The Puffer Forum

Hi,
I have begin to have coralline algae on my sand is this ok? Good or Bad thing?
I have a FOWLR set up
Should i be doing extra monitoring other than what below

I regularly check my pH, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate should i be doing more than this?
Thanks Emma

what are your levels? how long has the tank been set up? i dont know that coraline grows on sand, i could be wrong though. what color is the algae?

How deep is your sand bed? Make sure you have plenty of flow and that the sand isnt forming in to a hard clump, could be the beginning of a waste bomb.

Get some nassarius snails they really help to keep a sand bed clean.

In shallow tanks it's not uncommon to see coraline algae spread onto the sandbed, especially if it's argonite sand.

Nick wrote:In shallow tanks it's not uncommon to see coraline algae spread onto the sandbed, especially if it's argonite sand.

Yep, I have all sorts of coraline growing on the aragonite sand in my pico reef.

My tank has been running for 3-4months now, i brought already mature Live Rock of which some was pinky/purple in colour. The algae on the sand (consists of fine coral sand and live sand which is 4cm deep and has good current over it) is pinky colour my friend who keeps a coral set up said it is Coralline Algae but didnt say if this was bad or good?
I have tried turbo snails but my Dog faced puffer keeps eating them.
I have a snowflake moray eel, porky puffer and DFP (and me Hermit)
I have a hermit crab, i brought him to help clean up some green algae i had on my rocks but it hasnt worked! May be i need some phosban in my filter?

what size tank do you have? a porc requires a 120+, a DFP requires at least a 150+ so i hope they are either in a big home already or you have plans for a huge tank(like 300+ gallons). i dont know how well that combo of both different types of puffs will work longterm

What are your nitrate and phosphate readings? Look into doseing with VitC for the bad algea problems. It has helped out tons in my tank. You just need to be sure you have a good skimmer.

Yes i am fully aware of the longterm needs of them, i am planning my new tank at the moment. As for the combo they get on great they are babies at the moment but growing fast as they do....
My nitrate is always 12 then goes upto 25 near water change time, with messy fish like i have i have been told that is quite normal. Obviously when my bigger tank comes the waste will be dispersed in more water, i will have 2 external filters and may mean less % water changes.
I have never tested my phosphate so i will get a test and check, i will also look at the Vit C as well! What level should the phosphate be at?

Puffer Girl wrote:My nitrate is always 12 then goes upto 25 near water change time, with messy fish like i have i have been told that is quite normal. Obviously when my bigger tank comes the waste will be dispersed in more water, i will have 2 external filters and may mean less % water changes.

Filters NEVER change the percentage or frequency of your water changes. A skimmer will but filters definitely won't.

only thing that really will change your frequency of water changes is (for example) you have a single GSP in a 150+ and no tankmates, just live rock/great turnover on filtration/skimmer and no overfeeding. the more water volume you have, and not just 2-10 gallons extra because of a filter or sump. it would have to be a substantial amount like 4/5/6 times(maybe more) the size tank recommended for a certain fish. less water changes without a huge difference in recommended tank size:actual tank size is just a nitrate pool waiting to kill off everything in the tank once it gets to lethal levels for a long period of time

External filters meaning canister filters? I would stay away from canister filters and go with a decent trickle filter and instead of putting bio-balls use rock rubble. Phosphates should read 0. Since your not keeping corals nitrates are ok, but (a big but) with live rock any nitrates with out a sufficient clean up crew will cause algea. Keeping nas snails bay be your only chance at a clean up crew. They will hopefully learn to hide in the sand dureing the day and comeout at night time to help keep your tank clean. The only thing with nas snails though is that they have a tendency to come out dureing feeding time but hopefully they learn quick enough to not become puffer food.

My filter is a Ehiem 2080, i believe it is still classed as a canister filter but quite a good one far greater than my needs for my tank, for my new tank i will be purchasing another one the same. My skimmer is TMC 600 of which is double the size required for my present tank, for my new tank i need the 1500+.
I will try and get some intelligent looking nas snails and see how i go......oh and check the phosphate level obviously!
Thanks for your help

i have nas snails in my sand bed from a long time ago when i had both GSP's. one came out one day and ventured out of the sand right in front of my one GSP and once he realized where it came from they went on a digging spree. its quite funny to see actually. they look at the sand, take a bite, spit out the sand and repeat TONS of times. i think i still have a few left but they either come out at the wrong times or they get dug up lol. i only have the one puff now, he was of the two, the one that dug less but he still does from time to time

i guess them digging is a nice way to keep your sand bed stirred too if they dont get sick of looking over time and just stop