not even sure what its called.........

[jtkld75]

Pardon me, but i am very new at this, and i have one of what will prob. be several questions, lol. The thing at the top of that tank that pulls up water from the bottom and well, for lack of a better word, makes a lot of bubbles in the tank, i believe this is also hooked up the an air pump.. Question, is it necessary for this to be running constantly? Can a timer be implemented? Thanks

 

[jkvjl]

sounds like your talking about a air stone. if this is the case you don't need it in a saltwater tank. It's much more important to have a good skimmer. Do you have a skimmer?

 

[jtkld75]

Yes, its not an airstone that much i do know.... it shoot out with alot of force and has a thing on the end to "aim" the flow. If you know what i mean, if not ill post a pic if you need me too...
Also my nitrates are high, a little over the .25 color, what can i do,. I have read changing the some of the water works, but i just added 5 galons yesterday, so im at a loss?? thanks again

 

[jkvjl]

Sounds like your talking about a powerhead..That helps with the circulation..As for water changes with a 55 gallon you will need to do more then 5 gallons. You will need to do like 20% like 15 gallons. Check with your local fish stores and ask then if they have RO this will help bring the levels down..Never use tap water

 

[jtkld75]

It could be the power head, im post ing a pic of it,,,, does it need to run constantly, I use the bought water from the pet store, so i avoid the tap issue. What is RO? Im sorry, like i said, we are extremely new to this we have a two year old that loves fish, so we thought we would give this a go, whew, i had no idea what we were getting into, but its fun..........
Also, i have a Fluval 304, filter?,,,(its on the floor and holds the cotton stuff and filers.. is this system anygood? has anyone even heard of it.... Thanks again.
josh

 

[moprint]

unhook the air hose part on it, yes it is a powerhead. point it toward the surface to help with gas exchange. really in a 55 you need at the minuim two. why did you add 5 gallons in one day, was this a top off or did you do a water change?

 

[barry cuda]

I don't use canister filters myself (am also new at this) but Fluvals seem to have a very good reputation here. Your #1 need is probably to have sufficient biological filtration. Live rock is the best source...if you don't have somewhere from 1 to 2 pounds of LR per gallon, it's something you might want to consider.
RO stands for Reverse Osmosis, the process of forcing water through a semipermeable membrane to remove contaminants. Many aquarists believe it's the most reliable way of getting pure water for your tank. You can buy it at a lot of places, or you can buy the filter for $100-$300 and produce your own water.
The pic isn't real easy to see, I'm sorry to say, but if it's a powerhead you're best off to run it 24/7. Your tank should have a minimum water turnover of 10 GPH per gallon of capacity - a 50-gallon tank would want at least 500 GPH of water turnover. You'll get some of that (not sure how much) from the Fluval, but more definitely helps.
It sounds like you're feeling a bit overwhelmed by the amount there is to learn with this hobby. Believe me, I know the feeling. I just acquired my first two fish last night, but have been reading and researching for about 6 months. Now that I have a cycled tank and have actual livestock to care for, I'm starting to get a little anxious myself at times One of the best cures for this is to do some reading. Plenty of people here are more than happy to answer questions, but a couple of books will help a lot at filling in the big picture. My personal fave as a new aquarists' guide is The New Marine Aquarium by Michael Paletta. It's not as exhaustive as some others but it provides a great rundown on the fundamentals and is really easy to absorb.
Almost forgot - .25 isn't a high nitrate level at all for a fish-only tank. Reef aquarists strive to keep nitrates as close to 0 as possible, but unless you're keeping sensitive corals or anemones, that level won't hurt a thing. Regular water changes (maybe 10% every week or every two weeks) are a good way to help control nitrates.

 

[jtkld75]

By the airhose part of it, do you mean the part that is in the back, when youput your finger over it, it stops? I added the 5 gallons because the tank was low, i bought the water at the pet store, is this stuff anygood?
Currenly we only have 6 # of live rock in there, and we added that ourselves, i guess it is semi establisshed rock, as one piece has 3 featherdusters on it. But in all they are only 2 small pieces, i am looking on the classifieds part, if anyone can help in that area..
Would i need RO, if i am using water that is aquired from the pet store?
I am going tomorrow for the book, as i think this will be handy. Once again thanks for all of your help.
josh

 

[jtkld75]

also, do you think it would be better to keep these rocks together, or keep them apart like they are, in addation to the yellow, we have one clown fish, and 3 damsels, and 5 or 6, extremely tiny hermit crabs.

 

[moprint]

yes I think they it call an air difuser or something like that, if you bought it new it should have a plug that goes in place of the air hose and this will stop the bubbles, which will lead to salt creep and you will end up with salt all over your hood.on the rock placement it really don't matter what ever you like.the water from your fish store is probrably RO water.

 

[birdy]

Hello and welcome!
Sounds like you need to read a book, I suggest the New Marine Aquarium, by Michael S. Palleta, very very easy to read and understand. Also The Conscientious Marine Aquarist, by Robert Fenner, it is very very good, but a little heavier read.
Now for your questions and a few suggestions.
1. The powerhead sounds like it has a hose on it that sticks out of the water, this is sucking in air and causing all the bubbles, take this hose off and the bubbles will stop, but the powehead will continue to push water. You will more than likely want a couple more of these, water circulation is important in a saltwater tank .
2. The fluval can be a decent filter for a saltwater tank, but you will have to be diligent about cleaning it out regularly.
3. With the water from the store, is this saltwater that you are buying or plain water (more than likely RO). If you don't know you need to find out, When you are just adding water to your tank because of evaporation, then you add plain RO water (salt doesn't evaporate), but for your weekly water changes (about 10%) you need saltwater, because you remove saltwater from your tank, then replace it with fresh saltwater (this takes out the bad stuff in the tank and replaces trace elements).
4. You most definetly need more LR IMO around 55lbs or so, if you cannot afford to buy a large quantity (look at this site, very good price). Then get some baserock and seed it with LR.

 

[jtkld75]

Yes, lol, I am going this afternoon when i get off work to get a book on the subject...
We realize , NOW, that we need more LR. As far a circulation goes that powerhead is on one side of the tank and the filter hose (coming from the canister) is ont he other side of the tank, and it exerts alot of force, but i will add another if necessary..
Also, concerning the Powerhead, I see no hose thats sicking out of the water, other than the one in the back and it has a"plug" on in,, actually the bubbles are seem to be more caused by a "diffuser" for lack of a better word on the end of it. Any idas, i will post a picture of it the the piece on the end.. Thanks

 

[chandler04]

Yes, u need A LOT more live rock. And the powerhead, try taking it out of the tank, let it dry, then put it back in. That might help out. If you need like an accurate amount of how much liveRock, I could show you my setup. I have the same size tank as you do, and my live rock is adequate for the size. You should have like 50 pounds in there. Use RO water, or even nutra seawater, to take care of nitrates. But you will always have nitrates, you can't just get rid of them. They are there, they are benficial bacteria. But too much is bad. Yer fish are hardy though, so they will be okay until you fix the problem. Regualr water changes helps, about 10-15 gallons. Try using Nutra Seawater. I use it, it is great stuff. K, email me if u want that pic
Chandler044@aol.com

 

[birdy]

Could you post a better picture, The powerhead should have come with several different attachments, the one you have on it (where the water comes out) has a small hose on it that injects air and causes the bubbles, replace it with an end that doesn't do that. Or if there is no hose, push the powerhead deeper into the tank.

 

[jtkld75]

ahhh ok i c now, thanks,, actually the powerhead came with the the tank when i gotit, so there were no other attachments, unfortunately, ill get a better picup this evening. Its time for work now.Have a good day guys and gals.