im so new to salt water

[wanabesalt]

can i use an under gravel filter and a older wisper 20 to 40 gallon out side filter... well any way,s my tank is a 20 gallon long and about a week ago i put 30 pounds of live sand. boy is it clear, my fish are doing great, i heard bubbles arnt good . do you have any pointers on helping me get it right..... i have 5 other tanks that i am going to change over to salt

 

[dragonfli]

DONT DO A UGF! sorry bout the caps but everyone i know has had to take the UGF outta their tank. THEY ARE NO GOOD FOR SALT TANKS. i thought the moe filtration the better. but LS does a better job x100. if you can take the thing out. if you are careful your tank wont cycle again. wait have you set the tank up yet? how long? and has it cycled yet?

 

[wanabesalt]

my tank has been set up for a week now. what if i leave the under gravel filter in but take the lift tubes out and dont use the thing.

 

[wanabesalt]

what happens if you use an under gravel filter even thou i guess iyll have to remove it....oyea it will only be filtered with an wisper 20 to 40 gallon out side filter.... and 30 pounds of live sand ....what do you recomend more of ..may be some live rock.

 

[dragonfli]

if you leave it in with or with out the "air shafts" youll get a build-up of bacteria, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and thats all of the stuff that your LS eats and thrives on.
If your tank has been set up for only a week it hasnt cycled yet. every tank when set up will cycle. a cycle in lamans terms is when the tanks ammonia and nitrites and nitrates will spike (killing about all your your livestock). damsels can live through it and your LFS will reccomend them to start your cycle but use a dead shrimp or something. much more humaine.
yeah you could definatley do live rock it will actually filter moer than hanging one. and a few pieces of sand will filter more than the UGF. after i removed my UGF my water levels were better, my water was cleaner, and the world was just a better place

but seriously it is a good idea to just take it out. and tank being so new wont hurt anything. do you have an extra tank...a QT? id put the fish in it until the tank cycles or they will all die..
i learned the hard way.
but getting LR will be the best way to go for further filtration.
sorryso long

 

[wanabesalt]

thanks for the info ...i gently pulled the ugf out with out stiring up the tank to much. iyll let the tank settle down a half hour before i turn on the out side filter....do you think i need another out side filter ....like 2 of them ,or just add a power head.

 

[dragonfli]

power head should do you fine. are your fish still in the tank?
waht and how many?

 

[lexus9903]

I would put on a small protein skimmer or at least a skilter filter. That will at least give you a little skimmng bennefit. I would do 2 sm/med sized pawerheads on at each side of the tank to simulate ocean flows. You dont want to go with just 1 powerhead otherwise youll be creating a riverlike environment! The top of the water needs to be kept moving as that will help your gas exchanges in the tank.
I dont like the charcol in the filters so if you have them in your current filters, Id probally remove it. It will take out the chemicals/nutrients that your tank needs, especially if you plan of keeping any corals/anemones.
Lexi

 

[dskidmore]

Originally posted by Lexus9903
You dont want to go with just 1 powerhead otherwise youll be creating a riverlike environment!
Oceans have stable currents just as rivers do. As long as the whole tank gets circulation, multiple powerheads won't necessarily do more than a single one of the right power. The tank in quesiton already has a filter that is providing some of the circulation.
If you're going to go for the ocean wave simulators, that's where you have to go for more powerheads. They are also handy if your live rock is blocking circulation to part of the tank and you want to foccus another pump in that direction.

 

[dragonfli]

take into consideration this is only a 20g. two power heads? that would take up most of his space. get one with the extra attachments and angle it and you will get a good current. i only had one in my 55 for a while and it ws positioned right and my whole tank got an ok current.(ive got three now)

 

[dragonfli]

hey lexus where from in AK? im jealouse! i love it up there.

 

[acekjd83]

the UGF is not good because it creates a big cavity under the substrate where no bacteria can live since there is nothing to attach to. it basically becomes a big gas chamber where anaerobic cant live because there is enough flow to bring oxygen through, but not enough flow to remove the nitrogen wastes, so they just continue to accumulate in the UGF.
bubble makers aren't good in a saltwater tank, becuase saltwater has greater surface tension than freshwater. this means that bubbles are more stable and tend to stay smaller, so they don't float to the surface as quickly or pop as easily. this is good for protein skimmers, since the bubbles are more stable and are better at trapping waste molecules to be pushed into the collection cup, but bad for bubble makers and splashing filters...

 

[ophiura]

Agreed -
and what fish are we dealing with and how many????????? This could be critical. What are your specific water quality parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, specific gravity)? Also remember that saltwater tanks are VERY different from freshwater tanks!

 

[wanabesalt]

thanks for all the info.......right now i have 4 small damsels.and 1 box fish, i think i should worry about the box fish whouldnt want to lose it. i thought useing live sand it was ready to go ........but i guess not , the tank has to cycle still. what power head should i use and what gallons per hour should it be dont want to stir up the tank to much.

 

[dragonfli]

i would assume around 200gph or less would do you fine in there. that would give a good current and not stir it up. some guys like lotttttts of current but for your tank and having a box fish, a current is good turbulance is not.

 

[lexus9903]

Dont be jealous! Id trade with ya! From FL originally so Hawaii is more my style
lexi

 

[ophiura]

It is imperative to know and test your water at this stage, IMO, every day if you are trying not to lose fish. But your tank is maximally stocked already, and not cycled. That could be bad. Also keep in mind that damsels are highly territorial. Not only are they likely to kill each other in such a small tank, but they are likely to pick on that boxfish, which might have unfortunate results.