Definitely going through ugly phase right now🥲. Having cloudy water problems after adding some bottom dwelling copepods and some more crabs. I have started by doing some small water changes and then 1 larger one but no major improvements; thinking it’s just a bacteria bloom from the change in bioload. Got recommended Clarity by seachem and just added the first dose. Does anyone have any advice?
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@BradMac5618
1y
I personally choose when I'm more likely to be home I work mornings and am home evenings. So my light turns on around 1 and ramps for an hour or so and turns off around 9 ramping down for an hour or so. As far as intensity goes this will change based on your corals. But it's always best to start alittle lower and work up the brightness as the tank matures and the corals grow in. I find overlighting is one of the number one early mistakes new reefers make! Myself included for sure
@lauren03
1y
I appreciate your honesty because it makes me feel a lot better about the mistakes I’ve been making. I’m messing with the setting now and thats roughly what I am shifting it to. Do you have any suggestions on moonlighting times and percentages? I see a lot of mixed opinions on both the purpose and values on reef2reef; some even argue that it harms the livestocks vision.
@BradMac5618
1y
Always the best way to learn is from someone else's mistakes! Moonlight is 100 percent not necessary for corals to grow and be happy! Moonlight is most often used by coral Breeders to try and get annual spawns. As a beginner anything that isn't necessary is just another thing to learn while trying to grasp the basics. So feel free to run them very very low or not run them at all! I know nothing about the effects on fish eyesight but I have had my moonlights running following moon phases for 3 years and have not seen an issue.
@lauren03
1y
Got it got it! Thank you for all your help😁
@BradMac5618
1y
Any time I'm happy to help!
@Nicholas378
1y
Once my water got so cloudy that I couldn’t see to the back and I have a 55 gallon which is not very deep. I got a pretty cheap UV sterilizer and it cleared it up in a matter of days so you might try that in addition to the other suggestions.
@lauren03
1y
Yeah, I’ve been considering it. I have one in my 75 gallon goldfish tank and it does wonders for algae and water.
@BradMac5618
1y
UV are an amazing option as well! Great to keep parasites down as well.
@lauren03
1y
I have the green machine one but it is definitely too bulky for this 15g cube. I’m going to try to find a smaller option.
@BradMac5618
1y
Small UV are not plentiful. You can always run them as a temporary solution which is sometimes better on small systems because they can increase the temperature some!
@lauren03
1y
I didn’t even consider that, thank you! My tank sits at 77 degrees even with the light one so I think a little extra warmth won’t be too bad.
@BradMac5618
1y
You should be perfectly okay!
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How old is this tank??
About 3-4 months
How long is your light on every day? And how strong is it set to?
I have it on the preprogrammed 24 hour cycle for SPS. Sunrise is from 7-8 am and sunset is set to 7-8pm and completely off by 11pm.
I would say the light is on much too long. 10 hours a day has always been the max i run and any of my clients run. 8 hours is probably the best you can do. The cloudiness is sometimes algae and sometimes bacterial blooms which can be photosynthetic. If you cut back a few hours on the lighting schedule it may help them dissipate faster! Also helps slow down the growth of any nuisance algaes! Hope this helps
Thank you for letting me know! I have been thinking it’s the cause of a lot of my problems but wasn’t to sure what was the best setting and have left it unchanged.