A beginner writes ..... am I on the right track ?

[CrustyTheClown]

OK folks, be gentle with me - I'm a beginner, but keen to learn. I set up a 10 gal (24"x18"x12") tank for my father 8 mths ago. Recently nitrate levels have been going sky high, so I have now taken over responsibility for the tank and moved it to my house.

Hope I don't bore youse, but here's a little history, with plenty of questions as we go - feel free to give me the benefit of your rage or experience (or even tell me if I've done something right) as we go.

From the start we used about 8lbs live rock (I'd now like to add more) with an inch of coral sand, 2 pumps (one in the heater cabinet with some spongy filter material) and a Berlin airstone skimmer. One normal light 15W fluorescent tube (I think it's be wise to add a second fitting and put a 15W actinic light too). SG was 1.026 (35 ppt) at 79F/26C.
We let the tank mature for 6 weeks before adding any stock.

The NO2 was 0 and the NO3 less than 12.5mg/ltr so we added 2 clowns and 2 Blue/Green Chromus. Also 5 Red-legged hermits as a cleaning crew.
Everything ran well for about 8 weeks, pulsating xenia was going well, mushroom coral and purple looking lobophytum (I think) was thriving, then the NO3 levels started to rise to about 50mg/ltr and we started getting a lot of red dust-like algae on the glass and sand and some red seaweed (algae?) on the rocks.

So, we did a 25% water change, cut the lighting to 8hrs a day, introduced 2 candy shrimps (to kill a load of aptasia - it worked), 2 turbo snails and 4 blue-legged hermits. We also put in a marine actinic bulb.

8 weeks later NO3 was again approaching 100mg/ltr - we did a 50% change and it came down to 25mg/ltr, but we then started getting a dark green/brown gunge covering the glass and blackish 'slime' algae on the living rock. (It killed off the purple lobopyhtum like coral). One of the Chromus died, and was eaten immediately by the shrimps :-(

Another 8 weeks and it was hitting 100mg/ltr so another 50% change - this time with RO water and not tap water as previously (now concerned about phosphates). Discovered the source of green/brown gunge ... the filter pump still had two pads a way down in the bottom and they were thick with this gunk, so I rinsed them out and put them back (and pledged to rinse them out more frequently) - is this a wise move ?

2 weeks later NO3 at 50mg/ltr, so moved the tank to my house. What an effort. All rocks in bags, fish, crabs, shrimps, then drain the water in to 5 gallon drums and drove VERY carefully the 25 miles cross hilly windy country to my house.....

4 hrs later, and I'd done another 25% change (No3 12.5mg/ltr) and got the whole tank set up. I also scrubbed the slime algae off all the rock and in the process found a red crab living away in a wee cave. He's not a hermit, his carapace is about 1cm across, he has two big claws (black-tipped) and is whitish underneath. I hear all crabs are pests and should be removed, but up until now we have had no problems ... well 2 missing red-legged crabs and 2 missing nassarius snails .... could he be the culprit ? It was pretty exciting to find a wee stowaway, but I am keeping an eye on him to see if he is trouble ... (advice?).

I also rinsed out the coral sand (which produced quite a lot of brown/green gunky water) - was this a wise move? Also cleaned the filters, pumps and skimmer. Didn't spot it over time, but the SG has dropped over the 7 months and is now 1.020 (28ppt) at 79F/26C (should I slowly raise that over the weeks to about 1.023?)

I'm now monitoring the water like a hawk. 4 days later and the NO3 level has risen to 25mg/ltr, but I think this might be due to some purple coralline algae which was growing on the side of the pump housing - it has turned white (is this now dead due to being out of the water in transit and raising the NO3?)
NO2 is still low (less than 0.3mg/ltr). I am being very careful not to overfeed the fish and have been leaving the skimmer on 24hrs a day to keep on top of the bio-load. (Is this too much ? What is the normal on-off skimmer times)?

Lessons so far ?
1 - Use RO and not tap water.
2 - Rinse out filters regularly.
3 - Don't rush
4 - Change airstones more regularly
5 - Use one pump to break the surface tension of the water to aerate it.
6 - Water changes. I was originally told that a Live Rock system should require minimal water changes. Is this the case and will it settle over time, or should I always change 10% a week as a matter of course ?

Once stabilised I would like to add more rock and 1 or 2 more fish (no more). Perhaps a yellow tang (to graze on the algae) and a blue damsel. Any foreseeable problems with this mix ?

Thank you all for your patience.
Crusty

[icebear]

IMHO with 4 fishes you are already overstocked

[reefBoyDc]

I agree. In an 11 gal tank, 1 fish would be too much.

[yardboy]

Yep to what others said. You're probably overfeeding, which along with the tremendous bioload will keep your nitrates high. Either get rid of most of the fish (one is enough for a 10 gallon tank) or get a bigger tank.

Secondly, don't be so jumpy about us going off on you. We're a nice, friendly crowd that only gets uptight on deep philosophical issues (usually involving brownies), not the little stuff about screwing up the start of your reef tank!

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

OK folks, be gentle with me - I'm a beginner...

Hi CC, welcome to TRT, don't be worried about what you ask or about getting flamed here, TRT is not about all that, I'd like to think we all check our ego at the door...

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

I set up a 10 gal (24"x18"x12") tank for my father 8 mths ago. Recently nitrate levels have been going sky high, so I have now taken over responsibility

I will verify information as we go through, due to the conversion factors for our general group here. Just to make sure, how many liters is the tank? Given the measurements of the above tank, it should be around 22 US gal (formula: WxHxD in inches divided by 231 = US gal, 24 x 18 x 12 / 231 = 22.4 gal US, a big difference in what we would recommend) 22 US gal would be approx. 90 liters, is this what you have?

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

...the start we used about 8lbs live rock (I'd now like to add more) with an inch of coral sand, 2 pumps (one in the heater cabinet with some spongy filter material) and a Berlin airstone skimmer. One normal light 15W fluorescent tube...

if the tank were 10 US gal, this would be sufficient, but at 22 in a tank with so much bioload, you'd require closer to 20-25 lbs (~45-55 Kg).

With your given pumps, what is your flow rate (how many liters per hour)?

I realize that you're addressing the lighting issue, you should consider some VHO with Icecap ballasts or PC lighting for the intensity and spectrum necessary to appropriately drive the photosynthesis of the organisms you've listed that you keep. As all fluorescent bulbs age, they tend to red-shift, favoring the growth of shallow water nuisance algal species. You need to plan to replace your bulbs every 6 months on a standard tar ballast, every year on an electronic ballast. Increasing your intensity with better lighting will both decrease your issues with nuisance algae and allow your octocorals and corallimorphs to thrive instead of just survive.

With a sand bed that shallow, regular substrate cleaning will be in order, and if your tank is only 12 inches deep, a DSB would eat up what little depth you have. However, if the tank is 18 inches to the bottom, then a 10 to 15 cm substrate will give your system a safety net, and also reduce and control high nitrate issues. This is not to say that you will not require water changes, as realistically you should plan 10% water changes EVERY 2 weeks both to resupply trace elements and remove any accumulating substance that are detrimental to your system. Believe it or not, nitrates are not the worst thing to accumulate in your system.

Once the system gets a mature sand bed and adequate quantities of live rock, I would remove the sponges altogether on your pumps. The bacteria that colonizes them is your current source of both mineralization of ammonia and nitrITE and the reason you see high nitrATE levels. You cannot remove them now until you establish good alternative nitrogen-cycling substrates to replace them. The cleaning of the sponges and the inadequate amount of rock probably both contribute to your nitrITE levels you see now.

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

...so we added 2 clowns and 2 Blue/Green Chromus. Also 5 Red-legged hermits as a cleaning crew. ...pulsating xenia was going well, mushroom coral and purple looking lobophytum (I think) was thriving, then the NO3 levels started to rise to about 50mg/ltr and we started getting a lot of red dust-like algae on the glass and sand and some red seaweed (algae?) on the rocks...

This is characteristic of a system with high bioload and inadequate denitrification mechanisms in place. Realistically, the bioload in this system (if 10 gal) is way too much for the ability of a small tank to handle adequately. Nitrogen byproducts will accumulate, and must be removed either by heavy nitrogen biomass export (heh, yu could sell the xenia) or through large weekly water changes. Limiting inputs of nitrogen, by the use of RO/DI water for topoff , reducing bioload, and reducing feeding are all indicated (this will limit phosphates as well, the true limiting factor in most nuisance algal blooms). Even if the tank is 22 gal (90 L), the bioload is still heavy, you may want to think of the bioload limit in this system as 2 inches of fish in 20 gallons (US) TOTAL. Pulsing Xenia and many of the Octocorals utilize dissolved organic materials and particulate organic materials along with high dissolved nitrogen products to feed on. This is the reason the octocorals are doing OK in your system. Their biological niche in the wild is based on their lagoonal evolution in the line of coral succession, and accounts for their ability to do well in moderate to low lighting and high dissolved nutrient waters. This also accounts for the appearance of Aiptasia spp. in the tank. BRAVO on the use of peppermint shrimps.

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

... So, we did a 25% water change, cut the lighting to 8hrs a day, introduced 2 candy shrimps (to kill a load of aptasia - it worked), 2 turbo snails and 4 blue-legged hermits. ...8 weeks later NO3 was again approaching 100mg/ltr... ...also scrubbed the slime algae off all the rock and in the process found a red crab... ...his carapace is about 1cm across, two big claws (black-tipped) and is whitish underneath... (advice?)

These are some of the means to controlling algae, especially in a system without a DSB. Scrubbing the rock and removing the algae from the system removes those problem nutrients from the system. Clearing the rock of detritus, either by cleaning outside the system, or once the system is established, blowing the rock with a turkey baster or other source of strong current puts detritus in suspension, allowing for removal either via skimming or water change, or siphoning the rock prior to blowing for the water change.
On the crab, remove it. It is a interesting creature now, but it will eat whatever it can catch. The first time it captures a really expensive fish will be th last time you'll feel warm and fuzzy towards this potential nightmare.

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

...I also rinsed out the coral sand (which produced quite a lot of brown/green gunky water) - was this a wise move? Also cleaned the filters, pumps and skimmer. Didn't spot it over time, but the SG has dropped over the 7 months and is now 1.020 (28ppt) at 79F/26C (should I slowly raise that over the weeks to about 1.023?)

If you keep a shallow sand bed (3 cm or less), better to go with a 2 to 3 mm granule size and siphon it about once every two weeks (or more frequently with a heavy bioload.) Keeping everything cleaned of algae or other encrustations is a good maintenance move for equipment, although I would not remove any coralline from the back glass unless it is a walk around tank.

Consistency is the creed of the reef tank. Keeping your water parameters steady and within the correct range is paramount to long-term success with a reef tank. Slowly raise your salinity to 35 PPT (1.026 SG at 78 F (25.5 C) ) by using full strength seawater as your top off for a few days. Evaporation will do the work for you, slowly concentrating the system's salinity as the evaporation of water leaves behind the salt.

Originally Posted by CrustyTheClown

...Once stabilised I would like to add more rock and 1 or 2 more fish (no more). Perhaps a yellow tang (to graze on the algae) and a blue damsel. Any foreseeable problems with this mix ?

See the comments above concerning the total number of fish in your system. Bioload increases the chances your system's capacity to cycle nitrogen will be exceeded. In addition, the tang will be in MUCH too small an environment for its minimum requirements (120 liters min), although there are other alternative herbivores for your system. In a system in the 20 to 30 gal range, every fish, creature, invert... must have a role in the stability of the system. If they're there for show, then they are a contributor to the problems rather than a part of the cure. To keep more fish than the 1 inch of fish per 10 gal SW volume in your display, then you must increase the volume by either adding a refugium or sump to your system, or get a larger display (my perineal fave... )

A lot of information and issues to cover, for more detailed info, you may want to get the first volume of the Nielssen and Fossa book that is readily available in Europe. It covers much of this topic in detail and give many resolutions for your particular issues. It is an interesting read, I heartily endorse it.

Good luck with your system, and again, Welcome to TRT!

[Voyeur]

Tom is one of my many hero's here.....

Great info Tom,as usual.


John

[CrustyTheClown]

Tom thanks for that immense piece of advice so far... and to everyone else also. :-)

Only 3 fish in the system - I will not add any more on your advice.

I made a wee mistake. Tank is 24"x12"x12" which is 11 imp gal (~14 us gal).

Skimmer - should it be running 24/7 to keep max effect ? Or can you skim too much ?

Already thinking that I need a bigger tank .......

[Phishnoob]

You will want a bigger tank, you can't overskim and welcome to TRT!!!!!!

And a Scotsman asking to be gentle...isn't Scotland where you wear kilts when the weather is near freezing and the home of Sean Connery? We are going there on our honeymoon.

The hardest part about this hobby for me anyway is to just sit on my hands for eternity and add just a "wee" bit at a time.

[Mafiaman]

I'll tell ya'll, I was very impressed with Tom here.
I know it must have taken every bit of his self-control not use all of them 50 cent words he loves so much!

Are you coming Saturday Tom?

[tdwyatt]

Originally Posted by Mafiaman

...must have taken every bit of his self-control not use all of them 50 cent words he loves so much!

Are you coming Saturday Tom?

whut... uuuhhhhh...


On the Sanjay program on Saturday, I have had a mini-disaster at work, I will unfortunately not be coming for the program (working for a living is starting to get to be a hassle...), I have to call Sanjay and apologize...

I was looking forward to seeing him again, I guess I'll have to make it a point to see him in State College...

btw, skim the above system 24/7, it will only nelp with removal of dissolved organics and to some (very small) extent, phosphates as well. Look at removing as much organic material as possible BEFORE it decomposes, THAT is the way to really get the phosphates out of the system.

Chris, I swear I am going to make another road trip to Atlanta in the near future, heck, Doug has my new MH bulbs and Andy is getting the skimmers ready for the dual 125 long term comparison.

[tims]

Welcome to TRT crusty!
looks like you are in good hands with everyone here!
if not getting a bigger tank is easy try setting up a tank for just the fish,this will leave just the corals and inverts in your main display and maybe help with some of the up and down levels.. just an idea..

[Boxster]

tom.....you da man!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ruhspolostar]

I was gonna say what Tom said, really