WetDry

[irondog]

I have a 44 gl fowlr an a bta running a wetdry filter hooked my skimmer up did water change today i lefted the white media pad thats in the wetdry out,heard that hold alot of nitrates all my reading are good water like 80 sg 1.023 phosphates were like 1.0 but i justed started using ro water in this last water change i change 10gls every 2 weeks nitrates were like 2.5 an i have a cc would really like to change to ls any thoughts about media pad guys thanks

 

[irondog]

Also i would like to start adding some zoo's have 3 small percula clowns 3 dansels a scooter and a small singapore angel

 

[lion_crazz]

Well, I would not add any coral until you got your phosphate problem taken care of. Also, if you change the pads frequently, you will not have a problem with them trapping nitrates.

 

[irondog]

Was changing them every week,i think the nitrates are from cc,what do you think

 

[lion_crazz]

I would agree with that. Crushed coral traps a lot of detritus and debris. I would switch to aragonite substrate or sand. As long as you do not overfeed, once a week change on the media pads should be fine.

 

[thomas712]

Well at least the wet/dry is converting the ammonia and nitrites, but its coverting them into nitrates, your water changes should help with that.
I would very seriously consider changing from that crushed coral to sand, then worry about corals.
You are I assume vacuuming the substrate?

 

[irondog]

Yean i vacuum the cc every time i do water changes,what should i do about the wetdry media pad,its out now,should i put it back in or leave out,using a turboflotor 1000 multi skimmer

 

[lion_crazz]

I would put it back in. That is not your problem. The crushed coral is.

 

[crustymonk]

Why do people fringe on cc. I have seen a lot of awsome tanks out there, reef and LR, that have cc in them?

 

[irondog]

This is my first sw tank,got it for a gift at christmas 4yrs ago came with a canister filter changed that out have about 60pds of live rock bout 25 hermit crabs an about 10 turbo snails

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by crustymonk
Why do people fringe on cc. I have seen a lot of awsome tanks out there, reef and LR, that have cc in them?
Most people, myself included, do not like crushed coral because it is dense and traps detritus and debris, forming a bed of nitrates on the bottom of the tank.

 

[irondog]

How would i go about removing the cc,the way my lr is setup have alot of tunnel an caves,would i have to take all lr outto get the ls under it

 

[irondog]

I feed 1 frozen cube of mysis everyday,can that cause nitrate

 

[lion_crazz]

no, it shouldn't cause nitrates. Only feed as much as your fish can eat within a few minutes.
I have never had to totally switch a tank from crushed coral to sand, so I am going to let somoene with actual experience in that matter answer that one for you.

 

[thomas712]

Originally Posted by irondog
I feed 1 frozen cube of mysis everyday,can that cause nitrate
Well that may be causing you phosphates, thus algae problems, the fish then eat the mysis and poop, causing the breakdown into nitrates. You see manufacturing frozen foods like that they use P04 as a preservitive, if your feeding every day then it could be causing some problems. you may want to opt to feed frozen every other day, and flake in between.
If you are running carbon 24/7 it might also be causing PO4 problems, many carbons can leak PO4.
Are you having any algae problems?
I too have seen many tanks setup with crushed coral, I even had a 55 gallon with crushed coral. Found it was trapping tons of food and detritus. Every time I did a water change I vacuumed dirty water out of the CC. Even when I changed my feeding habits and was better at maintanence I still had problems, not until I got rid of the crushed coral did things begin to turn around for me. It is also my opinion that udergravel filters are a horrible thing for a salt water tank.
Thomas

 

[irondog]

Justed running 1 filter a wetdry with bio balls in the sump also have 3 pumps in sump,return pump, uv,an skimmer

 

[irondog]

I have brown algea but i think thats from tap water,i just started using ro water
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 2.5 real close to 0
phosphates 0.5
calcuim 440
ph 8.1
kh 11.8 dkh
alkalinity 4.23 meg/l
copper .05 ppm
sg 1.023
temp 81
should i be testing anything else fowlr an a bta looking to get a few zoo's

 

[saltfan]

Originally Posted by crustymonk
Why do people fringe on cc. I have seen a lot of awsome tanks out there, reef and LR, that have cc in them?
It all depends on what CC they bought. I have the x-fine CC, looks as small grain wise as LS does. But if they got the normal CC, then yes, crap gets under all the shells and stuff and it becomes a trate trap. As for removing the CC. Do it all at once. Remove all the LR, I used 5 gallons buckets myself to hold the LR and the CC, Used a rubber made bowl to scoop out the bottom and put it in the buckets. Makes one hell of a cloud in the tank, but it will settle.

 

[irondog]

Yeah,its the big cc lots of shells,its gonna be hard to find all the hermits have like 25 of them an alot of them are very small blue leg hermits