my tank rebirth

[josh holt]

well im finally getting around to restocking my tank. i decided to go strickly zoanthids rather than back to sps due to how time consuming my sps tank was. i put a different sump under my tank and i will do one more water change before i start adding corals.

brian, i have noticed some bubble algae popping up in my tank again. right now its just a couple of pieces right now so im going to try and head it off before it gets like my old tank.

[Twisted]

I just added a Desjardin <red sea> sailfin tang which is a reputed bubble algae eater, and I added 4 emerald crabs, on top of that I will begin to extract bubbles by hand every two weeks during water changes.
So hopefully this will minimize, or eliminate my bubble algae. I was also told that carbon will release phosphates into the water and that this is the reason I can not get my phosphate levels down. So perhaps there is a such thin as running too much carbon on a smaller tank? So I am going to switch to Seamchems purigen.
I also added a refurgium a few weeks ago, and here are my parameters since then:
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Alk 8
calcium 600
magnesium 1250
PH 8.3
phosphate .3 <was 1.0 before I added some phosphate absorber>

So everything is pretty damn good, or atleast the best that it has been in a long time except phosphate. I was told if I get it to 0 like it should be, that my bubble algae should do a disappearing act.

[josh holt]

what fuge did you put on? i had phosphates in my tank and the bubble algae still did a disapeering act. on my tank im running a sump with a skimmer and rubble rock.

[Twisted]

A guy brought in one of the CPR HOB fuges. It's the big one without the skimmer, so still running my CPR skimmer too. I but about 3 inches of sand in the fuge, and a ball of cheato thats growing fast, and I bought a clump of the Codium Algae that is supposed to reduce nitrates too, but is a slow grower.

Like I said if you want to risk it you are more then welcome to come see what I have.
Afraid my really nice ones are not far enough long to frag <like the red zoas, started with 6 from that last frag swap, they died off to two, and now are back to three....

More then happy to clip a small frag of the true pink palys, and the AOG's. maybe some eagle eyes, and I got a lot of the more common stuff if you are not too selective on what you are trying to do.
Me personally with that size tank I would be very pick on what I put in there, just because I saw how fast my 55 gallon filled up.

There is also another sacramento frag swap comming in Febuary, I don't think an actual dat has been set yet, but they are doing it because BAR has excluded everyone but BAR members for the Febuary frag swap do to space limitations.

[josh holt]

thanks brian, when im ready to stock my tank ill come see you.

[boviac]

Josh, glad to hear you're getting your tank back up. My LPS are sending out seekers which are limiting my zoa's from really growing but if I have any we can talk when you are ready as well.

Brian - since this is on the topic of bubble algae which Josh stated he's having problems with too... Carbon can release adsorbed if left in too long or backflushed. I use carbon on my tank for about 2 weeks in and two weeks out - (yeah right, like I keep that exact schedule.) Anyway, I simply put about a handful in the media basket on the outlet of my prizm skimmer which I clean about weekly so that works.

Further the quality of carbon can play into it but that's more science than I can quote from memory. Generally, clean and unused carbon does not have phosphate to leach into your system, that comes from adsorbing it and then later releasing it.

[Twisted]

The person I was talking to about the carbon pretty much said the same thing. It isn't the carbon itself releaseing phosphate it the over useage of the carbon. I don't replace mine often enough. And I think he suggested the Seachem purigen because it will last longer then carbon.
My phosphates as of last night are back up to 3.0. Since my water change is due tomorrow I am going to go in tonight and pull my carbon out, refill the bag with new carbon, then wait until after my water change to put in the new carbon, but that should empty my tub of carbon I bought. I will buy purigen in a couple weeks when I am ready to change out my carbon again I will replace it with the purigen and see how it does.

[kinghokus420]

let me know how that purigen works out, i've been considering it myself. im starting to go all crazy on the hair again.

[BBishop]

There's many different types of material used to make carbon. Some brands will add phosphates right out of the box. To test the carbon, put some in a vile and soak for a couple of hours, then test the water the carbon was in with a phosphate test kit.

I have been using PHOSBAND it works great and it is simple to use.

And welcome back Josh. If you change your mind about spsmlet me know.

[josh holt]

thanks bill, but i have spent the last couple of months thinking about which way to go and im set on zoanthids. maybe in the future i will go back to sps. i definatly got addicted to them when i had mine but for now zoanthids are the corals for me right now.

[josh holt]

http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/120185100_2506r.jpg http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/120185100_2507r.jpg http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/120185100_2508r.jpg http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/120185100_2509r.jpg [IMG]http://reefcentral.com/gallery/data/500/120185100_2510r.jpg [/IMG

thought i would take some pictures and show the new setup with the first two additions.

[kyletech]

When you come see Brain come by I'm sure I can frag something for you.