what am i doing wrong?

nathanemmerich · 05/20/2006, 11:48 PM

I have a reef tank set up, its been running almost 5 months.

70gallons.
2 96watt PC bulbs (actinic and full spectrum)
remora hangon back protein skimmer
3 maxijet 1200 power heads
a magnum 350 canister filter
70-100lbs of live rock
and a deep sand bed.
(I use tap water)
5 fish and several soft coral
I don't know my tank water specifics off hand, but the salinity is 1.023 and the temp runs 79-80.

Any way my problem is the protein skimmer is not taking much out of the water, is this a problem? I almost never have to empty the colection cup.

Also I am planning to start buying RO water for my tank but am wondering if it is really worth the money to get a DI unit for my apartment?

jer77 · 05/20/2006, 11:52 PM

An RO/DI unit should have been your first purchase. You might need some more light too for your corals.

Sk8r · 05/21/2006, 12:18 AM

I'm wondering if that cannister filter has let the live rock and sand develop as they should. If the cannister does too much work, the rock and sand aren't getting enough to 'eat' and the bacteria there don't multiply as they should. If if were mine, I think I'd try shutting it down a certain number of hours and then cycling it back on, increasing the off hours until I could dispense with it altogether---meaning the bacteria in the tank would increase naturally and take over. I'd use the cannister only for emergencies.
I'd get a portable ro/di for an apartment (I'm on the third floor myself, and don't like lugging gallons upstairs.) You can connect it to a faucet or washing machine cold faucet.

I'd also put a shield around those powerheads: every fragile creature known makes straight for them.

More light, maybe. Mushrooms and zoos would be fine, I think.

HTH. Opinions, not inspired wisdom.

nathanemmerich · 05/21/2006, 12:24 AM

the canister filter is just for circulation. i don't have any live rock in there yet though. The power heads are all protected to keep creatures from climbing in.

How can you tell if you need more light?
Why isnt the skimmer skimming?

Thanks for the replys
Nate

Sk8r · 05/21/2006, 12:42 AM

Ok...if you have no live rock, and, without the live rock, no live sand, and you're not feeding the tank (a pinch of food a day for an invisible fish will cause a cycle in a raw, new tank) you get no cycle. With no cycle, no skimmate.

If this is a new tank, I'd dispense with the cannister until and if needed (like if caulerpa is loose in your tank).

A skimmer causes spare protein in the water to froth, and the froth climbs the inner cylinder until it collects as skimmate. Without proteins in the water, no skimming can take place.

The live rock is full of bacteria that colonize your sand and break down spare food and fish poo into food for them. Spare protein is disposed of by the skimmer.

Get your live rock in, if this is a new tank. Feed an imaginary fish every day until your nitrites/nitrates/ammonia test as 0,0,0. Then you can introduce crabs and snails to eat up the algae that will start to grow at that point. Then your skimmer will start having real work to do.

As soon as your readings are 0,0,0 again, you can add fish one at a time (except pairs and small schools.) Start with very hardy fish. If you want to keep corals, test for alkalinity, calcium, and mg., and when those are 9, 400, and 1200 respectively, (with the other readings of 0,0,0) you can add corals.

Small polyp stony corals (the colored sticks) take metal halide light. The others, the large polyp stonies, the mushrooms and leathers, need less light. What light you need depends on what you want to keep in your tank.

Now...if you're not totally a new tank, and already have fish in there, the first situation applies: your cannister is doing what rock should be doing, and your skimmer is not working because the cannister is taking all the stuff that the skimmer is supposed to take care of. But to dispense with the cannister and rely on the skimmer, you need the other part of the skimmer system, which is the live rock that breaks down part of the waste. Does that make any kind of sense? The rock is part of the machinery; the skimmer is the other part. The cannister does both jobs, but the risk in the cannister is that, if filter media is left too long unchanged, it can start releasing waste back into the system and kill your corals before you know there's even a problem. The rock/skimmer system is more stable and doesn't release things back into the system.

jer77 · 05/21/2006, 12:43 AM

2X96W PC lighting is a little on the low side for a 70 gallon, but if your corals look good then its ok. They should be good if they are polyping, open, and just look overall healthy. What corals do you have exactly?
I dont know much about the remora skimmers, sorry.

nathanemmerich · 05/21/2006, 10:47 AM

sorry I said something wrong. The canister filter has no media in it, it is only being used for water circulation. I do have 70-100lbs of live rock in the tank and a DSB. No live rock in the canister filter. As for what corals i have: greenstar polyps, xenia, mushrooms, some zoos, several kenya trees, and an aurora anemone.

all the corals are doing well and growing, all with good color.
Btw the light is over 2/3 of the tank the other 1/3 has no light over it.

Thanks so much for all the help so far. I am already looking into the Ro/di

omni2226 · 05/21/2006, 10:58 AM

Could be there isnt a lot to skim out.

Adjust the collection cup to where the bubbles are touching the bottom of the cup. Read the instructions on how to clean the injector port with the brush that came with the skimmer.

Empty skimmate once a day and clean the cup and neck assembly once a week.

05/20/2006, 11:48 PM	#1
nathanemmerich Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 170	what am i doing wrong? I have a reef tank set up, its been running almost 5 months. 70gallons. 2 96watt PC bulbs (actinic and full spectrum) remora hangon back protein skimmer 3 maxijet 1200 power heads a magnum 350 canister filter 70-100lbs of live rock and a deep sand bed. (I use tap water) 5 fish and several soft coral I don't know my tank water specifics off hand, but the salinity is 1.023 and the temp runs 79-80. Any way my problem is the protein skimmer is not taking much out of the water, is this a problem? I almost never have to empty the colection cup. Also I am planning to start buying RO water for my tank but am wondering if it is really worth the money to get a DI unit for my apartment?

05/20/2006, 11:52 PM	#2
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	An RO/DI unit should have been your first purchase. You might need some more light too for your corals. __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/21/2006, 12:18 AM	#3
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	I'm wondering if that cannister filter has let the live rock and sand develop as they should. If the cannister does too much work, the rock and sand aren't getting enough to 'eat' and the bacteria there don't multiply as they should. If if were mine, I think I'd try shutting it down a certain number of hours and then cycling it back on, increasing the off hours until I could dispense with it altogether---meaning the bacteria in the tank would increase naturally and take over. I'd use the cannister only for emergencies. I'd get a portable ro/di for an apartment (I'm on the third floor myself, and don't like lugging gallons upstairs.) You can connect it to a faucet or washing machine cold faucet. I'd also put a shield around those powerheads: every fragile creature known makes straight for them. More light, maybe. Mushrooms and zoos would be fine, I think. HTH. Opinions, not inspired wisdom. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/21/2006, 12:42 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Ok...if you have no live rock, and, without the live rock, no live sand, and you're not feeding the tank (a pinch of food a day for an invisible fish will cause a cycle in a raw, new tank) you get no cycle. With no cycle, no skimmate. If this is a new tank, I'd dispense with the cannister until and if needed (like if caulerpa is loose in your tank). A skimmer causes spare protein in the water to froth, and the froth climbs the inner cylinder until it collects as skimmate. Without proteins in the water, no skimming can take place. The live rock is full of bacteria that colonize your sand and break down spare food and fish poo into food for them. Spare protein is disposed of by the skimmer. Get your live rock in, if this is a new tank. Feed an imaginary fish every day until your nitrites/nitrates/ammonia test as 0,0,0. Then you can introduce crabs and snails to eat up the algae that will start to grow at that point. Then your skimmer will start having real work to do. As soon as your readings are 0,0,0 again, you can add fish one at a time (except pairs and small schools.) Start with very hardy fish. If you want to keep corals, test for alkalinity, calcium, and mg., and when those are 9, 400, and 1200 respectively, (with the other readings of 0,0,0) you can add corals. Small polyp stony corals (the colored sticks) take metal halide light. The others, the large polyp stonies, the mushrooms and leathers, need less light. What light you need depends on what you want to keep in your tank. Now...if you're not totally a new tank, and already have fish in there, the first situation applies: your cannister is doing what rock should be doing, and your skimmer is not working because the cannister is taking all the stuff that the skimmer is supposed to take care of. But to dispense with the cannister and rely on the skimmer, you need the other part of the skimmer system, which is the live rock that breaks down part of the waste. Does that make any kind of sense? The rock is part of the machinery; the skimmer is the other part. The cannister does both jobs, but the risk in the cannister is that, if filter media is left too long unchanged, it can start releasing waste back into the system and kill your corals before you know there's even a problem. The rock/skimmer system is more stable and doesn't release things back into the system. __________________ Sk8r Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low. Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.

05/21/2006, 12:43 AM	#6
jer77 Phish Lover Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 2,642	2X96W PC lighting is a little on the low side for a 70 gallon, but if your corals look good then its ok. They should be good if they are polyping, open, and just look overall healthy. What corals do you have exactly? I dont know much about the remora skimmers, sorry. __________________ - Jonny -, 120g 5 Year Old Reef w/ SPS, BTA, Zoos & some Softies. 40g Frag Tank. 40g Sump. Super Reef Octopus XP 3000 External Cone Skimmer. 250W Radiums. TaoTronics LED. PanWorld 200PS w/SQWD

05/21/2006, 12:24 AM	#4
nathanemmerich Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 170	the canister filter is just for circulation. i don't have any live rock in there yet though. The power heads are all protected to keep creatures from climbing in. How can you tell if you need more light? Why isnt the skimmer skimming? Thanks for the replys Nate

05/21/2006, 10:47 AM	#7
nathanemmerich Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 170	sorry I said something wrong. The canister filter has no media in it, it is only being used for water circulation. I do have 70-100lbs of live rock in the tank and a DSB. No live rock in the canister filter. As for what corals i have: greenstar polyps, xenia, mushrooms, some zoos, several kenya trees, and an aurora anemone. all the corals are doing well and growing, all with good color. Btw the light is over 2/3 of the tank the other 1/3 has no light over it. Thanks so much for all the help so far. I am already looking into the Ro/di

05/21/2006, 10:58 AM	#8
omni2226 Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Middle Florida Posts: 774	Could be there isnt a lot to skim out. Adjust the collection cup to where the bubbles are touching the bottom of the cup. Read the instructions on how to clean the injector port with the brush that came with the skimmer. Empty skimmate once a day and clean the cup and neck assembly once a week. __________________ I know enough to know I know nothing. Current Tank Info: 55 Marine. 29 Freshwater planted.