Are we being peddled BS?

[maxs]

One thing you mentioned is that you change Filter Floss as needed. When we change Floss or Socks it is an immediate nutrient export. You may want to consider the frequency and reduce it.

Thank you for the advice! I’ll definitely do it half as much now and see if it makes a difference

 

[maxs]

Have you added any lids to your tank . Some will eat that stuff

I added some hermit crabs, trochus snails and a Mexican turbo snail. That Mexican turbo snail is a beast, really helped with the algae problem

 

[slingfox]

Just keep at it. Your aquascape is very nice and you only have a very minor case of the uglies. I assume you will have to deal with Dino’s at some point if they haven’t come for you already. The tank will eventually settle and things will be smooth sailing.

 

[W31Olds]

Thank you for the advice! I’ll definitely do it half as much now and see if it makes a difference

Sorry Maxs, I misspoke. You may want to increase the Frequency. As detritus in the Floss decomposes, it's basically fuel for Algae growth. An example, members have seen improvement when switching over to a fleece roller system

 

[maxs]

Just keep at it. Your aquascape is very nice and you only have a very minor case of the uglies. I assume you will have to deal with Dino’s at some point if they haven’t come for you already. The tank will eventually settle and things will be smooth sailing.

Thank you!!!

 

[maxs]

Thank you for the advice! I’ll definitely do it half as much now and see if it makes a difference

Sorry Maxs, I misspoke. You may want to increase the Frequency. As detritus in the Floss decomposes, it's basically fuel for Algae growth. An example, members have seen improvement when switching over to a fleece roller system

Thank you!! Will do!

 

[slingfox]

Sorry Maxs, I misspoke. You may want to increase the Frequency. As detritus in the Floss decomposes, it's basically fuel for Algae growth. An example, members have seen improvement when switching over to a fleece roller system

Agreed. I have been researching these all-in-one tanks (I intend to use one for coral quarantine) and the feedback has been that installing an auto roller helps keep salinity stable since the swings in water level/ATO from clogged filter socks/floss swings salinity more dramatically on smaller tank.

 

[Reginald Reefer III]

Quick notes:

1) How often are you testing? What products are you testing with? My advice - Stop chasing numbers and keep Nitrates <30ppm to >5ppm and Phosphates in the 0.2-0.1ppm range. Don't let nutrients get TOO low or TOO high. Keep alkalinity at 8.5-9.5dKh and calcium at ~425ppm. There are many ways to achieve this. Search and you will find on R2R with everything you need to know.
2) More coral = more stability. You will lose some. You will see some that do fantastic from little nubs to full colonies. Corals are what soak up all of the things we input in and allow the tank to be stable. I would keep adding easy coral that does well with curveballs (softies, some LPS, stay away from SPS until stable if that's your cup of tea).
3) Automate automate automate - if you can afford it, look into auto dosing and auto testing as much as the budget allows. You will enjoy the hobby much more when not constantly having to take time to do so many mundane tasks. Doesn't mean you can't let that slide either or become complacent with maintenance!
4) Alkalinity and Calcium stability are the biggest and more important thing to aim for right now. Those 2 can NOT be allowed to sway or wildly swing up and down. You must find the sweet spot in how much your tank consumes per day and 100% ensure that somehow you are providing that. What kills coral is when you forget to dose alk or cal for a couple of days and notice the new chalice you just bought is now white because the alkalinity dropped 2 dkh (yes it can happen that quick!)
5) Your WORST enemy right now is envy. Stability is your best friend.

YOU WILL achieve what you are after but it will not come without hardship - much like everything else in life. Slow and steady wins this race 9.995/10 times (the couple thousdanths is from the instagram reefers lol)

 

[me & my baby]

Have you added any lids to your tank . Some will eat that stuff

I added some hermit crabs, trochus snails and a Mexican turbo snail. That Mexican turbo snail is a beast, really helped with the algae problem

It was suppose to say pods

 

[maxs]

Quick notes:

1) How often are you testing? What products are you testing with? My advice - Stop chasing numbers and keep Nitrates <30ppm to >5ppm and Phosphates in the 0.2-0.1ppm range. Don't let nutrients get TOO low or TOO high. Keep alkalinity at 8.5-9.5dKh and calcium at ~425ppm. There are many ways to achieve this. Search and you will find on R2R with everything you need to know.
2) More coral = more stability. You will lose some. You will see some that do fantastic from little nubs to full colonies. Corals are what soak up all of the things we input in and allow the tank to be stable. I would keep adding easy coral that does well with curveballs (softies, some LPS, stay away from SPS until stable if that's your cup of tea).
3) Automate automate automate - if you can afford it, look into auto dosing and auto testing as much as the budget allows. You will enjoy the hobby much more when not constantly having to take time to do so many mundane tasks. Doesn't mean you can't let that slide either or become complacent with maintenance!
4) Alkalinity and Calcium stability are the biggest and more important thing to aim for right now. Those 2 can NOT be allowed to sway or wildly swing up and down. You must find the sweet spot in how much your tank consumes per day and 100% ensure that somehow you are providing that. What kills coral is when you forget to dose alk or cal for a couple of days and notice the new chalice you just bought is now white because the alkalinity dropped 2 dkh (yes it can happen that quick!)
5) Your WORST enemy right now is envy. Stability is your best friend.

YOU WILL achieve what you are after but it will not come without hardship - much like everything else in life. Slow and steady wins this race 9.995/10 times (the couple thousdanths is from the instagram reefers lol)

Your threads are absolutely incredible. Very beautiful tanks. I’ll be using this information without a shadow of a doubt. Thank you!

 

[Mebbid]

No, you're not being peddled nonsense. It's just not going to fix what you have going on.

The 10% weekly water changes is there to help aid stability in water parameters. The root of your problem is that the microbial community in your tank is still establishing itself, which isn't something that water changes and cleaning can solve; it will however help keep it from getting worse.

It just takes time, pretty much everyone goes through the ugly stage.

 

[maxs]

Have you added any lids to your tank . Some will eat that stuff

I added some hermit crabs, trochus snails and a Mexican turbo snail. That Mexican turbo snail is a beast, really helped with the algae problem

It was suppose to say pods

I have a really healthy amount of pods I see all over the glass in the morning. They reproduce depending on how much phyto I dose. I find they didn’t really help that much with algae in my experience.

 

[me & my baby]

Your tank is looking good just keep at it and things will balance out . Listen to the people of the filter floss and keep things stable

 

[maxs]

Your tank is looking good just keep at it and things will balance out . Listen to the people of the filter floss and keep things stable

Thank you!

 

[me & my baby]

Your tank is looking good just keep at it and things will balance out . Listen to the people of the filter floss and keep things stable

Thank you!

Your welcome , just be patient nothing good happens fast in this hobby

 

[saltwaterfish.com Verified Sponsor]

Hello everyone. My reef tank is currently 7 months old and I still feel like I haven’t gotten any stability yet. Last month my nitrates were at 11ppm and currently they are sitting at 1.1ppm. Phosphate fluctuates just as much. I’ve had nothing but problems with brown hair algae, Dino’s, cyano, you name it. Believe it or not my husbandry is clock work. A weekly 10% water change and a glass cleaning is all I do. Also changing out my filter floss when necessary. Am I lacking a basic understanding of reef chemistry here? This stuff is beyond frustrating. Am I being peddled complete BS with the weekly water changes. Who knows? If anyone can chime in here I’d love their opinion. My coral seems decently happy however my nutrients can’t seem to balance out. I’ve had better luck balancing a seesaw! Dropping a picture of my tank for reference. Thank you for reading

Everyone does it differently. With you being 7 months in, the hardest part is over...(the initial set up and new additions).. You can do water changes so many different ways, the stability just happens naturally once you choose YOUR schedule of events and understand that small fluctuations are generally considered within a safe range for "stability". Assess the coral and fish you have in the tank now to understand whether things are doing well or not and use that as one of the many tools in the toolbox. It looks great by the way!

 

[BryanM]

I am bucking the trend here, I just think floss is not all that effective. I don't really like sock maintenance, but I think they work better.

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

As others have said, it takes time. I'm two years in with dead rock and sand. Still have ups and downs but starting to get dialed. I hope lol. I does get better. And as @Reginald Reefer III said, don't look at someone else's tank and think yours should be right there, look at your tank and remind yourself "I kept this coral alive" "I have a couple new polyps" etc. Eventually you'll look back and realize the hard phase is over. Dry rock and sand is a rough road, but you can get through it.

 

[Arkayology]

Don't let yourself be lured into marketing hype and gimmicks. I've been reefing since 2009 and have tried all kinds of stuff. I am much less interesting in the fad "systems" or "programs" that tell you that if you give them money you will have a successful reef. You will get there sooner or later. Don't give up!

Jake Adams called me out one time for saying that dumping a bottle of bacteria into his tank does not mean that the tank is ready for coral; he was arguing that the tank was 100% ready to thrive as a reef. To be fair, this was very early on in the bottled bacteria craze, and we didn't know as much then as we do now, but I still stand by what I said then - just because you dump a bunch of random bacteria into a tank doesn't mean that it is stable and ready for coral. Time, good live sand/rock from the ocean, patience, luck, and more time is what is needed.

 

[jhadaway]

Not that throwing more money at the problem is really the answer you want to hear but, throwing in a 24lb jar of TBS sand might give the tank a small boost. I just put a bucket of it in my tank to seed it 2 weeks ago. I'm hoping to avoid most if not all of the uglies this time around. The bad stuff is clearly winning over the good stuff so the only answer may be just a little more time. For me things always got easier at the 1 year mark. Learning from mistakes is one of the most important parts of the hobby. Enjoy the ride!