Red Sea NoPox

[Ry1]

Would you mind posting a pic? You'd be surprised It doesn't have to be a huge space for it

 

[Hincapiej4]

Technically that's not a sump silly pants
I could see you putting a refugium still. You can prob add a hang on the back one or even use one of those slots for one.... If you have enough rock in the tank itself, you can take out the media in the back for a refugium

 

[Ry1]

A while back in reef keeping really low levels of phosphate and nitrate were considered 'desirable' since these very low levels mimicked pristine natural reef water. Nowadays, it is generally accepted that these very low levels are often not so good for a captive reef (especially a new one). If you have PO4 in the range of ~0.03 - 0.06 ppm and NO3 at ~10 ppm or less (in a newer tank), that's considered ok (some mature tanks have much higher levels of both and still see little algae). Algae will always grow in a reef tank, even at very low nutrient levels. However keeping nutrient levels from getting too high will help slow growth, but the greatest assist in control comes from a good compliment of herbivores and perhaps some manual removal by the aquarist (especially in small tanks where the number and especially type of herbivores is typically limited).

In a nutshell, I personally don't think you need to carbon dose (NOPOX) at this time (but it's your choice). If you have a bunch of hermits and snails, I'd say just keep up with maintenance and slowly add the organisms that you like and are appropriate for your sized system. If nutrients rise more over time, then increase either your frequency and/or amount of water changes. You can also try adding more live rock if denitrification is not keeping up and allowing nitrate levels to rise.

Ahh ok I understand, i appreciate your response and it does make sense. Maybe i am being a little picky, as i say the algae is not one would consider to be that bad. I have one hermit, 2 turbo snails and one emerald crab in my 100L do you think i can possibly add more CUC or is this pushing the limits? Thank you.

 

[Ry1]

Technically that's not a sump silly pants
I could see you putting a refugium still. You can prob add a hang on the back one or even use one of those slots for one.... If you have enough rock in the tank itself, you can take out the media in the back for a refugium

Oh i thought the sump was just the compartment that held all the filtration. As i say i am fairly new

 

[Jeffcb]

Skimmer most valuable tool.

 

[Hincapiej4]

Ahh ok I understand, i appreciate your response and it does make sense. Maybe i am being a little picky, as i say the algae is not one would consider to be that bad. I have one hermit, 2 turbo snails and one emerald crab in my 100L do you think i can possibly add more CUC or is this pushing the limits? Thank you.

Oh you can def add alot more hahah. That said..mine barely has more than that...I need to add more...I keep forgetting for god's sake.

 

[Hincapiej4]

Oh i thought the sump was just the compartment that held all the filtration. As i say i am fairly new

Naw you aren't wrong. It's technically correct, I personally dont see it as a sump lol but that's me

 

[Nano sapiens]

For a 100L (26G), your CUC is quite light for a newer system. IMO, you could up that to (5-6) smaller hermits (1" size) and double the snail population without worry.

Depending on how effective your maintenance routine is, as a system becomes mature in a year or two, you may find that less CUC is needed (I only have three small Red-Legged hermit crabs in an old 12g and no store-bought snails with little visible algae).

Algae is a natural part of every reef, but we just don't want it to be intrusive/excessive.

 

[Ry1]

For a 100L (26G), your CUC is quite light for a newer system. IMO, you could up that to (5-6) smaller hermits (1" size) and double the snail population without worry.

Ok thats great i will do that.Thank you all for all your inputs. It was very much appreciated.

 

[stanlalee]

How old is the aquarium, what fish do you have and what are your feeding practices. If your just fighting (not a take over) I think you can solve it with frequent water changes, possibly changes in feeding amounts/frequency and PATIENCE.

 

[Ry1]

How old is the aquarium, what fish do you have and what are your feeding practices. If your just fighting (not a take over) I think you can solve it with frequent water changes, possibly changes in feeding amounts/frequency and PATIENCE.

4.5 month old. I have 2 clowns, baby box fish,begal cardinal,mandarin,fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp. I feed half of frozen cube a day. I do minimum 10% water change a week and sometimes 20%.

 

[Ry1]

I have started dosing Live phytoplankton a week ago. And Zeobak.

 

[stanlalee]

4.5 month old. I have 2 clowns, baby box fish,begal cardinal,mandarin,fire shrimp and cleaner shrimp. I feed half of frozen cube a day. I do minimum 10% water change a week and sometimes 20%.

Kill the phytoplankton. If you are trying to keep pod levels up for your mandarin that is futile in a 5 month old small reef with no established fuge. Buy pods which is going to be expensive keeping it alive UNLESS it's one of the rare ones that will eat frozen. I don't know anything about box fish but the clowns only need a SHAVING of a cube every other day or so. I have to clowns (only fish) and a cube last me a month or more. I didn't feed a whole cube when I had 4 anthias and two tangs. Cut that WAY back, don't dose anything, increase the water changes to 25-30%. Test phosphates which is more likely to be the culprit than 10ppm of nitrates. Your looking for improvements in 2-3 weeks but 1-3 months for problem solved.

 

[Ry1]

Kill the phytoplankton. If you are trying to keep pod levels up for your mandarin that is futile in a 5 month old small reef with no established fuge. Buy pods which is going to be expensive keeping it alive UNLESS it's one of the rare ones that will eat frozen. I don't know anything about box fish but the clowns only need a SHAVING of a cube every other day or so. I have to clowns (only fish) and a cube last me a month or more. I didn't feed a whole cube when I had 4 anthias and two tangs. Cut that WAY back, don't dose anything, increase the water changes to 25-30%. Test phosphates which is more likely to be the culprit than 10ppm of nitrates. Your looking for improvements in 2-3 weeks but 1-3 months for problem solved.

Ah ok thanks for that information, i have seen the mandarin eat frozen but i do also put 2-3 packets of copepods in every 2 week as well. I had a incline that i may be over feeding i just didn’t want to under feed them, they do seem to eat it all though.