I have several questions.

caity · Jan 6, 2015

How the heck can I keep my sand bed clean? I get cyno pretty easily and I'm not quite sure why. I have a good amount of water movement, though it probably wouldn't hurt to add more. I have a sand sifter star who keeps my sand fairly nice but for obvious reasons wont touch the sand with cyno on it. I have a hand full of nassarius snails (about 7) and banded trochus snails (3 or 4) Thats not my only cleaners, but they are the ones I got specifically for my sand bed.

My next question is i just got a orchid dottyback about 2 and a half weeks ago. I ordered her in and had her at my store for a while before deciding I wanted her in my tank but 3 days ago i noticed her coloration isn't what it once was. She has some white spots on her (not ich) personally it look more like velvet though i do not think that is the case. Maybe she brushed the rock wrong? I had one in my store who was sharing a ank with an arch eye hawk who was bullying her and got the same coloration as mine has now. Maybe an aggressive tank mate? Though I have never seen anyone ever attempt to go after her.

Final question for now! I purchased live rock when starting my tank that had kenya trees on it, they are doing great and I have two little colonies of them. The ones lower in my tank look like they're kinda sagging (they don't sit straight up like the ones higher up do) too much water flow? not enough? not enough lighting? They used to do great before i upgraded my lights and added a powerhead.

Electrobes · Jan 6, 2015

Caity - Hope this info helps:

1. Cyano is a sign of (Basically) too much funk in your aquarium. Can you tell me more about your filtration, maintenance, and feeding habits? I have a feeling we can go from there and get this problem solved.

Sand Sifting starfish, I hate to be that guy, but it's often recommended against keeping these guys in our aquariums. They are voracious eaters of sand critters, and will deplete them quickly even in an aquarium as big as yours. I recommend finding it a new home.

You'll probably want more of a cleaning crew. Though opinions vary often in any hobby, I personally like hermit crabs (Like the common blue legs). They are quick to consume and food leftovers and pick at all nook and crannies in rocks.

After hearing more about your maintenance, we'll discuss things like water changes, and more.

2. You may want to try and move the new fish to another less aggressive location. I've been lucky in my 10+ years in the hobby and haven't dealt with fish illness before. Is this fish eating normally? If so, what is it eating?

3. Sagging leathers, unless you see them being pushed down, most likely lack the flow needed. At the same time, they multiply like all get out.. and some of them may be detaching to float elsewhere in the tank, and start a new colony. More veteran reefers consider these corals as a bit of a pain.. because while their growth and robustness are highly regarded.. you also can't get rid of the buggers when you decide to move in a new direction! :lol:

LetItReef · Jan 6, 2015

Had algae on the sand bed and I think bec of our window that it is wide open and the Sun rays it somewhat hitting the lower level tank or could be the Dual T5 HO I had. I added Tiger Conch, partially close the window and upgraded to LED's and I do not see the algae anymore.

caity · Jan 6, 2015

I cut back on my feeding since I don't have a of fish. I started only feeding once per day and everyday I try to feed something different. I usually do frozen foods like mysis and brine shrimp, I also have marine cuisine which is just a mix or different foods. I have omega one flakes but i try not to feed flakes too often. I used to offer seaweed but all my cleaners were eating it instead of the algae in my tank. I'll have no problem finding my sand sifter a new home seeing as i work at a pet store and can literally just put it in a tank at work.

I do want more of a cleaning crew but i have a fair amount so far. 5 emeralds, a bunch of blue legged hermits, red leg hermits, 2 turbo snails, 1 ceirth snail, 5 nerite snails, a serpent star, 3 peppermint shrimp and 3 bumble bee snails. so kinda a lot, I like variety and my thinking was if i have different inverts that eat different thing then I'll tackle loads of problems at once?

Once a month i do about a 15-20% water change and i weekly try to hit my glass. I have a small sump but a customer and long time reef keeper is gonna give me a better sump so i can have more filtration. I plan to do a refugium but my skimmer takes up the majority of my sump.

I would move it but it's was hard to catch when i was bringing it home let alone trying to get it out of my tank. I'm hoping it was a little stupid a nicked itself on a rock. She seems to always be hiding in rocks since day one.

Usually I'd 100% agree with you about the water flow needing to be stronger, but when i started out i had awful lighting (not even for aquariums let alone a reef tank) and the only flow came from my returns. I upgraded my light and everything started growing faster and then i added a powerhead to help with my sandbed not collecting junk on it, and after that they started to sag. Thats why I'm so confused. I know they multiply like crazy I'm getting rid of a colony eventually, a former coworker is trying to start a coral business and right now he does servicing so he told me whenever I want he will come over with his tools and help me out.

reef_grrrl · Jan 6, 2015

What kind of water do you use for topping the tank off and water changes?

Also I have about eighty snails in my 20 gallon, so you might want to think about buffing up your clean up crew a bit. Look at the clean up crews on reefcleaners, they are modestly priced and ship free.

Most of the traditional frozen foods are not really good for our tanks, lots of excess nutrients. I'd quit the marine cuisine, and just use PE brand stuff or LRS which you can get from a non-chain LFS.

Electrobes · Jan 7, 2015

I cut back on my feeding since I don't have a of fish. I started only feeding once per day and everyday I try to feed something different. I usually do frozen foods like mysis and brine shrimp, I also have marine cuisine which is just a mix or different foods. I have omega one flakes but i try not to feed flakes too often. I used to offer seaweed but all my cleaners were eating it instead of the algae in my tank. I'll have no problem finding my sand sifter a new home seeing as i work at a pet store and can literally just put it in a tank at work.

I like that you use frozen foods for the majority of your feedings, I find them less "funk" inducing than flakes, etc. I would not offer sea weed (Most reefers call it "nori") unless you had a fish that would specifically eat it (Like a tang).

I do want more of a cleaning crew but i have a fair amount so far. 5 emeralds, a bunch of blue legged hermits, red leg hermits, 2 turbo snails, 1 ceirth snail, 5 nerite snails, a serpent star, 3 peppermint shrimp and 3 bumble bee snails. so kinda a lot, I like variety and my thinking was if i have different inverts that eat different thing then I'll tackle loads of problems at once?

I understand you believe that you have a lot, but if I remember correctly you have a 120G tank... and I find you lacking in the CUC dept. For instance I have close to 75+ blue legs in my 100G tank. I only employ hermit crabs, and I still believe I could do with more. Your thinking is probably correct as different creatures will consume different things.. but keep in mind what they specifically will eat and what you feed.

Once a month i do about a 15-20% water change and i weekly try to hit my glass. I have a small sump but a customer and long time reef keeper is gonna give me a better sump so i can have more filtration. I plan to do a refugium but my skimmer takes up the majority of my sump.

I personally do not like using refugiums, but a lot of others do. I feel in your situation, if you can employ more filtration I would recommend it. On that note, I personally do 10% water changes a week. I siphon what I can (In your case, I would siphon out the cyano). When (Unless you already have one) you can afford it, I would attempt to obtain a skimmer that's rated about twice your tank size. Manufacturer's severely over estimate what their machinery can do, skimmers are no exception. You could also use less costly means of filtration like reactors with carbon and maybe GFO.

I would move it but it's was hard to catch when i was bringing it home let alone trying to get it out of my tank. I'm hoping it was a little stupid a nicked itself on a rock. She seems to always be hiding in rocks since day one.

At this rate I would just keep observing and making sure it eats well.

Usually I'd 100% agree with you about the water flow needing to be stronger, but when i started out i had awful lighting (not even for aquariums let alone a reef tank) and the only flow came from my returns. I upgraded my light and everything started growing faster and then i added a powerhead to help with my sandbed not collecting junk on it, and after that they started to sag. Thats why I'm so confused. I know they multiply like crazy I'm getting rid of a colony eventually, a former coworker is trying to start a coral business and right now he does servicing so he told me whenever I want he will come over with his tools and help me out.

Are the trees getting direct flow, or is it some residual flow?