mixing instant ocean reef crystal salt and still cloudy

[cmor1701d]

Also, the lfs will probably try to sell you an anemone for the clown fish. Don't buy one. Get a frogspawn coral instead when your tankk is ready for corals.

 

[Jaybird]

Well, it's too bad that you didn't see the fishless articles here and went with damsels. Don't be too trusting of the LFS and do your own research. As well, temper your research with thought. You don't have to wait six monhs before adding corals. What you need is a properly cycled t ank and the necessary equipment. For corals you should have a good protein skimmer. For anything you will need a properly cycled tank: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and building nitrate

 

[aj204]

yellow sand today? is that good or bad?

 

[thincat]

That's the start of a "diatom bloom". It's just part of your tanks cycle and will burn itself out in a few weeks.

 

[aj204]

Whats the color of the protein skimmer sopposed to be at? Right now its at a dark greenish tea color. Also how often am I supposed to clean it?

 

[SAAVE853]

Thats perfect I clean my collection cup about once a week and I clean the whole skimmer about once a month give or take.

 

[abdhalim2]

ey aj....thats the right colour.....u may clean it before if full...LOL
btw, patience is the key here....dont just listen to what LFS people say, at the end u end up by smashing your tank....LOL....juz kidding......

happy reefing.......

 

[aj204]

how to tell if corals (anemone) healthy or not?

 

[mr_X]

did you buy an anemone?

 

[aj204]

no looking for one

 

[Jaybird]

I try to run my skimmer on smell. Sometimes I run it a little wetter than others. I can end up with a dark tea colour or sometimes a deep green sludge. You'll end up knowing by the smell. It doesn't smell particularly pleasant.

I clean my collection cup every couple of weeks. Just run it under warm water (too cold and the sludge won't come off easily and too hot and it will smell more). Use your hand to wipe out the sludge and you're done. Once every month or two I check the airline to be sure that it's not covered with salt creep.

 

[mr_X]

well, if it's mouth is gaping open, that's certainly a bad sign. also, if it's bleached white, it's not healthy.
you aren't ready for an anemone yet though. putting one in the tank now will most likely kill it.

 

[aj204]

hello, how many times should my tank get diatom bloom? it happen once and its happenin again, also when dose base rock turn into live rock? after diatom bloom? also i got alot of algae building up, whats that from? im thinking its cuz off my light? thanks

 

[mr_X]

1 diatom bloom. i would say your base rock is live rock after the initial cycle. algae is building up because of excess nutrients. lack of water changes, less than optimum source water, overfeeding, overstocking...

 

[mwilliams]

I try to run my skimmer on smell. Sometimes I run it a little wetter than others. I can end up with a dark tea colour or sometimes a deep green sludge. You'll end up knowing by the smell. It doesn't smell particularly pleasant.

I clean my collection cup every couple of weeks. Just run it under warm water (too cold and the sludge won't come off easily and too hot and it will smell more). Use your hand to wipe out the sludge and you're done. Once every month or two I check the airline to be sure that it's not covered with salt creep.

I just recently got my old skimmer up and running my LFS helped me get it fixed and I too have the dark green stuff coming into the collection cup but I checked the smell and there was no smell in mine is that normall or should there be a smell to it?

 

[aj204]

Adding and moving around my L.R is that bad?

 

[mwilliams]

I don't think so. I end up doing that alot only because sometimes it seems to unstable and I don't like the way it looks so I keep moving my LR around.

 

[mr_X]

adding uncured live rock is bad, depending on how much you add, and how much die-off is on it.

 

[mwilliams]

That is true I keep forgetting about the uncured LR mine are already cured. So they say from the LFS. The ones that i am moving around have already been in the DT since setup over a year ago.