Aussie Aussie Aussie

[Yarr]

Hi there.

I've had a 6 ft marine tank for about 8 months now. There is some very cool info here. I look forward to sharing my experiences and annoying everyone else with my questions.

[Woodstock]

to Reef Sanctuary Yarr!!!

Annoying questions?? There is no such thing. It's members with the questions that keep this site going

Ask away!!

[Yarr]

I have been quiently concerned about the filtration in my tank for some time. I had put it down to my over pesismistic views on things in general, but after reading some of the articles on this site i am born again worried.

I have a 6 foot aquarium and just setting up a 4 ft one. For simplicity sake i will conentrate on the 6ft for most of my questions.

I have a few damsels, Some kind of Wrasse, and 3 clowns in the tank right now. I have suffered some fish losses.. for reasons known and some i dont. Im glad to be rid of some and upset by others. That is just simply life I have an undergravel setup with 4 powerheads pulling through it. They are a 400, 800 and 2 340 L/hour units. I have a hangon protein skimmer and a 8500l/hour pump which is use sparingly. I, unfortunately only have 2 t3 fluros ( 1 10k and 1 actic blue ). I am using crushed marble as my base.

I have a average amount of LR.. an anemoe and some soft sponges and coral growing.

Nitrate sits on about 20ppm. I have some troubles with phosphate which i blame for my algae issues. PH is a steady 8.3 and salinity sits on about 1.021.

I have read pros and cons on different kinds of filtration and am now absolutely and completely confused as to what i actually NEED.

Ive been advised by my pet shop dude that the setup i have will be fine. I am however still not convinced. I dont want to spend stupid amounts of money if i dont need to but i dont want my tank to suffer. Can anyone give me some advise as to what i can do ?

Do i need a sump.. canister filters. bio ball ?

[Rougiem]

Enya Cobber! Welcome to RS Yarr!

Ditto Woodstock!

My 2 cents Yarr...no bio balls...

[Woodstock]

Good filtration will come from a good skimmer, lots of live rock, and a good cleaning schedule

Ok... there are 3 types of filtration; mechanical (sponge filters, micron socks, skimmers, etc) that physically trap/remove diterus; chemical (carbon, phosban, polyfilters, etc) that chemically bind organics/po4; and biological (good bacteria that is responsible for the nitrogen cycle) --biological filtration in a marine tank is usually found on/in rock (1-1.5 lbs/per gal) and sand/substrate (if you choose to use it ).

The key to a successful aquarium is water quality. I stable PH, salinity (1.023) and low nitrAtes(0-10ppm) are a very good gauge. Keep stocking levels low (1" per ADULT fish per 5 gal tank water), keep mechanical filters clean, frequent water changes, EXCELLENT skimmer running 24/7 (some may disagree) and good water flow (10-20 x per hour).

Now..with that said, your undergravel filter is simply trapping diterus and unless you remove it and the gravel frequently to clean it (which would be a PITA) I would remove it. I would crank up the skimmer and slowly raise your salinity to 1.023. Also, keep an eye on the anemone. You don't mention what type it is and most anemones require hight lighting to survive.

[Woodstock]

Ohhh... sumps are GREAT. A sump will provide a great place to hide your skimmer, monitors, carbon, canister filters, etc. They are also a great placec to create a refugium... with a simple clip on light you can grow macro algae (chaetomorpha) to help export trAtes and po4 (phosphates).

Bioballs are good for fresh water and i don't recommend them for marine tanks due to the fact that they are usually used for a biological filter and your rock/sand will suffice. Bioballs also trap diterus and will add to the nitrAtes.

[Yarr]

ok so remove undergravel completely and up the skimmer.. how do i do that ? :P is that simply a case of adjusting the air valve so that the skimmer fills up faster ? If i remove the undergravel wont i end up with poorer water conditions? oh and can u make all your measurements in metric.. im confused mwaha.. just joking

thanks for your advice. I was flicking through some pics of your tank just before and it looks GREAT!

To be honest i dont know exactly what type of anenome it is. I'll have to sort out getting some pictures of it all and posting it up here.

water flow 10-20 per hour.. i assume that is 10 - 20 times the volume of the tank per hour ?

my concern is if i remove the undergravel filter i am losing a filtration method. then i will only have the biological and the protein skimmer remaining.. I dont have a sump, canister or anything else. do i actually NEED this? and any ideas on how to kill the damn algea ? it is unsightly and starting to annoy me. i have a few snails kicking around. oh and i have a blue linkia starfish in there aswell.

[Woodstock]

Unfortunately, removing the undergravel filter will prove to be a PITA. You will need to first remove all the fish/rocks(into a seperate container with a PH and heater) then either remove the substrate (do a search on 'bare bottom' to learn about a no-substrate tank) to a bucket and then pull out the undergravel filter...or try to remove the undergravel filter with the substrate still in. BE FOREWARNED the trapped diterus and muck that you will stir up will gross you out completely I recommend using a canister filter with a MICRON filter inside to vacuum out the diterus. I use a Magnum HOT (hang on tank) for many cleaning chores and it does an awesome job. You will probably have to rinse the micron filter several time before you finish.

Yes, 10-20 times per hour turnover rate

Remember, the undergravel filter is only TRAPPING diterus...it is NOT exporting it out of the tank so it is not doing anything but creating a sewage area. The key is to EXPORT diterus out of the tank, not to hide it. There are other types of mechanical filtration you can use that will allow you to clean the filter media thus export the yucky stuff

Algae? Are you using ro/di water or tap? Also, once you get your nitrAtes undercontrol the algae will subside. Having a sump where you can grow good macro algae will also help as it will compete with the nusiance algae for nutrients.

[Woodstock]

Originally Posted by Yarr

........up the skimmer.. how do i do that ? :P is that simply a case of adjusting the air valve so that the skimmer fills up faster ?

yes keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't overflow.

[cheeks69]

Welcome to RS Yarr !

Doni has given you some excellent advice. Just some more details about your setup would be helpful. How many gal/lts is the tank ? How much LR do you have lbs/kg ? What skimmer are you using ? What type of corals do you have ? Can you post a pic of the Anemone ? Have you added any chemicals to the water ? What do you dose ? How often are you feeding and how much ? Do you use tap water ? How often do you do water changes and how many gal/ltrs ?

I agree with Doni get rid of the UG filter it's just a nitrate factory and is incapable of denitrification. I would also seriously consider setting up a sump there's not many Hang On Tank skimmers that can handle a 6ft tank.

[Yarr]

Sorry. It was a late night.

About 375 L tank. I have only a few polyp type corals atm. I feed my tank coralgrow and a few cubes of frozen brineshrimp every few days. I use tap water but leave it sit for about 24 hours to let the chlorine burn off. Water quality is quite good. I know it isnt a substitute for rainwater/RO water. That is just too expensive where i am and it only rains a few months of the year. I do 10 - 25% water changes weekly. Sometimes i might miss one due to work and whatnot. The skimmer is a Jebo. I cant remmber what model but it has a 1100L/h power head on it.

[Gina]

Welcome to our Sanctuary! Woodstock has given you excellent advice! I agree with all that you need to get rid of the undergravel filter. It will be a PITA but, in the long run worth it. I would also add a sump. You can purchase a glass aquarium and build your compartments yourself from glass panes. It would be alot cheaper than buying one.

You could also consider purchasing an RO/DI unit from e-bay or check what our sponsors have. We purchased a 6 stage Aqua-Safe system a couple of years ago off e-bay and paid $75.00 for it.
This way you could make your own water for water changes and topping off.

[Craig Manoukian]

Yarr, welcome!

If we've confused you with any of our alphabet soup, acronyms, please let us know.

You said have a 6 foot 100 gallon tank (375 liters), what are the dimensions in height, width, and depth?

[Yarr]

(180 cm)L x (44 cm)W x (47 cm)H = 98.3354044 US gallons



and yes. im well confused by some of the jargin you guys use.. but i am picking it up easy enough

I must admit that i think i am taking on too much right now. Getting my 6ft right.. setting up my 4ft and now also setting up an vivarium for osme bearded dragons.. heh Im fast running otu of walls to put things on in my unit... err.. apartment for those american ppls :P