Newbie with lots of questions.

[diannasreef]

Hi. I just set up a new tank and I have a number of questions. I bought the tank from a local pet store and I have since figured out that most of the advice (and money spent) was inaccurate.

Background: 72 gal. oceanic reef ready tank has been running for 4 weeks...$210 sump (OUCH that was a mistake) using a wet/dry filter with bio-balls, heater that is set on 72 degrees and a pump that pumps it back that makes a racket. Also, a Red Sea Prizm Skimmer that I don't think is working and also makes a huge racket. It has 10 pounds of live rock....about 20 pounds of live rock and 20 pounds of dead rock....feather duster, yellow polyp, button polyp....1 hawkfish, 1 royal gramma, 1 fairy wrasse, 1 banana wrasse, 1 emerald crab, 1 pom pom crab (that I've never seen since putting him in the tank)

Temp seems to stay between 80-84 degrees. Is this an acceptable range?

I am currently experiencing a huge red slime algae (cyanobacteria) bloom (it has coated every inch of the tank and I don't quite know what to do) that I am attributing to the either inefficient or non-working skimmer. Ideas?

I have ordered 40# more of live rock from Florida (not the pet store). I'm going to take out the dead rock. It should be here on Wed. or Thurs.

Here are some of the ideas I've had: When the live rock arrives take out 20% of the water, remove the dead rock, take out the live rock that has the cyanobacteria growing on it and gently scrub off the bacteria with a soft toothbrush in the bucket of water taken out of the tank. Replace original live rock and place new live rock in tank.

Considering buying a new skimmer - maybe the AquaMedic Turbo Floater Multi 1000 ??? -and turning the sump area after the trickle down bio balls into a refugium. Adding about two more inches of live sand to the tank because it is only about 1-1 1/2" thick now.

I also would like to add a wave maker and would like to know what works the best. Do you like the Wave2K ?

Well, sorry this is such a long post. I'm a little frustrated > but mostly I'm very curious and eager to learn much more. I really want to add more soft corals and fish, but I want to get things right first.

Thanks, and this is a great website!!!

Dianna.

[Scuba]

Welcome
If you have not read the 3 steps, they are very helpful; they are listed under steps at the top of the page.

As for the sand bed you cane go here for a calculator for the sand bed (depending on how deep you want it) http://www.garf.org/ and look under Calculators.

Sumps are a good thing, I do not know that much about them yet (that is an upcoming thing)

Most here recommend about 1 to 1.5 Lbs. of live rock (LR).

I have been running my tank at 76 deg with no problems.

Red slim is one of the things you will have, you may need to add some power heads to increase the water flow around the tank.

I use the Seaclone 100 skimmer, but I have heard that the Red Sea is a good one, you will have a brake in period before it will settle in a work right, then keep adjusting it to find a spot that it will work for you.

There will be other who will have more info for you, enjoy and again welcome to the Forum.

[Matt Rogers]

Hmm.. seems like you have a lot in there for a new tank, that could be contributing to the algae. There are several threads on that cyano recently that may help. But that unfortunately pretty normal for a lot of new tanks going through a cycle.

How long are you running your lights what kind are they?

More rock is a good idea, look for 'cured' as 'uncured' will spike your tank a bit and you already have fish in there.

Like Scuba says, try to go for 1.5 - 2 pounds of rock per gallon then you can start slowly removing the bio-balls if you want as that may help reduce nitrates. However, if you don't hit that mark with rock, leaving them in might not be a bad idea.

I think Karla has a Prism on a tank that size and she thinks it's ok, but if you could swap it for the Turboflotor, that would probably be a good move.

Wave2k's are pretty cool, I've posted a lot of info about them in the Product Review board. But if you don't like the skimmer noise, this might be another noisemaker. The motor sits outside the tank near the top with a pulley and belt, so you will hear that. You need to tinker with them a bit to find the sweetspot with belt tension. They also sit inside the tank and take up room and aren't that cheap.

That said, few things I know of will put out the kind of turbulance those things will in an average sized tank. So there's pluses and minuses to consider. I like to tinker with stuff and already have a noisy little surge, so I probably would like one.

Maybe a SCWD attached to your return line would be a substitute.

Anyway, thanks for joining 3reef!

[flash=468,60]http://www.3reef.com/fish/sitepics/threesteps3.swf[/flash]

[diannasreef]

Thank-you for the posts!!

The lights I'm using are Coralife Aqualight Compact Fluorescent Strip Lights: 48" (2) 21" 65 watt Actinic and (2) 21" 65 watt 10,000 K bulbs. They are on a timer for a 12hr on 12hr off cycle. I've been reading that cyano growth will sometimes occur when the bulbs are old and need to be changed, but the light is new, and has only been used for about 4 weeks so I can't understand how the bulbs would be contributing to the cyano growth.

Perhaps like you said my bio load is too high. Happily all the fish and polyps look great and seem to be doing really well. I hope they survive my stupidity and ignorance.

Also, what about the temp? 84 degrees seems like it would be getting a bit high. Could the pump be heating up the water that much?

Also, of these three skimmers which is considered the best? These seem to be the favorites, but I don't know which way to go? I notice there seems to be quite a bit of a price difference between them.

Precision Marine's Bullet 1
AquaC EV-180
Aqua Medic Turbo Floater 1000 Multi

Thanks for your help!!!

Dianna.

[Phil5613]

I wouldn't jump to a new skimmer yet. First I would figure out where the noise is coming from, if it is coming from the skimmer pump see if you can cut the vibration down. If it is coming from the output of the skimmer the easiest fix I know of is a foam block placed between the return ramp and the water surface so the water flows through it and doesn't splash around, it is amazing how much quieter that is. You can also use the blue white type pads but I prefer the hagen foam blocks. One of the ways to quiet the whole sump area is to drain it and put styrofoam, a piece of old carpet or an old towel under it and it dampens the vibration in the sump not allowing it to vibrate the stand or floor. Also adding new lr to the tank is tricky with the live stock you have. I would leave all the rock you have in the tank and add the new rock slowly if you can. What is your feeding/ supplement schedule? How is the flow in the tank? What type and size is the return pump and how is the plumbing under the tank? What does the plumbing look like in your overflow and what type of return nozzle are you using? How is the return aimed in the tank? If you are using power heads in the tank how many and where are they placed? What type of water are you using ro , di ,rodi or tap? Have you tested for phosphate? What maintenance have you done so far, How is the skimmer setup and for how long/ Are you cleaning the skimmer with soap? if you are stop if you haven't don't it can lead to longer break in times? Sorry so many questions but let's see if we can sortthis thing out and make it less noise, work and stress!

I would not take the so called &quotead rock" out. Once it has been in the tank for some time it becomes Live Rock.
To me is sounds like you need to make some minor adjustment on your equipment.
Is your skimmer producing foam? If so don't worry about it.
You must give these things some time. as for the temp I would invest in some fans or even a small fan over the sump will cool the water. Even though some reefs get to 84 degrees it does not stay there. Try some fans and see if that help. If going with a new skimmer try an in sump as they don't make that much noise.
Are you using RO/DI water?

[diannasreef]

Hi. Well, I spoke to the owner of the pet store where I bought my setup and he was very, very nice and offered to take back my Prizm skimmer and give me a full refund on it so that I could get one that would run out of my sump. I'm really happy about that because I would really rather have one that runs out of the sump.

So, I know this question has probably been fully addressed many times but which skimmer should I get?.....there are so many choices, all claiming to be the best!

I will try to answer some of the questions the best I can.

Feeding: once in the morning, frozen cubes melted, then two eye droppers full (about 3/4 tsp. each) then the rest goes in the refrigerator for later.

I think the water flow in the tank needs to be better. And I need to find out the answer about the pump.

I'm not currently using any powerheads (again I think water flow needs to be better), and I have not tested the phosphate levels.

I am using RO water. What's DI?

I also had the idea of using pads to cushion the impact of water flowing over my overflow to deaden the sound. I'm glad that will work.

THANKS for all the input!

[Scuba]

DI is Deionisation, type of water purification. Generally used to remove silicates and phosphates from RO water.

Do you know how much water is being moved in your tank, it is recommended to have the water turnover at about 10 times per hour.

[Matt Rogers]

Yeah, I'd work on the circulation.
Any of those skimmers you are thinking about are pretty darn good.
There are SO many good skimmers now, it's hard to pick the 'best.'
One that isn't on your list is Euro-Reef, a lot of people swear by those and they have one now that is ~relatively~ cheap for Euro-Reef.

[turbo4603]

hey dianna, welcome to three reef. i cant speek with too much experience yet but members in this board all told me the main ingredient in aquariums, Patients. dont rush the purchases without looking up some backround info on the product. Ure in the best forum around. everything these guys say is pretty acurate. so have fun and keep us posted.

ps. one of the best place (cheapest too) to buy aquarium stuff online is
www.bigalsonline.com