Nitrate and phosphate dilema
- Thread starter johnl
- Start date
johnl
Member
Sorry i forgot its a 30gallon tank with sand bed over crushed coral 30lbs of live rock 2 mushroom rocks 1 anemone little feather dusters 2 small polyps 5 scarlet reef hermits 10 blu legs 8 tubo snails 3 clowns 2 tangs 1 chromis sea clone skimmer wisper 3 with chemi pure and empty bio bags and poly filters amonia 0 nitrite 0 salinity 1.021 -1.022 temp 78 two 65 watt pc's 8-10hours a day on nitate had tested at store highest reading phosphate i think .8 second highest reading
trying4reef
Member
What do you use for water changes ro/di? sounds what kind and how big are your clowns/tangs. No expert but sounds like a lot of critters for a 30gl
trying4reef
Member
I had a hell of a time removing my CC but had to be done. Good luck. it I had all CC so I didn't have to woory about losing sand but what a mess it made of the tank. Don't woory the clouds will pass 
michaeltx
Moderator
thats a hole lot of fish for a 30 gallon tank.
I have 2 fish in my 50 gln tank
1 clown
1 pj cardinal
in my 100gl I have 5
your way overstock for a tank that size which is part of your problem.
the other as stated above is the CC was the tank setup before you added the sand or is it all new ( added at the same time).
as far as the 2 tangs they will outgrow your tank if they live long enough the are susiptable to many illnesses when in a cramped enviorment. they may seem happy and healthy but that will change in time. how long have you had them for and what type of tangs are they?
as far as coraline what is your calcium level at coraline needs calcium to grow and if there isnt enough it will not grow no matter how much light you have. the other thing is does your LR have coraline on it? if not get a good piece of coraline covered rock and aim a powerhead over it after you know you have enough calcium in the water.
the calcium is supply and demand if its not there for it to use it cannt do anything till the supply meets the demand .
my advice is to upgrade to a bigger tank if you want to keep the current livestock. If not I would try to find livestock that can handle the cramped space of the 30 and find good homes for the 2 tangs but ultimatelty the decsion is up to you though.
HTH
and good luck
Mike
I have 2 fish in my 50 gln tank
1 clown
1 pj cardinal
in my 100gl I have 5
your way overstock for a tank that size which is part of your problem.
the other as stated above is the CC was the tank setup before you added the sand or is it all new ( added at the same time).
as far as the 2 tangs they will outgrow your tank if they live long enough the are susiptable to many illnesses when in a cramped enviorment. they may seem happy and healthy but that will change in time. how long have you had them for and what type of tangs are they?
as far as coraline what is your calcium level at coraline needs calcium to grow and if there isnt enough it will not grow no matter how much light you have. the other thing is does your LR have coraline on it? if not get a good piece of coraline covered rock and aim a powerhead over it after you know you have enough calcium in the water.
the calcium is supply and demand if its not there for it to use it cannt do anything till the supply meets the demand .
my advice is to upgrade to a bigger tank if you want to keep the current livestock. If not I would try to find livestock that can handle the cramped space of the 30 and find good homes for the 2 tangs but ultimatelty the decsion is up to you though.
HTH
and good luck
Mike
michaeltx
Moderator
the pet store (most) make things look good to the eye but behind the scenes the have the speaclized equipment to take care of the problems that arise from te setup. being that you dont have that equipment you are the one that gets stuck with the bad readings and trying to fix the problem. the people on the board can help you out though just listen to everything and make an informed decsion on what action you need to take.
Mike
Mike
the flaming scallop
Member
i am having the same problem getting coralline to grow, i have a rock that is totally ENCRUSTED in coralline algae (i bought it from my LFS) and ive had it since i started my:
50 gallon reef,
6 month old
2 96watt pc lights
its one of the base pieces for my live rock...should i put it at the top and put a powerhead over it? what does this do btw?
50 gallon reef,
6 month old
2 96watt pc lights
its one of the base pieces for my live rock...should i put it at the top and put a powerhead over it? what does this do btw?
michaeltx
Moderator
what happens with a larger size grain of anything is that stuff gets trapped in the crevices between them and slowly starts to decay as it does it will release ammonia which is broken down to nitrite to nitrate which then has to get exported out of the tank.
if the CC was in the tank first and sand added on top of it then you probably trap a lot of waste material in it that has been decaying and will continue to do so in the system.
some people have had good luck in useing CC but know its limitation and know that it has to be cleaned good to keep the levels in check.
most people go with a DSB to help stabilize the water quailty a lot of life can live in sand that eats and lives off of waste and in CC the spaces between are to big for the smaller microfauna to get a good population to actively contro; the level of waste in it. ( at least this is what I have taken from it someone els will be able to elaborate a bit more than I can)
Mike
if the CC was in the tank first and sand added on top of it then you probably trap a lot of waste material in it that has been decaying and will continue to do so in the system.
some people have had good luck in useing CC but know its limitation and know that it has to be cleaned good to keep the levels in check.
most people go with a DSB to help stabilize the water quailty a lot of life can live in sand that eats and lives off of waste and in CC the spaces between are to big for the smaller microfauna to get a good population to actively contro; the level of waste in it. ( at least this is what I have taken from it someone els will be able to elaborate a bit more than I can)
Mike
michaeltx
Moderator
Live sand is best but you can do it with dry sand and your LR will eventually seed the sand to make it "alive" the other thing you can do is that if you have any friends that have tanks ask them for a cup of sand to add to yours and it will help in the process.
how much is the sand you are talking about and about what size is it? the finer sand (suger size) to me has a better look and works better.most people go with 4-6 inches.
as far as money this is an expencive hobby that I am sure you know that by now but if you skimp on something now it will cost you longer in the long run.
how much is the sand you are talking about and about what size is it? the finer sand (suger size) to me has a better look and works better.most people go with 4-6 inches.
as far as money this is an expencive hobby that I am sure you know that by now but if you skimp on something now it will cost you longer in the long run.
michaeltx
Moderator
you seperated the sand and cc that was in the other tank and then reused both in the new tank right?
now you dont have to put LS in your tank it is benefical though after you put sand in your tank some of the life on the rock will migrate into the sand and after a period of months it be Live sand.
now you dont have to put LS in your tank it is benefical though after you put sand in your tank some of the life on the rock will migrate into the sand and after a period of months it be Live sand.