New D&d Journal

[cottonj21]

Cheers, got some cheato coming from ebay.
theres quite alot of life in my algea at the moment, do you reckon i should try and rescue some or just chuck it ?

done 2 water changes so far and tanks been running for over three weeks now and its crawling with small insects, so soon as my maxijet arrives and my cheato is in im going to get a pair of clowns, probably next week as i have a day off work (unless someone thinks this is to early).

can someone tell me what other tests i should be doing at this stage ?
ive got:
nitrate
nitrite
amonia
ph
sg

cheers

 

[BigC]

theres quite alot of life in my algea at the moment, do you reckon i should try and rescue some or just chuck it ?

Yeah give it a whorl in the sump and rescue a few pods.
I also test for
Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity and Phosphate
Regards
BigC

 

[john.o]

Hi cottonj21
I think and it is THINK NOT 100% SURE that you have some Caulerpa Going sexual in among the macro algae you have. If it where me I would try to rescue a few of pods ect like Big C has suggested then just get rid of it and put the cheato in when it comes off ebay
Here is a couple of links you could find useful

<a href="http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/nftt/index.php" target="_blank">http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/nftt/index.php</a>

http/www.reefland.com/forum/reef-aquariu...why-cheato.html

Water Parameters…….. for fish only I tested for nitrate /nitrite /ammonia /ph/ Phosphate /sg/temp
For corals ect I test for… Calcium and carbonate hardness on top of all the other tests
here’s a link to a good site on water Parameters ect
<a href="http/www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php" target="_blank">http/www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php</a>
hope this helps best regards

 

[cottonj21]

Thanks alot for that,

John,o the second link didnt work could you check it, i tried searching the forum for why-cheato but it didnt work

also one more question, ive kept half the black sponge in chamber 1, is there any point in me doing this or should i just use filter wool only.

Cheers

 

[Anguilla82]

i got rid of all of the sponges and just relied on live rock rubble in the back chambers.
on top of the rubble i use filter wool.
you could leave the balck sponge but you would need to rinse it regularly as it will get clogged up quickly and become a nitrate farm!

 

[john.o]

Sorry about that cottonj21 the link should be ok now if not just copy and paste this into google …… Why cheto vs. anyother macroalgea?
I personally have the filter floss and half a sponge + other media in chamber 1
IMO Sponge filtration is one of the most under rated forms of filtration. When used and properly cared for, a sponge filter colonizes bacteria for ammonia and nitrite removal, and traps a lot of floating debris and care is simple; just remove the sponge and wash {squeeze out} when you do your weekly water changes or when required into used aquarium water to remove the waste. This will retain the beneficial bacteria, while removing organic and other waste before it even goes thru the cycle. It will also help prevent your pumps ect from getting clogged up I no the filter floss will do the same job butt IMO I think you would have to change it a lot more regularly than you would with a sponge there for taking a way some of beneficial bacteria.
That’s my thoughts any way, but as i have said i am only a newbie my self so perhaps some of the more experienced guys could help.

 

[cottonj21]

Thanks alot for that.
Cheato arrived today so I took my other stuff out and there was actually some cheato tangled up in it so ive ended up with quite a clump of cheato.
think i will stick with the following
chamber 1 - half sponge, purigen and filter floss
chamber 2 - cheato - back cut off - light on 24/7
chamber 3 - heater and water pump

im fine changing filter floss each week as theres a shop near me that sells it £1 per meter so a few meters will do me for a while.
been thinking about doing the rubble thing but ive also heard that it can also be a nitrate trap and i dont know how much more beneficial it would be considering the tank is already full of live rock, but im still undicided.

temps went up to 29c today as it was very warm, ive changed the fans round so there both blowing out and turn the heater down. Will see how that goes, although were due some bad weather anyway.

One other thing I saw a worm type thing that looked like a closed zoa chewing on the rock, was throught the gaps so couldn't take a picture but it seems to be attached to the rock.

Thanks for all the help and advice. and here are a few piccys

old algea next to the cheato i stripped out of it

old cheato and new cheato

small snail, quite a few of these about. Also im sick of turning my turbos around.

One of my starfish

hitch hiker Zoas seem to be doing ok

 

[kj23502]

Looks like it's going well

Thanks for the pics.

 

[BigC]

Much better with the new Cheato, The other lot of macro at least two varieties were going asexual. Cheato wont do this.
Nice pics. Before I had the sump/Cheato setup I was getting nusience hair algae and no matter what I did I kept comming back. Now since the introduction of the new setup I only have a little bit of that algae (minute) confined to one spot. I can vouch that this method does work.
Regards
BigC
PS love the pics, keep updating.

 

[cottonj21]

Maxijet 1200 arrived today and I'm a bit worried about the noise, its not grinding or anything its just a very noticable hum. I tried with and without the suction cups and its not vibrating against the edges.

Can anyone tell me if theres a break in period for these to settle down. Its that bad I'm thinking about moving it out of the front toom into the spare bedroom which would be a shame

cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Unless you're one of those folks whose hyper-sensitive to sound, MJ's shouldn't make a noticeable noise... Might have a bad pump?

 

[cottonj21]

might just be me, but im only sat about 10ft away, i might get used to it. Does it make any difference being on its side as ive had to put it sideways to get it to connect properly
cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Should not matter... If it does, you definitely have a bad pump

 

[cottonj21]

Really not sure, if i hold it in the main part of the tank its alot quieter it might be because its in the third chamber and not in the open, so theres nowhere for the sound to desperse.
might swap for the 900.

will have another look at it tomorrow.

cheers

 

[john.o]

Hi cottonj21
Just a thought now you have swapped the stock 266gph pump for the MJ 295 gph pump the extra water flow through the hydor flo defector might be too much for it, so could it be that, that’s making all the noise and not the pump