from a LFS in China as an xmas present. No idea really about specs or where it came from. I have found a local LFS, but there is a big language barrier between us!
Made the usual beginner mistakes (over stocking, over feeding, poor maintenance, etc). There were a few casualties, basically everything except two hardy damselfish died. Then I joined RC and started reading... and now I'm hooked!
The water quality was poor when I tested it (for the first time) just recently. Small amounts of toxic ammonia, 20ppm Nitrates. Low salinity (1.020). I measured pH at 7.2 but not sure how accurate my readings were (am partially color blind).
I brought the salinity up gradually to about 1.026 with a PWC and by topping off evaporated water with saltwater mix for about 4 weeks.
Am now doing 20% water changes weekly, which seems to be helping. I also took out the filter sponge and LR and rinsed them vigorously in old tank water before placing back. A lot of green/brown crap came out. But there is a lot more in there... its all over the live rock. Could anyone tell me what this is? (pic attached).
It looks like a brown powdery fur coating the rock. There are little strands that move about with the water flow... only 1mm or so in length, but all around the sides of the rock. Is this diatoms or dino? Or maybe I have both? Or is this nothing to worry about / how this particular live rock looks?
Please understand that I had not even heard of any of these things until last week, so forgive newbie questions and general cluelessness. Trying to do better by my little ecosystem.
I only started looking into this some cyanobacteria started forming on the glass / sandbed. That was really ugly, but the maintenance I've performed to date seems to have cleared that up.
Suggestions/advice on what this is on my rock, and how to deal with it would be appreciated.
Info:
4g system, DT with 3 small chambers in back. I guess its a mini refrugium but came stuffed (basically packed) with filtration media
Small protein skimmer - seems to kinda/sorta work, but not much stuff gets collected in the cup any more
LED lights (mixture of white and blue as), runs on timer 12hrs/day
temp: 24C
Live rock (~20% of DT volume) and sand bed
Filtration media - 2 bags of stuff, no idea what it is
inhabitants
2x yellow tail damselfish
1x banded shrimp (added 4 weeks ago)
3x LPS corals (newly added) - 1x torch 1x hammer 1x flower pot
My ideas:
- Add a bristle worm or red legged hermit crab (if I can find/buy one) to help cleanup
- Take all the LR out and scrub it clean(er) in saltwater at next water change
- Test for phosphates. Don't have a test kit for this yet
- Reduce lighting and/or run 3 days darkness
- Add something like purigen (prefer not to do that)
- Ask RC community for better informed help
I've cut feeding down drastically with no ill effects. Damsels seem to eat algae of the rock. All I've ever fed to the tank is flaked food (mutifin max or something). The shrimp seems to grab that before the damsels get there. I also plan to start feeding the corals once a week, but not sure best way to do that.
-droog
I have a 4g nano reef tank that was given to me in a "running" state about a year ago. I'm a scuba diver... this was all bought from a LFS in China as an xmas present. No idea really about specs or where it came from. I have found a local LFS, but there is a big language barrier between us!
Made the usual beginner mistakes (over stocking, over feeding, poor maintenance, etc). There were a few casualties, basically everything except two hardy damselfish died. Then I joined RC and started reading... and now I'm hooked!
The water quality was poor when I tested it (for the first time) just recently. Small amounts of toxic ammonia, 20ppm Nitrates. Low salinity (1.020). I measured pH at 7.2 but not sure how accurate my readings were (am partially color blind).
I brought the salinity up gradually to about 1.026 with a PWC and by topping off evaporated water with saltwater mix for about 4 weeks.
Am now doing 20% water changes weekly, which seems to be helping. I also took out the filter sponge and LR and rinsed them vigorously in old tank water before placing back. A lot of green/brown crap came out. But there is a lot more in there... its all over the live rock. Could anyone tell me what this is? (pic attached).
It looks like a brown powdery fur coating the rock. There are little strands that move about with the water flow... only 1mm or so in length, but all around the sides of the rock. Is this diatoms or dino? Or maybe I have both? Or is this nothing to worry about / how this particular live rock looks?
Please understand that I had not even heard of any of these things until last week, so forgive newbie questions and general cluelessness. Trying to do better by my little ecosystem.
I only started looking into this some cyanobacteria started forming on the glass / sandbed. That was really ugly, but the maintenance I've performed to date seems to have cleared that up.
Suggestions/advice on what this is on my rock, and how to deal with it would be appreciated.
Info:
4g system, DT with 3 small chambers in back. I guess its a mini refrugium but came stuffed (basically packed) with filtration media
Small protein skimmer - seems to kinda/sorta work, but not much stuff gets collected in the cup any more
LED lights (mixture of white and blue as), runs on timer 12hrs/day
temp: 24C
Live rock (~20% of DT volume) and sand bed
Filtration media - 2 bags of stuff, no idea what it is
inhabitants
2x yellow tail damselfish
1x banded shrimp (added 4 weeks ago)
3x LPS corals (newly added) - 1x torch 1x hammer 1x flower pot
My ideas:
- Add a bristle worm or red legged hermit crab (if I can find/buy one) to help cleanup
- Take all the LR out and scrub it clean(er) in saltwater at next water change
- Test for phosphates. Don't have a test kit for this yet
- Reduce lighting and/or run 3 days darkness
- Add something like purigen (prefer not to do that)
- Ask RC community for better informed help
I've cut feeding down drastically with no ill effects. Damsels seem to eat algae of the rock. All I've ever fed to the tank is flaked food (mutifin max or something). The shrimp seems to grab that before the damsels get there. I also plan to start feeding the corals once a week, but not sure best way to do that.
-droog
