First SW Reef 125G

[bribo12]

The reason I say the sand for my refugium is for the pods to populate it or does that matter and do you think the refugium will help clear the tank of the parasites? I do have a vase full of chaeto Moss, at least I think that's what it is. It was given to me from someone who used it in their cichlid tank.

Chaeto is a sw algae. How could they have had it in their fw tank? It would of died

 

[arnoldndana]

I'll send a pic

 

[arnoldndana]

This is what I have

 

[arnoldndana]

I'll get it right in a minute lol

 

[bribo12]

That's definitely not chaeto that I know of. Chaeto is very wirey. That looks like java moss or some other type of fw moss.

 

[arnoldndana]

Oh okay. Thanks for clarifying that for me

 

[arnoldndana]

Okay, just pulled up images and it's definitely Java. Never delt with Moss before except for land Moss

 

[arnoldndana]

Just tested water again and pH is 8.4, ammonia .25 if that, nitrite 0, and nitrate 10 from the 40 gallon water change 2 days ago

 

[Sniperhank]

Your ph will rest where it needs to rest naturally. There is no need to dose to the 'wanted' level. This is a common way of issues in a Reef system that can be avoided.
Pods won't be assisted by sand like it would a pile of rock rubble.

 

[arnoldndana]

Okay cool on the pile of rock rubble. When I was testing my pH it was only staying at 7.8 and that's not high enough

 

[Autumnsky]

If you can't find Chaeto near you, I have some I will sell you PM me I am in Firestone.

 

[Sniperhank]

That's just fine. Ph is determined by the CO2 exchange in the water column. Have proper amount of flow towards the top of the water surface and there won't be any problems. Chasing pH is a death sentence for many reefers.

 

[arnoldndana]

Okay thank you

 

[arnoldndana]

If you can't find Chaeto near you, I have some I will sell you PM me I am in Firestone.

Firestone, CO? I'm in Greeley. Maybe we can meet somewhere in between.

 

[arnoldndana]

You don't need sand in a refugium. With 1 lbs per gallon, you won't get more benefit from more sand. Use all of the area for algae growth. More algae = more nutrient removal.
I'm still advocating against all the chemicals you are putting in there.
As for the firefish, the crabs and such probably did eat him. That is their job, to clean up the unwanted stuff that will rot in your system. A dead fish is just that. Crabs will get a bad name for doing their job when someone thinks a fish is healthy or will survive when it will not. Nature always knows.

So you've had no problems not having sand in your refugium? I've had a few people tell me I need a deep sand bed to house bacteria.

 

[arnoldndana]

A new picture with my new Coral. I'm loving it. Will reinstall media in filters today and get my refugium going ?

 

[Autumnsky]

Yes. Send me a PM when you want.

 

[arnoldndana]

Okay thanks

 

[arnoldndana]

Sniperhank,
So you've had no problems not having sand in your refugium? I've had a few people tell me I need a deep sand bed to house bacteria, and a few people tell me just algae.


Since I put the refugium on there and the media back in it has cleared the water up so well. I'm loving it even more.
So this is my refugium so far. Does that look about right?

 

[Sniperhank]

Looks just fine. As the algae grows it'll consume your nitrates. More algae means more nitrate removal.
Deep sand beds aren't that necessary with many of our approaches now. 1 lbs per gallon with rock and sand is more than enough to manage what we house.