brcolli2

Sounds like I just need to accept that I will have bubble algae. My concern is that my nutrients are so low that I am starving my corals, and still the bubble algae is out of control. I am trying to slowly raise my levels to improve the growth and color of my corals. I am not looking forward to seeing how fast the bubble algae will multiple now.

My tank is overrun with bubble algae. I have been fighting it for close to 2 years. I have tried emerald crabs, manual removal, and peroxide dosing. My nitrates are zero, and I have a uv sterilizer. About 3.5 months ago I pulled all of my live rock, manually cleaned it as best as I could, and I have been cooking it in a brute trash can. Now that the bubble algae doesn't have much live rock to grow on it has taken over my overflow and my sump (especially between the baffles). This is making it very difficult to remove. I am considering moving everything to a stock tank and filtering my tank with rodi and vinegar to clean out the tank. Does this seem like a reasonable answer to my bubble algae problem? Will vinegar be sufficient, or do I need to bleach the tank? Thank you.

Does anyone use this product in their quarantine/hospital tank? I am looking for something that will improve my bacteria filtration. My main concern is that it will absorb copper, and not allow me to maintain consistent copper levels. If I added them they would stay in my quarantine tank, and never enter my display tank. Thanks for any help.

I am about to replace my sand bed, and wanted to see what substrate people recommend. I am leaning towards CaribSea dry aragonite special grade reef sand, at a depth of 1-2". Is this a good sand? Is there something out there that people feel is a better product? Also, do any of the vendors have this in stock? Thanks.

YHSublime, thanks for the bump. She is still alive, but not improving. She is now swimming completely vertical, head down. Also, her tail fin has deteriorated. I have attached a picture. My water parameters are: Nitrate 5 Nitrite 1 Ammonia 0 pH 7.8 Temp 75 Phosphates .12 Salinity 1.023 I have Paraguard, cupramine, copper power, methylene blue, and prazi pro in my medicine cabinet. I will go out tomorrow and buy anything else that may help. Please let me know if you have any advice. Thank You, Brian

I have not seen her eat today.

Yes it is. The guys over at reef escape have been pm'ing with me to give me some advice. But anything that anyone else has to offer is greatly appreciated.

I have an anthias with what I believe is a swim bladder infection. The fish is staying in one spot with her nose down and her tail up, at a 45 degree angle. Does this sound like a swim bladder disorder? If so, is there anything I can do to help her? Thanks

Is it important to measure pH while acclimating a fish, or when doing a dip/bath?

Does anyone use an affordable pH meter that is reliable? I have a hard time reading pH test kits, and want something that will help me monitor the pH in my quarantine tank. From doing my own research I am leaning towards the pinpoint pH monitor, but would rather not spend $90. Thanks for any help.

My male Bartlett was a jerk. That's why I want to go with another anthias. Beautiful fish though. Maybe I will go back to the bartletts when I get my 550 gallon reef. I wish

Thanks Justin. I will talk to Marco when I am ready.

I appreciate the advice. Sounds like the Princess anthias is not for me. I had a trio of bartletts in the past, and wanted to go a different route this time. What about the red saddled anthias (Pseudanthias flavoguttatus)? I am assuming I will run into the same issues as the Princess anthias. Thanks

Thanks for the response. I know I need to do more research, but my understanding from reading live aquaria is that it is difficult to get the princess anthias adjusted and through quarantine, but that they are relatively hardy once acclimated. Do people feel differently than that? My plan was to talk to Marco about handling the quarantine process. I am hoping I can get them eating flake/pellets since I have an auto feeder. Otherwise I can feed frozen twice a day. Would that be sufficient?

I was hoping to get people's thought on mixing anthias. My tank is an 80 gallon reef (4'x2') that has been running for 2 years. It is currently empty. I had a velvet outbreak and am leaving the tank fallow for 12 weeks. The first fish I will be introducing to the tank will be a pair of dwarf Angels. I also have a yellow tang and a diamond watchman goby that are being treated in quarantine. I want to add a small harem of princess anthias and a small harem of resplendent anthias (3 of each). Couple questions. Do you feel this will work? Should I add all females or a male of each species? Should all the anthias be introduced at the same time? Thanks in advance. Brian

Thanks. I will look into the American aquarium uv.

Thanks everyone for the help. Marco just spent about 30 minutes over text helping me out. So awesome of him. Hopefully I can get this corrected. Lcdrdata, how do you like your Aqua uv? I do have a reef tank. That is one thing that has me very confused. Aqua uv recommends a flow rate that allows for 30,000 - 45,000 μw/cm2. Says that anything more will destroy the platonik food source. However, emperor aquatics recommends a flow rate for 180,000 μw/cm2 for Protozoa.

I recently lost most of my fish to marine velvet. The fish that survived are in a quarantine tank, and are being treated with copper. I will not be returning the fish to my display tank for 8 weeks. When I return them I want to make sure that I am giving them the best environment possible. I know the best way to protect my fish is to quarantine all fish, and I have learned my lesson and will do that from now on. Now my question is, what UV sterilizer would you recommend for my tank. My display tank is 80 gallons, and my sump is a 40 breeder. I have about 100 gallons total system volume. The two sterilizers I am considering are the 25 Watt emperor aquatics smart, or the 25 watt Aqua ultraviolet classic. http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/products/uvsterilizers/classic/25watt http://www.emperoraquatics.com/smart-uv-sterilizers.php#uv-specs Do these seem like they would work for my tank, and does anyone prefer one over the other? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank You, Brian

Purple masked angelfish sold

Update. Woke up this morning and my alk was at 12.8. Did a 20 gallon water change, and now it is at 11.6 with a pH of 8.40. Hopefully everything will be okay.

The pH was at 8.65 a little while ago, but has dropped to 8.60 currently

I turned my dosing pump on this morning, and forgot to turn it off. My alkalinity rose from around 9 to 14.4. Is there anything I can/should do? Or is it best just to wait it out and let the alkalinity lower on its own? Thanks. As of now nothing in the tank appears affected.

A little bubble algae and some algae on the glass, but nothing bad. I am not getting much polyp extension from my sps and poor coloring, so I was thinking that PO4 may be the cause.

I am feeding spectrum pellets and my sis. I have gotten much better about only feeding what the fish eat, and blowing off my rocks. I am also cleaning my filter sock much more frequently and have given my sump two good cleanings. The phosphates are getting under control in my tank. Hopefully it was just a false reading as mr. X-ray suggested. I am going to give my mixing container a good cleaning just in case. I really appreciate all the help.

I changed all of my filters in the middle of October. My Tds meter is still reading 0, and my pressure hasn't dropped. I will try giving the trash can a good scrub. Would definitely be easier if I could take it outside and use the hose.