Reef Tank Temperature - Discussion

I am currently running my 125 gallon reef tank at temperature range  between 27.8 - 29.4 degrees centigrade. Is this a bit too hot?

Yes "a bit" is about right. Ideally you want to be around 80 degrees and your temps are 82 -85.85 degrees is about maximum before the animals get stressed

I've tried injecting copious amounts of air into the dry column & have  also installed a ventilating fan with its louvers directing on the water  surface of my sump. In addition, lots of air is also forced on the surface of the aquarium. With all these, I only manage to bring the temp as above.

Humm I wouldn't want to see it without the fans!

I've had a chiller before, but got busted a few times also the noise is irritating. I desperately need some advice on how to keep reef tanks cooler or maybe it will be better if you can suggest on some corals that can  thrive in this temperature.

You don't say

• how long has it been like this what took place to notice the increased temp
• how old is the tank
• how does the tank look (creatures)
• is this due to seasonal temp swings?
• where in the world you live (ambient temp)
• what the room temp is?
• type of lighting MH ??
• enclosed hood?
• if your tank is lit with MH how many watts?
• and do your creatures need such high light/watage

I would recommend to look into

• the light/wattage is it needed?
• use a room air conditioner if the ambient temp is constantly 80 deg or higher.
• air conditioners work very well
• improve your fan situation make sure the hood is adequately ventilated
• 85 deg is max 80 is desired

Yes, you were right about me not providing you enough info on my tank. Anyway, I live in a tropical 'island' (is now a city/country) near the tip of west Malaysia. Pretty high temps here, around 25 - 35 degrees centigrade all year round. I think can't do anything much to lower my reef tank. Maybe, be a bit selective on inverts. Anyway, I find that reef temps in the sea are around 27 - 29 degrees ya know, but I do not see the point of why inverts in our tanks have to be kept at lower temps.

Actually the best advise is common sense. How do the creatures look? That is the BEST indication regardless of what you read or hear. Animals, fish inverts, coral can adapt to a fairly wide range of conditions. The real problem with high temperature is the metabolism of the creature is increased. So it eats more, produces more waste and IMO accelerates its life span. Although if its a hardy animal it will also reproduce more. I really don't like chillers as they are expensive and expensive to run. If you could get a room air conditioner that would definitely bring down the tank temp as well as keeping you cool ;-) 

That's my preference. Actually your tank temps are not that much different the your observations of the sea in your area 

Simplified Reefkeeping

New Tank Set-Up...Discussion

1. YOU MENTIONED USING THE MAGNUM WITH NO MEDIUM.  I'M ASSUMING YOU MEAN
NO CHARCOAL -- USING THE FILTER ONLY AS A FILTER FOR BIG CHUNKS AND WATER
 MOVEMENT.  DO YOU NEVER USE CHARCOAL TO CLEAN UP THE WATER?

No I mean *no media* at all. The live rock does all the biological filtering so you don't need a secondary filter! In fact a separate filter will INCREASE your nitrate levels... This is all in  my book.

 2. I'VE ORDERED MY SECOND ICE CAP -- PLUS 4 URL 110W BULBS.  2 ACTINIC WHITE AND 2 ACTINIC 03.  IS THERE SOMEWHERE TO GET MORE INFO ON THESE BULBS.  I'VE READ SOMETHING SOMEWHERE BUT CAN'T FIND IT AND REMEMBER ONLY ENOUGH TO KNOW THERE IS MORE TO THEM THAT I SHOULD KNOW.

That sounds great. Ice cap and URI are a great combination. The most important thing to know is to replace the bulbs in about 6 to 8 months. Other than that its just technicalities that are in my opinion ..un important. For some more info look on my links page for online dealers they should have more info
 
 3.  CHEMICALS.  KALKWASSER -- I NOTE THAT KENT HAS A POWDER ,  I ASSUME THAT I'LL JUST FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS ON THE PACKAGE.  ANYTHING ELSE I WOULD FIND HELPFUL?

Yes that's good I would follow the instructions in my book though as they are much more detailed. Also an excellent alternative to the high price kalkwasser is simply balls pickle lime. same thing.. calcium hydroxide price difference is about $1.49 for balls... $11.99 for kalkwasser. You will use allot of this
stuff so I would buy a case of balls

LUGOLS IODINE.  I'VE FOUND NOTHING THAT FITS THIS DESCRIPTION -- COULD  YOU GIVE ME A BRAND NAME, OR SOME MORE INFORMATION.

Go to  a pharmacy (not a chain, but a small mom & pop) and ask for lugols solution about 12 a pint will last a life time...some states you need a prescription just tell them what your using it for... a trace element for a reef tank

ESV STRONTIUM -- I'VE FOUND KENT HAS A STRONTIUM, BUT NOTHING ABOUT ESV --

ESV is a brand name of a very good company that produces chemicals for the tank. THey tell you on the label what the concentration is the strontium is about 12 a pint also and will last at least a year see my links for a online dealer

WHAT SHOULD THIS NOVICE KNOW THAT TO OTHERS IS COMMON KNOWLEDGE?

Off the top of my head I would keep it as simple as possible... you don't have to get all caught up as if it were surgery or something... its very easy. And the tank ends up taking care of its self.

Simplified Reefkeeping

Home Made Food Recipe For The Reef Aquarium

I noticed you asking about what to feed your anemones... I would highly advise this home made food It is a recipe from Dr. Sanjay J.... and he is allowing me to include it in my new vers below is a rough draft  of the text give it a try Its great stuff. I did some feeding with frozen food but this has it hands down!

Homemade food recipe. One of the best food sources for your tank can be home made and when you try this I doubt if you will go back to any other type of food. The fish and corals absolutely love this. It is very inexpensive to make and for about $10 or so you can make at least a six months supply. Here is how. This recipe comes from Dr. Sanjay Joshi of  and is passed on with his permission.

• Go to a oriental food store and buy some nori (seaweed in sheets) unseasoned.
• From your favorite food store buy 1/4 lb. of fresh  squid, clams, mussels, fish filleted, scallops, shrimp.
• Put the seafood in a blender and puree adding water to get a consistency of thick soup.
• Then take 2 or 3 sheets of nori cut into one inch strips and add to the blender, add more water to maintain the thick soup consistency.
• Then simply put about 3 tablespoons into a small sandwich bag, repeat until you use all the mix, double bag the excesses and freeze. when you want to feed break off one third of the bag defrost slightly then add it to the tank.

 I like to use a piece of plastic gutter guard shaped into a small cup, held together with cable ties. This
makes a nice dispenser just add the mix to the holder and swish. The stuff is great.. now why didn't I
think of that? Also nori is a good food for herbivores by itself and if you want to get fancy add a product called selcon. A vitamin mix for fish.

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Simplified Reefkeeping

Evaporation And Adding Kalkwasser - Discussion

 Lastly, I am starting for the first time to add kalkwasser. My tank  does not evaporate much (maybe 1 gallon week).

That's not too good. Most believe in high evap to maintain calcium via kalk. I evap a minimum or 15 gal per wk in my 200 now a 255 with refugium. You should have fans in your hood which will increase evap and some go as far as placing fans (sometimes very large fans) over the sump. The more air movement= evap = more frequent or larger doses of kalk. I would say a 55 should do about 5 gal per week and added in 2  2.5 gal increments. You add the kalk in the am when the pH is lowest. Mix in the pm let settle then dose in am

So I will be adding this probably once a week. What is the rule of thumb for adding how much in a period of time? Is it one drop per second?

Depends the size of the drop,  using an airline tube the drops are large, an IV bag they are small. I would recommend airline with a reliable clamp and dose the 2.5 gal in a 24 hr period you will be fine. The MAIN thing is to make the adding water to the container/mixing/dosing as EASY as possible so it is
not a dreaded inconvenience. That's the main trick! I use a 5 gal bucket with a pump at the bottom and a water supply right in the bucket. Fill... add kalk... turn on powerhead...mix for 4 hours or so... unplug powerhead... let settle for about an hour... then drip in. I drip 5 gal in about an hour through airline w/o clamp.

Simplified Reefkeeping

Removing Bio-balls - Discussion

You also mentioned to remove the bio-ball media that is in the rear  chamber of my 50 gallon SYS-II. This way my nitrates will decreasedramatically. By doing this what about the bioload in the tank. Do I have to worry about stress to the tank or will my live rock take care of this for me. I am going to add a few more lbs of rock. When I remove the media should I do it all at once or in increments.

You may want to get some more live rock, as I said 1.5 to 1.75 lb per gal of rock or sand for complete

 denitrification. One downside to adding a substantial amount of rock will be a significant cycle that *will* stress the fish.. high ammonia high nitrite temporarily 2 weeks or so. As far as removing the media,
when your confident that you have enough rock and sand per gal, start removing something like 25% per week, that will make a seamless transition of your biological bacteria. 

Simplified Reefkeeping

Problem Algae Questions and Answers

Ive read your post about problem algae. When was the last time you replaced your light bulbs? That sometimes can contribute to algae (shifted  spectrum) Also, how old is the spectrapure inner resin? 

You seem to have everything in order but do not mention the age of the above. Also I would recommend (personally) to use all kalk only...for make up water It seems strange to me that the snails are dying. IME some snails can be fairly delicate however over a reasonably short period of time 1 year +  they should begin to reproduce in your tank. Then you end up with a much hardier snail. Typically the
asteras reproduce fairly easily, at least mine do.

• using non purified tap water. are you using ro or di water? You should.

• Old light bulbs. I remember you had just got a new light setup.. are the lamps new?

• overfeeding I would only feed every 3 days or so

• in adequate skimming what kind of skimmer are you using? a backpak is probably good for a 30.

• how old is the resin in the ro/di?  you know that gets expended.. maybe have to replace it

• sounds like the algae is getting a food source from somewhere... I have to think its the source water.

If you have high nitrates ... you probably have some kind of media?? in a filter? that produces nitrate. Usually the amount of liverock you have will easily de-nitrify the nitrate 1 lb to 1.75 lb per gal does it, 
you say you have 110 watts from what I remember you purchased a much more powerful setup than that. 
Look into the source water



 My skimmer is the backpak. I have the blue bio material in the backpak and wash the sponge on the front out three times a week.  Do I need to remove all of the bio material  at once??
Ok it will probably take about a week for you to see noticeable drop in nitrate, but you should definitely see much lower numbers in that time span. You also *may* see an increase of ammonia (don't worry about it) as the bacteria relocate to your rock & sand. Again, without knowing your tank... I would suspect the water, silicates usually. Maybe time for a redo of the internals of the water purification system?

 I have been changing water one week then the next.  Its a 30 gal with 30 lbs live rock 2 inches of crushed coral substrate bak pak filter skimmer and 110 watt of light. I have huge bushes of hair algae and my nitrates are 70 or so.  I have been considering a CPR wet dry filter would this help my problem or make it worse???  Would I need a sump box??  Please help real frustrated...

The most common causes for algae are

A wet dry will produce nitrate so I would definitely not use it 

I would, I bet that is where the nitrate is coming from. Remove it and then test the nitrate in a week or so. I bet you have zero

I plan to test Nitrate again tonight the tank looks better overall tonight  than before I did this get rid of algae stuff. 

Simplified Reefkeeping

Bristleworms Questions and Answers

Bristleworms

 I will be adding a few more lbs. of live rock this weekend and was hoping you could tell me of any way to eliminate those unwanted guests"BRISTLE WORMS" before I add the rock to my display tank. I have heard of a few of ways to do this. One way of course is the trusty old Arrow Crab (I have already in tank), but I am hoping to resolve this before the live rock goes into my display tank. Two other methods I have briefly heard about are: 1) Dip the live rock in fresh
DI/RO water and this will force them out; or 2) Dip the rock in some  carbonated water which the carbon dioxide gas will force them out. Don't know of anybody that has tried these methods yet?
One concern is if these methods will work, what problems might they cause if the live rock is already "CURED". I guess it could kill coraline algae's or anything else which is beneficial for the rock? 

Ok those are bristle worms and a natural occurrence in live rock. They used to be considered bad for the tank as they were thought to eat coral. The new thinking is that they are good and serve a purpose stirring the sand and processing detritus. Im fairly sure these are what you have. They are a pinkish flesh color with whitish fury looking legs those are bristle worms, they can get large!! I have personally seen them 12 inches in length needless to say I got rid of it. Smaller ones do a good service to the tank. Other similar looking worms but different colors deep solid red are fireworms and will give you a very bad sting. These are more unusual to have and I would get rid of them if I had one.

The opinion of bristle worms is changing... especially if you have sand. They are detrivores and do a very good job churning the sand. A few years ago, they were thought to eat corals etc. and its a possibility that they might, but if you use sand it is considered good to have bristle worms.

Do they reproduce in the tank?
yes the reproduce very easily... one other suggestion is to look at the tank after the lights have been off for about 2 hours. Use a flashlight and try not to make vibrations on the floor when you walk. You should see creatures that you do not see during the day.

Simplified Reefkeeping