90 gal rescue tank issues

roscoe71 · 03/31/2015, 09:19 PM

Greetings,

Neighbor gave me a 90 gal salt tank with a single healthy regal tang, and bunch of live rock. It has a eheim 2026 canister filter, and a amiracle maxi reef trickle filter. I moved 25% of the water with the tank.

It has been set up for 3 weeks with just the canister filter to try and stabilize it.

It came with a red algae issue unfortunately. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, I don't think, but the nitrates are 160 ppm +.

Which filter ( or both ) Should I use ? the trickle filter with the bio balls or keep fighting with the canister filter ?

delor · 03/31/2015, 10:07 PM

I'd suggest neither. Definitely not the trickle bio balls. Those always end up causing more troubles. You can keep ruining the canister, but I would only put carbon in it. If you put floss, it will need to be changed quite frequently as the particulates will start to break down adding to the problem. I'd suggest a few more major water changes as well as increasing your flow in the tank. There are some decent red slime remover chemicals out there, but I only resort to chemicals as a last ditch effort.

Sinocard · 04/01/2015, 12:05 AM

"Neighbor gave me a 90 gal salt tank"

Well, I'm jealous.

Lol.

What delor is saying is on par with what I've read. Canisters aren't really fantastic for salt, nor are bio balls.

jayball · 04/01/2015, 08:32 AM

I would recommend picking up a skimmer in addition to a large water change. The skimmer pulls organics before they break down into nitrate and phosphate.

No sump I assume?

Sk8r · 04/01/2015, 10:20 AM

Oh, boy! That was a mismatched setup. My advice is keep the tank but send the regal tang (requires a much bigger tank!) to the lfs while he's small and cute,and do it fast. That way he'll stand a chance (slim) at getting an owner with a 300 gallon tank. His odds don't get better as he gets older. At this stage, a fish store may accept him as a gift, or possibly give you store credit toward purchase of equipment you need.

That would free you to start with this very handsome tank in a right way, by reading, for starters, that lovely massive collection above ^^^^ called SETTING UP, getting a decent skimmer (venturi type recommended,) a downflow with sump, ditching all bioballs and filters, and starting with some decent rock. You could, with that tank as live as it is, continue to run with the filter for a while, put some nice holey limestone in there, with a couple of pieces of actual live rock, and have yourself a really nice rig for the cost of the peripherals. Dead rock can become live rock in about 12 weeks, and what could cost you hundreds to set up would be done on the cheap: bacteria will move in, over time, and it will be as good as rock straight from the ocean, give or take sufficient worms and sponges and such, but that's what the one piece of actual live rock is for.

tkeracer619 · 04/01/2015, 12:04 PM

Agree with the above.

Get the fish out of the tank so you can work on reducing the nutrients among other reasons.

Large water changes help with nitrates.

roscoe71 · 04/01/2015, 06:46 PM

Thanks all,

The tank has a predrilled corner overflow that goes down into the amiracle maxi flow trickle filter. But it's not running.

My guess is that is that the corner overflow is supposed to route to a sump underneath. Is there a reference here on how I can set up the trickle filter to act as a sump or ?.. Actually I have no idea ... I read enough here to get the bio balls suck, but what should i use instead ?

The fish is already 5 or so years old, still pretty peppy. For the cost of it all, I still want to try and save he/she.

Great board here btw, you guys are great.

Will post a photo later after I read the faq on it.

-Lenny

roscoe71 · 04/01/2015, 07:20 PM

Here are photos of the setup...

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427937570.582813.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427937585.625519.jpg

Edit : ok found the sump tutorial... Thanks

roscoe71 · 04/02/2015, 04:14 PM

What kind of skimmer do you guys recommend for a 90 gal tank ?

Brand / size ?

If I just use the trickle filter box as the sump tank, and put the skimmer in that will that work ?

-lenny

03/31/2015, 09:19 PM	#1
roscoe71 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 8	90 gal rescue tank issues Greetings, Neighbor gave me a 90 gal salt tank with a single healthy regal tang, and bunch of live rock. It has a eheim 2026 canister filter, and a amiracle maxi reef trickle filter. I moved 25% of the water with the tank. It has been set up for 3 weeks with just the canister filter to try and stabilize it. It came with a red algae issue unfortunately. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, I don't think, but the nitrates are 160 ppm +. Which filter ( or both ) Should I use ? the trickle filter with the bio balls or keep fighting with the canister filter ?

03/31/2015, 10:07 PM	#2
delor Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 1,124	I'd suggest neither. Definitely not the trickle bio balls. Those always end up causing more troubles. You can keep ruining the canister, but I would only put carbon in it. If you put floss, it will need to be changed quite frequently as the particulates will start to break down adding to the problem. I'd suggest a few more major water changes as well as increasing your flow in the tank. There are some decent red slime remover chemicals out there, but I only resort to chemicals as a last ditch effort. __________________ Surviving is different than thriving! Current Tank Info: Current: 90 gal RR reef tank, LED. Old:55gal RR, 440W VHO, 80# LR, LS, 20gal sump, SCWD. 5 gallon nano, 75 gal FOWLR

04/01/2015, 10:20 AM	#5
Sk8r RC Mod Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 34,628 Blog Entries: 55	Oh, boy! That was a mismatched setup. My advice is keep the tank but send the regal tang (requires a much bigger tank!) to the lfs while he's small and cute,and do it fast. That way he'll stand a chance (slim) at getting an owner with a 300 gallon tank. His odds don't get better as he gets older. At this stage, a fish store may accept him as a gift, or possibly give you store credit toward purchase of equipment you need. That would free you to start with this very handsome tank in a right way, by reading, for starters, that lovely massive collection above ^^^^ called SETTING UP, getting a decent skimmer (venturi type recommended,) a downflow with sump, ditching all bioballs and filters, and starting with some decent rock. You could, with that tank as live as it is, continue to run with the filter for a while, put some nice holey limestone in there, with a couple of pieces of actual live rock, and have yourself a really nice rig for the cost of the peripherals. Dead rock can become live rock in about 12 weeks, and what could cost you hundreds to set up would be done on the cheap: bacteria will move in, over time, and it will be as good as rock straight from the ocean, give or take sufficient worms and sponges and such, but that's what the one piece of actual live rock is for. __________________ 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%. Last edited by Sk8r; 04/01/2015 at 10:34 AM.

04/01/2015, 12:04 PM	#6
tkeracer619 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Westminster, CO Posts: 17,289	Agree with the above. Get the fish out of the tank so you can work on reducing the nutrients among other reasons. Large water changes help with nitrates. __________________ Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k.

04/01/2015, 07:20 PM	#8
roscoe71 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 8	90 gal rescue tank issues Here are photos of the setup... ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427937570.582813.jpg ImageUploadedByTapatalk1427937585.625519.jpg Edit : ok found the sump tutorial... Thanks Last edited by roscoe71; 04/01/2015 at 07:47 PM.

04/01/2015, 12:05 AM	#3
Sinocard Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 186	"Neighbor gave me a 90 gal salt tank" Well, I'm jealous. Lol. What delor is saying is on par with what I've read. Canisters aren't really fantastic for salt, nor are bio balls.

04/01/2015, 08:32 AM	#4
jayball Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,671	I would recommend picking up a skimmer in addition to a large water change. The skimmer pulls organics before they break down into nitrate and phosphate. No sump I assume?

04/01/2015, 06:46 PM	#7
roscoe71 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 8	Thanks all, The tank has a predrilled corner overflow that goes down into the amiracle maxi flow trickle filter. But it's not running. My guess is that is that the corner overflow is supposed to route to a sump underneath. Is there a reference here on how I can set up the trickle filter to act as a sump or ?.. Actually I have no idea ... I read enough here to get the bio balls suck, but what should i use instead ? The fish is already 5 or so years old, still pretty peppy. For the cost of it all, I still want to try and save he/she. Great board here btw, you guys are great. Will post a photo later after I read the faq on it. -Lenny

04/02/2015, 04:14 PM	#9
roscoe71 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 8	What kind of skimmer do you guys recommend for a 90 gal tank ? Brand / size ? If I just use the trickle filter box as the sump tank, and put the skimmer in that will that work ? -lenny