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gutfeeling 
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 Topic: Too Much Green!
Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:02pm |
Hi, so we have a little nano and it was doing great until... we got new lights, well brighter lights thinking they would help the corals grow. And it did help the corals grow, but it helped other things grow too. Now we are over run with...
yeah, I cleaned this tank this morning at 9:30 this picture was taken at 1:00. Do you see the problem. We have like, fifteen snails in her which is a lot. So what do you think I should do? Is there a fish that would do well in the tank that would love to eat this stuff? I would like to avoid chemical intervention as much as possable. Do we need more snails? Hermits? Cuc? Thanks for the help.
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BobC63
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:05pm |
Lawnmower Blenny
How big is the tank?
15 snails may not be enough
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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gutfeeling
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:11pm |
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it is a 12 g
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BobC63
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:18pm |
Snails do not eat very much per snail.
I would add another 15
And a Lawnmower Blenny is a great algae eating fish that doesn't get too big and would be OK in a nano long - term
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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gutfeeling
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:20pm |
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okay, thanks. I will add more snails to my buy list and a Lawnmower blenny. Will the blenny be okay with a mandarin dragonette and a yellow tail damsel? Those are the only fish in this tank.
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BobC63
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:25pm |
Yeah, should be OK. Most fish only fight if they share the same food source or territorial needs.
You may have trouble with the Mandarin, though - but not because of the other fish.
Mandarins like to browse on copepods and other tiny live foods that live in the Live Rock all day long.
They also can be very difficult to get to eat frozen foods, pellets, etc.
A 12g tank is not large enough and does not contain enough live Rock to grow enough pods and other critters naturally to sustain a Mandarin.
They do sell live copepods (Reed Nutrition) and you should think about getting some or that Mandarin may end up starving to death.
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Lewy
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:47pm |
what kind of lights did you put on the tank?
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40 gal w/ 20 sump
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SGH360
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 3:57pm |
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Do you have a Magfloat? I bought one at petco for 8 bucks, it was half the price
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gutfeeling
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 4:07pm |
Our Mandarin is super fat! We dose her everyday so she has lots to eat. Maybe too much hummm...
Our lights are 1ft 50/50 power compacts made by current
No Magfloat. we should probably get one, I don't like reaching my hand in there all the time.
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BobC63
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 4:18pm |
That's good to hear about the Mandarin 
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
* Marine & Reef tanks since 1977 *
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 8:01pm |
I agree. More snails and an algae cleaning tool. Magnets are worth their weight in Gold Pressed Latinum. Congratulations, you have entered the world of Reef Aquarium keeping.  Have you been using tap water? If so, this is the time to consider RO(Reverse Osmosis) water. It's only $0.25/gallon at health food stores. RO Purified water has less of the nutrients that naturally grow algae. Another thing to consider is some decorative Macroalgae. It's growth eats up much of the nutrients that would otherwise feed nuisance algae. Any type of Caulerpa is good Macroalgae. You have been lucky with the Mandarin. We typically don't see them surviving in anything less than a 55 gal tank.
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gutfeeling
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Posted: November 13 2010 at 9:11pm |
No we don't use tap water, we either purchase salt mixed water from Fish4U or we use our RO Purifier here at the house for fresh.
Really? Our manderin was in our 45 but she wasn't acting all so good... so we moved her to the smaller 12 g and now she is super healthy, or fat... he he. I thought it was because she wasn't getting enough to eat in the big tank.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 14 2010 at 12:43pm |
Probably right. Every tank has a slightly different ecology. Bugs grow good in one tank but may not do so well in another. Also, it's important to take into account the number of carnivorous fish in the aquarium. Too many carnivores depletes the bug population, makes them all go hungry and allows nuisance algae to grow. There is an article along those lines here: http://www.utahreefs.com/SeaStar/SeaStarJunePrint.pdf Look at the article titled "Herbivores vs. Carnivores"
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: November 15 2010 at 10:00am |
I agree with the above posts that a few more snails would come in handy. How long have the new lights been on the tank? Often when you add new bulbs you get a quick algae outbreak and then it start to die back a little.
I don't think the lawnmower blenny will help all that much since the alage in your tank looks like it is growing in thin sheets instead of clumps.
The mandarin will probably do fine if you can target feed him. If he is just relying on pops to live he will soon be out of food.
Look at your feeding schedule and see if you can feed less (except for the mandarin). This will help with the algae growth.
I assume you don't have a skimmer. If not then I would run carbon in your tank 24x7. Also make sure you are doing regular water changes. I would recommend using your own RO water and mixing your own salt. That way you know you are getting good quality make-up water.
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