Trying Toms recipe, just tore tank apart

Okay. I am trying Tom's recipe.

I had cyano I couldn't shake.. no luck trying a sweetwater stone under filter intake. I have ordered a skilter, the filter anyone who hates microbubbles hates.

I ltossed out the sand and rock, which had been panacured by a fellow selling "seahores safe" sand and rock and put in layer of soil covered by fresh aragonite and some nice dead lace rock ... The idea is to have sand and rock snails can survive, which the panacured stuff was not.

there is a new theory that if you grow enough algae and keep enough pods you dont' need to feed dwarf seahorses -- my ultimate goal -- bbshrimip, and if no babybrine, no panic over hydroids, no need for the poison .. so just focusing on good healthy macros.

I bit the bullet and got a 50/50 bulb for my 96 watt light (the one I retired in my fresh water set-up) and am going to INCREASE the light over this 8 gallon nanno to 48 effective watts..


I will continue to dose nitrates and traces.

Tom what else can I do to have a macro tank that looks as good as you've helped me make my fw tanks look?

I am totally open to ideas, suggestions. Long ago I stopped fighting you on FW. I need some help with salt.

Revinix, your plants are still gorgeous, although pruned away any cyano leaves. I have some halimeda, and a little shoal grass I am trying to keep going as well as codium. the macros aren't dying. they are just covered in goo. I won't put horses in the tank -- or pods -- until I can keep the plants and snails alive.

did you end up getting sargassum from that link I sent?

I still need help. I don't have another tear down in me.

 

The skilter is running -- q uestions..

Yesterday the Skilter, 96 watt 50/50 bulb and sea grass came in one shot -- happy coocidence. A few other algaes showed up as boulliabase muck.

The skilter is running -- Tom I notice you took out the Skimmmer tower back in 2003 posts. Do you still do that. ? you haven't seemed to have mentioned it since.

the light is 50/50 to cut the effective 96 watts of cf light in half. Tom I have 1/2 the tank planted iwth manatee and shoal grass. Is there any reason I should go back to the all daylight bulb here, and blast this 8 gallon nano with all 96 watts?

I have dosed traces and nitrate.. have put boiled mud under the sand. had no access to fresh mulm but am considering some "garf grunge"

after that I"ll seed with tiggerpods and let the snails have free reign as the pods multiply .. hpefully I'll have a few Dwarf Seahorses by my birthday later this summer in a happilly planted marine tank. The dwarf seahorse board is playing with the idea of a low bioload in favor of horses that only need to eat bbs in a pinch and that can h unt copepods. I am hoping the skilter won't be too powerful for them.

It took me a year in FW to adopt EI, lower light and use co2 mist. this time I am trying to save myself some pain by taking advantage of Tom and Company's experience earlier in the game.

ADvice please?

 

should I take out the venturi in the skilter?

should I leave the 96 watts of 50/50 watts
go to 96 watts of daylight
or go back to 23 watts daylight ? (*8 gallon and sea grasses)

 

I'm hoping for a similar result.. right now I am still fighting cyano.. and I fret that the high air mist might not work when it is time to add seahorses.

putting tigger pods in this week.. and will keep a side culture growing as well.

my skliter only has some very happy cheato in it.. so I'm thinking of seeding that with pods as well (now that the venturi is out) as sort of a hob fuge. if I can feed the horses only on an ongoing pod culture I wont 'need real filtration I suspect .. If that doesn't work I'll have to replace hte cheato with tossable poly