Brents 150 gallon build

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Well last night I picked up some more live rock from a local guy and after putting it in the tank I saw what I thought was a goby, after posting on the id forum I was led to believe that it is a red spotted sand perch or what live aquaria refers to as a sand hopper blenny. Reading up on them there seems to me mixed reviews, they all seem to agree they won't eat corals but some say they will eat fish and shrimp

Does anyone have any personal experience with these?
 
Yes. i had one and he swallowed a juvi engineer goby that was about half his size, just as I was introducing the goby. He spit it back out and it lived, but his eyes are ever watchful, following everything that moves. he eventually jumped out, but I feared the entire time he was in the tank. Mine had visible teeth.
 
That's what I was afraid of, he might be getting returned, I guess that's what you get when you buy rock out of someone's sump lol he was probably banished there for a reason
 
Well he certainly knows how to be a pain in the butt lol anyone have any tricks on how to catch evasive fish without tearing it apart? So far I have tried doing it at night when the lights are off with a black net and even trying to lure him to the net with some food in it
 
I caught a damsel during feeding time. I put the food in the tank and waited for the right moment. But I did get lucky on the first try. Now he's on the look out
 
Thanks, once I get the correct size return pump I can get rid of those hideous old powerheads that I no longer had suction cups for and I will be happy with my display, I also need to get a skimmer ASAP as I'm starting to grow hair algae :( I'm thinking for the time being as I will be getting a skimmer when I can afford the one I want I might get a yellow tang to take care of the algae for now plus it was on my stock list of fish I wanted
Anyone have thoughts on that idea or am I just asking for issues?
 
Adding to the bio load isn't going to help with the nutrient rich water which is feeding the algae. Less bio load, water changes, filtration devices (skimmer) are ways to slow it's growth.
 
The tang won't be a cure for an algae problem. They will eat lots of veggies, but probably won't eat the algae you want them too. They can be uncooperative in that regard. Just be careful of tank length and size for housing a tang, you don't want to add troubles.
 
I did two 40 gallon water changes this week, but right now without a skimmer I have no way to export the nutrients other than that I was just hoping that adding a small yellow tang would allow my tank to continue to be algae free for the next few weeks until I am able to purchase a skimmer I will continue to do water changes as that is the best way to get those nutrients out of there but I don't have the time to scrub all my rocks :(
 
And my tank is actually a 125 so 6 feet long, from my research that should be plenty for a yellow tang unless I was reading from an unreliable source. Either way I think I am going to hold off and see what those water changes do, who knows maybe I got that skimmer I asked for for Christmas :)
 
You are def doing the right thing in terms of exporting your nutrients until you get a skimmer to assist you with this process. I'm not familiar with your build, but is there a sump on your setup? Putting a light on that would get algae to grow in there, rather than your display. It might be ugly, but it is still exporting nutrients.
 
Your 6' should be fine for most tangs. Watch your feeding amounts and I might suggest weekly water exchanges until you get a skimmer, then every other week should do.
 
I do have a sump, I might give that light idea a shot, so your basicly saying I should turn my entire sump into a algae scrubber? And just let it grow on the glass for now?
 
Any algae you can grow, then harvest and dispose of exports nitrogen compounds. Algae scrubbers are setup to grow algae efficiently and provides an easy way to dispose of it. A macro algae growing in a sump is a simple way of doing the same thing, it just isn't as efficient. The idea is to throw the algae away, striping the water of nitrates and not just recycle the nutrients with a CUC or herbivores. Algae is your best friend, I decided many years ago to try to harness its benefits.
 
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I disagree with the idea that pulling out algae will remove nutrients. If that's the case, if you were to drop in a bag full of algae, you would have a nutrient spike.
The larger the algae mass, the more nutrients it will pull. Algae growth, is what removes nutrients from the water column. Pulling out half of your algae crop will lower your refugium's nutrient absorbing ability by half.
 
I disagree with the idea that pulling out algae will remove nutrients. If that's the case, if you were to drop in a bag full of algae, you would have a nutrient spike.
The larger the algae mass, the more nutrients it will pull. Algae growth, is what removes nutrients from the water column. Pulling out half of your algae crop will lower your refugium's nutrient absorbing ability by half.




Of course you would have a nutrient spike if you added algae to decompose. So you just let it grow out of the sump? Every batch of algae you remove carries organics in it. Why would anyone, including myself, use algae scrubbers? I do not understand or agree with your comment this time. Maybe I misunderstood you.

http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/gen...f-algae-scrubber-nutrient-export-murfman.html


And about 50 other threads support this. Look into Dr. Walter Adys research.
 
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I'm not talking about decomposing algae. I'm talking about live algae.
What I'm saying is, you just hooked up your refugium and you toss in a giant ball of chaeto. Did your nutrient levels just go up? No. The only time I remove algae is when it's so overgrown that light won't hit all of it.
 
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