Just to say hello

[jpjerry]

Hello. I’m sure I’m kinda new to this compare to some of you. I live near Woodbury commons and I would love to get in touch with some local hobbits to teach me and answer any future questions. About 3 months ago I upgraded my 3yo 55gal corner tank with canister filter ( mainly fish with 2 anemones) to 125g. I moved all my rocks and water to the new setup. I used new sand and about 60lb of new dry rock. I did that because I couldn’t keep the old tank running at the same time while my new one was cycling. So far so good all my live stock looks good and happy and I added 2 zoa frags, one Rose BTA, 1 hammer, 1 toadstool and one green polyp. It seems that even though I used my old water and rock my tank is going though cycling because, at least that’s how it looks to me , is going through the ugly brown phase.

I’m struggling with high nitrates.The Hanna checker maxes out at 75 so I’m dosing Red Sea NO3O4-x. For nitrate export I have a skimmer and I have chaeto in the sump the fist golf size batch disintegrated so I got new volleyball size. I’m running the Kessil fuge light at grow setting at medium intensity for about 8 hours at night and 2 hours in the day. How can I control the nitrates. I feed 9 fish once a day 2 cubes of frozen brine and 1 cube of algae. I know that the dosing will lower the nitrates but how can I keep the nitrates down? What am I doing wrong?
Temp 77.6
Ammonia. 0
Nitrites. 0
Salinity 1.025
Alk. 11 dkh
Cal. 396
Phos. .8
PH. 8

Thank you for your help

​

 

[Chessmanmark]

3 cubes sounds like a lot. I feed 3 tanks with 2 cubes. You listed your corals but not your fish.

I‘m a big proponent of old school water changes for better water quality.

It sounds like you need to build up more beneficial bacteria with the larger tank. Dry rock will seed over time, but doesn’t add much benefit initially.

Welcome to the club. The pandemic has handicapped the club,
but there are a few hobbyists in the area waiting to get together
again, hopefully soon.

 

[jpjerry]

Sorry about that. I have
a naso tang about 7”
sail tang 7”
Trigger 4”
Clown 5”
Blue hippo 6”
Koran angel 3”
Mandarin 3”
Coral beauty 4”
Clown tang 4”

 

[mattdg]

First off welcome! and second... I love the term "Local Hobbits" LOL! Kind of what I feel like sometime, when I'm having a weekend maintaining my tank.

High nitrates sound normal, though if you are maxing out the kit, they are REALLY high.

How are the cycling parameters, such as Nitrite and Ammonia looking?

Really sounds like that first year hump.

Might I suggest an algae turf scrubber, rather than the chaeto? I have found that over time, they tend to be a much more manageable solution, especially for new tanks. They will take up some of the nutrients and reduce, but not eliminate HA in the main display. Also, if you start to run low on nutrients, it won't kill your giant ball of chaeto, potentially causing a second nutrient spike.

Also agree with Mark that you are feeding too much, at this point in the cycle. I have a tank full of fish and coral and only feed 2-3 pinches of flake / day, pellets and 1 cube of frozen a few times a week.

Feel free to reach out with questions.

 

[jpjerry]

Thank you for your input. I managed to lower the nitrates to 6 so I stop dosing the red sea. I hope the chaeto and the system started working to keep it down. I’ll keep an eye on it.
Also I picked up a nice mushroom from chessman. BTW Nice meeting you. And it looks great.

 

[Chessmanmark]

It was nice to meet you too Jerry. I’m always happy to meet
anyone who is passionate about this hobby. The more hobbyists
in the area that want to get together and talk reef the better.