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How to make the big switch?

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Kylie, Apr 8, 2010.

  1. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    This Sunday I'll be moving the fishes from the 20 to the 40 along with all the corals. Problem is, as many of you have seen, my 20g is infected with this brown crud that I REALLY don't want to transfer over to the new tank. Most of the corals should be fine, just gently rinse them in some fresh saltwater, but some, like my xenia forest, are attached to rocks that are covered in the crud.
    How do I "sanitise" these rocks without hurting my corals? An idea I had was to get some really hot water going that I could dip the non-coral covered portions of the rocks into to kill anything on the surface of the rocks but I'm not sure how good of a plan that is.
    Any suggestions?
    Thanks,
    Kylie
     
  2. Kungpaoshizi Well-Known ReefKeeper

    561
    davenport
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    +39 / 1 / -0
    :/ That star die? hehe

    Is it fungus or algae? Got any pics? Did I miss that post?
     
  3. vikubz Well-Known ReefKeeper

    734
    Cedar Falls
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    +8 / 0 / -0
    Have a bucket of tank water and a tooth brush. Scrub off as much as you can, swish well.

    Good luck.

     
  4. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I'm not sure on the star. He could very easily be hiding in the 40 under the rocks, but I haven't seen him since I said I'd hold him for you. Maybe he knows... haha. As for the crud, I'm not sure. Its like a really obsessive cyano but I know for sure its not cyano. It is dark brown and thick and with a lot of effort I can squirt it off with a turkey baster only to have it grow back just as thick as before within an hour. Really pisses off my zoas. I'm hoping they have made it through this process but I'm not sure. Here's a few pictures:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Please don't judge my tank too harshly. I keep up on weekly water changes and am a good fishy mommy. I just am having trouble with whatever infection this is. It doesn't bother the fish at all, they are both happy and healthy. It just pisses off my corals when it grows over them.
    And I should clarify, I am not puting the infected rock into the new tank. Except for peices that have corals on them. All non-coral rocks are going to be "cooked" in a big tub for a couple months without light to kill all the gross crud stuff.
     
  5. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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  6. snowman82

    snowman82 Experienced Reefkeeper

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    i would just break off the coral from the rock and reattach in new tank. with the xenia use a rubberband to hold it to the new rock and it should attach to it after a week or so. thats just my opinion though. much much easier than tryin to remove the crap around it
     
  7. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    Hmm... thats not a bad idea. I could do that for my kenya trees also. Those are the only two on big rocks. The others are on small frag rocks that shouldn't be hard to clean off real good. Thanks for the idea /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/hybrid//emoticons/smile.gif
     
  8. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    kylie i am having issues with that exact same stuff, i just assumed it was cyano. i find it in my sand as well
     
  9. adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

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    +19 / 0 / -0
    What kind of food do you use?
    What pumps do you have for flow?
    What lighting do you use?
    How old are your bulbs?
    What filtration do you use?
     
  10. Don

    Don

    77
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    I have started to have the same brown stuff in my 125 just not as bad as yours but it comes back quick after cleaning, a few hours and its back. I have been wondering what it was since I have never seen anything quite like it.
     
  11. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I use a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer, a nano and K2 Koralia powerhead in a 20g long. I feed my fish only what they will eat of Hikari marine, my lights are a 4 x 24watt T5 Current USA fixture with two actinic and two 10K. I bought it new in June so the bulbs are about 9 months old now. I do wc's once a week now that I got my own RO unit. I was told that Culligan water wasn't as pure as it should be and that could have brought in and feed whatever junk I have.
     
  12. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    yeah i have mh lighting 300 watts total. the fixture is new so im sure the bulbs are new. 2 koralia 2series and a reef octopus hob skimmer. i use rods food 55gal tank.
     
  13. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I just wanted to point out that although we share the same type of skimmer, I had this problem before I got the Reef Octoups HOB, so that's at least not the full cause.
     
  14. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    kylie do you have a sump or fuge on your setup? i ask because i do not. and im curious if perhaps the lack of these could be part of the problem. i have considered getting some cheato to help compete
     
  15. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I don't on the 20, no. This was my first ever reef and so didn't know how to hook up a sump to such a small tank. My new 40 has a sump though, so hopefully that will help with the problem. That is a good point though... I wonder if whatever it is, chaeto and such eat its nutrients.. hmmm.

    Oh, and I also have 0 or unregisterable phosphates. I've had a phosphate reactor running on the tank since I started it because I had a bad hair algae problem early on.

    Don, do you have a sump on your 125? I'm definitely going to suggest sumps to everyone who wants to set up a reef if this is a common occurance.
     
  16. mthomp

    mthomp Inactive User

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    im going to see if i can get some cheato to put behind my rocks and see if this helps at all. as far as sumps go. i only wish i knew about this sight before i spent a gob of money on my little system. id have a sump and alot better idea of how i should of gone about things.
     
  17. Kylie

    Kylie Inactive User

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    I agree. Had i known about this site and done a little more research before i started i would have been much better off
     
  18. Don

    Don

    77
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    I have a sump and a 20 L for my refugium. I have a bunch of Caulerpa algae in there with about 10lbs of live rock.

    My display tank for lighting I have 12 T-5s @39W each. 6 -10,000K 6-Actinics. 2 Koralis#5, and a #3 in the tank. ViaAqua 4900 for a return pump. Rio 2100 on my Coral Life 220 skimmer. Also have a Coral Life Turbo Twist 6X UV sterilizer installed.

    All Lighting is less then 3 months old.

    I have noticed that 90% of the algae is in the center of the tank with little to no sign of it as you get near the either end of the tank.

    I agree I think a sump is a must.
     
  19. adampottebaum

    adampottebaum Experienced Reefkeeper GIRS Member

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    +19 / 0 / -0
    Kylie, are you rinsing the frozen food in a brine shrimp net before you feed it? There are a lot of extra phosphates on frozen fish foods. I'm sure phosphates aren't a problem in your case since you said you run a phosphate reactor. I would just like to mention though that a lot of experts say phosphates aren't measurable on any home kit accurately, the only way to test for them is by using a photometer, which costs big bucks.

    About the Culligan jugs, this is what a lot of people tried passing the blame on, but a couple different people took some Culligan water and tested it and each time it was less than 5 ppm tds. Depending on location and how often that particular culligan station's filters are replaced, I don't think Culligan water is bad at all. Some people will probably disagree with me, but this is just what I've read.

    I think you might want more flow than the two koralias. You'd have to use your own judgment on this, but another common reason for this algae is lack of flow.

    Also, when you blow off the algae, remove it from your system. Every reliable source I read on taking care of Cyano says you need to remove as much of it as you can. The leftover algae in the tank helps feed/reproduce new algae. I understand you said it's not cyano, but it's still the same case with your aglae. If it's left in there, you still have it in your system.

    I just want to make sure, but you don't run any air stones or anything do you? This algae is also caused by a high level of dissolved air in s.w tanks.

    If there's anything else that you can think of that you're doing on your system out of the ordinary, let us know. I'm sure it's something simple that we're not thinking of.

    Good luck with the switch.

    -Adam
     
  20. wolfman1973

    wolfman1973 Inactive User

    292
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    what do you have for a clean up crew? i strongly suggest mexican turbo snails,they are a bigger snail but my 90 gal had some algae problems(a couple different kinds)
    and in a few days they(7 of them) cleaned all of the rock and now i have to supplement their diets.
     

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