55 gal set up question?

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 02:20 AM

I have a 55 gal tank that has been running for about a year and a half. all the life in my tank seems to do fine but I get a reading of around 20 or so on my nitrate. I have about 75 lbs of LR and 4 inch deep base of LS. I am also running a Berlin XL skimmer.

My question is do you think my wet/dry is where the prob is. I have heard that you dont need bio balls if you have LR and LS. I did a test on my tank today and here is how it came out.

PH 8.0
Ammonia 0.15
Nitrate 20
Cal 330

I dosed for the Cal so that should come up in the next few days.
Thanks
Mike

mg426 · 03/14/2006, 03:27 AM

Are you using RO water ?? have you tested your source water for nitrates ?? might want to try that just to mabe pinpoint the source. If that checks out ok I would look at your Bioballs. also anything but zero as far as ammonia is less than ideal.

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 12:33 PM

I do use RO and I mixed up some water and checked it and it said 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia and a PH of 8.0 I have been using Tropic Marin sea salt. Is there any thing else I can check?
Thanks
Mike

MCary · 03/14/2006, 12:40 PM

Yes your wet dry is the problem. Remove all the bioballs and any other sponges or pads and just use the wetdry as a sump. With a deep sand bed and liverock your nitrates should fall.

IslandCrow · 03/14/2006, 12:50 PM

I've heard the same thing about wet/dry filters. . .definate nitrate factory. What I've also heard is to remove any bioballs slowly to make sure your tank is able to pick up the additional bio load on its own. I also just recently started running a cartrige filter with carbon, and I've finally gotten my nitrates down from 10-15 ppm to nearly 0. Now, my tank's only 7 months old, so it could be cooincidence, but it's sold me on using carbon to supplement skimming.

logans_daddy · 03/14/2006, 12:58 PM

DEFINITELY remove them slowly....i found this at the hard way....but luckily didnt lose any livestock. i agree with the sump....the only thing i would do differently is add some sort of macro algae....chaeto being the preferred. you can get chaeto...a nice 75wPAR 30 light bulb and fixture for about $20 total. when i added chaeto with 12hrs of lighting my nitrates went from 30-40 to undectable. i dont think you need anything more than some LR rubble in your sump if you have LR in your display tank.

shawn

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 03:47 PM

wow this is a great forum!! I will start to remove the bio balls slowly tonight. I have alot of them in my sump (60-75) how many should I take out at one time?

Thank you all very much for the help!!

One other thing I want to ask is what salt seems to be the best on the market now? I have been using Tropic Marin since day one but I can not find it local any more. I dont mind paying more for good salt.

Mike

logans_daddy · 03/14/2006, 03:48 PM

i think its a personal preference....but i think instant ocean and reef crystals are two of the most popular/affordable/quality brands.

shawn

MCary · 03/14/2006, 03:57 PM

Reef Crystals is just Instant Ocean with a little extra calcium. I use it and have had no problems. I guessing the other stuff works great too.

logans_daddy · 03/14/2006, 03:59 PM

did not know that...now i do

shawn

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 04:20 PM

I will look for reef crystals locally to see if I can get it.

How about the bio ball? How many should I take out per night?

Thanks for the Salt tip!!
Mike

logans_daddy · 03/14/2006, 04:28 PM

i would take out a handful and monitor your nitrates. however, what you can do mike, is go ahead and convert your wet/dry to a sump and just let your bioballs float around the sump and slowly remove them over time. this way you have the macro and dsb absorbing your nitrates as you remove the balls. the reason you dont want to remove them all at once is because your also removing beneficial bacteria, but if you use this method you will reap the benefits almost immediately. good luck.

shawn

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 04:36 PM

I will do some reading on how to set up my sump. It sounds like a great way to go. Thanks again!!
Mike

logans_daddy · 03/14/2006, 04:42 PM

after reading the posts i believe they were a little misleading. the portion of your sump with the deep sand bed, live rock rubble, and macro algae is refered to as a refugium. here is a link a thread in my reef club's forum that discuss construction of a refugium/sump:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=798557

here is another great link about sump construction:

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

hope this helps

shawn

motorbikemike · 03/14/2006, 04:46 PM

I will read both of them and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the links.
Mike

03/14/2006, 02:20 AM	#1
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	55 gal set up question? I have a 55 gal tank that has been running for about a year and a half. all the life in my tank seems to do fine but I get a reading of around 20 or so on my nitrate. I have about 75 lbs of LR and 4 inch deep base of LS. I am also running a Berlin XL skimmer. My question is do you think my wet/dry is where the prob is. I have heard that you dont need bio balls if you have LR and LS. I did a test on my tank today and here is how it came out. PH 8.0 Ammonia 0.15 Nitrate 20 Cal 330 I dosed for the Cal so that should come up in the next few days. Thanks Mike

03/14/2006, 03:27 AM	#2
mg426 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: maryland Posts: 6,923	Are you using RO water ?? have you tested your source water for nitrates ?? might want to try that just to mabe pinpoint the source. If that checks out ok I would look at your Bioballs. also anything but zero as far as ammonia is less than ideal. __________________ I found a way to make a small fortune running a reef tank. Start with a large fortune. Unofficial President of the SEACLONE haters club Current Tank Info: 125 mixed reef 110 lbs LR, 1x250watt XM 20K MH 2x175watt XM 20K MH on Magetics 2X96 watt actinic PC, 220 watt VHO actinic, 30 gallon refugium, closed loop system powered by Sequence Dart MSX 200 skimmer 38 gallon sump, Oceansmotions squirt

03/14/2006, 12:50 PM	#5
IslandCrow Reef Monkey Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Rockledge, Fl Posts: 5,759	I've heard the same thing about wet/dry filters. . .definate nitrate factory. What I've also heard is to remove any bioballs slowly to make sure your tank is able to pick up the additional bio load on its own. I also just recently started running a cartrige filter with carbon, and I've finally gotten my nitrates down from 10-15 ppm to nearly 0. Now, my tank's only 7 months old, so it could be cooincidence, but it's sold me on using carbon to supplement skimming. __________________ All opinions in the above message should be taken with 35 ppt salt. -Mike C. Current Tank Info: I have a reef screen saver on my phone, does that count?

03/14/2006, 12:33 PM	#3
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	I do use RO and I mixed up some water and checked it and it said 0 nitrate, 0 ammonia and a PH of 8.0 I have been using Tropic Marin sea salt. Is there any thing else I can check? Thanks Mike

03/14/2006, 12:40 PM	#4
MCary Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hardin, Montana Posts: 3,142	Yes your wet dry is the problem. Remove all the bioballs and any other sponges or pads and just use the wetdry as a sump. With a deep sand bed and liverock your nitrates should fall.

03/14/2006, 12:58 PM	#6
logans_daddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington DE Posts: 315	DEFINITELY remove them slowly....i found this at the hard way....but luckily didnt lose any livestock. i agree with the sump....the only thing i would do differently is add some sort of macro algae....chaeto being the preferred. you can get chaeto...a nice 75wPAR 30 light bulb and fixture for about $20 total. when i added chaeto with 12hrs of lighting my nitrates went from 30-40 to undectable. i dont think you need anything more than some LR rubble in your sump if you have LR in your display tank. shawn

03/14/2006, 03:47 PM	#7
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	wow this is a great forum!! I will start to remove the bio balls slowly tonight. I have alot of them in my sump (60-75) how many should I take out at one time? Thank you all very much for the help!! One other thing I want to ask is what salt seems to be the best on the market now? I have been using Tropic Marin since day one but I can not find it local any more. I dont mind paying more for good salt. Mike

03/14/2006, 03:48 PM	#8
logans_daddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington DE Posts: 315	i think its a personal preference....but i think instant ocean and reef crystals are two of the most popular/affordable/quality brands. shawn

03/14/2006, 03:57 PM	#9
MCary Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hardin, Montana Posts: 3,142	Reef Crystals is just Instant Ocean with a little extra calcium. I use it and have had no problems. I guessing the other stuff works great too.

03/14/2006, 03:59 PM	#10
logans_daddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington DE Posts: 315	did not know that...now i do shawn

03/14/2006, 04:20 PM	#11
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	I will look for reef crystals locally to see if I can get it. How about the bio ball? How many should I take out per night? Thanks for the Salt tip!! Mike

03/14/2006, 04:28 PM	#12
logans_daddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington DE Posts: 315	i would take out a handful and monitor your nitrates. however, what you can do mike, is go ahead and convert your wet/dry to a sump and just let your bioballs float around the sump and slowly remove them over time. this way you have the macro and dsb absorbing your nitrates as you remove the balls. the reason you dont want to remove them all at once is because your also removing beneficial bacteria, but if you use this method you will reap the benefits almost immediately. good luck. shawn

03/14/2006, 04:36 PM	#13
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	I will do some reading on how to set up my sump. It sounds like a great way to go. Thanks again!! Mike

03/14/2006, 04:42 PM	#14
logans_daddy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington DE Posts: 315	after reading the posts i believe they were a little misleading. the portion of your sump with the deep sand bed, live rock rubble, and macro algae is refered to as a refugium. here is a link a thread in my reef club's forum that discuss construction of a refugium/sump: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...hreadid=798557 here is another great link about sump construction: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html hope this helps shawn

03/14/2006, 04:46 PM	#15
motorbikemike Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Bennett,Colorado Posts: 75	I will read both of them and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the links. Mike