hb2envy Posted October 10, 2008 Author Share Posted October 10, 2008 Not so different from what we are running: We're using a light like this: from Discount Pumps, but I doubt that would be enough for your bioload. -hank Hey that's pretty cool, it's very similar to mines. Now did you purchase the one with 1 or 2 lights? And since it says (submersible only) - I guess it's something that can't be out of water then. What did you use keep the light intact in that position? Link to comment
HankB Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Hey that's pretty cool, it's very similar to mines. Now did you purchase the one with 1 or 2 lights? And since it says (submersible only) - I guess it's something that can't be out of water then. What did you use keep the light intact in that position? I went with the single 10w light. I would probably go with the 2 light version if I were doing it again. According to someone who bought them, they're 2 5 watt bulbs. But two bulbs let you get more coverage for the chaeto. Yes, it has to stay submerged during operation because of the heat i gives off. In fact, it turns the chaeto white right next to the bulb if I turn the pumps off and leave the light on. Supposedly that's a symptom that the chaeto got too hot. But except for that little bit, the chaeto seems to do well with this lighting. I just shove the light into the middle of the ball of chaeto. That puts it an inch or two below the surface. -hank Link to comment
xenon Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Here's the same FTS as of 10-08-08 with the fishes circled with names: 12 fish in a RSM? WOW! The reason you have high nitrates is because you have a massive bioload. Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 11, 2008 Author Share Posted October 11, 2008 12 fish in a RSM? WOW! The reason you have high nitrates is because you have a massive bioload. That DEFINITELY makes sense, but there's gotta be a way to stick with what I have now and have low Nitrates at the same time. Link to comment
Sexy Shrimp Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Not when you leave water changes as long as you have stated and not testing the water for 4 weeks at a time... Link to comment
xenon Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Husbandry is important when pushing the limits. I would do larger water changes and start dosing vodka. Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 Husbandry is important when pushing the limits. I would do larger water changes and start dosing vodka. Well whenever I do my weekly water change in a 34 gallon tank, I usually change out about 20% which is 5 gallons on salt water. Well as of Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - I did clean out the back chambers after 6 months which I changed out about 8-9 gallons of salt water. And since then...my goal is to do 3 water changes a week for 1 month to help bring down the Nitrates. Those days are every Tuesday, Thrusday, and Sunday which is a total of 14-15 water changes total for the month of October. And instead of changing out 5 gallons, it is now 6 gallons that I'm pulling out. On the first week of my water changing plan to help bring down the Nitrates - I tested out my Nitrates which now changed from 100ppm to the 60-40ppm color. Well just last night, Sunday October 12, 2008 - I just changed my water again which is the 6th time in 2 weeks now and the Nitrates are at the 40-20ppm look now - I was amazed guys - I haven't seen that in a LOOOOOOONG time! So I'll keep you guys posted. Link to comment
Xavier613 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 That many water changes that often cant be very good for your tank... Link to comment
jervismun Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Well luckily you do not have a Tang in there Good work with the water changes... do observe your corals and fish for abnormal behaviour... I suggest you reduce feeding for this one month. Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 That many water changes that often cant be very good for your tank... That's True, but I still think it's better and safer than just doing "1" BIG 50% water change - plus a couple of my other LFS said it's fine - just make sure not to disrupt the water too much when adding the new salt water. So I try my best to do that! Well luckily you do not have a Tang in there Good work with the water changes... do observe your corals and fish for abnormal behaviour... I suggest you reduce feeding for this one month. Yep, I've actually been feeding every other day and less portions as well. Link to comment
StevieT Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 you have nitrates, what a surprise. Why do you insist on keeping such a high bioload in a tank that can not handle it? Not only does the stock skimmer underperform, you have insisted on stocking it with every coral you saw in a LFS. I'm just looking out for the health and long term success of any tank, this is def not by the book, actually it may be an example of step by step pictures and water peram records of what not to do. I am interested to see what happens to this tank, but you made it an instant reef, your pics show not one sign of a mature tank such as walls of coralline, pumps covered in junk etc. Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 you have nitrates, what a surprise. Why do you insist on keeping such a high bioload in a tank that can not handle it? Not only does the stock skimmer underperform, you have insisted on stocking it with every coral you saw in a LFS. I'm just looking out for the health and long term success of any tank, this is def not by the book, actually it may be an example of step by step pictures and water peram records of what not to do. I am interested to see what happens to this tank, but you made it an instant reef, your pics show not one sign of a mature tank such as walls of coralline, pumps covered in junk etc. That's actually true....I definitely did and will try to get every kind/type of colorful coral at LFS's to brighten up my tank some more. As far as the maturity signs of my tank, I actually scrap off all of the coraline/algae that I can from the back walls and all pumps EVERY freaking water change - is that a bad thing to keep things clean or what? I mean I spend like 2-5 hours every water change cleaning all that crap off. My hands are at the point where they're starting to be white spotted rashes - do you have any suggestions for REALLY tight powderless gloves that I can use in my tank to prevent my start of skin irrations Steve? Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share Posted October 13, 2008 HAHAHA - you're too funny man! HAHA Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 Are any of you familiar, have used, or does not believe in "denitrators"? I'm asking because if my plan of doing these 14-15 water changes in the month of October does now bring down my Nitrates, then I will have to look into either a large sump/refuge or even a denitrator! Let me know of the experiences of people you might know that have used these? What's the best brand and cost of this product? Link to comment
Sexy Shrimp Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 You cannot scrape coraline off rock and you appear to have none on your rocks. As StevieT (the reef god) said - you have tried to do things quickly instead of building a tank in stages at it matures. It is hardly surprising that you have had astronomical nitrates and lots of deaths. You have been given a lot of good advice on here and ignored it all. You almost wiped your tank out and still you wont listen! Link to comment
StevieT Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 You have about 6 too many fish in this tank and you stocked about triple the amount of corals in the time that they should have been introduced. Not only is there 0 room for growth, you have very hard to keep corals that need daily attention. For this to work, you will need a HUGE sump. As Hank said, get the largest volume of water you can find, put it in the stand and use that to grow macro algae. It will also increase the overall volume of water. Even if 2 water changes per week work, which I see hard to belive, it leaves you no room to live your life. You are going to be a slave to this tank and you basically can never leave ever on vaction without coming back to a crashed tank. Link to comment
NanoCube-boy Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Well whenever I do my weekly water change in a 34 gallon tank, I usually change out about 20% which is 5 gallons on salt water. Well as of Tuesday, September 30, 2008 - I did clean out the back chambers after 6 months which I changed out about 8-9 gallons of salt water. And since then...my goal is to do 3 water changes a week for 1 month to help bring down the Nitrates. Those days are every Tuesday, Thrusday, and Sunday which is a total of 14-15 water changes total for the month of October. And instead of changing out 5 gallons, it is now 6 gallons that I'm pulling out. On the first week of my water changing plan to help bring down the Nitrates - I tested out my Nitrates which now changed from 100ppm to the 60-40ppm color. Well just last night, Sunday October 12, 2008 - I just changed my water again which is the 6th time in 2 weeks now and the Nitrates are at the 40-20ppm look now - I was amazed guys - I haven't seen that in a LOOOOOOONG time! So I'll keep you guys posted. Changing too much water, more thank 40percent a week can weaken down the system and will cause stress. Corals and inverts will not tolerate high volume water change. You really have to be careful there because the last thing is to rush into too much water change. If your tank is 34, I think 2 water change per week should be okay. Change water around 15percent per time, it should much safer. I'm assuming you over feed your tank? Link to comment
HankB Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 Changing too much water, more thank 40percent a week can weaken down the system and will cause stress. Corals and inverts will not tolerate high volume water change. Where do you get this? Water changes replenish elements in the salt that are consumed as corals grow and remove metabolic waste products. How would a water change cause stress if temperature, salinity and aeration (pH) are matched? I'm skeptical but willing to review evidence. What is there in freshly made (or purchased) sea water that would stress corals and inverts? Don't get me wrong, I don't advocate the techniques used to maintain this tank. With that bioload, I suspect it is on the edge of crashing and at any moment, a minor disruption could escalate into a full blown crash. Nevertheless, the OP has already (apparently) dealt with a disease issue successfully. So I'm here mostly on the sidelines waiting to see what happens. I suppose if one day the OP stops posting, we can surmise the worst. In the mean time, I admit to being curious about some of the suggested management techniques. -hank Link to comment
Sexy Shrimp Posted October 14, 2008 Share Posted October 14, 2008 I have done 30% water changes with no problem. I would say that pH and sG are the biggest factor. As long as these are matched there shouldn't be a problem... Unfortunately doing that big a water change is likely to affect the pH. more than 0.2 pH change is unadvisable. Check your freshly mixed salt's pH and see what you get Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 You cannot scrape coraline off rock and you appear to have none on your rocks. As StevieT (the reef god) said - you have tried to do things quickly instead of building a tank in stages at it matures. It is hardly surprising that you have had astronomical nitrates and lots of deaths. You have been given a lot of good advice on here and ignored it all. You almost wiped your tank out and still you wont listen! As of 2 months ago, I just started dosing my tank with B-Ionic and started to see purple on my rocks now. I also seen a few spots on my power heads and rear grill which I removed. I know I got lots of advice from you all, but what do you want me to do - take out some of my fishes, sell some coral? And I'm DEFINITELY not going to buy another tank any time soon, that's for sure!!! SO help me with what I have to work with now. SUMP/Denitrator is all I can think of at the moment??? Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 You have about 6 too many fish in this tank and you stocked about triple the amount of corals in the time that they should have been introduced. Not only is there 0 room for growth, you have very hard to keep corals that need daily attention. For this to work, you will need a HUGE sump. As Hank said, get the largest volume of water you can find, put it in the stand and use that to grow macro algae. It will also increase the overall volume of water. Even if 2 water changes per week work, which I see hard to belive, it leaves you no room to live your life. You are going to be a slave to this tank and you basically can never leave ever on vaction without coming back to a crashed tank. That's TOTALLY true about being a slave to my tank and I REALLY need to resolve this so that I can make more time with my personal life! I have no clue on what I need to create a HUGE sump - any recommendations for what size tank, brand, and exact parts I need to create a SUMP for an RSM??? I still want to leave the top shelf though! I don't even know how to setup a sump - any web links, advice, tips, etc.??? Thanks everybody! Link to comment
hb2envy Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share Posted October 14, 2008 I'm assuming you over feed your tank? I kind of was at one point just to see which live foods the fish/inverts like. I also have a harlequin shrimp that I probably mentioned before where I feed it "1" chocolate chip starfish "LEG" every Wednesday. This could definitely be adding to the high Nitrates as well? Link to comment
StevieT Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I would start with reducing the number of fish to 5-6 tops. A sump would help but you sill have an extreme bioload and so many corals. Link to comment
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