Mangrove and Algae questions!

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viktor25

New Member
Hey all-

i LOVE this website!!!:) so informative and the people are great. :)

Anyways, I have a new setup that has been going for about a week now. its a 29 gallon bio cube, with lots of live sand, and plenty of live rock. i test my water daily, and also bought a blue damsel to assist with cycling the tank. the fish is doing great, salinity level is perfect, and water results had been perfect.. until yesterday. the phosphate levels were higher than the previous days, but still at almost 0.0ppm. the NITRATE levels are getting high right now, and ive also noticed a brown algae type mess that has completely covered the live rock. its like stringy long hair type that just waves in the water. is this common, and what should i do about it? it dont want it taking over the tank.

on the subject on nitrates, i was thinking about getting some mangrove trees for the third chamber in my tank so it will help in removing the nitrates, or at least lowering them, and in my research, it looks like it should help with that. any thoughts on this?

Thanks!

Kelly
 
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KidNano

New Member
From what I've been told. (I'm pretty new as well). If it's a hair algae then you'll want to get rid of it. Someone said with tweezers or somthing. (sounds fun) If it's the same diatoms that I had then just keep your lights off or limit them and it'll go away. A pic would help determine what it is.

What's your set up like. LS? how much LR? what kind of water? What did you put in the back chambers?

The more info you provide the better these pros will be able to help you. Heres a link describing algae.

http://www.fishdoctors.com/ArticlesDetail.asp?id=127 good luck.
 
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viktor25

New Member
I'll take a picture later today and try and upload it onto the sight, i looked at the old posting that you have, and it looks similar to that, but its not on the tank walls, just on the live rock, and on a few parts of the sand.

my setup is the 29g bc, 30 pounds of sand, and like 15 pounds of LR. it might be more, or less, i cant remember the exact pound amount.

the damsel in the tank is doing well, but im so afraid im going to kill it with the nitrate levels. i read the articles on tank cycling, but i havent experienced spikes yet, with the exception of the nitrate levels, all other levels were fine. my boyfriend seems to think the fish that is in there will die eventually, and hes just there to cycle the tank but im getting attached to it, so i want to do everything i can to keep him alive! but yeah, the algae is growing too fast, so ill have to turn the lights off. moon lights too?? i usually leave those on at night. should i have nothing on?
 
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KidNano

New Member
I put my damsel in the day after I started the tank and he's still alive and kicking. you might have to do some premature water changes that will slow down your cycle to save him but he'll be fine. If the nitrate levels are getting to him then his temperment will change and you'll notice it. He'll become very shy and will stop eating. This is what happened to me atleast. My wife and I are very attached to him (his name is Ame after a friend we met on our honeymoon in Fiji)and our cycle took about 5 weeks because of the early water changes (I think). Tell your boyfriend to be a little more supportive.

Some one else that is better educated and/or experienced will chime in I'm sure, to help you out. good luck. I posted a lot of those newbie type of threads so you can probably find a lot of answers through my ignorance.

Good luck and have fun. :cool1:
 
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viktor25

New Member
no ignorance on your part :) i appreciate you taking the time to help me out.

and im SOOO glad your damsel is alive still. that gives me hope! :)

now i just have to figure out when my tank is done cycling!
 
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KidNano

New Member
Be patient with it. Let the cycle come to you. trust me you'll know when it's over. one day you'll test and everything will be perfect with the exception of the Nitrates. test your Ammonia and Nitrites if you haven't. That's what will tell you when it's over.

And trust me... In the field of Reefing I am not ashamed to admit my ignorance. there's a lot to learn and the more you learn the more you see how much more there is to learn. First thing to learn is don't trust your LFS untill they've proven you can trust them. The fact that they sold you a damsel to help cycle your tank shows they're in it for the money. People that care about fish wouldn't do that. :cry: Atleast that's what I was told by my LFS. :lol:
 
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viktor25

New Member
haha i didnt get the damsel from the lady i usually get my fish from so yeah im sure she wouldnt condone it, but hopefully itll survive, hes sooo cute!

and ive been testing it, and the levels of everything look fine, although it looks like i might have an overabundance of calcium in the water. but phosphate levels are slightly above where i need them to be, and the nitrates are at 15-20ppm, so i think im going to get some mangroves and either make a refugium or just plug them into the third chamber and see if it makes a difference. :banadance:
 
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KidNano

New Member
I don't think your calcium level matters because your not going to have hard corals that depend on it. phosphates are bad. get something to get rid of them and that will help with your algae problem. I take it you used tap water? the two tests that are most significant at this point from my understanding you haven't mentioned. Nitrite and Ammonia. what are those levels? Not Nitrate but Nitrite. I'm not familiar with mangrove but the best macro for beginners I've been told is Chaeto. Easy to take care of and you don't have to worry about it releasing bad things into the system like the grape one. I guess it can go sexual on you or something and spit its stuff into the water.
 
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viktor25

New Member
you know what? i dont think my reef test HAS the nitrite and ammonia. It only has calcium, KH,Nitrate, and phosphate. i was just telling my boyfriend that im going to go to the LFS on my way home from work tonight so i can get those two tests and see what those levels are. ill keep you posted.
 
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jay

New Member
I currently use the following for my water tests.

Mardel 5 In 1 Test Strips


As for the Ammonia tests, I just get my LFS to do them since they do it for free. The Ammonia test strips can put a hole in your pocket, but are always nice to have on hand if you LFS is a far drive from home.

For Ammonia test strips, you can use the following.

Mardel FW/SW Ammonia Test Strips


I'm also new to the world of Reefing and Salt Water Aquariums. But that would be my best advise I can offer.

Cheers,
Jay :gcool
 
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viktor25

New Member
yeah my levels are fine now :) one of my damsels had an outbreak of Ich so ive been treating him and the tank with no ich meds. the white spots are gone, but now the fish are acting kinda weird, like breathing really fast, and one of the damsels is staying more towards the bottom back of my tank. not sure whats up with that.. i did a 5 gallon water change this morning and that seemed to make them a little more happy, but im still concerned. i soaked their dinner (frozen mysis shrimp) in garlic and fed them, they ate some of it, but ugghh i hope my tank doesnt crash.
 
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