Adding more sand

[LTRN]

I had the "brown out" (ugly) happen rather quickly and it disappeared just as fast. I adjusted my lighting so I am not feeding the algae 24/7, which is what I was doing previously. I also cleaned the sand and overflows to get rid of some of the black/green algae and it is amazing how much better everything is doing. The tang and rabbitfish have cleaned all of the red hair algae off of the rocks and the lawnmower blenny and dragon goby are cleaning up the sand as well. The water is very clear now. I am going to retest my water tomorrow to see if I start spiking nitrates since the algae is under control.

I think that the fish are even happier since they aren't getting light 24/7. The anenome is now branching it's tentacles and it looks 10x's bigger/taller than before and the one mushroom that I inherited is no longer shriveled looking.

I think everyday I look there are more and more polys that come out. I now have 6 of them and I found another featherduster yesterday while cleaning that is new too. It is amazing the things that are coming out of the rock now that I am seeing.

Thanks again for all your info!

 

[blind1993]

well i am pretty sure that the max u can keep ur main lights on for is 14 hrs.

 

[LTRN]

Yeah, well then mine were on for way too long . It was daytime for the fishes 24/7. I had the flourescent's on 12 hours during the day and the actinic on 12 hours at night. oops. They now have a bedtime and only moonlights glowing.

 

[ecobalance]

slowly stocking

If it was 1986 than slowly stocking a tank would be good advice.But its not,and if you utilize all the new technology[such as live sand and bottled bacteria's ]than you can have a fully stocked aquarium in a day or two.Throw a phos-ban reactor on the baby and shorten that algae bloom to about 3 or four days.Every time you add 5 more fish,just make sure to grab that nitro-max outa the fridge,and give it a squirt.The only draw back is you'll either have to set up another one that much quicker,or take up bowling,because overstocking is as big a problem now as it was in 86.

 

[Krish]

If it was 1986 than slowly stocking a tank would be good advice.But its not,and if you utilize all the new technology[such as live sand and bottled bacteria's ]than you can have a fully stocked aquarium in a day or two.Throw a phos-ban reactor on the baby and shorten that algae bloom to about 3 or four days.Every time you add 5 more fish,just make sure to grab that nitro-max outa the fridge,and give it a squirt.The only draw back is you'll either have to set up another one that much quicker,or take up bowling,because overstocking is as big a problem now as it was in 86.

Slowly stocking is bad advice??? Where the heck did you hear that from??? I think the worse advice you can give is to tell someone they don't have to slowly stock because of the new technology...Especially someone new to the hobby. 1986, 1492, 2007...Doesn't matter. I'm sorry, but live sand and bottled bacteria won't allow a person to stock a day or two after without any negative effects eventually, and phosban reactors aren't that efficient to shorten an algae bloom about 3 or 4 days after. I won't even get into the nitro-max after adding 5 fish one time. Who adds 5 fish to an unstable tank one time??? I'm seriously hoping you were just being sarcastic with your last post...

 

[Scooterman]

ecobalance, are you smoking something good because you basically blurted out a lot of stuff that is either very useless or totally insane, maybe you should slow down some & provide useful information & clarify what in the heck you mean by all that.

 

[blind1993]

Slowly stocking is bad advice??? Where the heck did you hear that from??? I think the worse advice you can give is to tell someone they don't have to slowly stock because of the new technology...Especially someone new to the hobby. 1986, 1492, 2007...Doesn't matter. I'm sorry, but live sand and bottled bacteria won't allow a person to stock a day or two after without any negative effects eventually, and phosban reactors aren't that efficient to shorten an algae bloom about 3 or 4 days after. I won't even get into the nitro-max after adding 5 fish one time. Who adds 5 fish to an unstable tank one time??? I'm seriously hoping you were just being sarcastic with your last post...

yea i am pretty sure taking it slowly is better and will keep ur system stable and i add a fish every week but if it is large like a yellow tang i was 2-4 weeks. we wait after a fish to let the system catch up.

 

[Damsel13]

If it is a yellow Tang I wait 8 months.

 

[blind1993]

if u wait that long then he will probably become teritorial u need to get ur last fish within a month of the introduceing a yellow tang.

 

[DonW]

ecobalance, are you smoking something good because you basically blurted out a lot of stuff that is either very useless or totally insane, maybe you should slow down some & provide useful information & clarify what in the heck you mean by all that.

Wow, I really dont even know how to comment. I'm reading this completely dumb founded, shaking my head trying not to bang it against the wall. The entire end of this thread needs to be deleted by one of the mods that were kind enough to respond before someone take this seriously.


Thanks
Don

 

[blind1993]

Slowly stocking is bad advice??? Where the heck did you hear that from??? I think the worse advice you can give is to tell someone they don't have to slowly stock because of the new technology...Especially someone new to the hobby. 1986, 1492, 2007...Doesn't matter. I'm sorry, but live sand and bottled bacteria won't allow a person to stock a day or two after without any negative effects eventually, and phosban reactors aren't that efficient to shorten an algae bloom about 3 or 4 days after. I won't even get into the nitro-max after adding 5 fish one time. Who adds 5 fish to an unstable tank one time??? I'm seriously hoping you were just being sarcastic with your last post...

hey u guys know where he heard taht from. a fish store taht saw him comming and there eyes turned into $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

[Krish]

LOL! LFS are known for mis-leading people just to make a quick buck, but everyone has their own theories and opinions as well, which you can't knock them for, as there is more than one way to go about things in this hobby and be successful. However, with stocking a tank, your tank needs to adjust to accomodate/handle any new bioload which is why it is said to take things slowly. If bacteria in a bottle were just that good as well as live sand, then there would be no such thing as a tank going through a cycle. People would just set up their tanks and have fish in the next day without any problems, and life would be great, but it not the case which is obvious.

 

[kevin1000]

If it was 1986 than slowly stocking a tank would be good advice.But its not,and if you utilize all the new technology[such as live sand and bottled bacteria's ]than you can have a fully stocked aquarium in a day or two.

I don't agree with that statement and don't think your going to find many/any experienced aquarist who will take your side on this issue. People who rush the stocking process are those who tend to have significant problems (even those who use bacteria in a bottle) and I don't think thats just a coincidence.

 

[blind1993]

doesnt rushing cause old tank syndrome early. if u rush then beaware ur tank is a timebomb just waiting to explode.

 

[DonW]

doesnt rushing cause old tank syndrome early. if u rush then beaware ur tank is a timebomb just waiting to explode.

No but it comes with its own set of issues. "Old tank syndrone" if there is such a thing is when the LR and or sand bed are so saturated with nutrients they can no longer perform biological functions.

Don

 

[blind1993]

oh ok i thought i might do that since it will use up the biological bacteria at a faster rate then produced and then cause ots.

 

[kevin1000]

Old tank syndrome gets argued to death .. many would say that your substrate and live rock have a limited capacity and will eventually start to leach out phosphates becoming a chronic source of food for algae - often resulting in the aquarist "throwing in the towel" (to coin a scientific term).

 

[blind1993]

but if u reseed ur tank every 3 months wouldnt that prevent ots.

 

[DonW]

but if u reseed ur tank every 3 months wouldnt that prevent ots.

Reseed what. The bacteria is still there even when the tank goes to pot. I sort of understand what you getting at. Honestly when it comes to this discussion. Moving to fast will just cause problems and the tank may not live long enough to have the misfortune of "old tank syndrone"


Don

 

[Frankie]

[such as live sand and bottled bacteria's ]than you can have a fully stocked aquarium in a day or two.

Sounds like a Wiss snake oil to me this bottled bacteria. Man, when did this come out?! What ever happened to waiting 6 months before even adding a coral to tank? That was what i was taught when i got into the hobby and it has not failed me yet.
When i set up my first tank i cycled it, got a few fish and read, read ,read. By the time i was ready for corals i knew what i wanted and how to take care of it. I even was able to help others with there troubles before i even had corals.
Just wait and take the time waiting to learn about the microcosm you want to create.
As i stated in a post a few pages back, Live sand has to many downs then ups for safe usage imo.