Rick Mathew
Valuable Member
Welcome to the Best Reef Forum on The Planet…Or Maybe the Universe!!
Explore…Learn…Share---Practice Patience
Explore…Learn…Share---Practice Patience
skyline99nissan
New Member
Welcome from a fellow new R2R member and new reefer
W1ngz
Failed Padawan
Welcome to reefing! Just like the comments on a news article, you'll find that despite there being a lot of facts and science there's still a lot of people who believe their opinion is as good as any science. 10 people give 12 answers to one question, no matter the subject.
There's also a LOT of successful ways to run a tank, so you're going to get a lot of variation in any thread you read or start.
There's also a LOT of successful ways to run a tank, so you're going to get a lot of variation in any thread you read or start.
motortrendz
2500 Club Member
Welcome to r2
For starters the brown bloom is most likely diatoms finishing the cycle.
How long did you cycle the tank for before adding livestock?
For the powerheads I try to keep them angled up slightly towards the surface. It creates agitation for o2 exchange and also keeps the direct flow off the sand bed.
And most importantly. Never, and I say this with the most respect. But NEVER add the fish stores water to your tank. EVER. Some fish stores treat their fish systems with copper or other medicines to help with parasites and diseases. All of which are deadly to coral and inverts in your home system. There are many different ways to acclimate a new fish. Most people prefer the drip method and then scoop the fish either by hand or in a net and place them in the tank and discard the water.
For starters the brown bloom is most likely diatoms finishing the cycle.
How long did you cycle the tank for before adding livestock?
For the powerheads I try to keep them angled up slightly towards the surface. It creates agitation for o2 exchange and also keeps the direct flow off the sand bed.
And most importantly. Never, and I say this with the most respect. But NEVER add the fish stores water to your tank. EVER. Some fish stores treat their fish systems with copper or other medicines to help with parasites and diseases. All of which are deadly to coral and inverts in your home system. There are many different ways to acclimate a new fish. Most people prefer the drip method and then scoop the fish either by hand or in a net and place them in the tank and discard the water.
Thankfully this store keeps separate tanks very clearly marked as copper tanks for treating fish. They are apparently the one all the other stores send people to for serious reef stuff.
The water wasn't actually supposed to go into the tank but they gobies got difficult and went so flat in the bottom of a bucket that they couldn't be dislodged without damaging them and I didn't have a strainer handy.
I considered dumping the water into the little fish net over a bath tub but I was pretty sure one or the other goby was going to end up in the tub instead so I just ended up saying to hell with it all and trying to minimize the bag water going into the tank.
Next time I will have a full size kitchen colander for a strainer at the least or maybe even a proper quarantine tank set up like I am supposed to.
When the tank was initially cycled she determined when it was done by watching the levels of stuff go up and down and everything did what it was supposed to then she waiting 2 weeks and put in the 2 clown fish. There was no diatom bloom during the cycle but the store said so long as the levels did the correct dance then the live sand did its thing and it was good to go.
I am thinking that we possibly introduced a ton of new stuff to the tank with that water as the store obviously has a VERY fully developed culture of stuff that this tank didn't. The first few patches appeared withing a week of that I think, not sure.
Hopefully its just a diatom bloom from all the new crap in the tank (rather literally) and not dinos. Just have to wait and see, who knows, maybe I got a dose of healthy bacteria for the tank.
The water wasn't actually supposed to go into the tank but they gobies got difficult and went so flat in the bottom of a bucket that they couldn't be dislodged without damaging them and I didn't have a strainer handy.
I considered dumping the water into the little fish net over a bath tub but I was pretty sure one or the other goby was going to end up in the tub instead so I just ended up saying to hell with it all and trying to minimize the bag water going into the tank.
Next time I will have a full size kitchen colander for a strainer at the least or maybe even a proper quarantine tank set up like I am supposed to.
When the tank was initially cycled she determined when it was done by watching the levels of stuff go up and down and everything did what it was supposed to then she waiting 2 weeks and put in the 2 clown fish. There was no diatom bloom during the cycle but the store said so long as the levels did the correct dance then the live sand did its thing and it was good to go.
I am thinking that we possibly introduced a ton of new stuff to the tank with that water as the store obviously has a VERY fully developed culture of stuff that this tank didn't. The first few patches appeared withing a week of that I think, not sure.
Hopefully its just a diatom bloom from all the new crap in the tank (rather literally) and not dinos. Just have to wait and see, who knows, maybe I got a dose of healthy bacteria for the tank.
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Welcome to r2r! Brown is diatoms will go away in time.
2..those rocks must be on the glass or catastrophe is waiting.
3...nothing good happens fast in this hobby...the faster u go the harder u crash...so take it slooowww....
2..those rocks must be on the glass or catastrophe is waiting.
3...nothing good happens fast in this hobby...the faster u go the harder u crash...so take it slooowww....
Welcome!
Not sure what store you are going to but if it's not New Wave Aquaria it's not the best in the metro area.
A couple quick random tips:
If your powerheads are moving sand, it might just be your sand is too fine and the drifts will he unavoidable.
You mentioned painted rock? Make sure it's legit good quality reef safe, not cheap stuff that will chip off or dissolve eventually.
The trick for not crushing livestock from shifting rocks is to put the rock directly against the bottom glass, then add sand around it.
Not sure what store you are going to but if it's not New Wave Aquaria it's not the best in the metro area.
A couple quick random tips:
If your powerheads are moving sand, it might just be your sand is too fine and the drifts will he unavoidable.
You mentioned painted rock? Make sure it's legit good quality reef safe, not cheap stuff that will chip off or dissolve eventually.
The trick for not crushing livestock from shifting rocks is to put the rock directly against the bottom glass, then add sand around it.
Its actually dyed and not painted so it seems to be in the surface of the rock without clogging the pores.
New wave aquaria might be better (never been there) but its on the opposite side of the cities as the one in forest lake that we go to and since we are coming down hwy 8 from WI that's a much shorter drive. The shops in Eau Claire probably recommended the closer one to use for that reason.
As far as the building on glass instead of sand, I intend to fix that. Some things didn't get set up right because I had "I want it like this" from over my shoulder during setup and didn't have time to really get everything set perfect.
I will try to find a way to put something solid under it on the glass so as to leave the gobis their little hiding hole or they will have a fit trying to relocate with territorial damsels all over the place.
New wave aquaria might be better (never been there) but its on the opposite side of the cities as the one in forest lake that we go to and since we are coming down hwy 8 from WI that's a much shorter drive. The shops in Eau Claire probably recommended the closer one to use for that reason.
As far as the building on glass instead of sand, I intend to fix that. Some things didn't get set up right because I had "I want it like this" from over my shoulder during setup and didn't have time to really get everything set perfect.
I will try to find a way to put something solid under it on the glass so as to leave the gobis their little hiding hole or they will have a fit trying to relocate with territorial damsels all over the place.
