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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| New to Fishlore
Hello Everyone! 
This is my 2nd attempt at any type of forum site so please bare with me....
Per Lucy, I'm posting my 1st attemp at a fourm here to get more help. So, here goes:
I have a 75 gal Reef Tank and I absolutely love it. I actually got it from a friend of mine who moved out of state. Lucky me!! If she hadn't moved, I may never have been able to afford to start one. Anyway, I've had it now for a year and thought things were going well but since I got it, I have lost 3 fish and 2 anemone. I've been trying to learn everything that I need to learn and have upgraded some of my equipment but I know there are still things I'm missing. Even tho I'm still learning, I look into my tank and think things don't look like "I think" they should, but I don't know why. I have algae growing on the sand and I've been trying to clean it but it just keeps coming back the next day. I have a beautiful toadstool leather that is now, just a sliver of what it used to be. Looking at it makes me wanna cry. I don't want to lose it. Can someone, or all of you, please look at the pics I have and tell me what I need to do to improve my reef? I love this tank and have to make things better for all inside of it so I don't lose anyone else. Thanks !!!!!!
And, per Minx, I'm learning how to use smiley's.....  Minx http://picasaweb.google.com/wljm26/ReefLuvr_Aug08
ReefLuvr | 
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| WOWOWOW !! I have no clue about SW tanks but holy holy moly thats an amazing tank! also wanted to welcome you to fishlore...im sure some salties will help alot and goodluck with everything! | |
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Wow, thanks so much!!! I'm trying very hard to do well with it. | |
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Nice looking tank! Can you give us some more information? What are your current water parameters ( ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, temp, SG, pH, etc)? What fish do you have in the tank? How often and how much are you feeding? What kind of lights are you running and for how long daily? | |
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Welcome! Have you tested your water lately? What are the readings? | 
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Very good questions...... But I don't have the exact answers you'd like to hear I'm sure. As far as the parameters, I take my water in to get it tested and I used to have high nitrates, but now I have high phosphates. I have no idea what the exact readings are but I'm told they are not too high, just high. I have my water tested about every two weeks and do 15 to 20 gal water changes every two to three weeks as well.
I have a purple tang, a lawnmower blennie, a yellow watchman gobie, a bicolor blennie, two percula clowns, a coral beauty angelfish, a sixline wrasse, and a jawfish. I've lost 2 black and white clowns and a female gobie (mate to the yellow watchman).
When I first got the tank a yr ago I was told to feed every 3 days, both flakes and frozen. However, I've gone down to no flakes (changed to pellets) about 5 pellets every 3 days and to frozen only once a week and I feed 1/2 of what I used to (one square of carnivore and one square of herbivore) plus a little brine shrimp. All in all, its probly less than half of what I used to do. Water temp is about 75 degrees.
I've been trying to vacuum the sand but if you look at my pics, you can see that the algae just comes right back. I've tried blowing off the live rock but I'm not sure I'm doing that great of a job with that. I have a filter on the back of the tank that I turned into a refugium and I bought a canister filter to replace it. I have a skimmer on the refugium but I'm not sure thats enough. | |
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August 10th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Oh yeah, lights.... sorry.
I have a 48" Reef Odyssea 240 watt Power Compact and I they are on about 12 hrs a day. | |
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August 11th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Hi ReefLuvr,
First, A big welcome to fishlore!
The algae may be feeding off the phosphates, and 12hrs of lights is a bit much.
Try and reduce the lighting down to 10hrs.
The globes may need to be replaced if they are more than 18 months old.
The phosphate is another issue..
Do you use RO water for the water changes?
You can look at putting a phosphate remover in the filter..
Anyway.. love the look of your tank, keep up the great work! | |
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August 11th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Thanks! The lights are all brand new. Just got them two weeks ago, so that could have had something to do with it before. Yes, I use RO/DI water. I was buying my water from the Aquarium store but now I have an RO/DI water filter to make my own. I do have phosphate remover in the filter and have been using that for at least a couple months. I also have a jawfish that can't stop digging. His digging definitely stirs up the sand too. Can this have anything to do with it? I have a DSB and a couple days ago his home caved in and he started digging next to where it was. He stirred up so much ick from the sand the tank got kind of foggy. | |
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August 11th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Do I need a real protein skimmer? The only skimmer that I have is attached to the filter that is now a refugium. What is the norm for a 75gal tank? | |
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August 11th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| IMO, a skimmer is a must..
Some will say that you dont need one with some tank set ups.
Once you see the gunk they pull out of the tank water you will see what I mean.
I beleave that anything that removes gunk from the water must be good.
Dont go for the cheap skimmers... it will cost you more in the long run..
How often do you syphon the sand?
When changing the water, use a syphon to clean the sand and replace the water with new.
Phosphate filters need to be replaced once your readings stop falling.
You may want to look at replacing them every 3-4 weeks. | |
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August 11th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Welcome to Fishlore!
I would suggest getting a SW test kit, rather than taking your water to the store to get it tested. Aside from the fact that you don't then have to go somewhere to get your water tested, you're more likely to get correct readings, in my opinion (as pet stores often use test strips, and even if they use the liquid tests, they are likely to be hurried and potentially make mistakes).
I'm with PeterPiper regarding the skimmers. One month can produce a cup of a nasty protein sludge, and all of that is garbage that doesn't get a chance to turn into nitrogen in your tank. | |
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August 12th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| I'm sorry.... what is IMO? Quote:
Originally Posted by Peterpiper  IMO, a skimmer is a must..
Some will say that you dont need one with some tank set ups.
Once you see the gunk they pull out of the tank water you will see what I mean.
I beleave that anything that removes gunk from the water must be good.
Dont go for the cheap skimmers... it will cost you more in the long run..
How often do you syphon the sand?
When changing the water, use a syphon to clean the sand and replace the water with new.
Phosphate filters need to be replaced once your readings stop falling.
You may want to look at replacing them every 3-4 weeks. | What type of Skimmer is a good skimmer? What is the best brand?
Once i found out that i had to vacuum the sand, I've been doing it every week. That makes it....... 2 weeks now. However, I've done it 3 times now in those 2 weeks. Also, yes, I have been replacing the water with new. Quote:
Originally Posted by sirdarksol Welcome to Fishlore!
I would suggest getting a SW test kit, rather than taking your water to the store to get it tested. Aside from the fact that you don't then have to go somewhere to get your water tested, you're more likely to get correct readings, in my opinion (as pet stores often use test strips, and even if they use the liquid tests, they are likely to be hurried and potentially make mistakes).
I'm with PeterPiper regarding the skimmers. One month can produce a cup of a nasty protein sludge, and all of that is garbage that doesn't get a chance to turn into nitrogen in your tank. | There are so many test kits, plus, the guy at the store told me that none of them were that accurate. He does use liquid and not the strips. The last time I looked at test kits in the store, I couldn't find one that tested for phosphates along with the other tests. Is there one test kit that will test for everything I need?
Last edited by sirdarksol; August 12th, 2008 at 01:29 PM.
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August 12th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| IMO is "In My Opinion".
I wouldn't believe the guy at the pet store. If he's using the kit, then it's likely pretty accurate. If it's not, then both you and he are wasting time, anyway. I can't think of what his motive would be for lying, but that just seems really odd. API makes a master test kit (be sure to get the saltwater version, not the freshwater version) that is very accurate. As long as you follow the directions carefully, it works well. | |
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August 12th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Ok, thank you! I'll try API.
So, if I get a better skimmer than I am currently using and syphon the sand regularly, how long will it take before I stop seeing the algae on the sand?
And, no one has been able to really tell me how much I should be feeding the tank. How do I know how much is enough and not too much? | |
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August 13th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| With freshwater, you generally feed the fish no more than they can eat in one minute. I feed my fish about as much as they can eat in ten seconds. Tanks with single fish get two flakes/pellets.
I would think that a similar rule would work with saltwater fish.
If you have to target feed any fish, they should get a portion no bigger than the visible part of their eye (if this has to be cut up to fit in their mouth, then do so), unless it's a bigger fish, like a moray eel. | |
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August 13th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Wow, 1 minute? I guess I need to re-think my fish feeding habbits. | |
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August 13th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| In the saltwater world, it's more like how much they'll eat in about 3 minutes.
You can also add some macro algae into your sump like cheato. That'll also help in sucking up the phosphates. But if you do add it to your sump, you'll need a light down there. Just be sure it's secured properly. I have my light screwed into the side of my stand. | |
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August 14th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Oil_Fan In the saltwater world, it's more like how much they'll eat in about 3 minutes.
You can also add some macro algae into your sump like cheato. That'll also help in sucking up the phosphates. But if you do add it to your sump, you'll need a light down there. Just be sure it's secured properly. I have my light screwed into the side of my stand. | Ok, here's the part that I'm not sure that I understand. The sump. I don't have one or I'm not calling it that. 
I had a filter hanging off the back of my tank. It had sand in it, a rock and a bag of charcoal hanging in it. The phosphates were so high at one time that the guy at the fish store suggested I go to a canister filter and turn the backpack filter into a refugium and remove that sand cuz it could be bad. So, I cleaned out the sand in the filter, left the rocks in but rinsed them and then added some algae plant that the store sold me for the refugium, then I hooked up the canister filter. Then I added a light ( 3 60w bulbs ) that hangs over the refugium. So, what exactly is the sump? Is my refugium now a sump or do I need something else.
Sorry I seem so stupid but I'm really trying to understand all this. I really do appreciate everyones help tho.  | |
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August 14th, 2008
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| | Fish Keeper
| Don't be sorry. We've all been there. A sump is a smaller tank that sits underneath the main tank hidden by the stand. Water is taken from the main tank and fed through a hose into the sump and then is pumped back into the main tank. Those of us who use on put all of our equipment in there so it's out of site. Stuff like heaters and skimmer and such.
The algae plant in the refugium is a good thing. That'll help suck up some of the phosphates. The refugium is kinda acting like a sump in a way.
As for the canister filter...how long have you had it? From what I've read, you'll have to be sure clean out the canister from time to time to prevent nitrates.
Another thing you can use to suck up the phosphates is Phosguard. It kinda looks like charcoal pellets but they're white. That stuff is designed to suck up phosphates. | |
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August 14th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Basically...a sump is a seperate container plumbed to your tank that houses your filtering equipment and heater. A refugium is a seperate container plumbed to your tank that provides a refuge (hence the name) for various creatures that might otherwise be at risk in the main tank...copepods, macroalgae, etc. Just to confuse the matter, there are sumps that include an extra compartment to serve as a refugium, thereby giving you 1 container serving as both sump and refugium. | |
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August 14th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| heh...jinx! | |
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August 15th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Oil_Fan Don't be sorry. We've all been there. A sump is a smaller tank that sits underneath the main tank hidden by the stand. Water is taken from the main tank and fed through a hose into the sump and then is pumped back into the main tank. Those of us who use on put all of our equipment in there so it's out of site. Stuff like heaters and skimmer and such.
The algae plant in the refugium is a good thing. That'll help suck up some of the phosphates. The refugium is kinda acting like a sump in a way.
As for the canister filter...how long have you had it? From what I've read, you'll have to be sure clean out the canister from time to time to prevent nitrates.
Another thing you can use to suck up the phosphates is Phosguard. It kinda looks like charcoal pellets but they're white. That stuff is designed to suck up phosphates. | < a lot to take in here > 
Ok, my canister filter is only about 4 months old and it is under the main tank. It has several layers of media, one of which I have added is the Phosguard. I didn't know it was called that but it is white pellets for pulling out the phosphates. So, if the canister filter is pulling in water, cleaning it and pushing it back into the tank, is that the same as a sump? Or, should I have a filter, a sump and a refugium? And yes, I have been doing water changes about every 2 weeks, I use the power heads to blow the rocks off and I also clean out the canister filter media each time I do a water change and then I replace the Phosguard when I clean the filter. | |
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August 15th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Quote:
Originally Posted by sgould Basically...a sump is a seperate container plumbed to your tank that houses your filtering equipment and heater. A refugium is a seperate container plumbed to your tank that provides a refuge (hence the name) for various creatures that might otherwise be at risk in the main tank...copepods, macroalgae, etc. Just to confuse the matter, there are sumps that include an extra compartment to serve as a refugium, thereby giving you 1 container serving as both sump and refugium. | should I have these types of creatures in my refugium for the reef tank? I do sometimes see really tiny things swimming around in there, but I have no idea what they are. | |
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August 15th, 2008
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| | Fish Mentor
| Copepods most likely. A refugium would be helpful if you were keeping fish that feed on them heavily and you need to a safe place for them to be able to maintain their population. For instance...mandarins are constantly on the prowl for pods to eat. They can wipe out a tank's pod population in a short amount of time, then begin to slowly starve. But, if you have a refugium that the fish can't get into, the pods will constantly reproduce in there and have an easier time maintaining their numbers. | |
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August 16th, 2008
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| | Fish Bum
| Can anyone tell me what type of snail this is? it lives under the sand and I haven't been able to find a picture of it on the internet to see what it is. I would also like to know if this is something I need more of to help keep the sand clean (which is what I assume they do). As far as I can tell, there are only 4 or 5 in my tank (75 gal). I was told that I need to have a nassarius snails in my tank but that I should have about 18 to 20. But these don't look like nassarius snails. | |
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