tank update after 3 months & now multiple questions

[b4rrett]

i set my tank up just over 3 months ago the specs are as follows
rio 300litre(67 IMP/G) tank with a
hang on redsea protein skimmer
original juwel internal filter
2x 900 maxijet powerheads
75 pounds of live sand
40kg live indonesian rock
my stock is a juvi yellow tang, 2 juvi false percs and 1 firefish, 4 mexican turbos, 6 blue legged hermits and 10 nas snails.
all the fish are doing great and are very active except for the firefish which hides under a rock half the day.
and at the moment i have 4 different zoos and 1 toadstool leather
i do 10% water changes everyweek with instant ocean salt
my queries are that i cant seem to get rid of excess proteins(bits floating around). ive got both powerheads agitating the top of the water for over month. and my protein skimmer is collecting gunk but takes approx a month to fill up, im assuming this is because i have a low bioload. does this sound right?.
another question is ive noticed thousands of little critters in the tank that are almost see through approx 1-2mm in lengh and scurry around day and night, are these beneficial(copepods) or bad?.
finally how realiable are test kits? and what are the most accurate ones. this question is because my params are almost exactly the same as what they were 2 months ago and the lfs kits indicates my perams are perfect.
these are the readings from the kits
nutrafin ammonia kit 0.1mg/l
tetra test kit nitrate 12.5 mg/l,
redsea nitrite kit i think looks like 0ppm,
temp 78/79,
salinity 0.026(refractometer)
sorry about all the questions.
thanks in advance,
Gareth

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by B4rrett
i set my tank up just over 3 months ago the specs are as follows
rio 300litre(67 IMP/G) tank with a
hang on redsea protein skimmer
original juwel internal filter
2x 900 maxijet powerheads
75 pounds of live sand
40kg live indonesian rock
my stock is a juvi yellow tang, 2 juvi false percs and 1 firefish, 4 mexican turbos, 6 blue legged hermits and 10 nas snails.
all the fish are doing great and are very active except for the firefish which hides under a rock half the day.
and at the moment i have 4 different zoos and 1 toadstool leather
i do 10% water changes everyweek with instant ocean salt
my queries are that i cant seem to get rid of excess proteins(bits floating around). ive got both powerheads agitating the top of the water for over month. and my protein skimmer is collecting gunk but takes approx a month to fill up, im assuming this is because i have a low bioload. does this sound right?.
another question is ive noticed thousands of little critters in the tank that are almost see through approx 1-2mm in lengh and scurry around day and night, are these beneficial(copepods) or bad?.
finally how realiable are test kits? and what are the most accurate ones. this question is because my params are almost exactly the same as what they were 2 months ago and the lfs kits indicates my perams are perfect.
these are the readings from the kits
nutrafin ammonia kit 0.1mg/l
tetra test kit nitrate 12.5 mg/l,
redsea nitrite kit i think looks like 0ppm,
temp 78/79,
salinity 0.026(refractometer)
sorry about all the questions.
thanks in advance,
Gareth
What kind of skimmer do you have? Doesn't sound like it's working properly in my opinion. I have to dump mine weekly and I don't have fish and don't feed the tank.
Sounds like you have pods they may disappear for a while but they'll come back.
Salifert kits used to be the best kits but I believe there are some issues with the company right now and some of their kits are not giving accurate readings. Basically any ammonia and nitrite kit will work and I recommend the cheap ones b/c you want these to always read zero. Not really important what the levels are as long as they are at zero. I really like seachem kits for alk, pH, cal, etc. It sounds as if you have a pretty balanced system.

 

[anthropo]

well on one of my tanks i don't have to empty the protein skimmer hardly at all. the tank is clean as can be and i only do water changes once a month. those critters that you see are pods. they're good to have in your tank so don't worry about them. as far as testing your water, if you're using the drops then that is about as accurate as your gonna get. test strips are garbage.

 

[b4rrett]

my skimmer is a hang on Redsea prism. i was hoping the critters were copepods, i just thought they came out at night.
I pointed 1 of the powerheads away from the surface leaving just one to agitate it, within a day protein was floating on almost half of the surface.
if i point both power heads on the surface, none forms on the top but the water looks like is has a mild case of dandruff. is there any way to limit excess proteins?
i will get some pics of my tank and set up posted tomorrow.
thanks,
Gareth

 

[shrimpi]

do you drip calcium or add any supplements?
Some additives, like excessive calcium can do that to your water.
What kind of sand did you put in the tank?
Protein on the surface of the water is usually like a 'slime' I dont recall ever hearing of the 'dandruff' type topwater you are describing.
Are you overfeeding possibly?
there are so many explanations for something like this. Try to look at some basic things, alot of times these things have a simple answer over a complicated one.

 

[b4rrett]

i dont add any suppliments, and the sand is live araganite sand. then the stuff is on the surface its like a film but when i have both poweheads on agitating the surface it breaks up and causes a kinda light snowy effect when you look at the tank closely.
i only feed the fish once a day 1 piece of formula 1 frozen food and have dried nori for the tank.
gareth