What needs improved

[troylong45]

Allsome . I have a 75gal display and 30gal refugeim and don't have near as much rock as I'm told to have an only have
2 turbo snails
2 astraea snails
1 white 5 blue 6 red hermits
2 stomatella snails
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 Blue hippo tang
1 three stripe damsel
1 ocellaris clown
1 percula clown
all under 2 inches
60-70 pounds of sand maybe 40-50 pounds rock
about a 3 inch patch off star polyps
3.5 heads of Duncan coral
1 inch purple mushroom
with a 48" 4 bulb t5ho with 8 blue moon lights currently only 3 bulbs
1 ati blue plus 6 hrs
1 12k 6 hrs
1 Blue atintic 8 hrs
The refugeim is reverse 18" t8 4200k 10 hrs
levels are
temp 80f
specific gravity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20
Phosphate 0
Ph 8
Dkh is highish 12-14
Calcium 450-480
Been set up for 6-7 months
.... now the obvious what do I need to improve on

[Saltliquid]

Nitrate,get some nitra guard titanium bio cubes.
Refuge 18 to 20 hours.
Change over to leds when you can,T5s usually last 4 to 6 months with their colours, you wont realise it, but its happening.
Run some GFH, that will lower your KH and take care of future phos and silica.
Keep your substrate clean or it will let you down and you wont realise it for ages.
A damsel with clowns,?That's up to you, but they are all damsels, so hopefully it will be all good.

[shifty51008]

Lower the nitrates and get a much bigger tank for the hippo tang, otherwise it looks good. You already know the alk should be around 9 and cal around 420 but whats your mag level?

[shifty51008]

Any skimmer?

[troylong45]

Nitrate,get some nitra guard titanium bio cubes.
Refuge 18 to 20 hours.
Change over to leds when you can,T5s usually last 4 to 6 months with their colours, you wont realise it, but its happening.
Run some GFH, that will lower your KH and take care of future phos and silica.
Keep your substrate clean or it will let you down and you wont realise it for ages.
A damsel with clowns,?That's up to you, but they are all damsels, so hopefully it will be all good.

Yea every one gets alone great so far. I guess they all think there the same breed lol. I use ro water and mix with instant ocean reef crystal salt but even it fresh that is where the dkh and calcium is high from the mix right off the back. Can't wait to get leds wish I would done that research befor I bought the fixture.

[troylong45]

Any skimmer?

Not sure on the mag don't have a test for it I'll try lfs. No skimmer yet I'm looking at getting AquaMaxx ConeS c0-1. I do have a uv

[troylong45]

I was told blue hippo tang is good in minimal 55 gal

[troylong45]

I do run a filther sock and forgot to mention I have a ton of ambipods and copepods and purple algae growing really nice

[shifty51008]

The aquamax skimmer will be nice, good choice.

The hippo will get over 1' long and needs a min of imo 180 gal but others say around 240 gal.

[troylong45]

The aquamax skimmer will be nice, good choice.

The hippo will get over 1' long and needs a min of imo 180 gal but others say around 240 gal.

Wow what size should I remove him/her from the 75gal. .no ick I hear that is not the easiest for newbies lol

[troylong45]

Pac Blue Hippo Tang, Regal Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus) got it from reefs2go there site was where I got the min tank size as well . So this breed will get about 1 foot?

[shifty51008]

At the top of this forum you will see a thread about tangs and tank sizes that is a much better list than sites that sell fish. Liveaquaria.com does have one of the better tank sizes for the fish they sell though.

[BenBradford]

Definitely need the skimmer... I would recommend a automatic water top off too.

[troylong45]

Forgot to put it in have ato in got so tired of topping off every day lol. and a 900 gph flow pump

[troylong45]

I'm think my ocellaris might be a female now getting a little fatter and bigger then the percula and it got more darker in color does this mean spawning soon. They been doing the dance for many months

[shifty51008]

It doesnt mean spawning soon but does mean they have figured out who is male and who is female, so they have become a mated pair.

[Saltliquid]

Ocelaris are near brown as full adults any way, which is why it was so easy once some began living in carpet anemones in dirty water, that from this came the black-which is a very dark brown ocelaris.
The first black ocelaris colony was found in the gulf, by a guy I knew way back through another commercial collector in a disgusting place.
As adult’s ocelaris are stronger then percs, so they will grow quicker then an actual Percula.
Not good looking as they grow though, that orange fades to a real daggy washed out brown.
Our east Aus percs keep their colour always though, weaker but much prettier.
Clowns take on an actual sex or change to another up to 25 mill in length.

[Saltliquid]

Ocelaris are near brown as full adults any way, which is why it was so easy once some began living in carpet anemones in dirty water, that from this came the black-which is a very dark brown ocelaris.
The first black ocelaris colony was found in the gulf, by a guy I knew way back through another commercial collector in a disgusting place.
As adult’s ocelaris are stronger then percs, so they will grow quicker then an actual Percula.
Not good looking as they grow though, that orange fades to a real daggy washed out brown.
Our east Aus percs keep their colour always though, weaker but much prettier.
Clowns take on an actual sex or change to another up to 25 mill in length.

[troylong45]

ways to lower nitrate safely and the process on how to and steps i know water changes but im out of salt and low on funds (lost job)

i feed 2 times a day maybe cut down how much during those times ?

i have just lost my pompom crab and left it in the tank for cuc maybe that caused the spike from last month?

im getting some not a lot lot but some brown film on spots of sand and the brown tiny dots on glass is nitrates why?

my corol seems ok maybe not feed them ? they are all photosynthesis i got star polyps, duncan coral, and mushroom.

levels are
temp 81f (adjusted heater i like to be at 80)
specific gravity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80 <--?!!!!
Phosphate 0
Ph 7.8 (lights off after 2 hrs)
Dkh is 12
Calcium 540
Been set up for 6 months

[troylong45]

ways to lower nitrate safely and the process on how to and steps i know water changes but im out of salt and low on funds (lost job)

i feed 2 times a day maybe cut down how much during those times ?

i have just lost my pompom crab and left it in the tank for cuc maybe that caused the spike from last month?

im getting some not a lot lot but some brown film on spots of sand and the brown tiny dots on glass is nitrates why?

my corol seems ok maybe not feed them ? they are all photosynthesis i got star polyps, duncan coral, and mushroom.

levels are
temp 81f (adjusted heater i like to be at 80)
specific gravity 1.025
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 80 <--?!!!!
Phosphate 0
Ph 7.8 (lights off after 2 hrs)
Dkh is 12
Calcium 540
Been set up for 6 months

Found my pompom crab alive I guess it wasn't Dead just a shedding

[troylong45]

Yea every one gets alone great so far. I guess they all think there the same breed lol. I use ro water and mix with instant ocean reef crystal salt but even it fresh that is where the dkh and calcium is high from the mix right off the back. Can't wait to get leds wish I would done that research befor I bought the fixture.

Well I had to get rid of my damsel the fish were fine but it was biting heads off my star polyps

[troylong45]

Nitrate,get some nitra guard titanium bio cubes.
Refuge 18 to 20 hours.
Change over to leds when you can,T5s usually last 4 to 6 months with their colours, you wont realise it, but its happening.
Run some GFH, that will lower your KH and take care of future phos and silica.
Keep your substrate clean or it will let you down and you wont realise it for ages.
A damsel with clowns,?That's up to you, but they are all damsels, so hopefully it will be all good.

If I get nitra guard titanium bio cubes.
How much per gallon/nitrate concentration
How to tell when to change or how often if there isn't a way to tell
how do I use it/run it and what to contain it in.
And how well will it work with no skimmer till I get mine in February if that even has an effect on the nitra guard titanium bio cubes.

[troylong45]

Will my nitrates went down s lot and all I did was 10% water chance removes filter sock and sponges and cleaned top of sand off from debris . And scurbed the bottom of sump areas and siphoned it out whet from 80 ppm nitrates to 20 ppm. And the lfs has the same 20 ppm reading . My be the test I did with 80 ppm was a mess up with api liquid test may have put a extra drop or who knows