Greatings from Whidbey Island

[chastjw71]

Hey Ed, good luck on the hair alge, tonight I helped a buddy with his, during the water change I physically took out each rock, scrubbed all the algae off and put back in the tank, looks tons better, but Im sure it will come back a few times before its over. your not alone LOL

 

[tat2z_21]

So scrubbing the rock is a start, however it is always good to see where the root is. And fix it from there. Hair algea is normally a by product of an increased nutrient level. THere are lots of way to correct this. RO/DI Is a start, But also look at your feeding schedule (feeding to often is almost always a problem), water change schedule (water chemistry can be accumulative, meaning not everything is gone after a water change), and remember that your parameters may check good because the hair algea consumes alot.

 

[chastjw71]

agreed, trust me I did not mean that scrubbing the rock was a fix all, sorry if it came across that way, my friends tank we have now done all that you mentioned, we cut back his feeding schedule, started a real water change schedule, large volume for the first few weeks, and most importantly yesterday right after I scrubbed the rock, I removed his wet dry (with bio balls) filter, then I added a home made sump (20 long) with a skimmer, so I do believe its on the right path, also I left a spot in the sump for a chateo fuge

 

[tat2z_21]

I was just stating that scrubbing is good but a look at the root is also necessary.

 

[chastjw71]

agreed

 

[Fishfry]

OK I think I am on th eriht track then as well. Doing another large change this weekend. Hopefully my RO/DI unit willl get here in time or it's another trip to the culligan man. Either way the tank is chugging right along but I just want it to be all that it can. I know sounds corny or like a recruiting message...lol

 

[bigblue141]

You can also get a handful of Strawberry Crabs and a couple hundred lefty or zebra hermits from Les at Wet Pets for just at $100. I refused to feed less, so I just got more little critters to eat the excess food I feed

 

[tat2z_21]

But remember that when feeding those extra little creatures you are still feeding the issue. Reason being most of your undissolved organics are picked up by the Critters they eat it then digest it then put more organics back into the system. So it is true that they may eat the hair algea they are only feeding it further.

 

[NWDiver]

Unless you potty train them to "go" outside the tank...

 

[bigblue141]

That just creates for tube worms, bristles, mini brittle stars to eat the more poop

Then you let the bacteria take care of the rest, or you buy a bigger skimmer, do more water changes, or, I forgot what the last option I was going to post up was...

 

[tat2z_21]

I am pretty sure that the end result in that is still the completion of the Nitrate cycle. I know that out cleaner crews and scavengers are awesome because they clean the substrate and the rocks, but they really do nothing for the parameters of the water. So the old fashion water changes and keeping everything stable is the best method for reducing. I was one told that the sollution to pollution is dillution.

 

[tat2z_21]

Hey how is the tank doing. Would love to get some feedback on how everything is going.

 

[Fishfry]

Well my RO/DI unit is working flawlessly now I guess it needed a bit of time more than I gave it, but the TDS meter is showing 30ppm in and a big fat zero coming out. Check... The feeding issue well I never give them more than they can eat. I dont like to see the food settle to the bottom so I am sure that is not a problem..Check.. Got my sea hare today so that is aclimating as we speek. Just got off the phone with the wife to explain how I do it again..check.. Now I am concerned about my lights. When I changed my water last time I also changed out all my bulbs (MH and CFL) now I have one MH bulb not comming on. I thought it was my ballast going bad but swapped them around and the same one still doenst come on. It did a couple of times but that was well after (like 3 hours) after the timer comes on. I am going to do another water change here in a day or so and will take the hood apart to see if there are any loose connections.

I am going to keep my fingers crossed this time. I am getting tired of looking at the hair algae. On a brighter note my shrimp is still alive and I havent been able to keep shrimp alive for more than a day or so and this one has been in there a month. Yahoo!!!

 

[tat2z_21]

Hey saw your wife in the fish store today I seen the size of the sea hare, that thing is huge. Hopefully it does the job. But though it will take away the viewable issue, I am certain that it will not fix the root problem. Have you ever thought about a tank transfusion. I know it sounds bad, but listen it has saved me a couple of times. What I do Is mix up about 80 gallons of water. Use a hose and syphon out one end and then pump the freshly made water in the other side. In order for hair algea to thrive there has to be an underlying issue. So maybe you can give that a shot and see what happens. Like I said I have done this a few times and it works like a champ.

 

[Fishfry]

I was thinking of something like that where I pump the new water into my aquarium and let the water that goes out over the overflow drain outside until I have done a very large water change like 80 gallons. I am going to give these 1/4 water changes in rapid succesion a try and then I might just go for the big cahuna and take everything out and start the water from scratch. Only time will tell. I am looking ofrward ot seeing that sea hare go to work though. I left it some work when I cleaned the tank.

 

[Fishfry]

I just went home for dinner and saw the Sea Hare and it is much bigger than I thought it was going to be. Once we put it in the tank it moved right to a rock with a bunch of hair algae on it and I am sure it is going to have a feast tonight.

 

[tat2z_21]

Post some pictures. Also remember that when the Sea Hare has gone through all of the hair algea unless you have an alternative food source it will die. And when if it dies die it will release a large amount of toxins. So keep that in mind.

 

[Fishfry]

Well update to the sea hare. Last night before I went to bed he was cruising along the side of the aquarium. I woke up this morning to find him laying on his side on the bottom. He was still taking in water and his head would move a bit but he was on his side. I dont know what to think. I was wondering if he ate so much that he is just stuffed and digesting it or is he dieing? I tested the water and everything seems to be ok. Ph 8.2 SG 1.023 Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrates were normal for me but I belive tie it was around 50 ppm not 100% going off memory. There has to be something that I am not seeing. I just know I am getting extremly frustrated. My tank looked better and everything thrived better when I was just getting started. The more I know the worse it got..lol Maybe I should just swap it out for a beta bowl..lol

 

[NWDiver]

It will come around. It sure can be frustrating though
It looks like he was in there about 24 hours? He is new to your system and you have no idea how he was collected, or how tough his trip from the ocean to your house was. It is possible that he was compromised before you got him. Keep a close eye on him to be sure that you take him out right away if he doesn't make it. It sure does not sound like your water was a problem for him as long as he was acclimated well.
Does your old bulb work in the failing light? If not, corrosion is my bet, salt is hell on metal!
My gut says that it would be much better to make a huge water change than lots of little ones, but the math does not work out that way. It DOES remove slightly more nitrate, but it is not so large a difference that it is worth working much harder or waiting until you get the chance to set everything up.
If you can do a large change without too much effort then by all means match parms and go for it, but don't wait, several small changes trump a slower large one.

 

[Fishfry]

My wife just called after talking to the store and they said it might be that he just ate so much that he is digesting it. I admit he is pretty big. I am just getting frustrated as you can imagine. Nicki even sugjested just taking everything out and put the corals and fish into a quaratine tank and just clean the heck out of the rocks and then put all new water in. I am not about to take on that project just yet. On a brighter note the marine beta I got when we met is doing good and swiming around the tank now. I still do not know if he is eating because I have not personally seen him but he looks good.