yveterinarian
Super Active Member
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2012
- Location
- Innerkip, Ontario
I'm writing this post in order to get some ideas on how to help my reef tank improve. Currently my tank is a 65 gallon bowfront with a 35 gallon sump and a 20 gallon tank tied into the system for clownfish. My tank was started with marco rock and has a 4-5" deep sandbed for my Garden Eel. I'm not sure how much rock I have in the tank but I also have some in the sump. I'm guessing between the two I have 70-80 lbs. The 20 gallon has a 1" sandbed and 3 large rocks. My protein skimmer is a Super Reef octopus RO-PS-1000INT rated for 125 gallons and pulls out a lot of thick skim mate. I do not have a filter sock or floss on the system. My lights are LED and are sitting about 8" above the tank. I have some red macro algae and some caulerpa in the clown tank which is growing well and I weed out on a regular basis. Unfortunately, the red macroalgae has migrated into the 65 gallon tank and is taking over in some places. I pull it out of there often.
My problem is that I can't seem to keep zoanthids alive for any length of time. I also can't seem to keep xenia or GSP alive either. I realize that most people feel that GSP is a nuisance and I'm better off without it but I thought I'd mention that mine all died. My tank has no hair algae, no cyano.
My bubble coral is doing great and my kenya tree is propagating itself all over the tank quite nicely. My leathers are still alive but I don't seem to have the amount of polyp extension that I used to have.
Somehow I have gotten some red bubble algae into my tank from and unknown source that has taken over many areas and I'm not quite sure how to get rid of it. Should I be removing each rock and bleaching it? I will do that as a last resort but would like to think of something else first.
I live in the country and am on a well system so my tank originally started out with well water but for the last year I have been purchasing RO water because my well water is high in nitrates. Getting an RO/DI system is not an option for me as I would be wasting too much water and my well has run out of water in the past during dry spells.
I would like to take a minimalist approach to treating my tank because I a.) don't have room for more equipment in my sump and b.) don't have the resources currently to make large changes to my system. I dose Kent Turbo Calcium a couple of times a week.
A few months ago I decided to try Vodka dosing after reading quite a bit about it and currently my nitrates have decreased from 100 to 10 ppm and my phosphates have decreased from 1 to 0.25 ppm. Both levels have gone up a bit since I got the sea apple because I have been trying to make sure I'm feeding it well. This week I increased the vodka to counteract the increase in feeding so I'm hoping the levels will go down again. Other parameters include: Salinity 1.024, Temp 80*F, pH 8.2, Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrites 0 ppm.
I realize that my nitrates and phosphates are a large part of my issue but I'm wondering if anything else jumps out at you.
My problem is that I can't seem to keep zoanthids alive for any length of time. I also can't seem to keep xenia or GSP alive either. I realize that most people feel that GSP is a nuisance and I'm better off without it but I thought I'd mention that mine all died. My tank has no hair algae, no cyano.
My bubble coral is doing great and my kenya tree is propagating itself all over the tank quite nicely. My leathers are still alive but I don't seem to have the amount of polyp extension that I used to have.
Somehow I have gotten some red bubble algae into my tank from and unknown source that has taken over many areas and I'm not quite sure how to get rid of it. Should I be removing each rock and bleaching it? I will do that as a last resort but would like to think of something else first.
I live in the country and am on a well system so my tank originally started out with well water but for the last year I have been purchasing RO water because my well water is high in nitrates. Getting an RO/DI system is not an option for me as I would be wasting too much water and my well has run out of water in the past during dry spells.
I would like to take a minimalist approach to treating my tank because I a.) don't have room for more equipment in my sump and b.) don't have the resources currently to make large changes to my system. I dose Kent Turbo Calcium a couple of times a week.
A few months ago I decided to try Vodka dosing after reading quite a bit about it and currently my nitrates have decreased from 100 to 10 ppm and my phosphates have decreased from 1 to 0.25 ppm. Both levels have gone up a bit since I got the sea apple because I have been trying to make sure I'm feeding it well. This week I increased the vodka to counteract the increase in feeding so I'm hoping the levels will go down again. Other parameters include: Salinity 1.024, Temp 80*F, pH 8.2, Ammonia 0 ppm, Nitrites 0 ppm.
I realize that my nitrates and phosphates are a large part of my issue but I'm wondering if anything else jumps out at you.