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Robin Gordon
February 18th 04, 06:11 PM
I have just started a new tank (4 months ago) from equipment and live rock I
had in an old 6 foot tank but I'm having a few problems. the nitrates were
right through the roof for a while but now I've got them to below 20ppm. my
lighting is 36W actinic (just replaced 2 weeks ago), a 36W powerglo about 2
months old and a 150W MH (system 2000) which needs a new bulb even though it
doesn't seem that dull.
when the powerglo is on I have to rake over the gravel 2 or 3 time a day to
keep it clean. it keeps getting covered in that old brown slime algae. I
first bought large green button polyps and small yellow polyps and a bubble
coral. the buttons did well and have started splitting and forming new
colonies but the yellows perished very quickly the bubble corals were two
pieces on one rock but they're growing towards each other very quickly.
thinking that all seemed to be settled now I purchased a feather xenia and a
clove xenia. the clove xenia was on a rock but fell off and landed upright
in the middle on the gravel. it's holding it's own but the feather looked
like it may need a medium flow so I set in the middle of the tank to catch
some flow, alas this doesn't seem to suit it that much but a greater flow
may damage it and a lesser flow will leave I clumped up.
advice anyone.
I feed a cube of brineshrimp and Korralife once every 3 days to help keep
the nitrates low (to avoid overfeeding) is there any better way of doing
this or do these corals not need any feed like this will they survive
without it. my only other occupants are a brittlestar and 11 hermit crabs
(seems everybody else is snapping up the turbo snails before I get there)

Robin

36" x 18" x 15" main tank, 36 x 12 x 18 sump with rio 1770 pump returning
water, prizm deluxe skimmer, 2 x 402 powerheads for constant circulation and
2 x 301 powerheads for wavemaking. 20 Kg of live (?) rock. i have no heater
at the moment as the tank temp varies between 22 C int the morning to 24.9
in the evening.

Marc Levenson
February 19th 04, 07:15 AM
Hi Robin,

see below....

Robin Gordon wrote:

> I have just started a new tank (4 months ago) from equipment and live rock I
> had in an old 6 foot tank but I'm having a few problems. the nitrates were
> right through the roof for a while but now I've got them to below 20ppm. my
> lighting is 36W actinic (just replaced 2 weeks ago), a 36W powerglo about 2
> months old and a 150W MH (system 2000) which needs a new bulb even though it
> doesn't seem that dull.

Nitrates are part of the normal cycle of a new tank, and drop over time. 20ppm
is just fine, and lower is even better. Water changes remove nitrates. If
you've not read this article, please do:

http://www.melevsreef.com/reducing_nitrates.html

You have 6 foot long tank, and 1 single 150w MH and two 36w (PCs? NOs?) It
sounds like you need a bunch more light for success. Your MH is good for 12
months, the smaller bulbs probably every 6 months, although I'm not sure what
you've got at this point.

> when the powerglo is on I have to rake over the gravel 2 or 3 time a day to
> keep it clean. it keeps getting covered in that old brown slime algae.

You mention gravel. Am I correct to assume you have no sand in your tank then?
You will need snails, hermit crabs and probably an emerald crab to keep your
gravel reasonably clean, but don't expect it to stay pristine. You are
emulating the ocean in a very small space, and part of nature is some algae
growth. It sounds like you are trying to prevent a diatom bloom from occuring,
which is quite normal and helps feed your bacteria - the natural filtration
system of your tank.

> I first bought large green button polyps and small yellow polyps and a bubble
> coral. the buttons did well and have started splitting and forming new
> colonies but the yellows perished very quickly the bubble corals were two
> pieces on one rock but they're growing towards each other very quickly.

These are all low light creatures and should do well if water parameters are
steady and near NSW levels.

> thinking that all seemed to be settled now I purchased a feather xenia and a
> clove xenia. the clove xenia was on a rock but fell off and landed upright
> in the middle on the gravel.

Clove Polyps are actually Anthellia. Pulsing Xenia is a different type of soft
coral, and of the two I'd personally prefer Xenia. Anthellia grows much much
much too fast and will smother other corals as it grows. Xenia on the other
hand can be a great barometer of your water quality. If the Xenia looks good,
water is in good shape. When it starts to look ill, something is out of whack.

> it's holding it's own but the feather looked like it may need a medium flow
> so I set in the middle of the tank to catch some flow, alas this doesn't seem
> to suit it that much but a greater flow
> may damage it and a lesser flow will leave I clumped up.
> advice anyone.

I'd leave it alone for now and let it adjust to the tank. Moving it is only
stressing the creature. Hopefully it will do better in time. I feed Live
Phytoplankton to my tank every other day, and my featherdusters look very happy.

> I feed a cube of brineshrimp and Korralife once every 3 days to help keep
> the nitrates low (to avoid overfeeding)

I feed every single night.

> is there any better way of doing this

Skimming the tank with an excellent (quality) protein skimmer will help avoid
overfeeding issues. Corals do need some nutrients in the water to feed upon,
and they need light to continue to thrive, as zooanthellae is a symbiotic algae
within your soft corals. If the aglae is present, it will provide sugars (which
equals energy) in your corals, and they will do well. Adding more light to your
tank would be a great solution. Two more 150w MH bulbs over the tank, so that
one is evenly spaced over 2 square feet is ideal.

> or do these corals not need any feed like this will they survive without it.

It isn't about survival. It is about growth and success. Husbandry in this
hobby is key.

Marc


> my only other occupants are a brittlestar and 11 hermit crabs
> (seems everybody else is snapping up the turbo snails before I get there)
>
> Robin
>
> 36" x 18" x 15" main tank, 36 x 12 x 18 sump with rio 1770 pump returning
> water, prizm deluxe skimmer, 2 x 402 powerheads for constant circulation and
> 2 x 301 powerheads for wavemaking. 20 Kg of live (?) rock. i have no heater
> at the moment as the tank temp varies between 22 C int the morning to 24.9
> in the evening.

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