Need some ideas

el gato · 01/29/2010, 05:50 PM

Hello All,

This is my first post here as I am very new to the saltwater hobby. The acronyms are killing me so far.

The short is that I took a plunge and bought an up and running 40 gal breeder from a guy about to leave for the Navy. He told me that the tank had been up and running for about a yr and a half. I do not yet have a water test kit, but the lfs checked and all was good save for a very slight amount of nitrites and about 80 ppm nitrates. I did a 14 gal water change so the nitrates should be down.

My current problem besides having a million questions is that my water is remaining cloudy. The guy told me that he just changed the charcoal in the filter the previous day and that it would go away. Well I moved the tank and so far, 5 days later, it is still cloudy. Any suggestions?

kingfisher62 · 01/29/2010, 06:15 PM

There is an acronym stickie at the beginning of this forum !

To Reef Central

kingfisher62 · 01/29/2010, 06:19 PM

Your cloudy water could be an algae bloom and should subside in a few days. Those nitrates are pretty high. how does your livestock look?

J.P.Reef · 01/29/2010, 08:37 PM

What kind of equip are you running on the tank. Give a little info on the set up and you will get better advice.

Octoshark · 01/29/2010, 09:34 PM

ACRONYMS: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1672798

el gato · 01/29/2010, 11:19 PM

Thanks for the welcome mat King. I just made a discovery that might be the problem in that I hooked up an air hose that was putting a lot of bubbles in the water. I will know tomorrow as things settle more.

As for the tank: It came with a HOB 110 filter, has only about 10lbs LR, a couple of hermit crabs, about 1-1.5" of LS, and 4 damsel fish. It came with a Dog Faced Puffer that I sold to my LFS as it is obviously going to be too big. The salinity sits at right at 1.022 and the temp is right at 75.

I plan on it being a FOWLR tank. There is no way I am ready for reef. I plan on trading in 3 of the damsel fish, but I am not sure what to stock with yet. I am going to post a topic for suggestions.

kingfisher62 · 01/30/2010, 12:32 AM

The "HOB" 110 ?
Hey look at that, you are already using Acronyms, you must have found that stickie.
I would imagine the HOB 110 filter you mentioned is an "Aquaclear". They are the best HOB filters out there ,in my book. Later , you might want to get a powerhead to increase your water circulation. I would also recommend getting some more LR . LR is actually an excellant filter . 1 to 2 pounds per gallon is pretty common. Eventually the rock would help keep those nitrates down. If you do get some more LR , you might want to just add about 3 to 5 pounds every couple of weeks till you have enough . This will help avoid any big spikes in nitrates.

BTW, good luck getting those damsels out. Those little buggers are quick. What type of fish are you thinking of getting?

What is the air hose for? You do not really need those for saltwater. they will cause a lot of salt creep on your hoods and tank.

el gato · 01/30/2010, 10:57 PM

The HOB is an Aquaclear. I have a powerhead already and I will be installing it soon. Is there any specific direction or placement on that? I just saw an add for about 15-20 more lbs of LR that I think I am going to get this weekend. The air hose is gone. My wife liked the idea of a "bubble" wall so that is where the air hose originated. The tank seems to have cleared up some already. I got 6 little hermits today along with 4 snails.

Is there a certain depth of sand needed and do you have any stocking suggestions? I have another post for that but just curious.

01/29/2010, 05:50 PM	#1
el gato Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 9	Need some ideas Hello All, This is my first post here as I am very new to the saltwater hobby. The acronyms are killing me so far. The short is that I took a plunge and bought an up and running 40 gal breeder from a guy about to leave for the Navy. He told me that the tank had been up and running for about a yr and a half. I do not yet have a water test kit, but the lfs checked and all was good save for a very slight amount of nitrites and about 80 ppm nitrates. I did a 14 gal water change so the nitrates should be down. My current problem besides having a million questions is that my water is remaining cloudy. The guy told me that he just changed the charcoal in the filter the previous day and that it would go away. Well I moved the tank and so far, 5 days later, it is still cloudy. Any suggestions?

01/29/2010, 06:15 PM	#2
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	There is an acronym stickie at the beginning of this forum ! *To Reef Central* __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

01/29/2010, 06:19 PM	#3
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	Your cloudy water could be an algae bloom and should subside in a few days. Those nitrates are pretty high. how does your livestock look? __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

01/29/2010, 09:34 PM	#5
Octoshark Marine Biology Student Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: California Posts: 1,366	ACRONYMS: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=1672798 __________________ "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

01/30/2010, 12:32 AM	#7
kingfisher62 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: massachusetts Posts: 4,972	The "HOB" 110 ? Hey look at that, you are already using Acronyms, you must have found that stickie. I would imagine the HOB 110 filter you mentioned is an "Aquaclear". They are the best HOB filters out there ,in my book. Later , you might want to get a powerhead to increase your water circulation. I would also recommend getting some more LR . LR is actually an excellant filter . 1 to 2 pounds per gallon is pretty common. Eventually the rock would help keep those nitrates down. If you do get some more LR , you might want to just add about 3 to 5 pounds every couple of weeks till you have enough . This will help avoid any big spikes in nitrates. BTW, good luck getting those damsels out. Those little buggers are quick. What type of fish are you thinking of getting? What is the air hose for? You do not really need those for saltwater. they will cause a lot of salt creep on your hoods and tank. __________________ 55g Tank - 216W T5's Foxface, tomato clown, yellow tailed damsel, Starrie Blennie, LPS and softies 29G Biocube- 120W LED's 2 percular clown, Six line Wrasse , LPS and softies Current Tank Info: 55 gl. Reef tank ,29g biocube Reef

01/29/2010, 08:37 PM	#4
J.P.Reef Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: New York Posts: 106	What kind of equip are you running on the tank. Give a little info on the set up and you will get better advice.

01/29/2010, 11:19 PM	#6
el gato Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 9	Thanks for the welcome mat King. I just made a discovery that might be the problem in that I hooked up an air hose that was putting a lot of bubbles in the water. I will know tomorrow as things settle more. As for the tank: It came with a HOB 110 filter, has only about 10lbs LR, a couple of hermit crabs, about 1-1.5" of LS, and 4 damsel fish. It came with a Dog Faced Puffer that I sold to my LFS as it is obviously going to be too big. The salinity sits at right at 1.022 and the temp is right at 75. I plan on it being a FOWLR tank. There is no way I am ready for reef. I plan on trading in 3 of the damsel fish, but I am not sure what to stock with yet. I am going to post a topic for suggestions.

01/30/2010, 10:57 PM	#8
el gato Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 9	The HOB is an Aquaclear. I have a powerhead already and I will be installing it soon. Is there any specific direction or placement on that? I just saw an add for about 15-20 more lbs of LR that I think I am going to get this weekend. The air hose is gone. My wife liked the idea of a "bubble" wall so that is where the air hose originated. The tank seems to have cleared up some already. I got 6 little hermits today along with 4 snails. Is there a certain depth of sand needed and do you have any stocking suggestions? I have another post for that but just curious.