Tank Crashed

[Lavey29]

Put some stuff on top of your rocks . that will minimize the 'ugly stage' - with all due respect to lavey. Stuff will grow where stuff is bare - IMHO. Btw - that is not ugly thats normal

Sure there are different approaches. They say you can add a bunch of coral as soon as your tank cycles. That might work for very experienced reefers who know how to balance everything really well but not for average Joe like me. I had to take a slower more methodical approach and learn as I went along. I'm still very much a novice but seem to be understanding this hobby much better then I did my first few months.

 

[Bldgengineer]

I think my ugly stage is starting sooner due to the live rock already being mature and my nitrates being a little high at 15ppm prior to the water change. Phosphates were only 0.09 though. I need some chaeto and my LFS got shutdown last year due to Covid. Next closest LFS is over an hour away and a pain to get to

 

[Lavey29]

I think my ugly stage is starting sooner due to the live rock already being mature and my nitrates being a little high at 15ppm prior to the water change. Phosphates were only 0.09 though. I need some chaeto and my LFS got shutdown last year due to Covid. Next closest LFS is over an hour away and a pain to get to

If it's just diatoms it will pass in a few weeks and does no harm to anything in the tank. Just make sure you don't cause your nitrates and phosphate to bottom out because that will cause an ugly phase that is very difficult to get rid of.

 

[Bldgengineer]

If it's just diatoms it will pass in a few weeks and does no harm to anything in the tank. Just make sure you don't cause your nitrates and phosphate to bottom out because that will cause an ugly phase that is very difficult to get rid of.

I’m not doing anything right now except feeding my fish once a day and doing water changes once a week. Just taking my time and trying to be observant. I’m not even sure when to start adding coral. Last time I added zoas they seemed to have melted after a couple of weeks and I’m trying to keep that from happening again

 

[Lavey29]

I’m not doing anything right now except feeding my fish once a day and doing water changes once a week. Just taking my time and trying to be observant. I’m not even sure when to start adding coral. Last time I added zoas they seemed to have melted after a couple of weeks and I’m trying to keep that from happening again

I waited to 3 months for first corals. I had a few fish at the 1 month mark though after cycle. You're building microfauna and biodiversity day by day. I did weekly water changes first 8 months. Now biweekly changes. I have adopted a much more natural approach to tank care relying on my fuge and only a bag of carbon in my sump. I have been adding dr.tims probiotics recently and also PSN probio but both of these are marketed as completely natural bacteria products.

 

[Bldgengineer]

Small quick up date. I saw some hair algae so I went ahead and ordered a CUC from reef cleaners. I also ordered some chaeto from them. Right now my nitrates are holding at 15 and phosphates are sticking around 0.09. I threw some chemipure blue in the sump to see if I can’t get the phosphates lower.

 

[Bldgengineer]

Any recommendations on a next fish? Some easy coral as well. I want to get something for my birthday next weekend. I want to maintain a peaceful tank.

 

[Lavey29]

your numbers aren't bad at all now. Water change will bring them right where you want them. I have recently set up my fuge and the chaeto and other macro have grown huge the past month but I really dont see any significant reduction in nitrate or phosphate which is kind of puzzling.

 

[MnFish1]

For the sake of the thread - what do you have now? thats doing well? There is no right or wrong - if you polled all of the 'experts' - my guess is that the tank they were left with - is not the tank they started with. Ie - what survived in their tank - survived - and now it looks great. My guess is that it was not without losses

 

[Bldgengineer]

For the sake of the thread - what do you have now? thats doing well? There is no right or wrong - if you polled all of the 'experts' - my guess is that the tank they were left with - is not the tank they started with. Ie - what survived in their tank - survived - and now it looks great. My guess is that it was not without losses

Well right now I only have 2 clowns that seem to be doing well. The snails were just added today.

before the tank crashed I had 2 clowns a fire fish and a flasher wrasse that seemed to do well but the wrasse died for reasons unknown.

 

[MnFish1]

Well right now I only have 2 clowns that seem to be doing well. The snails were just added today.

before the tank crashed I had 2 clowns a fire fish and a flasher wrasse that seemed to do well but the wrasse died for reasons unknown.

In that case I would buy a quarantined fish of your choice. .

 

[Bldgengineer]

Quick little update. I did my weekly water change and added a diamond goby, lawnmower blennie, a couple of Zoa frags and a xenia frag