Typical Saltwater...

[gazog]

Originally Posted by Z-Ice

My tank is about 8 months old. What else should I feed besides frozen. I many feed Mysis shrimp and brine shrimp. I have a little pellets but the fish are hogs. I cannot get any to my mandarin fish.

Buy a turkey baster and spot feed him.

I do not know my calcium level or carbonates? I might have higher calcium but I do not think so. After I clean algae I try to add purple up. Because my purple on the rocks was starting to diminish.

I wouldn't add anymore Purlple up till you buy a test kit and test for Calcium,and Alkalinity not a good practice adding suplements without knowing the levels. I maybe wrong about this but I would say the the Green algae is eating all the food and thats why the coaline is dying off.

If I do add more LR then my tank will start the cycle again, correct?

Use pre-cured rock, most fish stores have it. It might start a mini cycle but you should be okay.

RO filters? Brand new I just bought the system a week ago. Otherwise the water from Walmart is 5 ppm. Not bad for Walmart.

didn't know Wal-Mart sold RODI water, going to have to check that out till I get mine installed.

Cleaning crew. I have about 20 or so hermit crabs. I am down to 2 or 3 snails.

Buy more snails, I have way more snails then crabs, I feel that they are what helps keep my tanks algae free. adn I agree with what amcarrig says about the starfish.

[amcarrig]

Is there an echo in here?

Seriously though, if you decide to buy r.o. water from a store, be prepared to test it for ammonia, nitrate and phosphates. You don't know how often they change the filters at the store so adding their water could do more harm than good.

[bigrf33]

will red slime algae harm my fish or soft corals, tank 1 month old just got rid of brown algae 2 wk ago

[gazog]

Originally Posted by amcarrig

Is there an echo in here?

You posted while I was typing, I had to stop and do what my boss pays me for (you know work) by the time I got back to it you had already beaten me.

Imagine my surprise when I saw your post , thats why I edited it and added the part about agreeing with yo about the starfish!!


Point about walmart water is noted, I will have RODI installed in a couple of months but till then I might check that out, at the price of gas wal-mart is within walking distance, LFS not.....

[amcarrig]

I actually had a slow day at work today which is not usual the way things have been going lately

[Z-Ice]

Ok I purchased some additional testing kits:

PO4: 0.0 (maybe 0.1 ppm)
PH: 8.4 (another crappier test said +7.
Calcium: 340 ppm
KH: 3.5 (deg) dh
Nitrate: ~20 ppm
Nitrite: 0.0


Now what?


I just bought 3 more hermit crabs and 5 snails.

Zak

[Otty]

Originally Posted by Z-Ice

I just bought 3 more hermit crabs and 5 snails.

5 Snail???? Don't really know what you are thinking but when they say get more snail they are talking about 30 to 50 of them for a tank that is infested with algae like yours. 5 is probably not even going to put a dent in it.
What is your Mg at?

[Z-Ice]

So a tank like mine will hold and keep 50 hermit crabs and 50 snails! This is going to be expensive. Oh well. Won't my nitrates rise because a great number of them will die?


I will go back to the store tomorrow and buy all the snails they have. They were running low on hermit crabs.

I do not know my Mg level. They did not have a test for it. How do you test for all these? Do you have individual kits, like I do, which you grab 5 ml of water and add drops?

So nothing much else can be done besides cleaning with my hands and get a bigger cleaning crew?

Thanks,
Zak

[ReefSparky]

Looks like you have a crushed coral substrate. With an algae problem, it fuels the fire exponentially. Algae blooms between those large, oxygenated nooks and crannies of the CC, and once it dies off from lack of light, produces nitrates. Also, those big nooks and crannies house a lot of detritus too.

I got rid of my CC substrate for that very reason. I replaced it with pretty fine carbonate based sand. Not the live stuff in the wet bag. A 20 lb bag of dry, carbonate based sand (wasn't even aragonite, although that would have been better) for $9.99.

Consider some macro algaes in your sump or fuge too, like chaeto with light off cycle with the main tank's light. Worked for me.

Good luck.

BTW, those mushrooms are BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

[ReefSparky]

Originally Posted by amcarrig

. . . if you decide to buy r.o. water from a store, be prepared to test it for ammonia, nitrate and phosphates. You don't know how often they change the filters at the store so adding their water could do more harm than good.

For that matter, you don't know if it's RO/DI water they're selling you either.