210 Cichlid Tank

[vindell]

HEY GUY'S AND GALS, nEW TO YOUR SITE, BEEN RUNNING A 210 RR OCEANIC. LOOKING FOR SOME ADVICE. NOT A NEWBEE, HOWEVER THIS TANK HAS NEVER SEEM TO RUN RIGHT. BOUGHT IT ON CRAIGSLIST A LITTLE OVER TWO YEARS AGO. HAVE RUN SEVERAL REEFS WITH OUTSTANDING RESULTS. SET THIS TANK UP AFTER A 150 REEF BLEW IN THE HOUSE ( 150 GALLAONS OF SALT IN THE HOUSE, WHAT A MESS, LOST ALOT OF GREAT CORALS, HAD THEY BEEN IN THE OCEAN, THEY'D STILL BE AROUND ! DECIDED TO GO AFRICANS. THE PROBLEM I'M HAVING IS ALGAE ON ALL THE ROCKS. THE TANK IS SITUATED IN A ROOM THAT RECEIVES ALOT OF LIGHT. FIGURED OUT THAT PROBLEM ABOUT A WEEK AGO, THE WINDOWS HAVE FILM NOW THAT ALLOWS NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT. SELL VEHICLES FOR A LIVING, NEVER HOME !
HAD A UNUASUAL EVENING AT HOME, IN OFFICE WHERE TANK IS, AND BAM, THERE IS A OCTAGON WINDOW IN THE WALL, AND IT I####TING ANOTHER DOOR IN THE OFFICE AND I SEE A 1 FOOT BEAM OF LIGHT ON TANK, CORRECT THAT BY FILMILG THAT WINDOW. A WEEK OR TWO HAS PASSED, THOUGHT I WAS OUT OF THE WOODS, BAM ALGE HAS COME BACK. RUNNING A AUQUA CLEAR 500 GPH, A PROCLEAR 125 & 175
WET DRY ON TANK, WITH A EQUILIZER BAR INSTALLED BETWEEN THE BOTH. A EHEIM PUMPIN THE 175 ( 600 GPH ? ON THE LIGHT SIDE ) &
A MAG 7 IN THE OTHER. FELT RUNNING AS MECHANICAL. WEEKLY WATER CHANGES. WAS USING A DECLORINATOR SINCE SET UP. RECENTLY LEARNED NOT TO. I WAS TOLD AFRICANS LIKE THE HARD WATER IT WAS'NT NEEDED IF THE RIGHT PRECAUTIONS WERE TAKEN. I REALIZE THAT BENIFICIAL BACTERIA ARE GOOD. RUNNING 4 40 WATT LIGHTS OVER TANK FOR 8 HOURS A DAY. HAVE TWO MAXI JETS RUNNING ON TIMERS 15 HOURS A DAY. JUST DONT GET IT, WATER SUPPLY IS OK, HAVE A 25 FOR MY KID, GOLDFISH OF ALL DIRTY CREATURES, WITH A 305 FLUVAL, AND THE TANK RUNS FINE. CRYSTAL CLEAR NO ALGAE. ANY SUGGESTIONS ??

 

[pauly]

Jesus I'm not even going to try and read that.

 

[kj23502]

Jesus I'm not even going to try and read that.

No kidding It's hard as hell to read!

to the forum. BUT please don't type in all caps! Please cosider fixing it so it's a ton easier to read

WAS USING A DECLORINATOR SINCE SET UP. RECENTLY LEARNED NOT TO.

Always use declorinator. Who in the heck told you not to?

Algea is good in cichlid tanks. They like to graze on it and it cuts down aggression in that fashion. Well you could plop in a bristlenose plec. Very good algea eaters I personally like the albino ones better.

A 210 US or Imperial gallon or 210 liters?

Jesus I'm not even going to try and read that.

Pauly, since he's new to the forum he may not realize why you won't read it or how it looks. At least tell someone why when you state such a thing.

 

[dthoffsett]

I second kj, unless you are using well water which doesn't have chlorine or chlorimine added you'll want to use dechlorinator. And using it doesn't affect hardness or ph at all. And, as kj said, algae is considered desirable in mbuna tanks, their primary food source in the wild is algae, and while it's not that nutritional in a tank setting, it will keep them busy. Busy mbuna means less aggression, which is always a good thing.

To cut down on your algae some you could always get a timer for your lights. Set them up to be on for 3 or 4 hours, then off for 1-2, then back on 3-4, that should help slow down the algae's growth.

 

[vindell]

I second kj, unless you are using well water which doesn't have chlorine or chlorimine added you'll want to use dechlorinator. And using it doesn't affect hardness or ph at all. And, as kj said, algae is considered desirable in mbuna tanks, their primary food source in the wild is algae, and while it's not that nutritional in a tank setting, it will keep them busy. Busy mbuna means less aggression, which is always a good thing.

To cut down on your algae some you could always get a timer for your lights. Set them up to be on for 3 or 4 hours, then off for 1-2, then back on 3-4, that should help slow down the algae's growth.

lol, it doas apper that im screamin !!sorry to all !!

 

[kj23502]

lol, it doas apper that im screamin !!sorry to all !!

That's alright...no probs Any more ?'s.

 

[vindell]

yeah, used to high circulation with the reef set-up, right now im running approx 1000 gph throght the wet dry's. a aqua clear 500 for mechanical.
and two maxi 12's . is this to much circulation. the last cichlid tank i had was a 90, and never an issue. is this tank polluted in some way. has to be like 30 or so set-up over the years, and this tank is killing me !

 

[dthoffsett]

yeah, used to high circulation with the reef set-up, right now im running approx 1000 gph throght the wet dry's. a aqua clear 500 for mechanical.
and two maxi 12's . is this to much circulation. the last cichlid tank i had was a 90, and never an issue. is this tank polluted in some way. has to be like 30 or so set-up over the years, and this tank is killing me !

The general consensus with mbuna is that there is not such thing as too much filtration. Most of us have a turn over of at least 10x per hour, and unless the fish are getting blown across the tank, you have nothing to worry about.

How often and how much water do you change? Do you happen to know your current ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings?

Also, what lighting are you using on the tank, what's the wpg (watts per gallon)? Since plants don't work well with mbuna, if your lighting is too strong with no plants to compete with, it could be encouraging the algae and you may even have a free floating algae bloom causing the water not to be very clear.

 

[vindell]

All the parameters are at 0ppm, nitrate runs arond .25ppm, ph aeound 8.0 ppm. lights are 40 X 4 on a timer . Was using 2x 96 w pc's for a while. now have one 96 in center for viewing for an hour or two a day.

 

[dthoffsett]

All the parameters are at 0ppm, nitrate runs arond .25ppm, ph aeound 8.0 ppm. lights are 40 X 4 on a timer . Was using 2x 96 w pc's for a while. now have one 96 in center for viewing for an hour or two a day.

Hmm, well your lighting sounds fine. I'd try breaking up how long it's on like I suggested earlier and see if it helps clear everything up. If that doesn't work you might try blacking out the tank for a little while to kill off all the algae, then stick with the 4hrs on 2off 4on lighting schedule, that with the film now on the windows may do it.

 

[Proud Texan]

cool aquarium