FishChannel Forums / Saltwater Forums / General Saltwater

Algae attack!!!

Arman — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:48:04 GMT

Hi my new tank is still in the cycling stage and recently I've noticed that the tank is covered in these films of what i assume are algae, there are three different colors; red brown and green. do you know if these are algae or something else, how do i get rid of it, can i put some thing in the tank that will get rid of the algae? please help

PVC Cement

jsmith11618 — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:38:53 GMT

I am in the process of adding a small sump to my tank. I am not really a mr. fix it so I am not all that familiar with PVC cent.

Is it safe to use in a marine set up? I just dont trust the pipes to stay connected on their own.

Ribbon Eel Tankmates

DjkartaIsMyHyde — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 23:07:45 GMT

G'day

I'm planning on buying a ribbon eel in the future and I was wondering what kinds of fish I would be able to place in the tank with (s)he. The eel itself in a juvenile and the tank I'm placing it in is a little over 60 gallon

Thanks

I'm Fishsitting SW Fish!!!!

jfish13 — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:59:15 GMT

I'm Fishsitting SW Fish!!!! its going to be a great experience for me. Wish me luck. :)

Nano Reef Tank

FastFoward5k — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:55:28 GMT

I would like to get a Saltwater tank! :D I do have some experience with freshwater and my tank is doing very well! :) I know that nano tanks are not great for beginner SW aquarists, but I can't afford a decent sized tank at this point. I will do a ton of research on the fish and invertabrates I will keep, plus the basics (and details) of keeping a saltwater, and more specifically nano tank, tank. The tank I was thinking of is the 14 Gallon Oceanic Bio-Cube (Tank). I would try to get c/b on all the fish/invertabrates I could. Here are some aquarium inhabitants I was thinking of (and I do not mean all of these, just one or two of them), could you help me pick ones that would not be too cramped in this size tank, extremely sensitive, agressive, hard to care for, etc.:

Fish

Oceallaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)

Tomato Clownfish (Amphiprion frenatus)

Clark's Clownfish (Amphiprion clarkii)

Saddleback Clownfish (Amphiprion polymnus)

Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)

Citrus Clown Goby (Gobiodon citrinus)

Gold Neon Eviota Goby (Eviota pellucida)

Neon Goby (Elacatinus oceanops)

Hi Fin Red Banded Goby (Stonogobiops nematodes)

Invertabrates/Live Things Other Than Fish

Fiji Cultured Live Rock - Fully Cured (Scleratinia pcs.)

Fiji Live Sand (Crushed Scleratinia spp.)

Banded Coral Shrimp (Stenopus hispidius)

Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)

Bumble Bee Snail (Engina spp.)

Dwarf Zebra Hermit Crab (Calcinus laevimanus)

Long Tentacle Plate Coral (Heliofungia actiniformis)

Green Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sinuosa)

Torch Coral (Euphyllia glabrescens)

setting up a nano cube

saltwater guy — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:06:17 GMT

I dont have any experience in saltwater aquariums but I am fascinated by saltwater fish.I recently got a 12 gallon nano cube for my birthday. I know that it is better to start off with a big tank but i am determined to keep a successful FOWLR aquarium. So i was wondering if you could give me some tips on keeping a FOWLR nano cube. And also the best fish to pick and subtrate. I am currently interested in keeping a clown fish(any type).
Thanks the help:):):):):P:P:P:w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t::w00t:

Cooling

Delvor — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:37:36 GMT

My saltwater tank seem to run a little warmer than i would like, it's not dangerously hot but it's on the higher side of safe, what is the best way to cool a tank, i think it's just the lighting that keeps it so warm. Any help is appreciated.

Growing More Coral

Delvor — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 20:05:30 GMT

I have a 2 1/2 pound fiji rock in my saltwater tank and another rock that has nothing at all on it that i cant remember what they called at the store, but it's about the same size as my other rock. The rock with nothing on it is a very brittle piece of rock and chips very easily and i was wondering that since it was in the tank with the live fiji rock and since im using all the calcium and magnesium and whatever other chemicals that i have to maintain and grow new specimens on the live rock, if that rock would start to grow purple algae and other sorts of corals and whatnot on it. It's a sand white rock and has the same texture as the dead coral substrate i've mixed with sand on the bottom. sry if this is confusing, i was trying to figure out how to describe it and word it well without knowing what to call the rock.

Recommendations for ICH Treatment

jayedwood — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:36:33 GMT

Have a small tank - Clown, Bi-Color Blenny, Pajama Cardinal and two Turbo Snails. My blenny appears to have symptoms of Ich. He swims wildly around at times and scratches himself on the live rock. I've noticed a small white patch on his head.

Any one have any recommendations for treating? I see there are a lot of products but wanted to know what everyone thinks is the best course of action.

Thanks!

Jim

biocube

austin123 — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 19:22:03 GMT

ok, I don't have a saltwater tank I was planning to get a small biocube (I'd like a smaller one because I don't have very much money). So a saltwater tank that's around 10 gallons with live rock and maybe one of those lights you put in tanks to make them look neon at night. So how much would the estimated cost for all this be? After a while I'll probably have a few hundred dollars to spend. ($300-$400?)

Pink stuff growing in my tank???

Arman — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 19:27:10 GMT

today when i was looking into my new five gallon tank I noticed that on the rubber sealant on the sides of the tank and on the rubber suction cup for my thermometer there is this bright pink stuff growing all over it.

does any one know what it is and if it bad or not?

Clownfish are trippin

Delvor — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 11:44:42 GMT

Hey all, got another question.

I've got two clownfish in my saltwater tank and a shrimp, and the levels and bouyancy are all good but they've been acting kind of wierd lately. i was doing some cleaning on the bottom of the tank and the smaller of the clownfish (so im assuming the male) was acting very defensive and trying to intimidate what i was cleaning with lol, while the female clown was behind a piece of rock where they hang out now. The larger female doesnt seem very interested in food and every once in a while i'll catch them vibrating or twitching really fast and stirring up sand. Is this a possible sign of mating season or are my fish just nuts :P thanks for any responses!

FOWLR Cycling

jsmith11618 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:27:56 GMT

I have had my 40 gallon set up with live rock for just over a month now.

I test the water 3 times per week and so far have never reported any ammonia or nitrite and the nitrate climbed to 40ppm but is now back between 10-20ppm but I cannot exactly tell what shade of orange it is. (my eyes dont like these color coded tests)

I know the kits are working as they reported ammonia and nitrite in my QT when it was cycling.

I have between 40-50lb of LR in there, mostly Fiji with some Tonga.

This is the first time in 10 years I have done saltwater and lets just say 10 years ago, I didn't do things the right way, but never had issues back then.

Is it normal to never show ammonia or nitrite in the tank when using live rock? It could have been cured or maybe not, the store I buy from does not use cured or uncured, and sells it all at one price, but my die off was very minimal and the critters on the rock are thriving with the little Yellow Tail damsel in there.

Would it be safe to add another fish at this point or should I wait it out a while longer?

cycling my tank

Arman — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 21:45:03 GMT

A few weeks ago I started the cycling process of my 5 gallon salt water tank. I did this by adding 3 cocktail shrimp and letting them decay.

Now the shrimp have been thoroughly decayed and all that is left are the tails, and even though the Ammonia has risen up to 8+ ppm it still hasn't dropped and the nitrite hasn't risen at all!!!

Please help me I don't know what to do and I really want to be finished with cycling the tank.

An interesting article for reefers!

Nep2Ns PlumR — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:37:33 GMT

Thought others might be interested. I thought it was pretty cool! :)

www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26786412?GT1=43001

Can you please help me stock my tank?

Lady Percula — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 15:51:34 GMT

I have a twenty gallon tank with just over eight pounds of live rock. My most recent fish was added around two weeks ago, it was a true or false percula clown (Sorry, but i'm not sure). My tank already had another clownfish purchased at the same store about 2 to 3 weeks prior. They did some prelimanary nipping, but no serious damage has been done. The tank was cycled from the middle of June to the end of Augest. I would like to add firefish and a blue chromis. Will that over stock my tank? Will there be any agression or feeding problems? Will be any other information I need to know? Thanks for helping me out.

Stuff growng in my canister

BEBOX14 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:04:55 GMT

Um.... I have this weird growth of these egg looking things in my filter. Anyone know what this could be? check the attach.

Lemon Peel Question

jayedwood — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:19:51 GMT

I just added a Lemon Peel to my 30 gallon. I have a Bi Color Blenny, a Clown and a Pajama Cardinal. I have a funny situation happening and I want to know if it's something I should be concerned about.

The Blenny likes to hide in a shell I have. The Lemon Peel swims over to the shell occasionally, leans over towards the shell and sort of "flutters" in front of it. Seems as if he's taunting the Blenny. The Peel will then swim away but come back every so often to do it again.

I'm not sure if he's wanting to play or trying to express dominance.

By far the coolest fish yet

idahosalty — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:07:19 GMT

Upon taking my fish back to the LFS (read my other post of you are interested) the clerk and me got to talking and I was telling him how I was having some trouble with algae, he showed me what is now the coolest fish in my tank. A lawnmower blenny, has a great personalty eats like a horse, and has amazing coloration, I had never seen these before I recommend them to anyone. A few questions though... I have been reading other post and have come to realize algae blooms will happen for a while, and that's ok, BUT I was wondering if anyone knew if I could keep another blenny with the one I have? Also is ther a magical number of how many crabs/snails one should have per gallon of water?

Coralife super protein skimmer

dozer4554 — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 18:26:46 GMT

Hello to everyone. My name is charlie and come fron pa. My grandchildren convinced me to start saltwater aquarium. So her I am with a 46 bowfront marine reef aquarium Tank has just cycled and am in process of adding my first fish. My problem is the skimmer, coralife super protein skimmer. Works great except for the noise from bubbles and water exiting the bubble diffuser. Followed set up to a tee. Its driing my wife nuts. Inturn she's driving me nuts. Please. Can someone help?

Rainbow Mantis Shrimp

David Lass — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 12:13:12 GMT

I just bought a rainbow mantis shrimp -- it is one of the coolest animals I have ever seen. Sorta looks like if you took the skin of a mandarin and put it on a shrimp -- independently swivelable (sp?) eyes on stalks, constantly cleaning himself. I broke down my 8 gallon nano-tank that I've had for years on my desk, put in gravel, water and liverock from the 110, and added the shrimp.

My question is how much to feed him and how often. I've been giving him a dead fish every other day or so (unfortunately, down in my wholesale fish room I can pretty much always count on being able to find at least one dead fish).

Thanks for your help.

Backgrounds?

idahosalty — Sun, 07 Sep 2008 16:45:07 GMT

I have a 75 gallon tank and am looking to put a background on it. It would be the 23" size one. I was looking for the blue or black plain type and went to a few of the local pet stores to find out they are no longer carrying that size in that color? Even though the guy told me it is their number 1 seller. So I decide to go online and look and I am astonished to find out that I cant find it any where on there either. Can anyone give me a link to where I might be able to buy it online, or a better option as a background. I am not against the idea of the fake reef background or something weird like that, but I hope it is a last resort.

Eel Identification

jsmith11618 — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 03:02:23 GMT

I can't get a picture of the eel thats clear, but I managed to get a breif video of it out and about and put it on you you tube to try and see if anyone might know what it is.

Its eating, and pretty active. In my quarantine tank right now as my main tank doesn't have a cover on it.

I figure it was a hitch hiker on live rock since I didn't buy it, I just have no clue what type it is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6Z_NZeWbnU

cycling my tank

Arman — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 20:09:09 GMT

i am setting up a 5 gallon saltwater tank for some dwarf seahorses and i was wondering if i could start the cycling proccess when the sponge filteer has not yet arrived. i was thinking that the sand at the bottem of the tank would be able to suppport enough bactria that the cycling time would be cut down when i do get the filter. please help

anemones

jmarc616 — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:23:24 GMT

My live rock started with one anemone. Now I have many. I need to find out how to control or get rid of them. Anyone have any information?

Hello I'm New

hamburgereric — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:38:36 GMT

Hey fellow fish dudes. I am new to saltwater tanks and am anxious to recieve feedback on how your tanks have worked for you. I have a twenty gallon reef tank and am looking to add a couple more fish to it. I have one ocellarius clown and 4 species of soft corals in there currently. I am thinking about a six line wrasse and a bicolor blenny. Any other suggestions that you think will work well would be fantastic.

Help! Majano outbreak!

thegreez — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:00:41 GMT

I have a 125 gallon reef tank that was taken over by majano anemones about 6 months ago. I have tried several cures including a butterfly fish and injecting them with Kalwasser. I can't inject thousands of anemones with the Kalwasser without messing up the pH. The butterfly was tormented by my powder blue tang and didn't stand a chance.

The majano is now starting to smother my leather coral and is squeezing out the polyp corals. I need to get rid of this. Please let me know some suggestions. Thanks!:w00t:

Bubble Algae

ckeep2406 — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 08:04:15 GMT

I have a 180 gallon twin overflow reef tank for 6 yrs. It's been great but about a year ago I picked up bubble algae from a pc of coral that I purchased. Since then I gone threw about 20-30 emerald crabs. I took all my rock out pressure washed it and still can't get rid of this algae. I'm to the point of just letting it go. Any suggestions are welcome

Thanks

Chris

red slime algae

kissel — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:14:29 GMT

i clean a 55 gallon corner tank for a friend at a restaurant. tank gets a lot of sun in the afternoon, but it is the only location for it. red slime has taken over the glass. i used red slime remover and it did not work. what other way if any is there to rid the tank of it without moving it out of the sun. thanks to any comeback, kissel

Sailfin tang

clownfishkid — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:27:18 GMT

I just set up a 55g aquarium. There are no fish in it yet but I am thinking about future fish choices. I really admire Sailfin tangs. Would my standard 55g tank be big enough to keep a Sailfin tang?

Lionfish "invasion", MSNBC

Conner — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 13:36:25 GMT

Just thought I'd share this article I found on MSNBC.com. It's talking about how the Red Lionfish is invading Caribbean and Atlantic waters.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184738/wid/18298287/?GT1=45002

Urchin

clownfishkid — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 12:13:01 GMT

Hi all, Just had question about Urchins. Sunday I went on a diving expidition with my dad on our boat. We free dove in 14 ft of water about 100yards off the beach. We dropped down on the reef and began to explore. I found a group of 3 sea Urchins on a rock so i took my hand net and scooped one up and took it to the boat. It was a beautiful purple and pink one. I thought it would look good in my tank so i put it in the live well. It wasn't a long spine sea urchin so it was legal to take. We took it home and put it in my 55g. Its done great and seems to be way more night active than day active. My questin is what does an urchin eat.

Yellow Tang

clownfishkid — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 17:26:15 GMT

Im sure some of you have read the post I put up about if a Sailfin Tang would be to big to keep in my 55g soon to be reef tank. Well I got my answer, that a Sailfin Tang would indeed be to big for my 55g. This post is to get everyones opinions on if I could keep a yellow Tang in my 55g soon to be reef tank. Ive read up on this and the answers varied. Some said the minimum tank size should be 50gal and other sources said the minimum should be 100gals. I just want to hear if you guys think a yellow tang would fit and be content in my 55g soon to be reef tank.

Nano pygmy/dwarf seahorse tank

bigreyhorse — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:52:17 GMT

I have read that pygmy seahorses are best kept in 10gs, is this true?
If it is I would like to take a pair or two and set up a nano tank, maybe with a couple small inverts. Am I getting in too deep for my first salt water tank? I know they take live food, will they only eat live or will they accept frozen?
I can't get my 55 up just yet it will be quite a while so I want something while I wait basically.
For my 55g I was going to put 3-4 yellowtail damselfish, 2 zebra barred dartfish, 2-3 firefish, and 1-2 ocellaris clowns. I may scratch off the damsels, then theres the coral and live rock and some plants.

Clarkii not growing

plecodiscus — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 14:19:53 GMT

I have a clarkii clownfish and have had him since february. He was almost 2" including the tail when i bought him. He is now 2" including the tail. Noe of the other fish in the tank (2.5" lubbocks wrasse & almost 3" coral beauty) bother him. If anything he will chase them once in a while. All of the fish are fed freeze dried mini krill twice a day and they all eat a lot at feedings. I dont see how he isnt growing . Any help would be great.

Can I add in new sump tank to existing canister filter?

Iman — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 02:48:53 GMT

Hi,

I have a 150L marine tank with fishes and corals running for about 3 months. I'm currently using an external canister filter and wanted to add on a sump tank wet/dry filteration. Once i have setup the sump tank, can i add straight to the display tank running together with the external filter? Or i have to cycle the sump tank before adding the filter to the display tank?

police raid a suspected meth house only to find a fish tank.

filipem — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:01:15 GMT

Sad but true :P

http://www.kare11.com/news/news_arti...storyid=509182

I'M SO EXCITED!

FastFoward5k — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 05:30:21 GMT

My friend is getting a 65 gallon reef tank soon! :P And he said since I'm giving him store credit (from baby guppies and plant clippings, it adds up) to our LFS, I get to coose some of his fish and inverts. It is a pretty tall tank and is really nice looking. Here is a list of what we're putting in it and if you think it is crowded or can fit more or isn't compatible please let me know.

Fish: 2 Captive Bred Reidi Seahorses (Hippocampus Reidi), 1 Diamond Watchman Goby (Valencia puellaris), 1 Clarkii Clownfish (Amphibrion Clarkii), and possibly (if room) 2 Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica)

Invertabrates: 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis), Sunkist Starfish, Fiji Live Rock, Caribbean Live Sand, Colt Coral and other soft corals, I'll take suggetions on good ones!

Can he put in the Firefish? And does this whole setup work? Thanks. :D

EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

skeeterdav2002 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:26:46 GMT

I'm not sure if it's ever been discussed on this forum before but backup power in case the lights go out is very important. I live in southwest Washington state and am a "Lucky" flood victim this week. The photo below is my front porch which sits about 6 feet above ground level and that's the Chahalis river in my yard and pasture! The river is normally across the road about 300 yards away. Not being faced with the situation of moving everything I own up one floor before, the one item I could not move was my 95 gal. reef tank. The flood waters came within 1 INCH of getting in but luckily the river crested! Owning a generator can pay for itself many times over. The power was out for 3 days this time but on average, I lose power 3 weeks every winter due to snow,wind, and this time flood. If I didn't have my generator during these incidents, I would have lost everything in the tank plus everything in the fridge and freezer many times over. I guess what I'm trying to get at is a power failure can not only be a inconvenience, it can also destroy a marine setup in no time. No matter where you live, one should consider what to do if the power is out and then reality sets in that your tank could slowly die if pumps and filtration cease. I hope no one ever has to deal with what happened here this week but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.

echinoderms

plecodiscus — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:34:35 GMT

Okay, i have this wierd fascination with echinoderms, and i love to watch their feet move rhythmically on the walls of aquariums. Now i want one, but i don't know which kinds of urchins, sea stars, or cucumbers i want for my 30 gallon tank. the tank consists of a coral beauty, lubbocks fairy wrasse, and clarks anemonefish. There are some zoas and i will be putting in some xenias mushrooms and starburst polyps later. Im looking for suggestions, but they have to fit the following requirements:

Brittle or serpent stars (i know they dont crawl on the aquarium walls, but i like them anyway) must have an armspan of under 1'.

urchins must not eat coralline algae or corals of any kind. They also have to have a diameter of under 5" including spines so they dont take up the whole tank.

Regular stars must have a total armspan of under 6" and must be reef safe as well. I was considering a pillow starfish but wanted to check first.

as for cucumbers, they have to be under 6" and relatively non toxic.