Newbie - Advise Needed...

[Navarre]

Sorry for straying off topic slighty.

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.

Not true ) Actinics offer little to no photosynthetic light at all. Their light spectrum is far to close to the blue/ultraviolet side (22k and higher) whereas corals/algaes prefer warmer colour temperatures in the region of 6.5k - 10k.

Actinics are really only here for our benefit and to please the eye.

 

[damigs]

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.

I get what your saying and appreciate the explaination. I would love to invest in a skimmer of some sort just dont see how I can apply it to my setup. 54g corner tank thats pegged to the wall with hardly any space for HOB. My sump is kinda small with the pump and I notice the INSUMP hang on refugium but dont leave enough tubbing to rest intake on the floor of sump. Instead it hangs over only 3 inches or so. (Ex AquaC). Any ideas or thoughts as to what I can do?? Thanks!

Picture of my refugium....

 

[superman]

So a hang on back skimmer placed on the back of your sump looks like the only option. Coralife or turborflotor make good hang on back needlewheels, make sure you do a good amount of measuring before you buy one to make sure it will all fit ok on your sump. Make sure that the pump that feeds the skimmer is in an area in your sump that has a completely constant water level that is unaffected by evaporation. I know that it is a little late as far as sump planning, but I believe that if you would push that sump into the back corner you can actually fit another ten gallon tank in there to add onto your sump to use as a place to put an in sump skimmer, or a larger refugium. or propogation tank. I may be wrong though, it has been a while since I measured up a 54 gallon stand.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Sorry for straying off topic slighty.

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.

Not true ) Actinics offer little to no photosynthetic light at all. Their light spectrum is far to close to the blue/ultraviolet side (22k and higher) whereas corals/algaes prefer warmer colour temperatures in the region of 6.5k - 10k.

Actinics are really only here for our benefit and to please the eye.

This is the impression i was under...:
"As the chlorpophyll cells capture the energy from the photon, they basically steal some energy off an electron, and then let the light be on it's way. They use that energy to bond carbon and water or something, forming simple sugars, and pow, we've got photosynthesis. Higher energy wavelengths of light (e.g. Actinic spectrum), carry higher energy electrons, and the chlorpophyll is able to utilize a single electron multiple times to create it's sugars... It's like the energy cycle carried out in the mitochondria in our cells creating ATP, only in reverse (literally, almost identical to a 'T')."

 

[Gene]

My first advice would be to add a powerhead to get movement thru the center of the rock structure. Not only does this help detract from algae growth but it is an excellent means of added natural filtration. I didn't see mention of a protien skimmer, these work wonders, I have noticed algae growth and can almost bet my protien skimmer has diminished some of it's efficiency. Another thing my wife just picked up a couple weeks ago is called a sea bunny. Normally I don't allow my wife to pick anything out and especially buy it but she suprised me. This creature is a type of cucumber/sluggish type creature that basically moves around eating all negative kinds of algae. It has worked wonders in cleaning negative algae in my tank and I have noticed increased coraline algae growth already. Fish wise, Tangs are great & Gobies are as well. Good luck and happy fish-keeping.

 

[damigs]

My first advice would be to add a powerhead to get movement thru the center of the rock structure. Not only does this help detract from algae growth but it is an excellent means of added natural filtration. I didn't see mention of a protien skimmer, these work wonders, I have noticed algae growth and can almost bet my protien skimmer has diminished some of it's efficiency. Another thing my wife just picked up a couple weeks ago is called a sea bunny. Normally I don't allow my wife to pick anything out and especially buy it but she suprised me. This creature is a type of cucumber/sluggish type creature that basically moves around eating all negative kinds of algae. It has worked wonders in cleaning negative algae in my tank and I have noticed increased coraline algae growth already. Fish wise, Tangs are great & Gobies are as well. Good luck and happy fish-keeping.

I was thinking of removing the single large powerhead I have and adding one that splits to two smaller ones. For rightn now flow is hitting the front of glass and its harder to spread evenly. Im still looking to get a skimmer but letting tank mature more before I go that route. So far I have done a 15 gallon water change and keeping an eye on things. Diatoms still appear and some days more than others. For now just cleaning the glass and letting things ride out.

 

[superman]

My first advice would be to add a powerhead to get movement thru the center of the rock structure. Not only does this help detract from algae growth but it is an excellent means of added natural filtration. I didn't see mention of a protien skimmer, these work wonders, I have noticed algae growth and can almost bet my protien skimmer has diminished some of it's efficiency. Another thing my wife just picked up a couple weeks ago is called a sea bunny. Normally I don't allow my wife to pick anything out and especially buy it but she suprised me. This creature is a type of cucumber/sluggish type creature that basically moves around eating all negative kinds of algae. It has worked wonders in cleaning negative algae in my tank and I have noticed increased coraline algae growth already. Fish wise, Tangs are great & Gobies are as well. Good luck and happy fish-keeping.

I was thinking of removing the single large powerhead I have and adding one that splits to two smaller ones. For rightn now flow is hitting the front of glass and its harder to spread evenly. Im still looking to get a skimmer but letting tank mature more before I go that route. So far I have done a 15 gallon water change and keeping an eye on things. Diatoms still appear and some days more than others. For now just cleaning the glass and letting things ride out.

Starting out without a protein skimmer will just prolong your algae issues. Until you get a proein skimmer better keep up on your water testing, what are your nitrites at? If the tank has already cycled then get on the water changes with RO water and you should see your algae blooms subside.

As for the Sea "bunny" that Gene suggested, I would not recommend them, they get very big and usually die of starvation over time, unless you have a REALLY dirty tank and have a ton of algae for them to eat.

 

[damigs]

Got a question to ask you guys. Since posting I have done another water change (Last Monday 12/26) and even thou brown algea has stayed the same I now notice today especially that the water is cloudy. I have checked water parameters and all except for Phosphates are fine. Phoshates are 0.5ppm which is kinda high. Overall I have only added phosban to lower phosphate levels but it seems water is getting cloudier and it has a nasty smell to it. Corals and fish seem fine and healthy thus far but would appreciate help or info as to what this is. Is this normal??

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

No thats not normal. Do you have snails? Maybe one died. Do you have caleurpa [macro]algae? Ive heard[and I think Ive wittnessed] that when the spores reproduce, they make the tank cloudy. But that still wouldnt explain the bad smell, thats why I think something might have died. Well, at least your fish are still ok. The only thing I can think of to do is do a water change.

 

[superman]

When in doubt, do a large water change, then sort things out afterwords. Time can work against you very quickly when things start going bad in a reef tank.

 

[damigs]

adding carbon to my filtration has truely helped out alot. Its made the tank 50% clearer and tank looks much better. So far Im running a phosphate sponge to try and bring Phosphate levels down and that will hopefully take away most of my brown algea

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

And do you have hermit crabs? They help clean the brown algae in the sand.