New 3ft tank setup

[Ashley73]

Ok... Have noticed a bit of algae on the corner of one of my live rock pieces that wasnt there before.

Todd does the pic i attached look like algae?

 

[TheTodd]

The purple is coralline algae, which most people want. The green looks like the kind people don't want. Is that spot in your tank getting sunlight or something that's making it come up just in that one place?

 

[Ashley73]

The purple is coralline algae, which most people want. The green looks like the kind people don't want. Is that spot in your tank getting sunlight or something that's making it come up just in that one place?

Possibly... it was also in the corner of the tank against the glass. I have moved it now and added a tunza powerhead for flow. What would be a good edition for algae that wont be devoured by my snowflake moray when i add it

 

[mr_X]

I wouldn't worry about it yet. I also wouldn't add to the bio load to try and reduce nutrients. In other words, don't buy something that eats algae, because you will always have to have algae present to feed it or it will die, and it's still going to poop out what it eats.

 

[Ashley73]

I wouldn't worry about it yet. I also wouldn't add to the bio load to try and reduce nutrients. In other words, don't buy something that eats algae, because you will always have to have algae present to feed it or it will die, and it's still going to poop out what it eats.

So Mr X and Todd what do you recommend for my first fish. Want a few first before i add the moray eel. So i guess good tank mates for a moray.

 

[TheTodd]

It's got to be something that the eel can't get it's mouth around and that fits a 50g ....maybe some kind of smaller wrasse like a Christmas or Radiant? Maybe a Toby puffer? Flame Hawk?

It is always tough to give ideas on subjective things like this. Check out places like Bluezooaquatics or liveaquaria for ideas and pay attention to suggested tank sizes. Run ideas by us here.

Are you going to be running a skimmer?

 

[Ashley73]

It's got to be something that the eel can't get it's mouth around and that fits a 50g ....maybe some kind of smaller wrasse like a Christmas or Radiant? Maybe a Toby puffer? Flame Hawk?

It is always tough to give ideas on subjective things like this. Check out places like Bluezooaquatics or liveaquaria for ideas and pay attention to suggested tank sizes. Run ideas by us here.

Are you going to be running a skimmer?

What about dog face puffer ( my boys dont believe they are real ) Yeah was thinking reef octopus HB90 HOB.

 

[TheTodd]

They a foot long and need a larger tank to move around. Puffers like Toby's or Sharpnose are about half that size and would work.

 

[Ashley73]

They a foot long and need a larger tank to move around. Puffers like Toby's or Sharpnose are about half that size and would work.

Geez... Didnt know that.

 

[Ashley73]

Geez... Didnt know that.

Do you know what this is

 

[TheTodd]

If you look possibilities up on liveaquaria.com, it will have eventual size, minimum tank requirements, compatibility charts, etc. They tend to go a little larger on tank sizes, but from my experience, I've learned that their suggestions go better for most fish than some of the other places that might suggest a smaller minimum tank size. You can't go wrong with larger, but smaller can cause problems.

 

[TheTodd]

Do you know what this is

Its a Clown trigger. Very aggressive, gets about a foot and a half long and needs a 300g tank. Even with a tank that size, you would only want other aggressive fish that could hold their own.

 

[Ashley73]

Its a Clown trigger. Very aggressive, gets about a foot and a half long and needs a 300g tank. Even with a tank that size, you would only want other aggressive fish that could hold their own.

Thanks Todd.. Spotted Toby looks good

 

[Ashley73]

Just got a new piece of live rock to complete my cave for the snowflake moray eel...

 

[Ashley73]

What about dog face puffer ( my boys dont believe they are real ) Yeah was thinking reef octopus HB90 HOB.

Water tested at 2 LFS YEST MORNING. one lfs said looks ok just a bit high on salinity 1.026 and ph8.0. Other lfs said 1.024 and ph 8.0 ( they said add some water and a bit extra salt, should bring ph up and the salunity to 1.025).
Just paid for a valentini puffer to pickup tmrw arvo.

 

[Ashley73]

I wouldn't worry about it yet. I also wouldn't add to the bio load to try and reduce nutrients. In other words, don't buy something that eats algae, because you will always have to have algae present to feed it or it will die, and it's still going to poop out what it eats.

Mr X how often should i test the water, weekly?

 

[melosu58]

Whats Velvet?

Marine Velvet/Amyloodinium ocellatum: A Discussion of this Disease and its Available Treatment Options - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Ashley73]

Marine Velvet/Amyloodinium ocellatum: A Discussion of this Disease and its Available Treatment Options - Reefkeeping.com

Now thats information. When i have a day spare i will read

 

[mr_X]

Mr X how often should i test the water, weekly?

You could ask 100 people this and get 100 different answers. First, what are we testing for? If it's ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, for the first few months I would test weekly, unless you saw a reason to test more frequently, like odd fish behavior or algae growth. These tests will help you to know how well your filtration is working, and how you are feeding, as well as how your bacteria colony is handling your bio load.
After a few months, I don't test for anything, unless something seems wrong.
I just do my regular (weekly) water changes, and that generally takes care of some nutrient export and trace element replenishing.

As you increase your coral load you'll want to know calcium, alk and mag values, and how fast they are being used up. I don't mean every time you add a frag, but if you add a large stony coral or clam perhaps.

 

[Ashley73]

You could ask 100 people this and get 100 different answers. First, what are we testing for? If it's ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, for the first few months I would test weekly, unless you saw a reason to test more frequently, like odd fish behavior or algae growth. These tests will help you to know how well your filtration is working, and how you are feeding, as well as how your bacteria colony is handling your bio load.
After a few months, I don't test for anything, unless something seems wrong.
I just do my regular (weekly) water changes, and that generally takes care of some nutrient export and trace element replenishing.

As you increase your coral load you'll want to know calcium, alk and mag values, and how fast they are being used up. I don't mean every time you add a frag, but if you add a large stony coral or clam perhaps.

I had planned on 20lt water change a week till i get a skimmer, and monitor ( 195 lt tank). 20lt rodi water cost me $12 so planning on my own filtre down the track. I plan on only FOWLR but the guys at the LFS laughed and said "sure you will, heard that before". Maybe next tank when im more confident will be a reef tank.