nothing running on tank?

[jessica47421]

i have a friend that has a tank and the only think running on it is the lights and the filter that came in the tank kit.
no skimmer, no uv, no nothing,
and i have a canister, uv, skimmer(not figured it out yet) and i still have a nit problem. i went to their house today and tested there water and everything was at 0 ph was 8.4 all was good. they have a 55 gal and they even have a yellow tang, 2 clowns, and a purple fish, clam (which mine died)
why is this am i trying to hard? i am just getting what everyone says i need and i still dont have the luck they do. and they have had their tank longer than me. i just understand

 

[al mc]

Jessica....IMO the reason is the age of the tank. It took me about 1 and 1/2 years to get to a point where I just do 10% water changes every 8 weeks. At first I was doing 20% water changes every week.
Generally, older tanks have much of the bacteria needed to complete the nitrogen cycle, including changing nitrate into nitrogen gas.
The other thing that really helps, IMO, is the use of a refugium with macroalgae.

 

[rcoultas]

It's not luck - it's science. How long have had your tank - how was it cylced - what are the test readings now - what equipment are you using - what size tank is it and what livestock do you have in it.
Post these answers and you'll get a proper solution here. The keys to this game are patience and understanding.

 

[jessica47421]

i mean with not running a skimmer or uv, i thought these was a must, theirs is basicly free of everything but hang on filter from the store came with kit. they dont do any water changes its pretty well maintanance free.

 

[earlybird]

When a tank matures... years down the road a lot of people stop doing regular weekly water changes but they dose a lot of stuff like to keep their calcium and alkalinity in check. They do still do water changes because after time the trace elements are used up and need to be replenished via water changes. It is true that you don't need a skimmer or a UV but 99% will agree that a skimmer is something that they will never do without. UV is certainly not needed.

 

[jessica47421]

i got a skimmer and cant get it to do anything. its a D&D typhoon. i need to call them and get directions it didnt come with any.