mercury724
Member
can anyone tell me what is it? recently i saw a few small patches of brown stains inside my aquarium glass, and the lower part of my sands are kinda brownish like algea.. I'm using an overhead filter and one under gravel filter.
brown stains
- Thread starter mercury724
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ams153
Active Member
first undergravel filters are not a great idea as they are actually a breedig ground for all that bad bacteria that you dont want.. and two the brown algae stuff is actually called diatoms it happens a lot in cnewer cycleing tanks and it should eventuallyclear up on its own! just give it time and dont have your lights on to much! good luck with your tank!
philgmiami
Member
Originally Posted by mercury724
can anyone tell me what is it? recently i saw a few small patches of brown stains inside my aquarium glass, and the lower part of my sands are kinda brownish like algea.. I'm using an overhead filter and one under gravel filter.
mybe the fish dont wipe there bootys clean enough
..jk...mybe your lights are on to long :notsure:
can anyone tell me what is it? recently i saw a few small patches of brown stains inside my aquarium glass, and the lower part of my sands are kinda brownish like algea.. I'm using an overhead filter and one under gravel filter.
mybe the fish dont wipe there bootys clean enough
mercury724
Member
ams 153, your suggesting that i remove the under gravel filter? without the undergravel filter wouldn't the lower half of my sand turn brown and dirty? cause there isn't any pump pulling the dirt out of it? would the overhead filter be enough? well i'll try to lessen the lights and see what happens.
mercury724
Member
any comments on this? what should i do? do you recommend that i remove the under gravel filter?
ams153
Active Member
yes i reccomend you remove the undergravel filter! theyre just no good for saltwater and no there wont be any problems with the sand get a sand sifting fish or invert and itll be just fine! and depending on the kind of filter then it may be enough.. though i personally dont like the hang on back filters! they dont seem to work too great for saltwater either..
mercury724
Member
Originally Posted by ams153
yes i reccomend you remove the undergravel filter! theyre just no good for saltwater and no there wont be any problems with the sand get a sand sifting fish or invert and itll be just fine! and depending on the kind of filter then it may be enough.. though i personally dont like the hang on back filters! they dont seem to work too great for saltwater either..
If i remove my HOB filter, what type of filter would be recommended?
yes i reccomend you remove the undergravel filter! theyre just no good for saltwater and no there wont be any problems with the sand get a sand sifting fish or invert and itll be just fine! and depending on the kind of filter then it may be enough.. though i personally dont like the hang on back filters! they dont seem to work too great for saltwater either..
If i remove my HOB filter, what type of filter would be recommended?
sepulatian
Moderator
Originally Posted by mercury724
If i remove my HOB filter, what type of filter would be recommended?
I agree, get rid of the under gravel filter. They remove detris, but do nothing for biological filtration. I personaly use hang on filters. I have a 60 and a 40 on my 55 gal tank. I too had a diatom issue when I first set up my tank. I vacumed my sand weekly to keep it under control. You will not get a build up if you vacume your sand. Unless you have live sand. But if you have regular aquarium sand, just vacume it. The diatoms will stop eventually. I had them for roughly a month. My tank is crystal clear now with no brown.
If i remove my HOB filter, what type of filter would be recommended?
I agree, get rid of the under gravel filter. They remove detris, but do nothing for biological filtration. I personaly use hang on filters. I have a 60 and a 40 on my 55 gal tank. I too had a diatom issue when I first set up my tank. I vacumed my sand weekly to keep it under control. You will not get a build up if you vacume your sand. Unless you have live sand. But if you have regular aquarium sand, just vacume it. The diatoms will stop eventually. I had them for roughly a month. My tank is crystal clear now with no brown.
mercury724
Member
whats the difference between LS and regular sand? how do you distinguish between them? mine ins kinda small pieces of crushed shells and some tiny oblong shaped rocks. i'll take some pics later. I read from a thread here that it's ok to get it from the beach, is that what you called LS? but if you cleaned it with chlorox or other cleaning agent would'nt you be killing the live sand?
philgmiami
Member
you need a wet-dry system with a powerful enough pump..at least 10-15 times turnover
example:
55 gallon- would need a 550gph-825gph pump...
anything higher in your wet-dry for a 55 would be to much and you would have to add a ball valve
..
my friend had a mag 9.5 which is 950gph and it was to much for his 55g, he had to add a ball valve
example:
55 gallon- would need a 550gph-825gph pump...
anything higher in your wet-dry for a 55 would be to much and you would have to add a ball valve
my friend had a mag 9.5 which is 950gph and it was to much for his 55g, he had to add a ball valve
biggredd
Member
Try getting the sand sifting crabs from here. I have the same problem and my problem is going away now. I lowered the lights and increased my cleaner crew. These sand sifter crabs are weird looking but they are fun to watch. they can swim through the water. Mine will swim up high real fast and then dive bomb into the sand. I call them kamikazees. Good times to watch. I definitely plan to get a couple more, I lost two within a couple days somehow but still have 3 left from the 5 pack I purchased here.
ams153
Active Member
sand will become live eventually from the live rock and what not.. but i wouldnt recomend getting it from the beach your taking a chance of something getting in your tank you dont want in there such as diseases and maybe even dog crap.. so thats not such a good idea! and i do believe it is illegal
mercury724
Member
Originally Posted by philgmiami
you need a wet-dry system with a powerful enough pump..at least 10-15 times turnover
example:
55 gallon- would need a 550gph-825gph pump...
anything higher in your wet-dry for a 55 would be to much and you would have to add a ball valve
..
my friend had a mag 9.5 which is 950gph and it was to much for his 55g, he had to add a ball valve
wet/dry filter.. how about a fuge? would that be ok too? is that considered a filter also? or maybe combining the wet/dry filter with a fuge? is that possible? any comments on it? how would the configuration be? wet/dry filter --->skimmer---->fuge
[hr]
>return sump is this ok?
you need a wet-dry system with a powerful enough pump..at least 10-15 times turnover
example:
55 gallon- would need a 550gph-825gph pump...
anything higher in your wet-dry for a 55 would be to much and you would have to add a ball valve
my friend had a mag 9.5 which is 950gph and it was to much for his 55g, he had to add a ball valve
wet/dry filter.. how about a fuge? would that be ok too? is that considered a filter also? or maybe combining the wet/dry filter with a fuge? is that possible? any comments on it? how would the configuration be? wet/dry filter --->skimmer---->fuge
[hr]
>return sump is this ok?
mercury724
Member
gatorwpb
Active Member
You really only need to choose refugium OR wet/dry, although some people have found ways to combine them both. Wet/dry can lead to nitrate production because of the bio-balls.
Theres many different ways to design the refugium, so check the archives section of these forums, or do a search for refugium. But most people recommend that the skimmer be placed before the water enters the fuge.
If you can find a way to include a fuge, I would recommend doing that. It seems to be the most efficient way for nutrient export once its up and running. Hope that helps
Theres many different ways to design the refugium, so check the archives section of these forums, or do a search for refugium. But most people recommend that the skimmer be placed before the water enters the fuge.
If you can find a way to include a fuge, I would recommend doing that. It seems to be the most efficient way for nutrient export once its up and running. Hope that helps