Am i over filtering?

bigp58

bigp58

New Member
I currently have a 75 gallon tank with the current filter setup.
2 - Aqueon 55/75 hang on filters
1 - Fluval 405 Canister
After cycling my tank for 5 weeks i added fish and my Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite have been bouncing across the board. I test about every other day, in fear. Wondering if i have too much filtering power
My current fish in the tank are as follows, i dont think i am overstocked but...
1 - 1 inch Hippo Tang
2 - 1 inch damsels
1 - 1 inch Clownfish
2 - 3 inch Blemmies (Lawnmower and Stary)
1 - Pennant Bannerfish
1 - Copperfin Butterfly
about 40 red and blue dwark hermit crags
2 Bermuda Starfish
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Welcome to the forums!
Copperband or Threadfin Butterflyfish?
There is no such thing as a Copperfin Butterfly.....
What were your readings last time you measured them?
A full tank shot would be helpful
Do you have a protein skimmer?
...and a Hippo Tang does not belong in a 55g.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Welcome!
Some issues with your tank may be contributing to your water parameters bouncing around.
1) You have far too many fish in your tank. Definitely overstocked, especially for a new tank.
2) There are fish in your tank, that really shouldn't be there, such as the Hippo Tang
3) You have two blennies, they're going to fight over time and one will kill the other.
4) The butterflies, blennies and tang are all herbivorous fish. Herbivorous fish have a tendency to produce a much larger bioload than their omnivorous counterparts. In a new tank, this can really create havoc on your water parameters. You also probably don't have enough algae for them since it's a new tank, which means you're probably compensating by over feeding, which is VERY COMMON in this hobby.
When was the last time you cleaned the fluval?
When was the last time you did a water change?
How old is the tank?
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
Quote:
Copperband or Threadfin Butterflyfish?
Its a copperband, Typo from my iphone
What were your readings last time you measured them?
4.0 for ammonia, nitrate 20 and nitrade 5.0
A full tank shot would be helpful

Do you have a protein skimmer?
Yes but its not grabbing anything yet.
...and a Hippo Tang does not belong in a 55g.
Its a 75 gallon, but eventually will go to 125
When was the last time you cleaned the fluval?
1 Week ago
When was the last time you did a water change?
Did a 10% on Saturday AM
How old is the tank?
Actually age of tank is 10 years with Saltwater about 6 weeks give or take a few days.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Did you cycle the tank before you added fish?
Do you have any live rock or live sand in the tank?
What brand/model/type of protein skimmer do you have?
Sorry that I'm bombarding you with questions.... I just need to know them in order to see what's wrong.
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
No problem. I appreciate the help.
Cycled for 5 weeks
Instant ocean protein skimmer
20 lbs of "live sand"
20 lbs of live rock
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///t/389649/am-i-over-filtering#post_3445277
Welcome!
Some issues with your tank may be contributing to your water parameters bouncing around.
1) You have far too many fish in your tank. Definitely overstocked, especially for a new tank.
2) There are fish in your tank, that really shouldn't be there, such as the Hippo Tang
3) You have two blennies, they're going to fight over time and one will kill the other.
4) The butterflies, blennies and tang are all herbivorous fish. Herbivorous fish have a tendency to produce a much larger bioload than their omnivorous counterparts. In a new tank, this can really create havoc on your water parameters. You also probably don't have enough algae for them since it's a new tank, which means you're probably compensating by over feeding, which is VERY COMMON in this hobby.
When was the last time you cleaned the fluval?
When was the last time you did a water change?
How old is the tank?
I have been clipping some red and green seaweed for the grazing fish. However, the starfish tend to eat most of it.
 
S

smallreef

Guest
Wow.. one of the biggest things I see going on here is if your skimmer isn't picking up anything its not set correctly, at those measurments you should have LOADS of skimmate...
next for a FOWLR i dont think there is any way possible to overfilter... if anything you have to many fish for the minimal filtration that you do have... you have adequate filtration for about 5 small fish at the moment for how new your tank is and that your biological filtration has not caught up to how fast you have added things...
 
S

smallreef

Guest
I think you best option at this point is to add some better biological filtration... some new CURED live rock (really about 1lb per gallon)[though it takes a while for it actually to do its job and filter] and maybe some macro algae at the moment just to get your #'s down though you will need to find a way to keep it separated from your main tank so it doesn't take over...
 
S

smallreef

Guest
flake? how big of a pinch.. do they eat it all in 15 seconds or does it hit the bottom??? and you said you have clipped some algae sheets for the tangs.. how long does it stay there,,, is it all eaten or do you have to take it out????
Next, have you tried adjusting your skimmer? it really should be producing alot of skimmate...
and i really thing you need to add some king of established biological filtration... the biowheel and canisters are okay but for what you put in there so fast after the cycle they just cant keep up..
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
everything is gone in about 15 seconds. Barely anything hits the sand bed.
I fixed the skimmer last night. i had to cut the pipe where the water comes in and shorten it. A couple of online posts said that it was too long for the foam to make it. It is now pumping tons of foam. it filled out over night.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
You're main issue is that you've introduced too much too soon to a system with no biological filtration. The Fluval will act as a nitrate factory if it is not properly maintained. I'd also recommend that you stop feeding flake and get some good frozen foods like Emerald Entree, Marine Cuisine and Mysis Shrimp.
Have you cleaned your Fluval? If so, how?
Are you using carbon?
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by bigp58 http:///t/389649/am-i-over-filtering#post_3445476
Do you think frequent water changes will help or hinder?
Help. As long as you at least treat the water before you put it into your tank.... RO unit if possible.
The skimmer adjustment should undoubtedly help you.
... Hey, and now that you've updated your location, you live 45 minutes away from me!
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
imo the biggest problem i read about is people setting up a tank .they think the tank cycled.well you have to know.did you test and get the cycle ammonia then nitrites then nitrates? you can have the tank run for 3 months but if nothing kicks off the cycle it never happened.as everyone said you added too much at one time.again you can have 6 filters but that dont mean there is enough bacteria in them to load up the tank.there will only be enough bacteria in the tank to keep up with the nutrients.lets say you have 6 fish ,3 die and you dont add anymore .the bacteria will die off from starvation.this is why we ghost feed tank during a cycle.meaning feed an empty tank .this gets the bacteria growing.this is why we add fish slowly so the system can grow more bacteria accordingly.if there is not enough bacteria in the system and you add 6 fish in a short time yo get what you have.i like to put a fish or two in every month span depending on the size of the fish.this gives the system time to adjust.
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///t/389649/am-i-over-filtering#post_3445516
imo the biggest problem i read about is people setting up a tank .they think the tank cycled.well you have to know.did you test and get the cycle ammonia then nitrites then nitrates? you can have the tank run for 3 months but if nothing kicks off the cycle it never happened.as everyone said you added too much at one time.again you can have 6 filters but that dont mean there is enough bacteria in them to load up the tank.there will only be enough bacteria in the tank to keep up with the nutrients.lets say you have 6 fish ,3 die and you dont add anymore .the bacteria will die off from starvation.this is why we ghost feed tank during a cycle.meaning feed an empty tank .this gets the bacteria growing.this is why we add fish slowly so the system can grow more bacteria accordingly.if there is not enough bacteria in the system and you add 6 fish in a short time yo get what you have.i like to put a fish or two in every month span depending on the size of the fish.this gives the system time to adjust.
No doubt i added too much too fast. i tested just about every other day and watched the ammonia rise then nitrites then nitrates. They sat at all 0 for almost two weeks before i added any thing to the tank.
I just did a 20% water change today. The skimmer stopped producing foam and the levels dropped but i am anxious to see where they level off at tonight.
 
bigp58

bigp58

New Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelerjp98 http:///t/389649/am-i-over-filtering#post_3445502
Help. As long as you at least treat the water before you put it into your tank.... RO unit if possible.
The skimmer adjustment should undoubtedly help you.
... Hey, and now that you've updated your location, you live 45 minutes away from me!
Yep not that far away at all. I used instant ocean pre mixed water just to be sure. The skimmer stopped foaming after the change. Hopefully it will pickup again.
 
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