Reestablished reef issues..?

DDKreefre

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 18, 2019
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
image.jpg
Hi all.

I’m new to the hobby. I was given a tank by a friend with two healthy damsels and a few fire goby’s. He had the tank established for years. I kept them going for 6 months with the usual maintenance etc. I went on leave last week and the power supply company came to install new meters.
I’m guessing from talking to neighbors that the power was off for at least 6 hrs. This combined with improper feeding meant that none of the fish survived..

I cleaned out the tank proper, rinsed off the live rock and got started at cycling the tank. 8 days into the process the;
ph is 7.8 to 8 average.
NO2 0ppm
NH3/NH+4 0ppm.
KH anywhere between 200 and 400 ppm

I used the same bio filter sponge that was in the previous tank and tank size is 17 gal with internal sump. 800ltr/hr flow pump with 1600ltr/hr powerhead.
I’ve been dosing with Nutrafin Cycle as recommended.
Nemo Reef light on 12hrs auto cycle.

My question is this; should I be concerned about the algae growth that I see right now along with two or three all white bristle worms?
Tank pic attached.

image.jpg
 
Yes, clean it off don't let it take over at the start. Your cycle bac didn't die, power outage won't kill them the rock is still ready to go and filter bac -increase- during stress events they don't decrease, because oxygen stress events kill animals in the tank and they begin to decay / feed/ spikes bac populations temporarily.
it takes massive sustained true oxygen shortage to kill the bac. We can't attain that in home setting for an aquarium without specific designs


Regarding free ammonia: lack of bacteria isn't the answer. If there is free ammonia it follows clouding detritus, waste stores in the sand or on the rocks. If there are pockets of degrading waste, clouding that made it past the rinse then those materials are the source for ammonia and cleaning out cloud is what stops it

How you clean/guide off that algae from the rock differs from person to person but it needs to be clean or you'll begin the new tank farming algae. If it was my rock I'd simply lift up, pour peroxide across the algae, let sit, rinse off in saltwater, done
 
Last edited:
The pineapple may be the issue ( Just kidding)
Not to stir you up, but the API test kit you are using is often inaccurate. Take a water sample to a trusted LFS and have them test it for you to compare with your API test results and give you an idea where the readings are at
 
Opinions on bristle worms vary.. lol.
They're free clean up crew anyhow. Probably not a concern unless you dislike them.

Did your snails/crabs survive the outage?
With no corals or fish to feed, you don't need the lights on very bright or very white while you let it break in.
 
Thanks for the replies.

Ok so I’ve been cleaning off the rock so let’s see if it helps.
Didn’t know that the api kits were not that accurate, will get it tested proper then.

I never had snails/crabs to begin with..
the pineapple is on it way out don’t worry
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%

New Posts

Back
Top