i finally finished cleaning all of the bio-balls last week. with each round (broken up into thirds) i mixed them in clean salt water pretty heavily, but not as much crap came off as i thought. nevertheless, they're done. after a test last week, the nitrates still didn't drop down, so i just did a huge 50% change today and i'm finally seeing results on my seachem test kit. the api kit still looks off the charts. you decide:
seachem test results:
api test results:
also, i finally got some pictures of my anemones, and they don't look like they're doing too well as of late (and my crappy camera certainly isn't doing them any favors). i'm not sure what kind the first one is, but it's supposed to be bright white with purple tips on the tentacles...second one is a condylactis anemone. both were inexpensive and from *****.
they're certainly both alive, but their health has definitely gone downhill over the last few weeks. i've been doing weekly 20-25% changes, and again, just today did the big 50%, which is when i noticed the drop in nitrates on my seamchem test...crossing my fingers that after another day or so, it will still test with low nitrates (or go even lower?)...probably wishful thinking...
still haven't amped up my CUC, but that's next on the list.
i looked into the turf scrubbers by santamonica, and they were definitely out of my budget...they were $600+ if i remember correctly. too bad i'm not handy enough to build a turf scrubber on my own...anyone want to make a few bucks?
lol
when people say i'm "lacking bio-filtration" does that mean my tank equipment (i.e. sump) isn't sufficient for the live stock? again, i'm a newbie, so i'm still learning. i assume this means i need bigger/better equipment like a skimmer, fuge, carbon but just want to be sure i follow...
and in case it's missed from my original post i'm running a 75 gallon tank with overflow box that runs down into a wet/dry sump with bio-balls. roughly 70 lbs of live rock. I have a little bit less than 1 inch of sand. Live stock includes 1 medium sized yellow tang, 1 smaller clown, 1 medium sized lawnmower blenny, 2 anemones, and a CUC which consists of 1 large banded shrimp, 1 small camelback shrimp, 5 large turbo snails, [strike]5[/strike] 3 small margarita snails
(i had 5, but 2 died since the original thread), and 4 small hermits. aside from nitrates, all my other levels are reading fine, and i'm using R/O water for changes, which tests at 0ppm for nitrates prior to going into my tank.
thanks everyone