Algae cycle?

Ok ill get them asap! my 2 local shops have a shortage off snails at the mo! great he he
K

 

This might seem like a silly question but how did you work out i had 10,000k of lighting ?
K

 

k+ on the snails. Be wary of emerald crabs, and if you get them make sure they're small. They've been known to catch fish if they run low on other sorts of readily available algae and detritus once they get larger.

 

How did i work out?

Do you have 10,000k bulbs?

 

I put: i have 4 T-8 bulbs 20 watt over a 3 foot wide 30 inch deep tank. is the 10.000k light what you have over your tank?! im a lttle confused... how do i work out what k off light mine is?
K

 

Oh i got ya

you meant how did i assume

I just took a wild guess. I have T5's and metal halides, man you need a serious upgrade on lighting. 30" is very deep and the 20 watt light is just not gona get the job done

 

Tell me bout it! Im upgrading after christmas and i thinkin bout going down the new LED route. im thinkin on 4 led lighting bars for now then see i might hve room to add more. Its gonna cost bout £360 but they are ment to be better then T-5 and ' MENT TO BE AS GOOD AS MH lighting!' Hum not sure on that one but they are cheep over hear to buy and verrrry cheep to run.Mh over hear cost at least £400 + and then you need a chiller unit which cost between £300-£600 then the running cost has rocketed at the mo! so thinkin bout upgrading to LED and givin it a go!
K

 

hermits hermits and more hermits. Any and all little tiny breakouts i get on the rocks are taken care of almost immediately by the hermits.

Best of luck, and my leather is under pcs and only mid tank height. Its growing wonderfully.

 

I said the tank was "quite loaded" for 3 months old, not over loaded. There are a variety of ways to reduce and/or eliminate Nitrates. A Refugium, display tank plants, Algone (good product until you establish a more sophisticated filtering system) and a good producing protein skimmer. In your situation, the tank is so new, you must allow it to "settle in" and allow all the myriad of different bacteria to establish. Too frequent water changes remove many desirable elements and "life" from the water column. Some may disagree as they think they are putting back elements with the new salt, however, if you research the subject you will find that there isn't all that much in salt mixes as far as elements go not to mention there is nothing "alive" in the salt mix water.
It is a prudent decision not to try and keep any Coral until after the main cycling has taken place and you acquire a degree of expertise of keeping Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity and PH not only at the proper levels but at those levels with a good degree of constancy. This is essential to reef keeping. I have chosen to take some time here with you in an effort to help you in your endeavors. I hope that I have.

 

Thanks for taking the time to help me out! I do try and find out as much as i can and i do take all the advice given on board.K+ 2 u... Im not planning on adding anymore fish or coral till all settles down but will probably add some snails & hermits
Thanks for all yas help
K