what do you think of my set up?

[cjm033]

ok stryf as soon as i can borrow my friends digi cam ill post the pics i took some of the tank and materials (skimmer fiter sand salt ect. but the camera broke and the pics didnt take ok about the carbon im only gonna use it one week out of the month so then it helps remove the nitries and ammonia but only one week every month. ok but the bad thing is that the tank wont be set up and running till the middle of the sumer because im moving closer to my school but by then ill have everything i will need for the tank including the stand thanks keep the ?'s and comments comming,Chris:)

[SLOreefer]

i would recommend only using the carbon like a day or two before water changes. i only use mine for about 12 hours a week. this is just before water changes . other than that i just use a floss pad

[cjm033]

yea that sounds good 12 hours a week before water changes i think ill do that thanks for the help,Chris:)

[Mr Spam]

personally, i dont run any carbon. doing 20% water change once or more per week makes the use of carbon pointless and just another thing to go wrong and leach chemicles. I prefer the most natrual way possable, the less human intervention the better off the critters will be.

[cjm033]

would my lighting be enough for the corals im getting beecause im pretty sure they are all low light corals. thanks for your input,Chris:)

[Kryptonite123]

I would get the 2 x 55w hood fixture.  One actinic and one white.  Hellolights.com has some really good lights and great deals.  There are also some pc fixtures and lights on this sight in the store section.  Be sure to get enough light the first time because you WILL be dissapointed if you don't have enough and you will spend more money than you would have in the first place trying to save it.  55w is only about 2w per gallon.  I don't think that would be enough for a tank that deep.  you would at least want to go with the 2 x 55w fixture.  I also don't think you have too many fish.  Like Printerdown and quicksilver said, your bangaii and firefish won't move much.  Even if they did, that wouldn't be too much.  4 fish in a 28 or 29g (don't remember what you said.) would actually be ideal.  I don't use carbon.  I am just very thorough with my water changes (20% once a week.)  

 

I do have one question though while we are on the subject.  I took my floss pad out last night to see what would happen.  I believe that it is catching waste (both fish poop and food) and there is not enough bacteria in that area to process it.  I believe that it is just a concentration of nitrates and ammonia.  Am I correct??  I came home today and my tank was much clearer.  With the floss pad, I have had excess algae growth in the past two weeks (hair, ditritus, and red slime.)  I treated the red slime but the hair and ditritus kept on a comin'.  Also my glass was begining to turn green with algae growth.  Maybe taking out the floss will help.  It will allow the food and "poop" to venture back into the sand bed and/or the rocks for a swift cleaning by the clean-up crew where it was once unreachable, stuck in the floss.  

 

Thank you,

Nate

 

P.S.  Good Luck cjm033!

[quiksilver5768]

The thing with floss is that it catches particles very fast and cleans the tank well. You just have to make sure you clean it out all the time. I also noticed my tank getting a little bit of hair algae growth but now i clean my floss every 2-3 days and it is getting better.

 

About the fish...my neighbor runs his 20 gal L reef with 6 perfecxtly healthy fish. They have all been living over 4 years and look great. The amazing thing is that he has a sailfin tang, regal (blue hippo) tang, maroon clown, percula clown, and a bi-color blenny. 2 out of the 6 fish here like bigger tanks and seem to have grown quite a bit but never show any signs of stress....goes to proove the different personalities fish of the same species have...

[byrself]

on the subject of carbon use, i quit using it about 4 months ago, and noticed my tank doing quite well since.  i'm glad that was cleared up about the carbon not removing amm, ni or trates, because it does.  i also agree that water changes in themselves eliminate the need for carbon, as long as you don't have alot of fish in a deficient biological filtered  tank (a tank with not enough live rock, per say) or if i ever have to use tap water for anything, i'll use carbon in it before i add it to my tank.  i only use the carbon if i see probs, or if i think i over do the supplements sometimes.  when i do, i only use it for a day or two.  i've used it twice in the last 4 months.  

 

(Edited by byrself at 2:34 pm on May 25, 2002)

[cjm033]

thanks for the tip byrself i guess i wont use the carbon since it doesnt even remove the ammonia and crap from the water i was gonna use it once a week for a day but not now keep the help comming,Chris:)