What is this?

[Gulfsurfer]

Is this bubble algae? It also looks like all my purple on my live rock has been replaced by this and everywhere there is green algae there are fine bubbles like this- they appear clear though?

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[LoyalConvict]

Short answer....No

[Gulfsurfer]

so its okay to have this?

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

Is this relatively a new tank set up? Usually those bubbles appear when 1st starting up a tank. There not bubble algae, bubble algae is green and then tend to grow. These bubbles will float to the top once they are agitated.

Not sure if you took these pictures with your pumps turned off but the 2nd picture posted doesn't really have a lot of water movement at the surface. You might want to add a power head in there if the water is getting stagnant.

[drummereef]

Looks like diatoms and possibly the beginnings of a dinoflagellate issue. Can you list your current water params including pH? I would try and get some more flow in there asap. Here's some useful reading on the subject.


http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

[Gulfsurfer]

its been up for for about 5 months total, but i bought this tank off my buddy about 3-4 weeks ago so its new for me haha, i have a koralia 3 powerhead in there and its a 46 bow so there should be plenty of water movement in there

[LoyalConvict]

ooops.... srry almost double post

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001162#post15001162 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
its been up for for about 5 months total, but i bought this tank off my buddy about 3-4 weeks ago so its new for me haha, i have a koralia 3 powerhead in there and its a 46 bow so there should be plenty of water movement in there


OK, so how bout them water params. :)

[Gulfsurfer]

As of yesterday afternoon:

Salinity: 1.023

pH: 7.9-8.0

Ammonia: undetectable

Alkalinity: 3.5

Nitrate: 10

Nitrite: 0.5

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

IMO I dont think one koralia 3 is not enough flow but thats just my 2 cents

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

Nitrates are kinda high which is most likely giving you brown diatoms.. I would do WC on the tank. Are you using RO/DI water?

[lombard0]

Those are byproduct of photosynthesis from algae... oxygen.

[PRDubois]

Do you have hight phosphates and/or nitrates
Looks like Algae but not bubble

[drummereef]

Nitrates ideally should be 0. I'd start there and figure out where the source of the nitrate issue is coming from. If it were me, I'd slowly raise the salinity to 1.025 or even 1.026. Salinity of natural seawater. Also, weather permitting, open some windows to let some fresh air hit the tank to get the pH up a bit. 7.9-8.0 is acceptable, but might be playing a role in your algae issues.

On another note, hopefully the nitrite test is inaccurate or you might be going through another cycle for some reason. Albeit unlikely since the tank has been set up for 5 months. ;) Have you added any live rock recently or done anything to cause a cycle? Sometimes nitrite test will be off.

[Gulfsurfer]

Im using RO water, umm what would cause a cycle? I wish I could open my windows, but unfortunately I live in Florida and its like 90 out haha

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

how often do you feed your fish? and what do you feed them? some foods contain a good % of phosphates in the formula. Excess nutrients in your tank could be giving you a bloom as well

[Gulfsurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001246#post15001246 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by YE||0W TA|\|G
how often do you feed your fish? and what do you feed them? some foods contain a good % of phosphates in the formula. Excess nutrients in your tank could be giving you a bloom as well

Twice a day and Im feeding them marine A pellets and green algae for my tangs

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001242#post15001242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
Im using RO water, umm what would cause a cycle? I wish I could open my windows, but unfortunately I live in Florida and its like 90 out haha

RO or RO/DI? Are you testing the TDS of the water? Again, ideally should be 0. As for the cycle... that's why I asked if you added any live rock lately. I'm guessing not, but thought I would ask.

I looked up the specs on the Koralia 3. That's giving you less than 20x turnover which is bare minimum in my opinion. I would add more flow. ;) A Koralia 2 would be good. I'm running a Koralia 3 and a Tunze Nanostream 6025 in my 40g at the moment.

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001255#post15001255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
Twice a day and Im feeding them marine A pellets and green algae for my tangs


How many fish do you have in there? And what are they....

[Gulfsurfer]

Well I hope this is okay haha, but i go to those glaceau filling station at like grocery stores and stuff and it says its RO water... Well I have been messing with the rock a little bit, but I dont know if that would be sufficient enough to cause a cycle? So you're saying add a koralia 2 with my 3

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

I was feeding Marine A pellet when I had my 38 gallon and the phos content was 0.8% I noticed I was getting a lot of brown diatoms using that food. I switched to Ocean Nutrition Formula 2. They dont give you a % of phos but clearly states on the container that is contains low phos/ash.

[Gulfsurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001276#post15001276 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by YE||0W TA|\|G
I was feeding Marine A pellet when I had my 38 gallon and the phos content was 0.8% I noticed I was getting a lot of brown diatoms using that food. I switched to Ocean Nutrition Formula 2. They dont give you a % of phos but clearly states on the container that is contains low phos/ash.

Okay thanks man, my LFS was like "oh this will be fine" yeahh haha

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001275#post15001275 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
Well I hope this is okay haha, but i go to those glaceau filling station at like grocery stores and stuff and it says its RO water... Well I have been messing with the rock a little bit, but I dont know if that would be sufficient enough to cause a cycle? So you're saying add a koralia 2 with my 3


Messing with the rock won't cause a cycle most likely, if you are just moving it around in the tank. The store bought RO is definitely an issue. My guess is the TDS is upwards of 20 if not more which would certainly cause this kind of algae bloom. Some of that stuff is as bad as tap water, imo. The food, as YE||0W TA|\|G mentioned, is good advice. This is adding trace amounts of phosphate daily to your tank. Overtime it will build up to cause issues. I'd change food and cut back a bit as well. Continue to feed your tang the (nori) algae, no problems.

Yes, I'm advocating adding a Koralia 2 to your setup, along with the 3. The more flow the better. :) It will seem like a lot of flow in the beginning, but your tank will thank you for it.

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

I use the Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 small pellet. I have a yellow tang that eats it. Ive noticed that the Marine A pellets are pretty big. Most of the time small to med size tangs have to nibble at the pellet for some time before its eaten. Plus if they cant finish it all that just add extra nutrients into the tank that you dont want.

[Gulfsurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001298#post15001298 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
Messing with the rock won't cause a cycle most likely, if you are just moving it around in the tank. The store bought RO is definitely an issue. My guess is the TDS is upwards of 20 if not more which would certainly cause this kind of algae bloom. Some of that stuff is as bad as tap water, imo. The food, as YE||0W TA|\|G mentioned, is good advice. This is adding trace amounts of phosphate daily to your tank. Overtime it will build up to cause issues. I'd change food and cut back a bit as well. Continue to feed your tang the (nori) algae, no problems.

Yes, I'm advocating adding a Koralia 2 to your setup, along with the 3. The more flow the better. :)


Okay thanks! So its probably best to buy my water from a LFS then- just to be safe? Oh, btw about the food, I also have the ocean nutrition formula one marine pellet should I just use this then?

[Gulfsurfer]

while were on the food subject haha, how many times should I feed the green algae a day?

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001311#post15001311 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
Okay thanks! So its probably best to buy my water from a LFS then- just to be safe? Oh, btw about the food, I also have the ocean nutrition formula one marine pellet should I just use this then?

That's up for debate. :lol: Sometimes LFS water is crap too. :D I'd ask them to test the TDS next time you are in for water so you can see it yourself. If they are changing their membranes and resins, then they should be selling you 0 TDS water, depending how long it's been sitting. In any event the lower the number the better, again 0 being the best.

I'd experiment with the food. Start with cutting back a with the pellets. A lot of that food will just sink to the bottom of the tank and rot. The added flow will definitely help with a lot of this. The idea is to keep the junk suspended in the water column for the skimmer to take it out, since you aren't running a sump/overflow. The first pic shows how much of a lack of flow you have at this point. The film on the water surface is a tell tale sign. ;)

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

Buying water from the LFS would be a better option. Nobody is going to no when they change the filters in the grocery store. And if they do need to be changed you might be getting a bad batch of so called "RO water". At least your LFS needs to check them to ensure that their tanks dont have issues.

As far as the food goes I think it should be fine for now. I cant seem to find anything on the Phos% they dont seem to list it. It should be a lot better then Marine A tho :)

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001332#post15001332 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
while were on the food subject haha, how many times should I feed the green algae a day?

If you just have the one yellow tang, feed a small piece once daily. I usually feed about a 2" piece rolled up in my clip. Keeps my tang nice and fat.

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001339#post15001339 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
That's up for debate. :lol: Sometimes LFS water is crap too. :D

haha this is true

[Gulfsurfer]

well I feel like an idiot for asking this but oh well! haha what is TDS? As for my skimmer... I have a seaclone, and as I have read they're not very good, although mine seams to pull a lot out

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

TDS total dissolved solids.

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001352#post15001352 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by YE||0W TA|\|G
[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001339#post15001339 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
That's up for debate. :lol: Sometimes LFS water is crap too. :D

haha this is true


:lol: Not to dis LFS's but sometimes they sell you stuff that's not even fit to drink.

[Gulfsurfer]

I also have a baby blue tang hes only about an inch and a quarter on a good day haha

[Gulfsurfer]

okay one more question... I currently have a dual 10000 K daylights and 6700K atinics for a total of 192 watts.. is that enough to have soft corals?

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

The Seaclone was my 1st skimmer on my 38. It was an ok skimmer but not the best. There are some mods that you can do to make it perform better

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001375#post15001375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
okay one more question... I currently have a dual 10000 K daylights and 6700K atinics for a total of 192 watts.. is that enough to have soft corals?

What size tank are you running these on?

[Gulfsurfer]

Yeah I saw that... are they worth it? I have a 46 bow

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001368#post15001368 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
I also have a baby blue tang hes only about an inch and a quarter on a good day haha

I would plan for an upgrade soon my friend. ;)


<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001375#post15001375 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
okay one more question... I currently have a dual 10000 K daylights and 6700K atinics for a total of 192 watts.. is that enough to have soft corals?


Yes. I have the same amount of light on my 40g and keep a variety of softies and lps. I would get your water params in order before moving forward with corals though. They no likey the algaes. :) No really, get rid of the excess nutrients and fix the algae issues and you'll be ready for some corals.

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

Yeah the mods are worth it IMO. I did it to my Seaclone and I think it did a little better.

As for the lights you should be good with 192watts. You want 3 watts per gallon for softies. Anything more then soft corals your going to want to upgrade to Metal Halides.

[Gulfsurfer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001389#post15001389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
I would plan for an upgrade soon my friend. ;)





Yes. I have the same amount of light on my 40g and keep a variety of softies and lps. I would get your water params in order before moving forward with corals though. They no likey the algaes. :) No really, get rid of the excess nutrients and fix the algae issues and you'll be ready for some corals.


Yeah, haha I know, I figured I could have him for a little bit... Oh I know, I was just wondering for the future that way when I finally wanted/was ready to I could move forward with it

[Gulfsurfer]

Okay one more question hahaha, I currently have a top on my aquarium... is it needed? I live in florida and I dont think it helps the temp any...

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001394#post15001394 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Gulfsurfer
Yeah, haha I know, I figured I could have him for a little bit... Oh I know, I was just wondering for the future that way when I finally wanted/was ready to I could move forward with it

Good deal. ;)

[Gulfsurfer]

[QUOTE]<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15001399#post15001399 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
Good deal. ;) [/QU

haha its a little hard upgrading while being a college student though haha

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

You can keep the lid off. Keeping it on will reflect some of the light that your corals will need when you do get corals. Plus its a good way to keep your tank from reaching extremely high temps.

[Gulfsurfer]

Okay, thanks for the help guys

[YE||0W TA|\|G]

No problem. Let us no how everything goes