Chemical Warfare Begins Now!!

Since my last post, I've left the lights on the tank off more than 23 hours of the day. The only time I turned them on was to do my routine maintenence (levels, top offs, etc.). I didn't want to leave the lights on to promote growth. I did a 50% water change and will not be doing any water changes for the next couple of weeks while I dose Magnesium (to reduce costs). After 4 weeks of heavy dosing I will resume my regular cleaning regimine. I did test my levels this morning and everything has finally reached zeros. This is important, as my tank is now ready to sustain life (if it wasnt for Bryopsis).



Yesterday evening I recieved my shipment of chemicals from JL Aquatics and I am now ready to start combatting this beast known as bryopsis. I'm just going to call it bitch algae from now on though because it sounds more appropriate. I ordered a 64 oz bottle of Magnesium Dose from Kent Marine and a Mg/Alk test kit from Seachem. The total order cost me $78 which may seem a bit steep to most but for comparisons sake the Seachem test kit sells locally for $89.99. Talk about gouging! I probably wont need all 64oz for treatment but I figured it's better to order more than not have enough. Plus, a 16 oz bottle is $10 compared to $20 for the 64 oz.
I have yet to test Mg levels but I anticipate them to be around 1250-1300 ppm. For this treate ment period, I must increase that level to ~ 2200 ppm. The instructions on the bottle suggest to add 1mL/gal daily to see ~ 19 ppm increase. I've got a long way to go. For today, I started with 7x times the recommended dosage. I will test Mg later this weekend and dose further if needed.

Here are some updated pictures of the bitch algae and a new full tank shot (or FTS):









Reducing the light cycle seems to have stunted the growth. I'm going to use a reduced light cycle on my tank along with the Magnesium dosing for the first week.









FTS:

Well that didn't take long...

Ok, so apparently I've got some "nuisance algae" forming at a rapid rate. It's called Bryopsis and it's common problem in the hobby. The bad news is that it's a pain in the ass to eliminate because it only requires one cell for regrowth.

The good news is that a bunch of people have already confirmed that the best method for irradication is to dose Magnesium. Basically, the higher levels of Magnesium choke out Bryopsis' ability to photosynthesis. You can read about it in depth here if you wish.

So the game plan now is to reduce the light cycle and purchase some magnesium booster. I'll also need to purchase a magnesium test kit. A $40 minimum adventure I'm sure. I can't call around to the local stores until tuesday as most are closed. There's a bird and aquarium shop on main st that I might call and see if I can swing by before golf otherwise it'll be tuesday at the earliest. I'm going to continue to test for ammonia, nitrite and ph over the next few days.

Latest pics of my problem! lol

My oh my do I neglect this blog....

So not like anyone even looks at this thing but hey. I've been quite productive over the past 2 months. The tank was officially "born" 6 days ago now on May 26th 2009. I ended up purchasing live rock locally at a place called The Fish Gallery. I've been visiting a couple of the shops in town and I've found a couple of good spots to purchase a clean up crew.

The live rock was $12/lb and I got roughly 18lbs. I had been calling around every couple of weeks asking about live rock and I think they were getting a bit pissed off. But, the Winnipeger in me HAD to seek a deal. No tax. Reluctantly the owner said fine provided I was paying cash (duh). Ended up saving me $30 which was good for me.

Anyways, here's a couple of pictures from the last couple days:

http://i42.tinypic.com/v8ppw5.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/28ilv12.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/20sdu9y.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/242x0rm.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/14x1302.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/357lzdh.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/neygig.jpg

So right now I'm testing semi daily for a couple of chemicals. My tank is undergoing what is called a "Cycle" which is short for Nitrogen Cycle. Here's a quick diagram of how it works:

http://i41.tinypic.com/2zyle1j.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/210ad5z.gif

I'm currently in the start of the cycle, testing for Ammonia and Nitrite. I just tested 8.0 ppm (HIGH) for Ammonia and 0.0 ppm for Nitrite. I will begin testing for Nitrate shortly after the Ammonia zeros out.

The next step, as I mentioned earlier, is buying a clean up crew. I am currently researching different species of snails and crabs. Possibly a shrimp but we'll see.

So sorry for the lack of updates but now the ball is rolling so enjoy!