learning as i go

Hello everyone. Just wanting to check in and tell ou guys my backround.
I am a roockie reefer (8 months) who is realizing how hard it is to master this hobby. I am looking to learn as much as i can. I hope to one day be the guy answering questions, but for now i will be asking many.
My tank is a 70 g tall reef with120 lbs of lr and 60 of ls. I am running a jbj reaxtion 4 cannister and 442watt mh lighting system. I am having a number of problema that i hope to fix. (red slime agae, water particles, coral health. ) i assume they are related but i hope to figure it out soon.

 

First off, welcome to 3reef!

Few quick questions for you:

- Has the tank been up for 8 months?
- Do you use RO/DI water?
- Do you run a skimmer?
- What is the fish stock in your tank?
- How often do you feed your fish?

In terms of the red slime (again), normally cyano happens to new tanks initially (like diatoms) and then disapates as the tank establishes. It is linked to an excess of some nutrient in your tank. Most often it seems to be linked to overfeeding, overstocking, high Phosphate levels.

There's many steps you can take to combat it, other than using a Chemical additive. You should curb your feeding schedule, shorten your light cycle, clean all equipment in the tank (cannister, powerheads, etc). Test your params, make sure you're not overstocked.

For the "water particles", do you run a sump in your system? I'm thinking maybe not, since you have a cannister filter. I would maybe check the polishing pad in the filter & change it more frequently as that will keep particles out of the water.

On the coral, what types of coral are you keeping & what is your light cycle like? Do you dose additives (ALK/CA/MAG) to your tank? If you've never tested those params, they are beneficial for coral well being. You'll want to get test kits to see what your Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium, & Phosphates test out too. If your lights are adequate, then your water params may be off if your corals are not happy & growing.

hope those help a little, I'm sure we can help more as we get more info on your set-up.

 

Welcome to 3reef.

 

Hello and welcome to 3reef