What's going on everyone? I wanted to talk about building and maintaining a healthy tank. Yes, this is a very broad topic so let me narrow down the discussion to what I'm looking for...
First the background info: I have a 35 cube with a 5gal overflow on the back. Currently, in said overflow, I'm running a sponge at the inlet to the overflow, 2nd stage has Chemipure elite and a filter bag with some porous rock. Stage 3 has the heater, filter floss, and a sponge filter, 4th stage is just the return pump. Light, AI prime 16 HD typically I try to keep the lighting under 50% at all times. Livesand and basic white porous rock (no live rock. Last time I had live rock it was full of tube worms). Water changes are weekly with scrubbing of the glass and vacuuming.
The question/concern is the algae growth. I have some on the sand but typically small amounts I can just suck up with my vacuum weekly. My rock is starting to coat though and it concerns me. This tank was reset 3 months ago when I moved. Before I had a major algae issue and tube worms that began to invade all my zoa colonies and ended up killing my 3 colonies. When I moved I took my fish out and scrubbed it down heavily to get rid of everything and essentially reset it. I'm trying to keep the tank healthy, clear, and clean before I add corals back. My bio-load is 2 clown fish and 3 snails, that's it. I use RO/DI water from LFS, just unsure why algae (looks to be the beginning of green hair algae) persist. Or, is the small layer over the rocks good? I'm waiting before I add corals I want to make sure the tank is cycled of course but also I want the tank to be healthy. If I'm just overreacting and some algae are ok let me know! If you think I'm still doing something wrong please let me know. I want to give my clowns and future coral a healthy environment and I'm open to suggestions/corrections.
If you need more details I'm happy to provide them. I can re-test parameters after work today and give y'all pictures of the rock for visual aid.
First the background info: I have a 35 cube with a 5gal overflow on the back. Currently, in said overflow, I'm running a sponge at the inlet to the overflow, 2nd stage has Chemipure elite and a filter bag with some porous rock. Stage 3 has the heater, filter floss, and a sponge filter, 4th stage is just the return pump. Light, AI prime 16 HD typically I try to keep the lighting under 50% at all times. Livesand and basic white porous rock (no live rock. Last time I had live rock it was full of tube worms). Water changes are weekly with scrubbing of the glass and vacuuming.
The question/concern is the algae growth. I have some on the sand but typically small amounts I can just suck up with my vacuum weekly. My rock is starting to coat though and it concerns me. This tank was reset 3 months ago when I moved. Before I had a major algae issue and tube worms that began to invade all my zoa colonies and ended up killing my 3 colonies. When I moved I took my fish out and scrubbed it down heavily to get rid of everything and essentially reset it. I'm trying to keep the tank healthy, clear, and clean before I add corals back. My bio-load is 2 clown fish and 3 snails, that's it. I use RO/DI water from LFS, just unsure why algae (looks to be the beginning of green hair algae) persist. Or, is the small layer over the rocks good? I'm waiting before I add corals I want to make sure the tank is cycled of course but also I want the tank to be healthy. If I'm just overreacting and some algae are ok let me know! If you think I'm still doing something wrong please let me know. I want to give my clowns and future coral a healthy environment and I'm open to suggestions/corrections.
If you need more details I'm happy to provide them. I can re-test parameters after work today and give y'all pictures of the rock for visual aid.