What macro algae should I use?

[ff337]

Fast growing chaeto is due to excessive nutrients. When I used chaeto I fed heavily at first because I had many more fish to feed. Mainly tangs. I added a sheet of nori daily since I had very very little other algae in the tank. Chaeto would grow like crazy. When I cut the nori back quite a bit the chaeto would stall or sometime shrink considerably.

 

[ff337]

GaJeep94YJ;1048530 wrote: It's 2 3/4"at its deepest, I don't think that qualifies as a deep sand bed

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Leaving your hands out if the tank is generally much beneficial. Allowing bacteria and organisms to do their job.

 

[russ-iv]

FF337;1048533 wrote: Leaving your hands out if the tank is generally much beneficial. Allowing bacteria and organisms to do their job.

i would say this is a very blanketed statement considering the sandbed pictures.
basic aquarium husbandry requires some hands in the tank. a neglected substrate is a far more dangerous bomb to it's inhabitants if left unchecked.

my .02

 

[ff337]

Russ-IV;1048536 wrote: i would say this is a very blanketed statement considering the sandbed pictures.
basic aquarium husbandry requires some hands in the tank. a neglected substrate is a far more dangerous bomb to it's inhabitants if left unchecked.

my .02

Thank you for your opinion. This is a common stage in reef keeping. Not a ticking time bomb. Nothing in this hobby has a quick permanent fix. It is easy to overdo it. My sandbed is identical to this at the glass. My sps tank is great. I advise pulling anything or changing anything. Only educate to the outcomes

Phosgard is gentle. Gfo is harsh. Knowing that. I personally run 1/3 recommend dose of gfo changed every couple weeks.

Carbon I run at 1/2 amount changed more often. Since its filtering capacities expire much sooner.

I don't test anymore. I am an experienced reefer and know the tell tell signs of bad water chemistry and when and how to correct them.


This situation can be fixed by feeding less, and TIME.

 

[ff337]

Again. This is my personal experience. Not something I read on the web.

 

[bulkrate]

Jeep - I dodged the substrate issues by running a very shallow sandbed, only about .5-1" deep for appearance rather than any fltration benefit. Every now & then I gravel-vac it, but by and large the hermits, cerith snails & micro brittles do a good job of scavenging it.

A deep sandbed is really something better run remote in a fuge or as the substrate in a larger tank.

General rule of thumb is to only clean a fraction of the sandbed at a time (no more than 1/4)... disturbing it en mass could indeed spike your nitrates as you've been seeing. Yours may also be not deep enough to do what you want - I'm under the impression that anything less than around 4-5" would likely just become a sink for decaying matter without enough depth to create anoxic zones for the later stages of the nitrogen cycle to happen in. Also, a real DSB once in operation is not supposed to be disturbed at all - you risk releasing pockets of hydrogen sulfide, which can easily poison your tank.

 

[ff337]

BulkRate;1048560 wrote: Jeep - I dodged the substrate issues by running a very shallow sandbed, only about .5-1" deep for appearance rather than any fltration benefit. Every now & then I gravel-vac it, but by and large the hermits, cerith snails & micro brittles do a good job of scavenging it.

A deep sandbed is really something better run remote in a fuge or as the substrate in a larger tank.

General rule of thumb is to only clean a fraction of the sandbed at a time (no more than 1/4)... disturbing it en mass could indeed spike your nitrates as you've been seeing. Yours may also be not deep enough to do what you want - I'm under the impression that anything less than around 4-5" would likely just become a sink for decaying matter without enough depth to create anoxic zones for the later stages of the nitrogen cycle to happen in. Also, a real DSB once in operation is not supposed to be disturbed at all - you risk releasing pockets of hydrogen sulfide, which can easily poison your tank.

Well said.

 

[gajeep94yj]

Well that's probably my problem then! 2.5" deep, and only a few things to stir it up. Plus I vacuum all of it every water change!

Maybe I'll pull half of the volume of the sand out so it's only half the depth.

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[gajeep94yj]

Guys, I really do appreciate your advice on this. I've been fighting nitrates since the beginning. This is the first time I think I might have a clue as to what is happening!


Wife wants a flame Angel.... Should I hold off on adding anything?

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[ff337]

Some say chase numbers...most will say chase the looks of the tank. I use a coral to judge many things. When my euphylia is retracted in the daylight I know something is wrong. Normally it's kh in my tank. I use dosers and an Kalk reactor. Some days evaporation is more and more Kalk is dosed. No big deal I can adjust the amount of Kalk I use added to my Kalk reactor. Also I use the algae on the glass. When I see it it's time for a water change or my wife fed too many pellets while I was at the fire house.

Good luck.

 

[russ-iv]

GaJeep94YJ;1048567 wrote: Guys, I really do appreciate your advice on this. I've been fighting nitrates since the beginning. This is the first time I think I might have a clue as to what is happening!


Wife wants a flame Angel.... Should I hold off on adding anything?

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well you can watch and wait. or be proactive about your nitrate issue.
watching a tank is great advice for a reefer that knows his own tank and it is well established.

ime a dsb is more than just 4+ inches of sand. it needs life to make it a "true" system, and the odds are against you that it wont get disturbed and bomb your tank. (that was my observation from the internet (paul b with a 44 year old tank) as well as my own experience) hence why others here have advised it in it's own self contained unit.
with a max height of 2.75 inches it doesnt sound like you are going that route and it is for aesthetics only. in that case dropping some sand and biweekly maintenance of stirring/vaccum is recommended.
ive heard many so-called experts diagnose my browning and paling sps to phosphate, when it was something else entirely. these "experts" also do not dose nitrate to maintain their tank nor would ever think of it. yet you would never guess which vendors i know dose sodium/potassium/calcium/urea nitrate.
i dont think a dime size amount of food will remedy your issue as i throw in quadruple that and our tanks are quite large.
on f3's note, and what i inquired prior. what is broken that you are trying to fix?

numbers can tell alot about a tank. you have to chase the big 3's numbers no matter what system it is (mag/alk/cal) but there is the magic sauce of food for photosynthesis. nitrogen, phosphorus, and light energy. higher energy will have higher nutrient demands. THAT is my experience.

jeep. did you clean the surface of your substrate before taking that picture? it looks like you cleaned the top 1/2 inch.

the reason i ask is because it appears you have cyano on the front glass. it may burn itself out consuming the carbon source, however if left unchecked...can be invasive as well as toxic.

food for thought

 

[gajeep94yj]

I'm going to start sucking out the sand until I get to an inch or so.

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[gajeep94yj]

Sucked out 6 gallons of water and got close to a gallon bucket with of sand out today.

I'll let it sit for a few days then come back and do it again.

I was surprised how little sand the siphon got. Maybe next time I'll do two buckets of water and get twice as much sand

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