hey guys i think i found my problem

have you measured the phosphates in the tank?

how long till you set up the next tank.

personally I would take the sand out, but I'm not a big fan of sand.
if the tank is new and the sand smells that is not a good sign either.
that live sand you bought causes more problems than it solves.
it's much better to start with dry sand and let the bacteria colonize naturally. that way you can control what is in the sand. live and learn. when I set up my 55 folr years ago NW sold me on CC for the "sand bed" boy was that a mess.

you asked if taking out the sand will let the rock go through it's cycles faster, it should. but you also have to make sure you have a way of compensating for removing the sand. a large skimmer, more water changes, carbon, phosban, are all ways of compensating for the lack of a sand bed. the nutriants/waste will still be produced just make sure there is a way to remove them, or process them quickly before they can break down and become nitrates and phosphates, which will lead to more algae problems.

jhale i never measured for phosphates. but i am going to stop by reef fantasies in a little bit just trying to get my energy up i dont feel so well today. but the 75 gallon is prob. a little less then a month away...

alright guys lets take a vote.

should i take the sand out and do BB for now to get the rocks ready for the 75.

just to recall whats going on. when i siphoned sum of the sand out yesterday it stunk. so thats why i think my rock has the brown algae on it. some people say its just cycling i dont think so. cause it went through that cycle a really long time ago. like the 1st month i had the tank the rock turned brown then went back to its original color. remember there was less of a bioload back then. fishies have gotten bigger.

so lets vote

anyone who thinks i should take sand out say - hell yeah
anyone who thinks i should leave sand in say - hell no

thanks you guys. all the help is very appreciated.....

one month away, I say take the rocks out and cook them.

one month and they should be crap free.

keep the sand in the tank and let it work as a bio filter for the fishies,
but keep up with the water changes for whatever coral is in the tank.

I have some fake resin rocks if you want to borrow them for hiding places for the fish, or you can just get some wide dia. PVC pipes and cut them up.

you will need another skimmer for the rock cooking though.

hey guys just bought a phosphate tester by aquarium systems.

i tryed it out it said fill to the top line with water so i did that put in one of those little bags of white powder and wait 1 minute. the test looks like 0.2 or less then that so is that good..

does anyone have any ideas now that we no my phosphates are very low.

anyone???

ok guys heres is another question. i took out some rock from the tank about a 2 week ago and put them in my 10 gallon tank with saltwater that has been up for about 2 months. now my question is if i would of put that rock back in my 29 gallon it would of been filled with that brown crap. since its been in the 10 gallon which i do about a 2 gallon water change a week it doesnt have one brown spot on it. what do you guys think. there something fishy going on in my 29 gallon and i think the sand is stinking it up in there. im so confused.

I'm not confuzzled myself...its a thinker...when you upgrading?

in about a month maybe a little earlier. my basement should be done in 2- 3 weeks. i dont have a problem taking out the sand but then deanos made a good point about it being a big factor of the denitrification process. but it also could be contributing to my brown algae problem.

my phosphates are below 0.2
skimming the crap out of the water

i just dont understand the brown dont come back after its in the 10 gallon. but for some strange reason if i would to put that rock back in there it would have brown algae on it in a matter of 20 min. lolz. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

IMO
I would stop playing with your tank ,cook the rock ,and wait the month for your upgrade.When you start you new tank ,make sure you use Ro/DI water with 0 TDS.
the more you play with your tank the more probs you are creating

Ideally phosphates (PO4) should read undetectable. Any reading above that is too high.

From the sound of your posts, it seems you're looking for confirmation to remove the sandbed. A few sand sifting critters will help you out a lot. There is more than one way to do things right in this hobby. Success isn't measured like a math test where you get a quantitative score. If you ask 5 people how they got their tanks to look so beautiful and 'seemingly' perfect, the odds are you'll get 5 different answers.

Gather all the information you've been given, use some of it, all of it, none of it, combine bits and pieces and proceed. My family keeps telling me it looks like I'm running a science experiment. You know what? I am. The operative word being experiment. There is no possible way we can create what nature took millions of years to do in trillions of gallons of water in a closed little glass box in a month or two or a year or two even.

Technologies change and husbandry practices change. Go with your gut and research and try it. If it doesn't work, try something else. I do recommend trying things that have been successful for other hobbyists rather than recreating the wheel, but even that works sometimes too.

Bottom line, don't ask for a vote. You've done a lot of reading for BB or SSB or DSB. Take your pick and run with it. Just spend the time to plan it out as best you can.

Don't forget to sit back and enjoy it though.

Russ

Algone. Try it. I know it's not looked at as good to add things to your tank but just put a pack in your filter for a week see if it helps you. If not try Ronen's Idea.

Your tank is MUCH to young to be adding anything yet. I wouldn't add any chemicals at all. You are experiencing new tank syndrome with various algae cycles. Patience young grasshopper.

Russ

Dude if it's only a month 'til upgrade time. Take it easy, let the tank be. Cook the rocks in the meanwhile and just let the tank be as it is. When you upgrade just do everything right from the get go.

Just take the month to sit back and plan your 75 :icon16:

very true everyone. chief thanks for the rec. but i dont like to use chemicals to fix things for me. lolz... everyone thanks a bunch for everything. im gonna do my water changes every other day 5 gallons at a time and see exactly what happens 2 weeks down the road. i asked for a opinion to see what everyone thinks. i have gotten alot of good opinions and i am very grateful for all of them. well i guess im not gonna touch anything anymore just let it be and see what happens. hopefully everything goes well. again thanks everyone and you will soon see pics of the 75 gallon in all is glory very soon.

<STUPID ALGAE>>>> saltwater reefers worst nightmare lolz.

thanks
anthony

check out their website first
www.algone.com read some stuff there too about algae blooms and such

Tonyscoots84 said:

<STUPID ALGAE>>>> saltwater reefers worst nightmare lolz.

thanks
anthony

Click to expand...

May you never experience a power outage!

Continue to do your water parameter testing. You want to make sure your pH, Ca, Mg, PO4, Si, (making the assumption your ammonia cycle is already complete), Alk/DkH & SG are all within the normal parameters will keep you moving in the right direction as well.

Russ

yea power outage is no biggie. i got an industrial generator in my backyard. lolz imma ready. ok i never tested for alk/dkh.

ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 0
phosphate below .1 i really couldnt tell it didnt look like anything the water was clear.
salinity 1.023-1.024
temp 80-81

the rest u listed i have never checked for. thanks masterswimmer

FYI, NSW = 1.0265
I try to keep mine about there. Fish are fine with a bit lower. I find that my corals open and color up better with SG = ~ 1.0265. JMO of course.

Russ