Algae in Nano FOWLR 4/14/08
Hi,
<Ed.>
I have a 35l nano FOWLR tank, it contains 1 humbug damsel, 1 yellow tail damsel and 1 cleaner shrimp. Everything has been going great except from a rather large algae problem, I have removed the algae from the sides of the tank but the live rock is still thickly covered in the green stuff!
<Uh-oh, ugly!>
Will the cleaner shrimp solve this?
<No, not at all.>
And if not can you suggest something reasonably priced that would? I have heard that snails are good for eating algae but I would really appreciate some expert advice.
<Snails can help control algae, but not to this extent Turbo or Astrea snails being good additions. The best thing you can do is prevent the algae through maintaining water quality and controlled feeding, difficult prospects in nano tanks. I have included a link for you below. This article and the related FAQ’s will guide you through sorting this issue out.>
Many thanks,
Ed
<Welcome, Scott V.>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/algaeconMar.htm

Nano tank 04/11/2008
Hi
<<Hello>>
I have a 28 gal mini reef with a 3 an a half in DSB over 30lbs of live rock a Rena FilStar xp2 filter and no coral or fish as of yet. My question was regarding something I had been hearing allot about presently it seems that many forums and aquarists are saying that in a mini reef such as mine if you have proficient live rock/sand you don't need a skimmer, they say that the cost and disabilities (such as removing trace elements and micro-fauna) out way the benefits they told me that frequent partial water changes remove all the nitrates that need to be removed.
<<I do run such a mini reef system, 7 gallons in total volume. I do not run a skimmer on this tank, water change 10% per week>>
Cost isn't really an issue for me but if protein skimming can cause negative effects in such a small tank than I would rather not use it . Should I opt for the "natural method" of reefing?
<<I see no reason why not, as long as your confident you know you're tank, as i do mine>>
I intend to keep a mixture of soft and stony but none of the leathers that produce stony killing toxins and maybe two fish. Thanks!
<<Sounds a good plan. Good luck with the nano. A Nixon>>

Attn: Sara
Hello again (are you sick of hearing from me yet?) LOL
<Haha, never.>
As I mentioned before, I've got a 29 gallon BioCube with all the parameters where they should be. – 04/10/08
The occupants are;
2 Ocellaris Clowns (constantly bickering)
1 Watchman Goby (constantly looks p*ssed off)
1 small Lettuce Nudibranch
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (won't leave my hand alone when I do ANYTHING to the tank)
1 "Halloween" Hermit Crab (yeah, the one with the blue striped legs
3 Nassarius snails (Only one comes to visit at feeding time)
2 Red-Leg Hermit Crabs
1 Turbo Snail
Well, here's the issue - the Lettuce Nudibranch decided to hitch a ride on the Turbo Snail. Now, the Turbo Snail is excreting what appears to be a long (single strand) glop of slime, that coils around it's shell, and it's been there for over 24 hours.
Did the Nudibranch do something to the snail?
<Honestly, it sort of sounds like the Nudibranch is laying eggs on the snail's shell.>
Is the snail doing this in self-defence? or did the snail possibly think the Nudibranch was trying to mate with it, and do what they do naturally?
It sounds gross, but I'm just curious as to what is going on with this snail that never seems to get it's fill of algae.
<A picture would really help here. It's pretty impossible to say without one.>
Thanks again, (Gracias!)
DJ
<De nada,
Sara M.>

Black ray shrimp goby...  Hlth... Cnid. influence? 04/07/2008
Good Sunday Morning!
<<Hello, Andrew today>>
First off, sorry, in advance, for the long email and your site rocks!
<<Thanks for the comments>>
I am fairly new to the hobby and so far have been learning things a bit the hard way - did not find your site until after I had lost all my fish due to too fast and too much.
<<Ahh...a hard lesson to learn>>
I have a 34 gallon Red Sea system with about 3" of live sand and a gorgeous piece of live rock (can't find the receipt to know what the weight is). I started the system in July of '07. After losing all my livestock, I found your wonderful site, let the tank go fallow for 8 weeks and bought a 12 gallon QT. Through all, my cleaner shrimp, pistol shrimp, sand sifting starfish <<Would suggest this tank is not suitable for a sifting starfish as these really need a very well established sandbed>> and various 5 hermits, 3 Nassarius, 2 Trochus and 2 Turbos survived. I have a chiller that keeps the temp 78-80 and water tests out great (small amount of nitrate but all other numbers in your recommended parameters).
<<Sounds good>>
I do have some corals - torch, toadstool leather, Trachyphyllia brain and mushroom polyps - all spaced so that they stay out of each other's way. In retrospect, I would never have started with a nano set up and would not have the corals.
Long story longer...I currently have 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 flasher mutt wrasse, one purple Firefish, and a black ray goby that paired up wonderfully with the pistol shrimp.
All fish went through quarantine with the last 2, both gobies, being introduced into the red sea main tank in December - shorter quarantine for them, as per instructions from your site. All have been doing just great - except for the occasional scrapping between the wrasse, Flash, and the gobies, Frankie & Spike.
<<Understandable aggression between these fish in a tank of this size>>
Spike is my main concern right now. A couple of the mushroom polyps have broken loose from their original home and I just let them float freely until they found a new home. They have found new spots in 2 of the entrances that Spike (black ray) and Pete (pistol shrimp) use to go under the rock. I was not overly concerned about that because they also had 2 other holes that they used in addition to those places and I assumed that Pete would push the polyps out of the way if need be. Spike has always been very aggressive during feeding times and made sure that he got his share (I watch this carefully as the Yashia goby, Obie Wan, that came with Pete originally was very shy and did not make it). We have not seen Spike except for a couple of times since last Sunday - no worries as that seems to be normal behavior. I was going to try to gently move the polyps into a new spot in the tank so that the 2 entrances were freed up. I planned on doing that today along with all the other tank maintenance that I do on Sundays - clean up and water changes.
<<Ok>>
Unfortunately, late yesterday I noticed Spike swimming around near the surface of the tank and very erratically. Fortunately, I have a 6 gallon nano cube set up and going as a hospital tank - just in case. I was able to get Spike out of the main tank and into the hospital tank immediately (did not like doing that but was scared that the others would start harassing him or he would go back under the rock and I would not be able to help him at that point). I guess my question is could the polyps have had something to do with this?
<<I would not imagine mushrooms having a negative effect on the goby>>
Also, could the digging in the sand bed have unearthed some toxins?
<<Very possible, yes>>
Spike is in the HT and still swimming oddly (it is a bare bottom tank with some PVC for hiding). I tried to feed him some pellets this morning and mysis shrimp last night - he likes that food and I was able to put it right over his mouth - no luck on the eating. In fact, he even lets me touch him. Honestly, I don't think he is going to make it but I will keep trying. Next step is garlic supplement in the food.
<<Indeed, i would add Selcon rather than garlic, as Selcon is a Vit supplement>>
I really do not want to get another goby until I am a bit more sure of what happened. I have way too much respect for these gorgeous creatures to get another and risk it but I also am concerned about the pistol shrimp being un-aided. This all assumes the Spike does not pull through this event.
<<Careful monitoring, feeding with Vit laden foods is the best way forward, to get the Goby to rebuild strength>>
I searched your site for information on this but did not see anything specific to the polyps and the goby - so much information and so little time to help Spike. All other fish in the tank are just fine.
I am looking into a bigger tank as the smaller ones are a LOT of work.
<<I feel that a larger tank is really needed with you stock. I would expect aggression in the tank due to the size and the fish in there>>
I wish that LFS would be more mindful of that before recommending them to new hobbyist's.
<<Ahhhhhh..the good old fish shop just wants to make money>>
I also wish the LFS would promote the use of a QT. I research everything extensively on your site, have "the book" by Dr. Bob and do not make a move without consulting you's.
Thanks again and I appreciate any thoughts you may have -
<<Angela, i would take my suggestions on board....I.E Really do consider a larger tank at least 50+ gals, start feeding the Goby on Vit laden foods and monitor very closely in the hospital tank>>
Angela (Spike's concerned mom)
<<Thanks for the questions, good luck, hope this helps. A Nixon>>

Impossible Situation... Small new SW system with natural/collected LR doing fine...   3/17/08
I am hoping you will be able to settle a discussion or at least give some insight to a situation.
<... I'll try>
I have been reading your site for years now and value the great information that you constantly provide. I have used this information to advise fellow marine hobbyist with issues with their tanks
and constantly refer people to your great site!
However this one has me stumped and seems to defy every word ever written or spoken about water quality. My friend decided to try to "play around" with a 29 gallon marine tank and local marine life from the gulf.
<The Gulf... of Mexico I'll take it>
He set up the tank with store bought salt and tap water and a water conditioner.
He filled said tank with rock with a good deal of algae growth on it from the gulf and immediately placed
some local inhabitants into the tank.
<Mmm... this can be a daring... to precarious proposition... there is just SO much life/biota on/in such rock... The "curing" process many folks employ... from one point of view... is a "dying off" routine... to limit such life/death in our systems>
Hermit crabs, anemone's, starfish, colon blenny, wrasse, sponge, pipefish, pink urchin and a few store bought damsels.
<Yikes!>
The tank started to cycle and I advised small frequent water changes so he would not lose anything from the tank. He was unable to keep nitrates and nitrites down and basically gave up on water changes.
<... what about the life present?>
I cannot provide exact levels on the nitrates or nitrates since BOTH are OFF THE CHART. Yes, levels of both are so high that the test kits cannot show the exact level.
<Again... not unexpected... or to put this positively... to be expected>
Both are over 200 and over 10. Normally this would mean disaster and the end of life in the tank and to be honest that is what I expected to happen. A month has gone by and the levels have remained the same for the entire month.
The problem is, he has had ZERO loss of life in the tank. My first thought of course was a faulty test kit so I tried two others. The levels of nitrate and nitrite are correct. I would have expected at least the starfish and urchin to perish but nothing.
<Mmm, marine life in general IS very tough>
None of the life in the tank has died in fact it seems to be thriving. I am stuck sitting back scratching my head. I am sure we have all been there for a tank crash and lost everything but this haphazard approach seems to defy all logic.
<Heeee! Actually "more to this game" than a few simple "windows", tests...>
My question is do you have any clue why this is working for him?
<The life otherwise introduced as/with the rock mostly...>
I thought perhaps since he was using wild caught local life that perhaps it was able to better adjust but he did add a few damsels from the local fish store and they are doing well also. Yes I understand they are hardy but the levels are just insanely off the chart and based on everything I have ever read this tank should be void of life.
Please help me understand what is going on. Perhaps I should find out where he purchased this "magic tank" and get one for myself. : )
Thanks so Much in Advance !
<No real simple, simplistic answer for you... but do know that the chemical constituency provided by more complex mixes of life can/does greatly affect the well-being of macro-life in closed systems... Some of this "magical bouillabaisse" is at play here. Cheers, Bob Fenner>

odd algae destroying my tank. Sm SW, no reading  – 03/07/08
hi
I am totally stumped on this one.. I have a 30g with about 36 - 37lbs of  live rock. a MaxiJet 1200 and a 600, Corallife super skimmer I think?? (borrowing from a friend), and a Fluval 205 running 2 bags of carbon, a thing of Purigen and some rock rubble.. I have some LPSs and softies for coral.
<... allelopathy, in a word>
lately everything in my tank is ticked off and I have this odd algae that comes slowly once the lights turn on, the tanks looks great when lights are off, nice and clean, water looks clear.. after the lights are on for a while this odd algae comes out of the rocks, sand and shows up on my glass.. its long and stringy, kinda a dull greenish color I would say. I was thinking possibly Cyano from over feeding so after much thought I dosed Chemi-clean twice over a 4 day period and did a 20% water change.. followed the directions as the box stated and
nothing happened at all, the stuff still comes out.. my zoas and hammer I would say are most pissed,
<Can't be mixed in this setting...>
and I really don't want anything to die I would be devastated! there was some time back when my tank was newer where my mom was watching it for me and I know she didn't take proper care of it, not that I can blame her its a lot of work to just ask someone to take care of, anyways my friend had this what I think is a crazy idea that there was something in the depths of my rock eating up any sort of phosphates as they got into the water and it just took some time to eventually take over.. my water tests come out perfect, all I dose is a little bit of iodine which I don't test for but I dose so next to nothing because of that and Kalkwasser. sorry I do not have a picture at the moment, let me know if you guys will need one.. thanks in advance
<... read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/cnidcompppt.htm
and here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/maintenance/index.htm
scroll down to the tray on Algae... Read. Bob Fenner>

39 reef bow tank, Stocking and Nitrate 3/2/08
Hi, my name is Chris, I want to thank you in advance for any help you may give me on this issue I am having with my reef tank .
<Hello Chris, glad to help.>
I’ve had this tank set up for about 6 months now and am experiencing some problems, not major problems but I want to control what I can before it becomes a major one .
<OK>
Parameters are as follows: Alk 9.8, ph 8.2, amm 0, nitrate is between 10-20 ppm, and is controlled with water changes weekly but a day or two after the change it creeps back up .
<A sign of something amiss.>
I am running a 10 gallon sump with about a gallon of bio balls in it, a Prizm skimmer and two power heads in the tank; and I am down to feeding only once a day if that. I only feed what is consumed in two to three minutes and if the nitrates go up I may skip a day.
<Be sure the food is consumed as it is added. You can easily add too much food that appears to be consumed in three minutes, with much going elsewhere.>
The feeding varies from frozen to pellets daily and the live stock is as follows: mostly soft corals , polyps and mushrooms and a leather coral and one open brain , fish are a tomato clown , six bar goby , basset , small yellow tang .
<Your tank is too small for this livestock.>
Should I remove the bio balls .
<If you have enough live rock (25-30 lbs. In this system) I would.>
Thanks for the help.
<A few links for further reading are included below for you. Welcome, Scott V.>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/zebrasom.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/nitratesmar.htm

Re: phosphates and Kalkwasser for an AquaPod 24, small SW maint. f'   2/6/08
Hello!
<John>
I have an AquaPod 24 with the fully enclosed hood (wished I'd never gotten it, but it was a gift from the wifey). In any case, as you probably know it's virtually impossible to put anything onto this tank without drilling holes in the back of the hood and/or resorting to micro OR major "hood surgery". As a result, I only have a ton of LR rubble in the back chambers where the pump is (upgraded from stock to a MaxiJet 1200), no bio-balls, no blue sponge media etc. -just the LR. Oh, I forgot to mention that I DID purchase and install a Sapphire Aquatics AP24 skimmer that does fit neatly all the way inside the R/H back chamber (but as you may know this skimmer is no longer supported).
<Yes>
So, that's all I have. No refugium, no Kalkwasser reactor, no phosphate reactor.
<I'd modify the top, drill the back... put a sump somewhere that is tied in...>
What I am strongly considering is figuring out a way to add either of these to my tank. I have heard over and over again "Oh man, you GOTTA get a fuge" or "I wouldn't THINK about running a reef tank without a phosphate reactor!" so I am going to resort to surgery and cut holes in the back for the tubing.
<Good>
Which finally brings me to my questions! :-)
1. What brand/model of phosphate reactor and Kalkwasser reactor would you recommend for an AquaPod 24? I have NO IDEA where to start.
There are many on the market and I need a starting point.
<Am not a fan of either technology for such a small volume>
2. If I do NOT get a phosphate reactor I have been "told" that I can put ROWAphos in the water stream. Problem is, the water cascades over the top on the R/H side, through the plastic weir and into the back chamber. Could I just put a bunch of ROWAphos in a small media bag and jam it back there?
<I would not>
Thanks for your help!
Regards,
John Toro
<Please read here: http://wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm
Set Up 1 Index re Small Marine Systems
Set Up 2 Index re Refugiums, Sump Design
Maint. Index re PO4, Chemical means of reducing
Bob Fenner>

Re: phosphates and Kalkwasser for an AquaPod 24 – 02/07/08
Thanks for the advise.
<advice>
Please note that when I said 'wished I'd never gotten it" I didn't mean that I wished I hadn't gotten a marine aquarium. I LOVE it!!!
<Yay!>
What I meant was that I wished I hadn't gotten the enclosed hood model due to all the inherent limitations with adding things which require you to resort to drilling, cutting etc.
Regards,
John
<This is what I'd understood you to mean... and I do understand the limitations of the top, difficulty in modification of these units... and/but the virtues in such. Cheers, BobF>

40 Gallon Question, maint.   2-05-08
Hi there,
<Hey, Maddox here today>
I have had my 40 gallon marine tank setup since September 2007 and it currently houses a small selection of fish (2 small Clowns, a Cleaner Wrasse, a Purple Fire Fish and an Algae Blenny) and a clean up crew which includes 2 peppermint shrimps, 2 skunk cleaner shrimps, three hermit crabs and three turbo snails.
<Cleaner wrasses aren't species we here at WWM recommend keeping in captivity, as most are doomed to a slow starvation - please see the FAQs regarding this species>
To maintain water quality I currently use an external filter (which contains normal filter pads and Rowaphos), a Deltec MCE600 skimmer (which contains a bag of carbon granules in the media chamber) and I also have about 10kg of live rock. For water circulation I also have three nano power heads running off a wave maker.
My question is that although I am relatively satisfied with the water conditions in the tank, my Blenny and Wrasse are often seen to be rubbing off the bottom of the sand bed and the rocks. I have done some water tests and have noted that the ammonia levels are at 0.1mg/l and the specific gravity was slightly higher than normal at 1.026 (my water typically measures between 1.023 and 1.025).
<Ammonia is a very bad thing. You're going to want this to be at zero at all times! Neutralize the ammonia with Kordon's Amquel+ or Seachem Prime, perform a large water change, and remedy your filtration/husbandry. See FAQs re. I wouldn't worry about your salinity>
The other water tests conducted on my tank last night appeared to be fine (nitrates/nitrites/PH etc.). I understand that the Blenny and Wrasse maybe suffering from something called ‘Saltwater itch’?
<"Ich", aka Cryptocaryon. Do you see any white spots? Much information about this malady can be found here http://www.wetwebmedia.com/mardisindex.htm and here http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/sp/index.php. However, you may see this behavior cease when you take care of the ammonia>
If this is the case what would be the best solution? Would a UV steriliser to help remedy the problem or will I need to do a large water change.
<See above. A sterilizer couldn't hurt, and water changes are always good, but neither is a cure>
On a more general note I have wondered if my tank set-up sounded ok or do I have too much equipment for a tank of my size?
<Sounds like not enough or there is a lack of husbandry, given the presence of ammonia - a perusal of WWM will give you all the info you need regarding your current situation>
Many thanks for any help or advice you can give me.
<Anytime>
Dave, London, UK
<M. Maddox>

Water Issues 1/30/08
Dear Crew,
<Chris.>
First and foremost you have an amazing site that is very helpful and easy to navigate and understand. Your passion for the hobby is unparalleled. I have recently set up a 20 gallon long tank with a 15 gallon sump that houses my skimmer and filter material.
<Some sort of biomedia included I assume.>
A 30 inch Power Compact with a 65 watt 50/50 bulb sits on top of the display tank. I think my tank has finally finished cycling with live rock and two damsels after about 4 weeks of waiting. The ammonia and nitrites have dropped to zero, the nitrates are around 15, specific gravity of 1.023, and a temperature of about 78.
<I would raise the salinity to 1.025-1.026. How about PH and alkalinity? These are very important to know.>
I have just started livestocking and have encountered a serious problem. Everything I put in there dies!
<Not good.>
The damsels seem to be in great condition and have been since I purchased them weeks ago. I recently added a coral banded shrimp, a flame scallop,
<These are difficult to keep alive, near impossible in a system this size due to starvation.>
and small colony of green star polyps. The shrimp and scallop were acclimated with a slow drip for about an hour and then placed in the tank. They seemed to be doing fine but before I went to bed I realized that shrimp was not moving and would probably not make it through the night but the clam <scallop> still seemed ok with its shell open wide exposing its red center. This morning both the clam and the shrimp were dead. As for the green star polyps they have not come out yet and I know this is not out of the ordinary as they can take days to come out.
<Yes, at times.>
I live in a small college town and am worried the tap water has some hard metals I am unaware of. I used an ammonia detox at the initial setup to remove chlorine and chloramine.
<Many of these products are not effective.>
What I should have done was us my colleges deionized water unit. I just emailed a chem professor to ask if I could use their water.
<Good.>
Do you think the poor tap water could be my issue?
<It could be, there is something amiss in this system to kill these creatures so rapidly. Ideally your nitrate should be lower. Also keep in mind these invertebrates are very sensitive to rapid water chemistry changes, making them that much more difficult to keep in a small system.>
If so should I start doing water changes to take out the bad water and add the good water?
<Yes, water change never hurt, when done properly. Make sure your salinity and temperature match.>
If so how much and at what rate?
<A few gallons a day until your nitrate comes down.>
Could there be an issue here that I am not seeing/taking into consideration?
<Those stated above as well as your system is still fairly new for these additions.>
Any insight or information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.
Chris
<Chris, do read up on the issues stated above as well as to research any future additions and stocking levels. A few links are included to get you started. Good luck, Scott V.>
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/bivalvia.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/water4maruse.htm

Fish compatibility, sandbed cleaning... small SW 1/6/2008
Hi there.
<<Andrew here, good day and welcome>>
I have a 29 gallon tank with 30 lbs live rock, 40 lbs live sand, sump (rated for up to 75 gallon), 500 GPH pump back to tank, getting the AquaC EV-120 skimmer soon, 130 watt 50/50 bulbs. So far I have 1 green Chromis, 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 maroon clown, 1 Condy anemone.
<<maybe consider a lighting upgrade for the anemone as it would be better to have T5 or Metal Halide lighting>>
I made the usual beginner mistake of listening to the local fish store guy..thats why I have the occupants I have now. What should I keep / give back?
<<Depending on the size of the Maroon clown, your on the borderline of tank size really, and these can be aggressive. These are the more aggressive type of clown fish, and don't really make good inhabitants for a tank of this size, so, I would take the maroon back, and get either a true or false percula clown fish. These are very passive for the most part and would be suited fine for your tank.>>
I want a clown, but I understand my tank is a bit small for this guy. Love my shrimp. Condy seems okay (only had about 3 weeks), although he did change from bright white to a slight tan-brown color. Also, I have hundreds, if not thousands of all different bugs on sand and side of tank.
<<This is one of the many wonders of marine aquaria, the life that we have in there>>
What do you recommend to keep sand well sifted and bugs down.
<<Cerith snails are a good choice for cleaning the sandbed, as they are scavengers and will come out of the sand at feeding time, clean detritus of the bed too>>
I know they are a good sign...but I'd like someone to keep population under control. FYI- I have NO interest in a mandarin, as I know they are very difficult to keep and require much more than I can offer.
<<The fish will pick and choose at the pod population, and will control it a little>>
Right now I feed system Phyto Plex, Purple up, flakes, and frozen Mysis...anemone loves these! Really appreciate the knowledgeable advice.
<<I would stop dosing the purple up, with good lighting and water parameters, your coralline will grow itself>>
<<Thank you for your questions, Regards A Nixon>>

My sand bed, maint.  -01/05/08
Hello! First, your site is quite informative, I love it. I have finally got my hands on Anthony's, Coral Propagation book and love it! Please let him know. I'm not a farmer just yet, but his book is great for all levels of aquariology. That being said, I have a 5.5 gallon mixed reef. I have various Zoanthids, Leathers as well as Blastomussa and Micromussa. My tank has app. 12 lbs of mixed live rock- I like all-. I have a 1 inch mixed sand bed of Florida crushed coral aragonite and fine white sand. My filtration, along with the live rock consist of an Aquaclear mini, with sponge then filter floss and carbon, a remora nano skimmer and a micro-jet powerhead for a little more movement. My livestock, other then the mixed coral consist of 3 Blue-legged Hermits, 3 Astrea snails, 1 Cerith, an Emerald crab for bubble algae removal, and a Bluefin Damsel ( he has another home once he's no longer juvenile). The tank has been up and flourishing for 10 months, with coralline and Chaeto flourishing. Everything is covered in purple. My levels are- Cal:500, alk:9, phos:0, nitrate:0, nitrite:0, ph:8.4, and salinity:1.26. I do every 3 days a 5 percent water change. My question after all this, will my 1 inch mixed sand bed give me problems further down the road? I have an alarming amount of life throughout it. Various worms, sandsifters, pods, snails.
<The sand bed should be fine so long as the benthic populations stay healthy. However, being so shallow, it won't likely function as much of a nutrient filter/nitrate reducer.>
I do not siphon my sand bed, but when I perform water changes I blast it. I take a turkey baster and blast the sand with it. In a way I think of it as a storm in the ocean stirring everything up.
<...not a bad idea.>
I have noticed on occasion that some of the sand bed seems to be fused together, not like a clump but as a loose clump.
<Very small, loose clumps probably won't hurt anything.>
Thank you for your time. Also on a side note I had a chance to get my hands on the elusive Blane's Purple People Eater Zoanthid and it since has budded.
<cool... congrats.>
Thank you again, and happy reefing, Joe
<Best,
Sara M.>

Three Concerns... Nano/Sm. SW... maint., set-up, circ.  12/20/07
Hello Crew,
<Parker>
Thanks for being such a reliable source. So I have a few concerns about the direction my hobby is going. After reading many hours of internet, I haven't really been able to pinpoint my problem. First, I have been trying a new route and I started a 12 gallon eclipse 12. I have to contest that keeping a small tank hasn't been very difficult or time consuming.
<Can be done>
To be able to be helped correctly, I had the standard bio-wheel and a small powerhead. Around 15lbs of LR, a small bioload, and about 3? of substrate. Also all good readings on my chemicals. Tank was in good shape.
<Need real... hard data... actual species, test results... or in turn this becomes more of a guessing game>
In the past, I had a 29g tank but I have never tried to add a fuge to the tank. I just put a 2.5g aquaquatics aquafuge2 hang on the back on my 12g. To be able to sufficiently place the fuge, I had to remove my bio-wheel filter from the system. In addition to adding the fuge, I added a HYDOR Koralia that pushes around 400gph thus removing the old power head.
<... I do hope/trust the Koralia is not "turned up" all the way here>
I do not have any LS. I was wondering if by removing the filter from the system can I have any additional problems keeping water quality excellent?
<Can you? Sure>
I really don't want to add a skimmer. I am hoping that the water flow will be enough with the LR and fuge to keep water in good condition. My concern about this is that my fuge has only been running for a couple days.
<Takes time...>
Secondly, by adding the Hydor and having the additional gph from the fuge pump, will I have too much water circulation in the display tank?
<Could...>
That would be roughly 400gph from the powerhead and 360gph going to the fuge. If not, should I place the overflow from the fuge and the powerhead on opposite ends of the tank?
<I would not have this much actual water movement in a twelve gallon volume system>
In essence, should I create a circular flow of water or should I place them against each other creating a more irregular flow?
<Whatever prevents all from turning into a swirling vortex...>
Finally, I recently added a watchman goby and I had only crushed coral as a substrate. To be able to help keep the goby happy and healthy, I added a small layer of sugar fine sand on top of the crushed coral. After a couple weeks, most of the sugar fine sand is still on top but another quarter has seeped into the coral. I have good growth within the substrate and can see small worms and other small creatures moving through the substrate. I was wondering if by adding the two different types of grades together, will I eventually cause major imbalances in the water quality?
<Not likely. I would leave as is>
Thanks guys for you time.
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>

Trying to contact Bob Fenner... UW photo book, and Cyano in a small new SW tank   11/24/07
Bob,
<Gino>
Hi.. thanks for the fast response to my last email. Also thanks for the advice and hopefully soon I will be able to start working on my Reef Photography Book and will be moved to Melbourne, Australia.
I will be definitely emailing you when I get going on this project. Please let me know when you get a direct email again..
<I still have my private hotmail account: fennerrobert@>
Anyway, I need your advice on another problem Im having. Well it finally happened...I've
been plagued with Cyano in one of my newer tanks. The tank is a 20 x 20 x 12 cube tank holding
21 gallons.
<Smaller volumes are harder to maintain... keep stable...>
Tank has a false back wall with 3 chambers behind it. Middle one has been set up to be a refugium. Currently the refugium has live rock rubble and live sand in it. I will also be adding Chaeto.
<Should all help>
The return pump is a 290 gph...plus inside the main tank ive added a maxi jet 900 power head. I have 1 bag of Boyd Chemi-Pure and 1 bag of Sea chem Purigen in the back chamber. I don't have a skimmer on it yet..
but will be adding one.
<Also>
25 pounds of Live rock... and 30 pounds of CaribSea Aragonite Reef Sand
<... and not much space/volume of water!>
My Water is 12 Stage filtrated RO water that has no phosphates, no heavy metals, and is ran through a UV, prior to salt mixing..
<What's the UV for?>
Lighting is Current Satellite Dual 65 watt Power Compacts. One 10,000k and one Actinic 03. Brand new bulbs.
PH 8.3, Nitrates 0, Nitrites 0, Phosphates 0, Ammonia 0.25, Calcium 540, DKH 6 (I know... too low...One week ago it was 8 and I'm not sure how it dropped so much). I'm adding Kent Marine DKH to raise this and keep the Ph stable at 8.3.
Stocking is:
1 Banggai cardinal
1 orchid Dottyback
2 button polyp colonies
1 green striped mushroom
plus a CUC of emerald crabs, Astrea snails, red leg hermits, zebra hermits and a turbo snail.
<Keep your eye on the Mithraculus>
The Cyano problem started 2 weeks ago...First it was red slime and was only on certain parts of the sand. So I siphoned it out and it came back 2 days later and I siphoned again...and it came backless...So I siphoned again and it seemed to go away....along with this also came green hair algae.. but my emerald crabs are taking care of that. So then 2 days ago the slime came back... but it was brownish. more orange in color...it started to spread FAST and along with this, came this stringy red filamentous threads that appeared on all the rock, snail shells and the walls. Well needless to say this outbreak took over my tank faster then anything I've ever seen. Today I came home and almost all of the sand
was covered with Orange slime!! So I siphoned all of it out...along with a 4 gallon water change. Because so much sand had been siphoned out through this whole ordeal. I added a few cups of freshly rinsed CaribSea sand to replace it. I added
Kent marine DKH to help raise the alkalinity and keep the Ph at a stable 8.3..
<Good>
After this massive cleanup, not more then 15 min.s...
It seem like it started to form again in tiny spots on the sand!! I've never seen anything like this!!! For now I moved the polyps and mushroom into my other Reef tank until I get this under control.
During this outbreak I've been sparsely feeding with frozen food. The Banggai and the Dottyback quickly ate all of the food.
I know this frozen food is DOC...But its all the Dottyback will eat, well except live brine shrimp. He's kinda picky about his food.
Along with my 25 pounds of live rock...I also had a very cool looking piece of Tufa rock
<I would pull this... may be a source of soluble phosphate... take it out and place it in some heated water... and test for HPO4>
that I put in there...I noticed at the beginning of this Outbreak, the tufa rock was the only piece of rock that the Cyano was forming on. The rest was on the sand only.
<Bingo>
This may sound like a stupid question...but could this piece of tufa rock be the cause of this outbreak or somehow be fueling it?
<Ah, yes>
All the Live Rock was established and came from a healthy tank.
I have Removed this one piece of tufa rock out of the tank...
<Oh, good>
I cant figure what else is causing this...its very frustrating!! I've read everything on WetWebMedia several times and I'm trying to get a handle on this. Im hoping the addition of the Chaeto in the refugium will help starve it out. Also Im hoping that continued siphoning will cause chemical self-destruction, as you put it. Im just worried about too many water changes in such a short time period.
As always any input would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks so Much!!!!
Gino Carlini
<Thank you for sharing. I do think the Tufa may be a prime culprit here, and that this little system is otherwise just settling in... I would go forward with the Chaetomorpha, skimmer... Bob Fenner>