Newbie questions

[SWFan]

Hello,

I have a few newbie questions that I was hoping to get some insight on.  Thanks everyone in advance.

1) I have a dark red/maroon colour build up on some of my live rock.  It appears to be forming on rock that are near power head. When i touched it, it appeared to feel almost like a moss or cotton. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?  Should I be changing direction of power head?

2) How often do people really clean their power heads? I have had my system up for 6 weeks now (purchased a setup that was mature though), but 2 of the power heads came with the set I bought, and not sure if I should give them a scrub.  I have heard online that people typically soak them in 50/50 vinegar/water.

3) Do people typically scrub the back of their aquarium in their weekly/biweekly maintenance? The reason I am asking is due to the fact that it looks like i have some green algae build up on the back (nothing to bad), and was wondering if I should be wiping this off.  I was hoping to see more coraline algae on the back rather than the green algae, but I guess Ill have to be a bit more patient.

4) Can people comment with their experience with automatic feeders? I have a 2 week trip coming up, and not sure if I should invest in one of these, or just get my friend to come daily to feed the fish.

Thanks!

[Darth]

1. cyano bacteria, change your flow to make sure there are no dead spots siphon it out what you can water changes, also are you using actinics? if so how old are the bulbs?
2. I only clean mine when they get clogged
3. if there is algae on the glass perhaps you need more snails, and again how old are you're lights since you bought a used system it may be time to replace the bulbs
4.auto feeders work great, but if you can have a friend its better they can top off the tank as well and make sure there are no catasthopes

[Feivel]

1 cyano. did you rince the sand from the old tank or just dump it in? if you just scooped and dumped you most likely killed all the bacteria in the sand and its dying and decomposing causing nitrate spikes (probably close to 30ppm) feeding the algae (red and green) i would suggest getting a gfo reactor (Granular Ferritic Oxide) it removes phosphates that fuel algae and in your case i would suggest bio pellets cause thats what worked for me. essentially its like vodka or carbon dosing. the bacteria colonates in the chamber instead of your tank but if you do add this do it very slowly asw in 100ml first then 50ml then 50ml ..... whats the size of the tank? (will determine dose) also get some snails and clean up crew to pick up leftover foods and they will graze the hair algae off the rocks. different kinds target differeent areas so get a nice mix of snails/hermits.

2) when needed. had to clean 2 out so far over a year and a half.

3) once coraline sets in you will not have a need to scrub the back just the front. i would recomend getting a mag float (preferaby one sized for your size tank as they come in different sizes and prices lol) also get yourself a razor blade it scrapes of coraline nicely

4) Definately get a friend to check up. they can watch over the tank better than a machine. just tell them to make sure the top up is done to a specific mark that you show them on the tank. make sure the water is there before you leave, feed the fish and check to see if any corals have fallen. your weekly water change can be pushed back a week. i would do 15% instead of the regular 10%

cheers hope this helps

[SWFan]

Darth,
1. I am currently using 2 whites, one blue, and one purple. THe purple and one of the whites are new bulbs that I changed a few weeks ago.  The other two bulbs are 10 months old, and I was planning to change soon.
3. I probably have around 30-40 or so snails. I added 20 since I purchased the setup. Maybe I should another 10-20.

Feivel,
1. Yes I rinsed the sand for around an hour before putting it back into the tank. It is a 90 gal, and I believe nitrate was closer to 20ppm when I tested a few weeks ago. I currently have around 30-40 snails, and 10 blue leg, 10 scarlets. 
3. I have a magnet cleaner for now that is not a mag float, but its getting the job done for the front and the sides.

One note is, I typically do 15-20% water changes biweekly instead of 10% weekly.

Thanks

[Greatwhite]

Snails won't help with cyano... Nothing eats that stuff.. Even though you bought a mature system, you are starting it new with new water, so you were bound to see some cyano.  I think we started our systems around the same time, and I'm just getting over a cyano bloom myself.

All you can do is take the advice that's been given already with the flow, consider a phosban reactor (relatively cheap equipment, really), and then wait it out.  The phosban reactor will also help with the green stuff.

The green algae on the back will build up and the coraline will grow onto it over time.  If you can't reach the back, don't kill yourself trying to get to it unless it is REALLY bugging you.  The best thing for cleaning it if you can reach it is a razor scraper, even though it's metal and will rust.

Keep an eye on your snails.  The pyramid shaped ones (trochus and astrea) tend to fall over and can't get back up due to a flaw in the design of their shell so will die.  They are good cleaners, and fast movers, but the constant falling over is a pain.  Mexican turbo snails are amazing grazers, but will grow big, and if you have too many of them, they'll start to starve.  The strongest will survive although you will rarely see them during the day. 

I have a few turbos in my tank who have been in there for 2 years now - and one who is about 5 years old.  They are about the size of golfballs and they do a bang-up job keeping the hair algae off my rock and glass.  I wouldn't even consider a 5th of these guys at this point.

I have an Eheim auto feeder...  I started out with one of the twin feeders, which was great because I could get 2 types of food in there and alternate.  Then it fell in the tank because there was no way to secure it to the edge and SOMEONE nudged it.  So I bought a single eheim feeder, and it was great until something funny happened with the electronics and now it's not reliable.  While they worked, they were awesome, and my fish loved them.

If you do go ahead with an auto feeder, be sure to use slow sinking pellets, and/or rig up a "feeding ring" to hold the food in place under the feeder until it get saturated.  Flakes will go straight into the overflow if you don't hold them still for a while.  (and have someone come over to check on the fish every 2 or 3 days still in case the feeder is empty)

[Hookup]

I have an auto feeder... I hate it.  only has modes for once a day, every 12hrs or every 8hrs.

I want one that I can program something like;  Feed at 2pm, 4pm, 7pm and 11pm.  - not sure it exists BTW, but that's what I'd like to find.


Cyano = no big deal.  Vacume/suck it out during your water changes.  Adjust flow as it cannot grow in high-flow... if it gets worse, you can black-out the tank for 3-4 days with sheets/towels... that often helps...    If it doesn't go away, it can be a sign of poor skimmer quality/too much bio-load.

Cleaning powerheads - never.  $27 for new each year.. i'm on year 2 of most... so why clean... just buy a backup, replace when/if they break. 

I have 4-side viewable... I clean glass on all sides all the time... PAIN, but I love the clean look.  I hate it when people have crap encrusting on the sides and back of their tanks... looks to me unkept.

[Greatwhite]

My eheim is programmable for 4 feedings at whatever time of day you want.  You tell it how many spins you want, and set how much food per spin falls.  My old twin eheim was 4 feedings, any time of day - for each side. 

My schedule was 10am - 2 spins, 1pm - 2 spins, 4pm - 2 spins, 7pm - 1 spin.  I'd hit them with frozen food around noon, for a well balanced diet.

[Hookup]

I like that..  Xmas wish list updated

[SWFan]

Ill have to lookup gfo reactor /phosban reactor. Don't really know to much about that.

Hookup, 27$ a powerhead? Are you talking about powerheads for a 90Gal? I just added a Koralia 1400 and it was not 27$