Beginners Qs

[Tboss11]

 

Hi Guys, see my thread above.

 

Been reefing roughly 4 Months now and loving it. Have 3 fish and CUC. 

 

Few Qs:

1. Can I replace Fluval Evo sponge with basket now it's been running 4 months?

2. Do I need to keep replacing the carbon monthly (pretty expensive if so)

3. Should I buy some more biomedia for the filtration as I have the space (assume you never remove these, similar to the packets provided when you buy the tank).

4. Should I buy Chemi Pure (keep seeing it on threads but not sure what/ why we use i) and can I just add it normally as the tanks already been running.

 

Thanks!

 

 

 

[DevilDuck]

1. Yes, I would stop using the sponge. It tends to trap detritus which breaks down and adds to waste in the tank. 

2. No, use it as needed when you need to remove contaminants or medication from the tank

3. Probably not necessary, as all the good bacteria is in your rocks and sand.

4. What are you trying to achieve with the Chemi Pure? Do you own a nitrate test kit and a Hanna ULR Phosphate checker, if not get those first? 

[TheKleinReef]

57 minutes ago, Tboss11 said:

1. Can I replace Fluval Evo sponge with basket now it's been running 4 months?

toss it. limits flow through the filter chambers and will clog up really fast. You could always through in filter floss every once in a while to polish the water if you feel like there is a lot of particulates in the water column.

 

58 minutes ago, Tboss11 said:

2. Do I need to keep replacing the carbon monthly (pretty expensive if so)

you probably don't need to replace it monthly. I'd just pull the carbon out and pay attention to the color of the water during the water changes. If you take some out during a WC, put it in a white bucket, and the color of the water has a yellow tint you can run in for a week or so.

 

1 hour ago, Tboss11 said:

3. Should I buy some more biomedia for the filtration as I have the space (assume you never remove these, similar to the packets provided when you buy the tank).

 

IMO the more place for bacteria to colonize the better. So I vote go for it. 

I have 2L of Seachem BioMatrix in the sump.  I recommends 250mL/50G, so I'm about 1.6L over the recommendation. Only down side to more biological media is it takes up more space.

1 hour ago, Tboss11 said:

4. Should I buy Chemi Pure (keep seeing it on threads but not sure what/ why we use i) and can I just add it normally as the tanks already been running.

 

nah, just use carbon every once in a while. If you're having additional algae problems you can do a 3:1 carbon:GFO to help, but in a 12.5G tank, water changes will bet your easiest and safest method to manage nutrients.

[Murphs_Reef]

As with what the other have said. The sponge is useless I run mine with just a little floss. 

Chemi pure, isn't needed in my view. 

 

Carbon. I like to run with carbon all the time to pull out any nasties, though I have a lot of mixed corals and zoas. if you buy larger bags and refill a media bag monthly it's pretty cheap. Think it cost me around £20 for a kg bag.   

[less than bread]

I did away with the sponge and all that crap that comes with the Evo. I ran floss after the overflow, heater in the 2nd chamber, and a bag of carbon before the return and life was good. I usually replace my carbon about once per month but a much more economical way to do it instead of getting those Fluval carbon bags is to buy a big jug of activated marine carbon and some mesh media bags.

 

This is what I used in my Evo and what I still use in my current tank:

https://www.amazon.com/MarineLand-Diamond-Premium-Activated-Carbon/dp/B0002566WY

 

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Aquarium-Mesh-Media-Filter/dp/B01MY3L61V/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=mesh%2Bmedia%2Bfilter%2Bbags&qid=1648486754&s=pet-supplies&sprefix=mesh%2Bmedia%2B%2Cpets%2C113&sr=1-1-spons&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExUEpDNUJURVFFSVRWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNTk0NDc0MjVVV1AwOEUxRkRRQiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODgyMjc0MTIxSkRJMVcyVURSJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ&th=1

[4d-Rock]

Hey all, Also a beginner here so hopefully OP doesn't mind me adding in there.  Maybe just gives another example of someone else working through this with similar elements

 

My Evo is just over a month old, cycled after a couple weeks, first fish added at 4 weeks.  I have a fair amount of rock (not sure how much, ordered 10 lbs but they sent extra), I'm still a bit uncertain if I want to keep it all but I don't plan on having it packed with coral.  Also at least an inch thick sand bed

For filtration I have

Chamber 1: InTank basket with filter floss, a square of the original sponge cut to fit in the second level, and the bio media that it came with plus some marine Pure bio gems in the bottom

Chamber 2: Heater

Chamber 3: Sicce 1.0 return pump

 

First, I was wondering if having the sponge in the second level as another detritus trap is going to be more harmful than helpful.  The plan was to rinse it out each water change and replace or toss if it looks too soiled.  

Also, with the amount of rock that I have, is it overkill to have bio media in the back chambers?  I've been considering removing all together as I've read it can trap detritus and add to buildup of nitrates.

I bought chemi-pure elite, but have yet to put it in as it didn't make sense to have it when there are no nutrients that I'm having issues with. Same with carbon, I have the packet it came with but just don't know if I should be running carbon all the time or just occasionally.

 

Tentatively my plan will be to remove the bio-media, maybe the sponge, and be left with only filter floss, a heater, and a pump in the back.  Then throw in a carbon media bag occasionally if water clarity or colour seems off.

 

I'm looking for a simple set up, as it seems like there is a ton of ways to overcomplicate things, cause problems, and not know what to do because there are so many variables. 

If possible I would really love to avoid a bad ugly stage as well.

 

Here is the tank cycling, not sure if it matters, but cycled with Dr.Tim's One and only and then have done a few low doses of Microbacter 7.  

[Tboss11]

Hey guys,

 

How do I get rid of green hair algae.

 

It has been growing in my tank rapidly, and even tho I do weekly water changes and pick the algae of the sand it keeps coming back!

 

Let me know best solutions 🙂

[less than bread]

2 hours ago, Tboss11 said:

Hey guys,

 

How do I get rid of green hair algae.

 

It has been growing in my tank rapidly, and even tho I do weekly water changes and pick the algae of the sand it keeps coming back!

 

Let me know best solutions 🙂

GHA is super common and can almost be thought of as a natural occurrence during the first year of a tank. Seems like a lot of times GHA shows up due to a CO2 imbalance. You can turn your lights down, increase surface agitation but I wouldn't do anything chemical to treat it at this point, that might do more harm than good as GHA can usually go away on it's own with regular maintenance. I had bad GHA for a while in my current tank and then all the sudden over about a week's span it went away 

[Tboss11]

Thanks Less than Bread 

 

I have a very small sandbed, do you think this contributes to the problem?

 

Also shall I get some nassirious snails / sand sifting goby to help the problem?

 

[less than bread]

3 hours ago, Tboss11 said:

Thanks Less than Bread 

 

I have a very small sandbed, do you think this contributes to the problem?

 

Also shall I get some nassirious snails / sand sifting goby to help the problem?

 

I think most sand sifting gobies require tanks at least 30 gallons cause they get kind of big (I could be wrong though). I would definitely get nassarius snails, they are awesome. They are carnivores so they won’t eat the algae but they keep the sand turned while they scavenge for uneaten meaty fish food. A conch is also a cool snail to have that burrows and does eat algae and uneaten fish food.

 

I’ll help my CUC every couple weeks by using a metal skewer to stir the sand. This can release excess nutrients though, so I’ll only do portions of the sandbed at a time while I’m doing my water change