Sk8r, I was trying to find your blog in just Algae. I had no luck. Could you share the link, please?

Great read! Going through this right now. Thank you for the information!

Thanks for helping me undersstand my problem, hopefully over the next 6 months I'll see an improvement, just in time for the next outbreak

i guess that explains my tank!! this is so help full and im on my wayyy to fixing the problem. Very help full! thank you

hello. im a newbie and have heard damsel fish are verry sgressive can damsale fish be in the same tank as clown?

hello. im a newbie and have heard damsel fish are verry sgressive can damsale fish be in the same tank as clown?

Very nice summary. Thank you!!!

Thank you! Now when my tank is in its cycle and it takes on a new hair style I won't freak.. I'll know it's part of the process.

Thanks sk8er... good luck sbazain :$

having that problem right now trying to get macro algae I just set up the sump I did a diy overflow and I put it in to quick and I think the gases from the glue crashed my tank two fish died and the ones I saved are always hiding and wont eat did a water change removed the piping and bought a new overflow box water is doing good but they just wont eat can some body help me with this one love my tank want it back

Sk8r, what does it mean that once the tank is full and starts getting brown algea ( filled and refilled with treated tap water, switching to ro/di from my local pet store until I can afford a system of my own) When you get bubbles under and all over the live rock? I can see it under a few of my ledges and on some of my rock. Not really after a water change...but after I added my protien skimmer... I will be putting the skimmer in my sump with baffles once i get the sump tank and refugium with baffles built. Is it just from the skimmer? It seems to disperse them fairly well. idk

Thanks for the review on hair algae.

Can't wait for the bubble algae primer!

I wanted to report that my Mandarin is getting fat. The area behind its rib cage was very pinched when it came home from the LFS. It has a much smoother taper and seems to be eating like a king.

I stuffed some Cheato down in the "sump" and the pods have colonized it. I've also let a little algae grow on the glass and it looks like that's the happy hunting ground.

Long term I think this tank is too small to self sustain a pod population and a Mandarin. I'm going to culture some pods externally and try to train it to eat in a Mandrin Diner till the pods are ready.

It's good that you have this info out there. Every LFS I've visited has at least one Mandarin and customers are always asking about them. With most priced at $35+ I've only had one shop explain their needs correctly and that's the one that sold it to me.

Thanks again!

As always Sk8r, excellent post. I have both (not in the same tank) and my scooter eats chunks of krill I didn't think he could even get in his mouth. He blasts it out a couple of times but gets it down. Fun to watch!

Thanks Sk8r Bravo to you for the time and effort you put into this site as well as your tank. It can't be easy being a mod and you are a good one.

Respects always,

Sport/Roger

I left out a few details:

There's no other fish, but lots of tiny starfish and small brittle starfish, snails, and at least two bristle worms.

There are also many 1/4 inch amphipods. So many that I say my tank has roaches.

There's about 40 pounds of live rock with tiny bits of coral trying to grow and 4 large hairy mushrooms.

I just bought a 1.5 inch mandarin for my tank, but I wonder if she'll get enough to eat. I see it striking at least once every 5 seconds, but only see it expel leftovers through its gills once in awhile. When it does, it's a good amount, like a small white cloud.

I'm new to the hobby and the LFS wouldn't sell me the mandarin till I convinced them it would have something to eat, I'm just concerned that I oversold the amount of pods in there.

Here are the details on my tank:

I bought an established Red Sea Max 130 with live rock and sand. I transported most of the water, and left some green goo in the bottom of the tank and sump on the back. The previous owner had installed an InTank media rack and placed the ceramic tubes in the bottom of the sump under the rack and where the protein skimmer would go.

When I shine a light in the bottom of the sump, I can see hundreds of tiny specks zipping around the ceramic tubes. There seem to be more every day.


My questions are:

• Should it expel leftovers with every strike?
  
• Should I add more pods to the tank, like the pods+ from reefcleaners or algagen reefpods.
  
• Do I need to feed the pods?

I'm thinking of adding some plant life to the area where the protein skimmer would go and lighting it up with a bulb up top or a submersible.

Thanks for the blog!

James

good info! i have a 125 and a 55 gallon sump. i will never go with a calcium reactor i just want to use kalk. right now i have no coral but i plan to start with lps and then move on to sps and pack the tank with it, i know this will be using alot of calcium so what if i set up a rubbermaid bin for regular top off and then a separate bucket or something with the max amount of kalk and just dose it as i see its needed. will this work?