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Anonymous

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Dan, a coupla things....

Your refugium light should not be running the same high kelvin spectrums as typical display lights- the blues and whites of a display are supposed to be algae unfriendly- if you run your macro fuge with a normal incandescent or (better still) one of those orange/yellow spectrum globes for use in terrariums, you will give the macro a head start over any nuisance algae in the display.

Dont worry about the mandarins too much, especially if you can see copepods in the fuge. Try taking a torch to the tank late at night when the tank is in darkness- you will be surprised how many pods there are in the display.

Looking at your pics, one thing stands out, and thats how pale your rocks are. I appreciate that you have had a battle with algae, but a 3 1/2 year tank should have grown much more calcarious algae. Check your dosages of Kalk, and supplement with kalk flakes if necessary- you should have more purple in there by now. (It may just be the pics, I know my photographs dont reflect the exact colours of my tank)

Also, wait a while before adding more livestock. If you think you are getting a cycle- and the brown stuff on the sand would seem to point to an imbalance somewhere anyway- wait until everything has settled properly and then proceed slowly.

Looking Good! Hang in there, it'll be just like how you wanted it in a few weeks! I'm glad you didnt pack the whole hobby thing in, too many people get despondent at the first signs of problems- its a helluva lot more fun and a good learning experience to work through the problems. As a good friend of mine says to me every time I hit a hurdle with my tanks..." Relax, we didnt come here to lose."
 
A

Anonymous

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andy37":37tqf4zx said:
Dont worry about the mandarins too much, especially if you can see copepods in the fuge. Try taking a torch to the tank late at night when the tank is in darkness- you will be surprised how many pods there are in the display.

Translation: use a flashlight to look at the 'fuge. Remember Andy, to us unlettered Yanks a torch is something that involves fire :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

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Taking a torch to the tank would be a last resort in the US then I guess? :lol:
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I have considered it for aptasia outbreaks ;)

Series200FLAME-TORCH.jpg
 

benni

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Sorry I haven't replied in a while, life got a bit busy for me. Anyways, I feel the same way about aptasia's. I can't seem to keep peppermint shrimp for longer periods of time, I think my tank runs a little too warm for them and I cookem'. Back to your comments though, the picture did show the tank a bit lighter than it is and some of that rock you can now see was buried in the dsb, so it was very white. However, I do think I should have more purple as well. I am starting to get a nice outbreak of coraline algae. A few weeks now, and the green hair algae has not returned!! All my corals are thriving and growing at a rate that I can't believe. I have kept up storming and 5 gallon water changes every week. The light brown slime that I was seeing has been gone for a while now. You mentioned Kalk, I use a two part solution from bulkreefsupply. I have yet to venture into the kalk dosing. I feel comfortable with the two part route and will at least keep it up until I run out of supplies. Not really sure what to do with the kalk. Is it a better way to go you think? Anyways, my Mandarin is fine, the macro in the refug is growing great and with a torch :wink: I can see lot's and lot's of critters. Well, I am happy to report everything is happy and thriving and I appreciate everyone's help on this. It was worth the time and effort!!!
 

mgraf

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Just keep blowing those rocks off with a turkey baster. I had the same problem. Blow hard into the holes, you will be amazed at how much gunk comes out. It even shoots out from the opposite side of the rocks. My flow was good but, I had a powerhead that was pushing waste away from my intake. Switched it around for a better flow, kept blowing and blowing the rocks out, water change water change. I had elevated ammonia levels. I also built an algae turf scrubber in my sump, grows lots of green stuff. No more algae in tank. I still blow my rocks off weekly and stuff still comes out all those holes.
Good luck!
 

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