16G BowFront --> 29G Reef Tank Build

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

Try adding a little drop to the tank about 5 mins before feeding. Whenever I do this I get a lot better feeding response that way everyone usually gets fed.

okay, do you spot feed or just dump it into the tank?

[CorallineAlgae]

Spot feeding is normal but you can safely tank feed if you turn off the filter for about 10 minutes and leave the powerheads on. That'll keep the roaming food from being pulled into the filter pads and let the animals have a good chance at scooping it out of the water.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by CorallineAlgae

Spot feeding is normal but you can safely tank feed if you turn off the filter for about 10 minutes and leave the powerheads on. That'll keep the roaming food from being pulled into the filter pads and let the animals have a good chance at scooping it out of the water.

ahh good idea, didnt think of the filter lol, k ill give it a try soon thanks

[DanS180]

Think I'm gonna scrub my tank tomorrow and leave the lights off for like a week.. darn cyano is all over the place again :/ esp the back wall(even with a powerhead pointed right at that area)

[22engine]

Originally Posted by DanS180

Think I'm gonna scrub my tank tomorrow and leave the lights off for like a week.. darn cyano is all over the place again :/ esp the back wall(even with a powerhead pointed right at that area)

I hear ya man. My Dino came back after a week of it being gone. So lights out again. Pain in the as*.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by 22engine

I hear ya man. My Dino came back after a week of it being gone. So lights out again. Pain in the as*.

I hate cleaning it up lol on top of that my front display glass keeps getting green everyday.. Grrrr so annoying

[Mrc8858]

To both of you... If its coming back that quickly the lights out is gonna just be a bandaid until you find the cause to it.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

To both of you... If its coming back that quickly the lights out is gonna just be a bandaid until you find the cause to it.

What causes it? I mean typically what causes it?

[Mrc8858]

High nutrients levels from over feeding, bad source water, or an unknown dead inhabitant.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

High nutrients levels from over feeding, bad source water, or an unknown dead inhabitant.

Hmm okay I think I know what's causing mine now lol gotta stop feeding so much annndddd.. I never took out the feather duster that got eaten.. well its just the outer shell.. it got pulled behind the rocks by the hermits.. guess I'm going fishing! Haha

[CorallineAlgae]

To many fish usually. Algae becomes a winnable battle with a small fish load and a constant battle with a large fish load. I would keep two fish max in a 29. If you mod your skimmer it would also help. Are you running GFO, phosban or ChemiPure elite to deal with phosphates? A small bag of Purigen would help with DOCs.

Anything to fight algae over time is worth a look. I know your filter has limited space. ChemiPure Elite would be a good choice because it's a combo chemical media. You could even halve or third a bag to get it to squeeze in behind the normal filter pads. Then once it's ready to be changed you could swap out the exhausted media for the reserved stash.

[Mrc8858]

I meant something more like a dead fish or shrimp. Something meaty lol. The duster shouldn't be a problem imo.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by CorallineAlgae

To many fish usually. Algae becomes a winnable battle with a small fish load and a constant battle with a large fish load. I would keep two fish max in a 29. If you mod your skimmer it would also help. Are you running GFO, phosban or ChemiPure elite to deal with phosphates? A small bag of Purigen would help with DOCs.

Anything to fight algae over time is worth a look. I know your filter has limited space. ChemiPure Elite would be a good choice because it's a combo chemical media. You could even halve or third a bag to get it to squeeze in behind the normal filter pads. Then once it's ready to be changed you could swap out the exhausted media for the reserved stash.

i dont really have a "load" per say, i mean i have 5 fish in there but theyre all nano and my trAtes never go up, in fact, my trAtes are always 0.

right now i have Seachem's phosguard in my filter, which IMO isnt doing squat. guess ill check out ChemiPure Elite and see how that helps. in any event, looks like i have to rearrange some rocks and get my hands dirty to clean a lot. sigh...

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by Mrc8858

I meant something more like a dead fish or shrimp. Something meaty lol. The duster shouldn't be a problem imo.

haha thats what i figured, which is why i left it there! lol oh well, if i go moving rocks around, i mind as well take it out anyways

[CorallineAlgae]

Originally Posted by DanS180

i dont really have a "load" per say, i mean i have 5 fish in there but theyre all nano and my trAtes never go up, in fact, my trAtes are always 0.

right now i have Seachem's phosguard in my filter, which IMO isnt doing squat. guess ill check out ChemiPure Elite and see how that helps. in any event, looks like i have to rearrange some rocks and get my hands dirty to clean a lot. sigh...

It isn't always about nitrates. Honestly you're setup is excellent, I'd be shocked if you had nitrates even with a large bio load. Five fish will make algae harder to deal with, even tiny ones. Nothing at all wrong with having them. It's just more work, but the payoff is in having the fish.

I hear what you're saying about the phosguard. It takes forever for that stuff to kick in. lol

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by CorallineAlgae

It isn't always about nitrates. Honestly you're setup is excellent, I'd be shocked if you had nitrates even with a large bio load. Five fish will make algae harder to deal with, even tiny ones. Nothing at all wrong with having them. It's just more work, but the payoff is in having the fish.

I hear what you're saying about the phosguard. It takes forever for that stuff to kick in. lol

Omg I've had it in there for almost a month I think and my phosphates still haven't gone anywhere! Lol what a waste of $7.

[CorallineAlgae]

Originally Posted by DanS180

Omg I've had it in there for almost a month I think and my phosphates still haven't gone anywhere! Lol what a waste of $7.

It could be that while your phosphates were "rising" before adding the phosban, they're "holding steady" with it in the filter. Your phosphate production rate may simply be even with PO4 absorption rate. Looked at in that way, it may not be a waste. I'd give it three months before deciding. Takes forever to drop the levels when feedings are involved.

[DanS180]

Originally Posted by CorallineAlgae

It could be that while your phosphates were "rising" before adding the phosban, they're "holding steady" with it in the filter. Your phosphate production rate may simply be even with PO4 absorption rate. Looked at in that way, it may not be a waste. I'd give it three months before deciding. Takes forever to drop the levels when feedings are involved.

Ahh okay yeah that makes sense.. guess I'll leave it in there then

[DanS180]

just cleaned off the back glass of "stringy" cyano while getting attacked by my "macho" clown fish lol hes so funny sometimes. cleaned off a lot actually. got out as much as i possibly could. leaving the lights off now. and im not gonna feed for awhile. ive been giving them a piece of either frozen mysis/cyclopeeze everyday in the morning and then flake food at night(sometimes)... think ill lay off the food for awhile... i know my tank isnt completely clear of cyano but that would require me taking out all my rocks probably :/

[22engine]

I feed every three days. I got rid of my giant banngai the other day so hopefully that will help. I also changed the store I getting water from so we will see. My levels all seem fine. It didn't come back in hours like before so hopefully what I have done will do the trick.