Newbie - Advise Needed...

[damigs]

Hello everyone. This is the first time I have posted after several weeks of reading thru pages and gathering info. I currently have the following which is 7 weeks steady now.

54 Gallon Corner
2 x 65w Power Compact
Ecosystem refugium w/ Calearpa in Miracle mud
50 lbs live rock
Live Sand
2 plate corals
1 bubble coral
2 LPS corals
6 small Chromies
3 small Ocellaris Clowns

I just did my first 5% water change Monday as I was getting hit hard with Diatoms. Since then my sand is alot cleaner but rocks still show alot of brown algea. My trates/trites = 0, Calcium is 450 ppm, PH is around 8.3 - 8.4 and AK is in the normal range.

My question is basically what next?? I wanted to get advise on what fish I could mingle with and get along well with what I have listed and thats pretty hardy. Also if you were in my position what would you do as your next step. Advise is truely appreciated as I take pride in my new hobby.

Thanks!

Miguel

 

[J-Money]

you might have some problems with the clowns later on One will eventually become the dominant female, the next biggest will become the male, and the third (smallest one) will always be competing with them tryin to move up the ranks from a sexless juvinile position. Then again you may luck out.

you didn't list anything about a cleaning crew? do you have one? how many? As for different fish to put in, it will depend on what you like. Go to LiveAquaria.com and brouse around and see what you like. they have a good starting point for research and nice pics to show what the fish would look like. Good luck

 

[damigs]

you didn't list anything about a cleaning crew? do you have one? how many? As for different fish to put in, it will depend on what you like. Go to LiveAquaria.com and brouse around and see what you like. they have a good starting point for research and nice pics to show what the fish would look like. Good luck

Yes your right I did leave that out.. sorry. I have currently a few red legged and blue crabs.. I would say about 6 and a bunch of snails. Would you recommend beefing up the cleaning crew? How good are shrimps etc? Should I throw in more inverts?

 

[damigs]

Here are some pics of my tank right now.. Notice all the brown algea. Any advise. LOL

 

[J-Money]

do you use R/O water or tap? If you are using tap water you could be putting something in that will cause a bloom.
I didn't get the diatom stage till a couple of months after my tank wuz up and running so I wouldnt' worry too much. You are definitely going to want more of a cleaning crew, more hermits most likely. Most people aim for 1 clean up crew member per gallon...

 

[damigs]

do you use R/O water or tap? If you are using tap water you could be putting something in that will cause a bloom.
I didn't get the diatom stage till a couple of months after my tank wuz up and running so I wouldnt' worry too much. You are definitely going to want more of a cleaning crew, more hermits most likely. Most people aim for 1 clean up crew member per gallon...

Im actually using RO water from the LFS. I believe my issue is a over feeding which is causing my phospate to spike. Do you recommend I cut back on my white lights and hopefully starve the brown stuff? I will do another water change soon and hopefully all this helps.

 

[Navarre]

I would cut back on the feeding rather than lights.

The brown algae is a diatom algae. This will thrive in your tank with or without lights. I had it in my QT tank and this is not lit.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Hermits are good for brown algae in the sand. Some mornings, Id wake up to a completely white perimeter and then brown on the inside, they do lots of cleaning at night. Siphoning the sand also helps because the stuff is loose on there, so by siphoning, it takes alot of the algae with it and puts the sand back a little cleaner. Actually the white light is the better one to leave on rather than the actinic if youre looking to cut back the brown algae like that, but I would advise to only turn off the actinics maybe 4 hours earlier because of the corals that still need it. Thats the one providing the photosynthesis.
You may end up with a problem with the odd # of same species clowns. Are you trying to get a mated pair and then return the other? Hope so but then again maybe they will never fight too much. They arent the MOST aggressive species of clown. Love your bubble coral by the way, the color is exactly like mine just a little bigger.
For other fish: because of the amount of rock you have, a beautiful little royal gramma would love it in there and they add a really nice pop of color to any tank. Purple firefish are really good beginner fish and are interesting looking. Yellow watchman gobies are cool too. Im not sure how many gallons each chromis should have since they are small and schoaling fish, but you may be getting close to your limit.

 

[damigs]

Love your bubble coral by the way, the color is exactly like mine just a little bigger.

I actually bought that the say after Thanksgiving and since then it has doubled in size. Whats funny is my friend bought the other one the LFS had that same day and his hasnt swollen up that large yet. I apprecite the compliment.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

WOW it must love your water!

 

[superman]

The large size of the swelling tissue of LPS corals is not necesarily due to its health. They can swell like this in order to increase surface area because they are starved for light as well. In my opinion you have barely enough light on this tank. To make sure that you are getting as much light to your corals as possible I would run carbon regularly, put a skimmer on the tank, and do regular water changes. Of course you could just go ahead and put more light over the tank as well, or all of the above.

 

[damigs]

The large size of the swelling tissue of LPS corals is not necesarily due to its health. They can swell like this in order to increase surface area because they are starved for light as well. In my opinion you have barely enough light on this tank. To make sure that you are getting as much light to your corals as possible I would run carbon regularly, put a skimmer on the tank, and do regular water changes. Of course you could just go ahead and put more light over the tank as well, or all of the above.

Adding a skimmer, run carbon and do regular water changes will increase the light the corals get??? Sorry but doesnt make sense.

If its always that big and staying this way cus its starved for light then I might as well starve them.. LOL The day I accidently left the lights on more than usual my corals didnt agree with it. So I will take my chances and leave things as is for now.

 

[Fish Fingers]

Adding a skimmer with reduce the nutrients in your tank thus reducing your brown algae. I've noticed when my skimmer needs a clean I get large brown algae blooms but as soon as its clean its gone. Even though you have a refugium it may not be exporting your nutrients well enough so I'd definately reccommend getting a good skimmer as your next step. After that I'd say upgrade your lighting to probably a metal halide for a tnak of that size. What is your tank circulation? Increased circulation supposedly helps reduce brwon algae too.

 

[damigs]

Adding a skimmer with reduce the nutrients in your tank thus reducing your brown algae. I've noticed when my skimmer needs a clean I get large brown algae blooms but as soon as its clean its gone. Even though you have a refugium it may not be exporting your nutrients well enough so I'd definately reccommend getting a good skimmer as your next step. After that I'd say upgrade your lighting to probably a metal halide for a tnak of that size. What is your tank circulation? Increased circulation supposedly helps reduce brwon algae too.

Things seem to flow especially the corals with the head I have. I really dont want to go with a MH in a 54 corner as I am already battling cooling as it is. If I may ask what would anyone recommend as a good skimmer for a 54 corner tank. Thanks!!

 

[superman]

The large size of the swelling tissue of LPS corals is not necesarily due to its health. They can swell like this in order to increase surface area because they are starved for light as well. In my opinion you have barely enough light on this tank. To make sure that you are getting as much light to your corals as possible I would run carbon regularly, put a skimmer on the tank, and do regular water changes. Of course you could just go ahead and put more light over the tank as well, or all of the above.

Adding a skimmer, run carbon and do regular water changes will increase the light the corals get??? Sorry but doesnt make sense.

If its always that big and staying this way cus its starved for light then I might as well starve them.. LOL The day I accidently left the lights on more than usual my corals didnt agree with it. So I will take my chances and leave things as is for now.

Keeping the water as clean and clear as possible goes a long ways towards getting as much light down through the water to your corals that's why I recommended the skimming, carbon adn water changes. A good and easy way of seeing just how dirty your water is... get a white 5 gallon bucket, fill it with your tank's water, you will see right away just how yellow your water is. I use Ozone and heavy skimming to keep my water crystal clear, but ozone units are not cheap...so for starters get yourself a kick butt skimmer, run some carbon, and keep up with those water changes. If LPS corals are starved for light long term they can eventually die. Keep an eye on your bubble coral.

asmskimmer.com is a great site for good inexpensive skimmers. Happy Holidays.