Your comments as to what's below and/or new comments and questions can be forwarded to my e-mail address - saltcorner@cs.com. Take into consideration that I'm a 'Senior Citizen' and growing a little slower every day. Your e-mail may be one of twenty or more received daily, and between travel, both pleasure and business, answering may take a week or more.
Dear Bob,
I have a 4' x 18''x12'' marine aquarium up and running for about 4 months. It uses an Undergravel Filter. - Yes, I know they are out of favour! Using powerheads and a large External Filter. Stocking is 1 Clown Wrasse, 1 Twin Spot Wrasse, 1 Velvet Damsel, 4 Green Chromis, and one each of a cleaner, blood, and dancing Shrimp. The tank also has various clams, a sea urchin, and some mushroom and toadstool corals. All are doing very well and have been for many weeks. I then thought I would move up a bit in price, as everything was happy and of course water checks were fine.
Ammonia NIL, Nitrite Nil, Nitrate 10 (Same as my tap water), Calcium 440 and pH 8.4.
Then came the problems..............
As each new fish was introduced (taking an hour to acclimate), the same pattern happened.
I have now lost 1 Yellow Tang, followed by another Yellow Tang. Followed by a rusty Angel and most recently a beautiful Bi-Colour Angel. All went through exactly the same pattern.
HELP, my Bank Manager will be getting cross and I want to get some more fish before he forecloses on me!
David Lippiett, England
Dear David,
Thanks for your letter. Assuming your water quality is as good as you say, and there was little or no stress induced by the wrasses, and no obvious signs of maladies present in the new fish, I would think the cause was "salinity induced stress." If there was more than .003 unit's difference between your dealers tanks and yours, i.e., the dealers may have been 1.021 and yours was 1.025, the induced osmotic stress can cause the death of these fish, just as you mention. Fish can be immediately placed in much lower salinity conditions, however, must not be immediately placed in a salinity that is more than .002 - .003 units higher. If your dealer has a salinity that is more than .002 - .003 units lower than your aquarium, you must place your fish in a holding tank of the same salinity as your dealers tank and carefully raise it no more than .002 - .003 units per 24 hours. An hour does not suffice.
Hope this resolves the mystery.
Cheers,
Bob Goemans
Dear Mr. Bob,
Sir, I am a 20 year old from India and am doing my graduation work on botany (1st year). I am from Calcutta and have been keeping aquariums since I was 11. Now I am planning to keep a reef aquarium of 200 gallons. This is not my hobby, but my passion. In India there are coral reefs all around the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. And also the Lakshadweep Islands and south of India the Maldives (There are 1,200 Atolls in the Maldives), so you would say this is a haven for reef keepers. Until recently, there was a good supply of the most rarest corals and unimaginable cheap prices, but alas not now as there is a very strict ban on coral trade and any one caught would have to pay heavy fines and would have to suffer imprisonment.
I have visited your website and read Sandbeds Part 1 and 2, and have also read the articles there on the plenum by Roy Meeke and Julian Sprung. Your site gives very good information about plenums. Personally speaking before I read these articles I felt that the plenum was not much of a good choice. I thought about DSB, but now I am convinced that the plenum is better than the DSB.
Anyway Sir, I want to ask you something more.
1) In plenum systems the anoxic layer is maintained by diffusion. So Sir, I have a question that if there is no bioturbation, then due to the formation of glycocalyx by bacteria wouldn't this cause the sands to clump thus prohibiting diffusion and the work of the plenum?
2) If I place a screen separating two layers then critters would not be able to reach the other side of the screen thus causing more clumping due to formation of glycocalyx. And if the screen is removed then critters would reach the plenum space and cause influx of stored nutrients in the main tank.
3) If I stir the sand with the blunt knife then wouldn't I be disturbing the anoxic layer formed in the sand bed making it oxic and thus increasing the level of nitrates in my aquarium? .If I stir the sand bed over the plenum in which there is no separating sheet between two layers of sand then won't my knife be reaching the plenum and exposing the plenum water and causing problems?
4) Can critters be successfully kept in the sand bed above the plenum with detrivorous kits available in the market? (Critters like bristle worms, etc.)
5) I have seen the product CaribSea Special Grade reef sand that has a size of 1.25 - 1.95 mm. They say that it is specifically graded to contain particles of this size so to have very good porewater space. However, I've seen it said that 2 - 4 mm size of sand grain is the best. But I have an opinion and that is if I use a smaller grain size it will be able to harbor more bacteria. Yet does this smaller grain sand really contain good porewater space and is it ideal for plenums, and will it also maintain a good anoxic zone. Should I use the smaller grain size sand? Or can I use the smaller grain sand for the bottom 2 inches then place the dividing screen and then use 2 inches of the large grain sand? Would this be better?
6) I have another question about sand that contains shell particles. Won't this trap detritus or increase the possibly of trapping detritus?
7) How do I inoculate the dead sand with live sand?
8) Do you have any suggestions where I can purchase the proper size sand?
9) I want to keep some triggerfish and starfish and wonder if a dividing screen is needed. What do think of Scott Michael's small book called Marine Fishes?
I would be thankful if you could spend some of your valuable time for answering my questions.
Thanking you,
Yours faithfully,
Prateek Dutta.
Calcutta, India
Dear Prateek,
Thanks for your email, and I appreciate your courtesy and all the "Sir's" but they aren't needed, and "Hi Bob" will do nicely.
And I should add you have many very good questions and question 1 is especially interesting as you mention a subject rarely discussed, and that is the product "glycocalyx." This is a carbohydrate-rich cell coat on the external side of the plasma membrane of most eukaryotic cells. This includes animals, plants, and fungi, however 'not' bacteria or algae. If there were a fungi in the sand environment, there may be a type of mat created if they proliferate. Yet, the sand particles would not bind together, but the fungi may hold on to the sand particles. However, this is one of those situations similar to exceeding the speed of light. Not that anything is impossible, but it's the degree of probability that needs to be considered, and the possibility of a glycocalyx mat in an aquarium is an "extremely" remote possibility! However, this is not to say that sand clumping does not happen, whether in plenum systems or even those with beds directly on the aquarium bottom. Calcium precipitation and/or very fast forming colonies of bacteria cause this clumping effect, and due diligence is required so that it does not interfere with diffusion..
And its incorrect to assume there is no bioturbation by infauna. Yes, the diffusion process is of course more reliable than infauna, however, they will normally become part of the processes in the sandbed. And their activities for the most part are simply 'pluses' for the system.
As for question two, a screen between sand layers will not stop very tiny animals from entering the area under the screen. They are very small, such as copepods and or what I term "Meiofauna," which actually benefit bed processes. However, if it were a very large bristle worm, i.e., 12 inches, or another type of large digging animal then yes there would be an impact to plenum efficiency if there were no screen. And if the plenum were that affected, it simply would no longer work correctly and the entire sandbed and plenum pace would act no different than a sandbed directly on the aquarium bottom!
In question three, you mention 'stirring' the sand with a knife when surveying the bed for clumping. That's an incorrect approach, as you're not stirring the sand with the knife blade, but simply running it through the bed in a criss-cross fashion. And that's the reason for using a dull/rounded knife blade, such as a butter knife (my wife wondered where ours went for years!) so the plenum screen will not be damaged. And you're only doing it once per month. If you find any areas beginning to clump, simply break it up with your fingers. If you do that monthly, you'll be able to find any area beginning to clump, and prevent it from becoming larger. This works very well as I have kept many plenum systems, and this method has always been reliable. Its that simple!
And don't worry about the slight disturbance at the plenum/grid screen, as that won't be a problem. And as for releasing plenum water into the bulk water by running the blunt knife all the way down to the plenum screen, that will not happen. Remember, you're simply making an extremely narrow incision in the sand, one which refills the gap made by the thin blade immediately after passing through it.
I often see question four asking about the addition of small creatures to the sandbed. Actually, the small worms and crustaceans that normally accrue in sandbeds are actually a big plus for all type sandbeds including the plenum bed. They feed upon detritus, besides bacteria, and help diffusion in their own small way. Only much larger creatures such as gobies, very large bristle worms, etc., would be a problem, and only if they create much disturbance in the bed. And you'll find these small critters will develop on their own after introducing live rock into the aquarium. Therefore, purchasing someone else's "waste products" as I've heard these 'kits' called is not something I generally recommend.
Question five is also something I see quite often. As for what is said about the product, it's correct, however I see a slightly larger grain size a better way to go after years of experimentation. Yes, the 1 - 2 mm sand will work, at least for a while, however, some of the smaller grains may clog the screen, as they are quite angular in shape. Because of that and that 2 - 5 mm grain size material helps keep the diffusion processes/channels operating even when detritus collects and/or sandbed maintenance is lacking, I am of the opinion the larger grain size is a far better choice for "long-term" success!
As for the smaller the grain size the more bacteria, that's a fallacy when it comes to sandbeds in aquaria. Even though there are more sand grains resulting in greater total surface area and therefore more microbes it's of no value when one thinks of overall system balance. Small grains pack together very tightly and the space between them, porewater, is greatly reduced. When that happens, anoxic conditions as defined in my previous writings are restricted to an extremely shallow depth just below the upper oxic area. Important microbial processes, i.e., mineralization, nitrification and destructive denitrification all have greatly reduced volumes because there is less penetration of oxygen. The remainder of the bed then becomes anaerobic (also defined in my previous writings) and is where Ammonification, a form of denitrification that only reduces nitrate back to ammonium becomes prevalent. Basically it's more microbes but not the right 'class' of microbes such as facultative anaerobic heterotrophs instead of obligate anaerobic heterotrophs. And in such cases, bioturbation, i.e., increased infauna irrigation and transport, become a more dependent way of life than diffusion. And if this were my aquarium, one type of sand, probably crushed coral, with a four inch (10 cm) bed of 2 - 4 mm sand and no dividing screen would be the way I would go. .
As for question six, you mention shell particles, however don't mention their size. If they were flat-sided pieces above approximately 5 mm, I would prefer they not be used. And yes, said shaped and sized particles will trap some detritus, and also interfere with diffusion. So, if sand containing these particles is going to be used, recommend sifting the sand through a screen of the appropriate mesh size to remove these 'shell' particles.
In question seven you ask about inoculating dead sand with live sand. Actually, when receiving what is termed 'live sand' there's no telling what microbe class is really where in it when you receive it. Probably all the different types have gone dormant and will stay this way as long as they are damp. Therefore, what you receive has all types of dormant bacteria and the best in my opinion is to spread that live sand throughout the entire new bed so that some proper classes of bacteria are in all areas, not just one area. This would then enable a quicker start of all areas of the bed.
As for purchasing live sand in question eight and that of your location, I can not say whom to contact. Checkout the various websites, but delivery price to your area will probably be far too much. I suggest looking in your local area for the common crushed coral and simply using that for the plenum bed. And use it throughout the entire bed, as separate layers of different size sand is not needed.
In your last question, the keeping of triggerfish and sea stars does not mean you need a dividing screen. Yet, the species you decide on should be resolved before you set up the system, as some may be troublesome/diggers. And as for Scott's book, an excellent addition to anyone's library. and have it and many of his other books reviewed on my website.
Hope this answers your questions, and good luck with your studies.
Cheers,
Bob
Dear Bob,
For about 28 years now I've been an avid fish keeper. But for the last two years I have kept a small reef tank, parameters are nitrite 0, nitrate 10 ppm, ammonia 0. My question is, I need a bigger system from my 180 litre to a 300 litre, I have built the sump with a beast skimmer with a return pump of 2800 lph. But I wanted to put in a plenum, but my local shop said a D.S.B would be better with macro algae, but what depth do I have substrate?
Whilst I have been an avid reader of your articles for many years now, this is the first time I have actually written to you. Hopefully, this note will make my question that bit clearer.
I have found myself in a bit of a predicament. Do I go for the plenum or the deep sand bed? The sump is 36 inches long, 15 inches wide and 18 inches high. Water enters into a built in 6x6 inch glass wet and dry tower, which is 22 inches high, giving 2 inches at the bottom for water to escape.
At the side of this is a large pump 2800 lph, to power the Beast skimmer. Next to the pump venturi, water then goes over a 6 inch high 15 inch wide water deflector. But then I have 29 inches in length by 15 inches in width to use as a sand filter. Media will be a mixture of 2/4 mil aragonite, approx. 4 inch with whatever live sand I can obtain on top.
Please help me. I have heard bad reports on both, but I do want a naturally filtered system.
I have given you the sump size; 36x18x15 inches, but the main tank is 36l x 24h x 24w, and again, it will be filtered as naturally as possible, using about 1/1.5lb of good live rock for bio-filtration per gallon of water.
Total turnover of water will be 33.3 times per hour using the return pump power heads x 2, ex-filter, skimmer-pump and spray bar pump. Total is 10,100 litres per hour (approx.). Lighting is a mix of T8 tubes, 2 blue and 2 10,000K; also power compacts 'twin 55 watt' 10,000k, total 230 watts.
Does all this sound like a good set-up?
My present set up has many soft corals, xenia, cactus anemone. They are all constantly multiplying.
Is it true that if a D.S.B is not deep enough it will produce nitrate rather than produce nitrogen bubbles?
Also, one last thing. Do plenums produce hydrogen sulphide? I have asked two experts and got conflicting answers. My mind goes with the plenum, but please give me the s.p. on both.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. I very much look forward to your answer.
Yours truly Brendan McKelvey, England
PS - Would if be too much to use two skimmers in my sump refugia?
Dear Brendan,
Thanks for your mail and as for a deep sandbed being better for macroalgae, that would be correct. That's because deep beds have a greater production of nutrients, such as nitrate and ammonium. I know many think that nitrate is totally consumed in the depths of deep beds, however, little do they realize there is a greater production of ammonium, the most important algae nutrient, and that a portion of that is reconverted to nitrate.
Keep in mind the bacteria in the upper most area of the sandbed feed upon ammonia in the bulk water that results from animal waste. These aerobic autotrophs reduce it to less toxic substances such as nitrite, then to nitrate. It's called the nitrification cycle. Then deeper down in the bed the resulting nitrate is acted upon in an area that contains little or no oxygen where it is reduced to either nitrogen gas or ammonium. To do so relates directly to the depth and physical size of the sand grain. If the sand falls into what is generally categorized as course sand, i.e., 2 to 5 mm grain size, the aerobic autotrophs live approximately within the upper half inch (1.5 cm) of sand. If the sand grain is finer, there is less depth to their colonization area because they need the oxygen passing down through and around the sand grains. Simply put, the smaller the grains, the less space between them, therefore the less diffusion/penetration of oxygen. In mud-like substrates, their depth of colonization can be paper-thin. This simply means more nutrients can remain unprocessed in the bulk water (and also be produced in the mud). Good for those forms of life that like that, such as algae.
Once below this depth, the area begins to naturally contain less oxygen (it's mostly used above by the aerobic autotrophs) and a different class of bacterium inhabit this area. Again, if the sand falls into what is generally categorized as course, there will now be approximately another half inch where the oxygen content is now very low, i.e., approximately 0.5 to 2.0 ppm, creating an area rightly called the anoxic zone. This is where facultative anaerobic heterotrophs reduce the incoming nitrate to nitrogen gas. And if the sand is much finer, the depth of the very valuable anoxic zone would be much shallower, and probably be nonexistent in mud type substrates.
Below this depth, and where oxygen is now less that 0.5 ppm, often called the anaerobic area, obligate anaerobic heterotrophs reduce nitrate to only that of ammonium, not nitrogen gas. This is extremely important since ammonium can be recycled in that area back to nitrate and either or both nitrate and ammonium can diffuse upward in the sandbed, creating an extremely nutrient rich bed and very possibly leaching into the bulk water. And since any depth approximately below the first inch in course sand contain the obligate anaerobic heterotrophs, which accomplish something technically called assimilatory denitrification, nitrate is only reduced to ammonium, no further! And in finer grained environments, most all of their depth house this class bacteria. Therefore, it should now be extremely clear just what class bacteria exist where and why, and what they accomplish, and why deep sandbeds are better for various type algae.
Now that you have the "FACTS" it all depends upon what you want to accomplish. If the goal is a nutrient poor environment, than a shallow bed in the main aquarium with a reasonable amount of live rock (one pound per gallon) and a truly separate interconnected plenum where flow to and from it does not exceed its volume once per hour is the way to go.
In my opinion, the sump tank you now have will not serve as a good place to install a plenum, as this entire tank is now serving as a place for system equipment. An interconnected plenum should be just that, a separate place for the plenum to accomplish natural filtration. Not sharing its space with major equipment causing major water flows/disturbances.
And if the goal is to maintain macroalgae, your present system should accomplish that since its already somewhat nutrient rich. Could be the space you thought could serve as a plenum area would be better used as a lighted macroalgae area with a fairly deep bed.
As for the hydrogen sulfide issue, there is far less in plenum beds than what occurs in deeper beds directly on the aquarium bottom. That's because the plenum bed contains a far greater amount of oxygen! And that is an incontestable 'fact!'
All in all, your system appears to be healthy as is, and don't see the need for the addition of a second skimmer. In other words, if it ain't broke, don't fix it!
Hope this has answered all your questions.
Bob Goemans
Hi Bob,
I emailed you about a year ago asking for some help in designing a new 110 gallon reef tank, which I appreciated greatly. I had purchased your four booklets at that time and read each one a few times. That aquarium uses a 1" plenum with a 4" sand bed using 2 - 4 mm CaribSea AragaLive. My problem is that since day one I have had a hard time with some gorgonians (especially the small yellow finger and red finger gorgonians) and orange and yellow cup corals. These would just slowly dissolve or break down over the coming months. And recently a yellow and green Acropora and some green star polyps are not fully extending any more and it is obvious that something is not right. Everything else in the tank is looking great and growing fast.
The tank was set up using Reef Crystals salt mix and the freshwater was first filtered through a Kent Marine Maxima RO/DI water filter. I tried 20% water changes a month using the same mix because the KH seemed too high (15.4). I used Gulf Stream water taken about 10 to 20 miles off of Ft Lauderdale with only a small improvement. It only sits about 4 hours before it's used. I only purchased the Salifert test kits this past month, so I do not know what the KH was previously.
My test levels are as follows: pH 8.16 AM/8.21 PM, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 1, Phosphate 0, Ca 380, Mg 1320, Sr 4, Bo 4.5, KH 15.4, Iodide .03, Iodate .01, Water temp 79 degrees in the morning and 80 degrees evening and salinity 1.025. The pH of the effluent from the CO2 reactor is about 6.8.
My equipment is as follows: One 250 watt 10K MH light on 11:00 AM -4:00 PM, Two 75 watt URI Super Actinic 24" on 7:00 AM - 9:00 PM, Two 75 watt URI Aquasun 24" on 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Two 75 watt URI Actinic White 24" on 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM, 1 watt moonshine bulb (The 24" bulbs are short but they are staggered), AquaC EV250 Protein Skimmer with Iwaki MD30RT, Main pump Iwaki 30RXT, X150 ECO-Aqualizer, Kent Maxima RO/DI water filter on a float switch passing through a Poly-Filter to cover for evaporation, Lifereef LCR1 CO2 reactor with original supplied media 40% gone. I also have two small Rio pumps that turn on with the lights to add some additional current during the day (eventually I will purchase some type of wave maker). I also keep one unit of Chemi-Pure carbon and 1 Poly -Filter in the sump 24/7 and replace them about every three months. The Poly-Filter is light brownish when I replace it.
My general maintenance is cleaning the sump foam filter once weekly, cleaning the protein skimmer once monthly and I stir the top 1/2 inch of gravel once a month.
My feeding schedule is feeding the fish once a day, adding 1/2 doses of Marc Weiss Coral Vital, LSB, Coral Vital, Reef Vital DNA and Dick Boyd's Vita-Chem once per week. I also add 1/2 doses of Marc Weiss Black Power and Spectra Vital and Cyclop-eeze two to three times per week.
The contents of the tank are as follows: About 70 pounds of Tonga live rock, 5 Acropora, green star polyps, 1 Birdnest finger coral, 1 Goniopora, 1 green brain coral, pumping Xenia, yellow polyps, zoanthids, 7 gorgonians, mushrooms, Ricordea, 1 clam, 1 thorny oyster, 3 tree soft corals, 2 featherduster worms, 1 orange cup coral, 1 yellow cup coral, 3 sand sifting stars, two 1" conchs, 12 Mexican snails, 2 turbo snails, 1 yellow tang, 2 clowns, 2 firefish, 4 blue green chromis, 1 Hawkfish, 1 blue tang, 5 hermit crabs, 1 arrow crab, 1 blood shrimp, 1 scarlet cleaner shrimp and 1 pistol shrimp which came with some live rock that I am trying to catch.
I'm suspicious of my KH levels being the problem, but could it be the media in the CO2 reactor (The CO2 reactor media came from Lifereef)? If it is my KH levels, how can I bring them down and build up my calcium levels?
I also have 1 ruffled sponge that has been in the tank about 5 months. It is thriving but does seem to be getting smaller with time.
Thank You, Bob Schichtel Delray Beach, Florida
Hi Bob,
It's been awhile since we chatted and appreciate all the information. Well done!
As for the gorgonians and cup corals, they are none-photosynthetic animals and both should be placed in shaded areas. And Tubastrea (Cup Coral) needs to be hand fed almost daily with small pieces of fish/crustacean flesh. In my aquariums I would squash some small pieces of krill or place a few drops of American Marine Selcon in the aquarium to open any closed polyps, as they seem to sense the food and open. Then feed small pieces of fresh fish/crustacean flesh, all the time trying to keep my shrimp from stealing the pieces right out of the polyps! Sometimes easier said than done. As for the gorgonians, I think you're speaking about Diodogorgia nodulifera, and if so, the Marc Weiss Combo-Vital product worked well for me, as did some other plankton-like products. However, I never had long term success with this none-photosynthetic gorgonian, as too much food was required to adequately keep it going. I had much better results with photosynthetic gorgonians, such as Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, the Purple Frilly. So I think the real problem with them may be with their diet/light, more than water quality. Yet, your absolutely right about the dKH being too high, and I relate that to the media in the calcium reactor. When the calcium level becomes the least it should be, such as your 380 ppm, and the dKH rises above what it should be, about 8 - 12 dKH, its generally the fault of the reactor media. It's simply becoming worn out, i.e., the calcium portion of the media has been mostly exhausted and the carbonates portion of the media is becoming the dominant supplier, resulting in an imbalance/the condition you have. Highly recommend your refill the reactor with new media. And to reduce the imbalance between carbonates and calcium, suggest a series of small water changes over the next two months starting with a 10% and then moving to 5% weekly. This should eventually put things back in balance water quality-wise, which should have a positive effect on the corals now not doing too well.
Keep me posted.
Bob
Hi Bob,
You have been kind enough to help me in the past and I would appreciate your advice again on various problem(s) I can't seem to solve. I recently had a very nice blue Acropora develop RTN after being in the tank for a few months. Fortunately I didn't lose the entire coral, but a lot of it is now bare skeleton.
The second problem I seem to be having is introducing new fish into the aquarium. Despite my best attempts to cautiously acclimate them, they seem to develop Ick or other stress related disorders and die within a few weeks. What's odd is that I have a group of existing fish that are very stable and have no problem and I have not observed any territorial behavior that would account for fish induced stress.
My tank is a 150 gallon reef with a 45 gallon refugium with plenum that is lit at night. The aquarium's bed is about 1" deep. My ORP runs between 460 - 470. I run a calcium reactor and the dKH is 10 -12. The tank also has a premium protein skimmer and a newer model Eco-Aqualizer. Total water volume of the tank turns over about 12 times per hour. Two Tunze pumps provide alternating and pulsed currents at about 3,000 liters/hr. All parameters are controlled via a computer. Raw water goes through RO/DI filtration 4 stage filter and is integrated into the tank with a float switch. I have a canister filter that I run ESV carbon and ROWAphos.
I generally change the carbon and ROWAphos every month - about 1.5 cups carbon and about one cup of ROWAphos. I feed mysis shrimp and Cyclop-eeze with some Julian Sprung flake food for tangs. I also use DT's live phytoplankton at about 1 oz/ day. Total fish count is less than 10". I use Lugols potassium iodide at about 6 drops per week. Finally for lighting I run two 250 watt metal halides (10K) with two 96 watt PC actinics and two 96 watt PC 10K bulbs. The only thing I don't do is water changes, which might be the problem? I have no measurable levels of NH3, NO2 or NO3 or phosphate. All other trace elements seem to be in the correct ranges by virtue of the calcium reactor.
The RTN seems to be a fluke. No other sps corals have had problems, in fact all seem to be thriving. I was told recently at a local reef store in the Bay area that ROWAphos is now being suspected for RTN by virtue of ultra low phosphate levels or rapid drop in phosphate levels - any truth to this myth?
The fish problems bug me. I have lost two nice fish shortly after introducing both. If you have any thoughts or suggestions as to areas to explore to solve this problem I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks so much, Greg Vontz
Hi Greg,
Nice to chat with you again. Your water quality appears to be excellent, even though there are no water changes! Nevertheless, I do believe some water changes are appropriate as there are elements and compounds we can not test for that tend to become skewed. And reasonable monthly water changes are the best way to insure they stay within acceptable levels. You may want to read the article by Richard Harker on water quality on my website in the Guest Articles section. As for the coral loss, I wonder about water movement and spectrum/intensity of light in the area where it was placed. Whether that be too much or not enough could affect, sooner or later, any coral addition. How long that takes, and if any tissue damage recently became that specimen that initiated the problem, is impossible for me to judge. And these blooms can become deadly almost overnight! I also suggest carefully checking specimens in the affected area to make sure there are no damaging invertebrate and that water flow and light needs match the species in question. Saving a frag from it and placing it in another area might be the wise thing to do. Luckily, nothing else has been infected.
As for new fish dying, are they quarantined before you receive them? There's a big difference between cautiously acclimating them and quarantining them! And if your dealer doesn't do it, you should. The bigger and more complex the system, the more you have to lose with the "Dump and Pray" method. And if these new fish are not quarantined in your dealers tanks, then very possibly they are already infected from your dealers tank or simply cyanide caught fish that's beyond saving. And as for Ich, your existing fish can be a carrier, however, not susceptible to a major outbreak. Yet the newcomers are another story as they have had their window of opportunity opened in their travels from capture to your tank.. Ich parasites can also be more or less dormant in the sand and just waiting for the right individual to come along that doesn't have the ability to fight it off. Quarantining the new guys is the way to resolve the problem. Easier said than done, but worth it! Check my website for an article on quarantining at the Sea World in uShaka Marine Park in South Africa. It's worth reading!
As for ROWAphos causing a problem, that's shameless dribble in my opinion. I've seen too many reef aquaria using this product, and all are in excellent health. And RTN has been around much longer than this product!
Cheers,
Bob
Hello Bob,
I currently have a 48x18x18 reef tank with a 30" sump. I have around 30kg of live rock with a trickle filter in the sump. Other equipment is a beast skimmer, calcium reactor, ROWAphos reactor and a UV. My water parameters are pH 8.2 - 8.3, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 0.5mg with all other water parameters ok. I mainly have hard corals Acropora, Montipora and Euphyllia. At present I have a powder blue coral beauty, common clown and a pyjamma wrasse. I would like to add some more fish. Would it be possible to add a majestic angel or 4 - 6 blue chromis. After reading articles about stocking levels and compatibility, it has just left me more confused.
Thanks,
Steve Funge,
England
Dear Steve,
Thank goodness you asked before purchasing the Majestic Angelfish! First, this fish can reach about 25 cm, and therefore should not be placed in anything smaller than 125 gallon system, which has many hiding places. It also feeds upon sponges and tunicates, and is known for picking on and stressing various corals. Its really a nice fish-only tank specimen however, needs lots of space. Not a good choice for your system.
As for Chromis, there are many types. If you were really talking about Chromis and not other types of Damselfish, which are usually aggressive, than that would be a good choice. I would also consider a small shoal/school of Green Chromis, probably about 10 - 15 to begin. Some my die-off, as they can be sensitive to changes in salinity, and/or general conditions. They are peaceful fish and very inexpensive.
Cheers,
Bob Goemans
Hi Bob
I would like to say that all is well, but it turns out that the rock the supplier sold me is only part cured, as I suddenly started to notice small white patches of decay forming on the surface of the rock, even though the rock looked healthy at the beginning. The water also started to turn cloudy and stank rather badly. I did an immediate water change, 20% NSW, and set the protein skimmer running. All else as per your instruction. The cloudiness has gone, the smell from the water is now a rather earthy smell, while the decay on certain items is evident, such as sponges, the remainder of the rock looks ok. The protein skimmer is pulling out a dark brown soup, about 50ml every 24 hrs. The foam is solid and not watery. Should I stop protein skimming once the tank appears normal again and restrict it to only if the problem re-appears again?
I looked at a site last night advertising Aquarium test kits. They had a full Master test kit for 60 dollars that did 10 different tests, the description as advertised....
The HAGEN Aquarium testing made simple and accurate. The Master Test Kit includes everything you need to quickly and easily obtain precise measurements of your water's chemistry. This kit tests 10 different water parameters including: low and high pH, iron, nitrite, phosphate, nitrate, calcium, GH, KH and ammonia. For fresh and saltwater.
Not having ever gone the route of Live Rock before, and never having seen the stuff or had the chance to handle it, it's a little difficult to know what is right and what is wrong. So I thank you for kindly holding my hand through the process...And I do not want to slow the process down, mess up what I have already, loose the contents or kill off anything that could be saved, or spend un-necessary money on things when the same money could go into my livestock.
Patience I suppose is the key and doing the correct things.
I have one other good piece of news, the fact that I found a company supplying R/O Water in 5 ltr canisters. They sell it at my local supermarket for about $1,00 per 5 liters. I phoned the company who sells it as they had a number on the side, and he assured me that a lot of fish keepers are now using his water... so lets see.
Well, until laterRegards,
Mike Leppton,
Cape Town
Hi Bob, me again! I found this rather informative site detailing the curing process, the second one detailing in tank curing; would this be correct for rock that is not fully cured yet? I have included the shortcut...also the dealer that I am thinking of using for my test kits..... take care
Mike.
Hi Mike,
What you did was correct, and keep the skimmer going, however, discontinue any lighting. Apparently got was uncured live rock and that's the worst possible way to begin a new system. It just presents far too many nutrients to a system not yet microbially stable, and this generally encourages unwanted algae, sooner or later. And once started, its extremely difficult to keep under control for many reasons. If I had known this, we would have gone another route. But it's too late now, but am a little upset about this whole thing, but we need to move on.
And one dollar is far too much for about one gallon of "RO" water. Please, read the SpectraPure product review of their RO/DI on my website so you better understand the difference between them and why "both" processes are the way to go when tap is used in the aquarium.
I recommend the Aquarium Systems Fastest kit for calcium, nitrate, alkalinity, and pH. Get the Salifert kit for magnesium and phosphate. Find someone who sells them. Believe me, experience counts as to what brand kits you get, and I've had almost all brands.
And "patience" is the key word! Haste makes waste so to speak.
For now, keep skimming, keep the lights off, don't put anything into the aquarium (fish or inverts), get the proper test kits, do a 10% weekly water change, and simply be patient! When you have all the kits, send me their results and we'll move on from there.
Cheers,
Bob