Chemi-Pure or Carbon?

[L2]

Hey there,

Is Chemi-Pure safe? I hear so many people who rave about this stuff but does it screw up your pH or it just a chemical filter? I'm a little confused on that one. Should I stick with carbon or am I missing out on something amazing if I don't use Chemi-Pur?

Also, I have a new nano reef setup (12 gallon). Its been cycling for 14 days now. Amonia, NO2, NO3, are all at 0 and my pH is at 8.0.

Should I be doing water changes while the tank is cycling? I just had a recent algae bloom (brown algae and some green hair algae)... Would a water change (20% help?) And or should I put in a Phosphate absorber?

Thanks!
Lloyd

 

[tecwzrd]

Welcome to AA

Chemi-Pure is safe and does help more then GAC. Do you have a po4 test kit or know what your po4 level is? What type of water do you use? How are you cycling your tank? Have you read the fishless cycling article? Do you have lr in the tank? Cycling with the lights off is best to keep the algae bloom down.

 

[L2]

Thanks!!! For the welcome!!! This site looks great. I did read the fishless cycling article among a few others. I've been using a DO/IR unit that filters tap water. I haven't yet tested for po4. I don't have a kit for that one yet. I'm cycling my tank with 10 pounds of live rock and crushed coral/live sand. Again, I haven't had any amonia or NO2 or 3 in my water/present.. It's pretty stable. My pH is at 8 now. Is it time to do a 10 or 20% water change?

About Chemi-Pure... It sounds as though the substance is a pH buffer of sorts that chemicaly alters your pH... or am I wrong? I keep reading that I should stay clear of any chemicals that chemically alter my pH — especially in a nano/12 gallon reef setup. Otherwise if it's just a better sponge than it sounds great! Thoughts?

 

[tecwzrd]

Occasionally I’ll use Chemi-Pure, Cuprisorb, PhosGuard, & Purigen for a week or two and I haven’t had any of those products affect my ph either up or down.

All are great products from what I’ve experienced and since you use an ro/di unit as long as the filters are good you should have little to no trace of po4.

po4 can also come from your food. To test for po4 coming from your food put a small amount (1/4 teaspoon of flake or ¼ of a cube of frozen food in about a gal of water and let sit for 4+ hours) and then see if your food sources are contributing.

If possible buy po4 free food and if you use frozen then thaw in a small amount of tank water and rinse using a fine mesh sleeve before adding to the tank to reduce the po4 found in the water used to package the frozen.

It’s quite possible if you used cured lr then you may have a short cycle. Was the lr cured when you added it? Did you ever see any measurable nh3/no2? Do you use a qt tank?

So you want this to be a reef setup? What types of fish/inverts were you planning to add? What type of lighting do you have? You could add one small fish or better yet a clean up crew of Nassarius snails & red/blue leg hermits. Just go slow and you should be ok.

 

[L2]

So would it be ok if I used Chemi-Pure regularly as a substitue for a carbon filter?

I've been reading lots of books. Trying to be a good salwater/fish/reef keeper.

I don't actually have any food in my tank seeing as it doesn't contain any fish or coral. It's still cycling.

I got the live fiji rock from a good dealer — it was uncured live rock. And you'd think it'd actually take longer to cycle and or I'd see more amonia and or NO2/NO3 but I haven't had any at all and its been 14 days now. All that has really changed is that brown algae bloom and now a green hair algae bloom.

As for fish. I've done some research and sticking with fish that grow no larger than 3". I was thinking of getting a True Perucala Clown, a Royal Gramma, maybe a 6 stripe Wrass or a Goby... Maybe a small dwarf angel. No more than 3 or 4 fish...max. I thought about a blue damsel but I'm worried they're too aggressive for other tank mates. As for clean up crew... I waqs thinking a hermit crab and or a shrimp and a snail or two.

What do you think?

Thanks again for all your advice/help. Really very thoughtful of you!
Lloyd

PS:

As for the QT question. No I'm using a 12 gallon Nano Cube which is my sole aquarium to cure/cycle the rock. 14 days in do you think it's time for a 10%/20% water change? I hear people say that you should do 20% water changes even while your tank is cycling as the good bacteria multiplying in the live rock and not in your water. Thoughts?

 

[lando]

Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
I use Chemi-Pure in both of my reefs exclusively. Great stuff. Just make sure you rinse it with RO/DI water instead of tap water before adding it to the tank. It will soak up any impurities in the tap water and, therefore, decreaseit's useful life. Good luck in the start up!

 

[L2]

Cycling — Water change?

Its been 14 days since I started cycling my new tank. Haven't really made any water changes other than topping of whats evaporated. I've no Amonia, and no NO2 or NO3... But I've got a growing algae bloom... Brown and green algae... Should I do a 20% water change or let it be? I'm worried the algae is going to get out of hang.

I've got a 12 gallon tank.
10 pounds of live rock (that was uncured, it's curing in my tank)
and live coral sand.

the funny part about the uncured rock is that ummmm i have no amonia or NO2 or NO3... It's been very stable... pH of 8.0.

Any thoughts?

 

[tecwzrd]

The main reason people do pwc during the cycle is as you say to keep the good bacteria/coral on the lr. If the nh3/no2 rises beyond acceptable levels ie nh3/no2 higher then 2 ppm then I would consider it. The bacteria/coral still survives as long as it doesn’t go above 2 ppm during the cycle. Doing a pwc at this point is a waste of time since your nh3/no2/no3 is still at 0 and won’t accomplish anything.

You may want to add a small shrimp as a safe guard to raise your nh3 to create more bacteria and fully cycle your tank. Or you could start off slow and add one small fish and a couple of snails/hermits to slowly build what bacteria you have in the tank now. It is a good idea to do a 20%-50% pwc a day or two before adding stock.

I realize you haven’t added any food to the tank yet but you can still test for po4 in the food following the directions above. Since you use ro/di po4 from your water shouldn’t be an issue. I use San Francisco Bay Brand frozen foods personally and find very little po4 in them.

Your tank is going through “new tank syndrome” and having a little algae at this point is not uncommon and is fairly easy to rid with hermits/snails. I would aim for around 5 snails and 5 hermits to start with for a tank this size. Keeping your lights off until you are ready to add fish/inverts will help also. You can manually remove it with an old toothbrush and a siphon hose when you do your pwc.

When you do get fish/inverts I would recommend drip acclimating them for around 3 hours before adding to the tank so they have time to adjust to the ph/sg.

 

[L2]

Sounds good. Thanks again.

I'm going to wait it out another week before getting a few inverts. Would you get 1 or 2 corals before or after the inverts? Does it matter?

Also, when I do the 50% water change. Can I squeeze out the debris in my sponges in the back in the dirty saltwater and replace my carbon for Chemi-Pur?

I've got a little Nano Skimmer it's in my sump area in the back of the cube. It's pretty great considering it's so small but the micro bubbles are bad. I've got to find a good flat spong to trap them before they reach the return pump.

Thanks!
Lloyd

 

[tecwzrd]

I’d hold off for a couple of months before adding corals personally so your tank can stabilize once you add fish/inverts. What type of lighting do you have?

Yes I would replace the GAC with Chemi-Pur and rinse in ro/di water as lando suggested prior to adding to filter. Rinsing the sponges in old SW if fine and recommended.

Your skimmer could still be breaking in and the micro bubbles could resolve themselves within another couple of weeks. I wouldn’t add yet another sponge to clean to stop the bubbles until you are sure that it’s still going to be an issue.

Maintaining water quality can be difficult in such a small tank and too many sponges can kick your no3 levels high pretty quickly.

You may want to consider adding a HOB Refugium to both add more water volume, for pods, & to help maintain nutrient exportation since you do not plan on adding a sump.

 

[L2]

I've got a Nano Cube... So it's got a mix of both white and blue florescent tubes and they are strong! I don't plan on stocking the tank with any demanding/aggressive corals. Maybe get some Xenia and some easy leathers or mushrooms.

The cube came with three square spongs that you shove into the back sump/filter area. On the left hand side in the first chamber. The 2nd chamber contained ceramic rings and bio-balls which i removed!!! The 2nd chamber houses my carbon now. The third chamber house my nano skimmer and the return pump.

I plan on doing water changes pretty freqently - 10-20% every week. Prob squeeze out the sponges every 2 or so weeks...

The tank is in the bedroom and my significant other can't stand the sound of the protein skimmer so I have it off for 8 hours at night while we're sleeping. That's a whole other challenge on its own! LOL.

I did upgrade my return pump though. It was rather weak... 100 gph... to a maxi-jet 900.. which is about 200 gph.

what kind of aquarium do you have?

 

[tecwzrd]

Sounds good You could also put lr rubble where the bio-balls were. All tank info is located in the button. You can add yours in your settings

P.S.
If you haven't figured it out yet I like to BOLD links

 

[L2]

Oh yeah! The bold links are nifty! I told a friend the other day that my tank has "new tank syndrome" and he said... The only thing that has new tank syndrome is you! heh

LOL

 

[tecwzrd]

I’ve got 20+ years in dealing with fw & brackish but salt is relatively new to me as well since I just started my tank last August. I’m a voracious reader of everything and have learned tons on this site. Biggest adjustment for me was the longer acclimation process needed for sw versus fw/brackish and the limited fish load that sw can handle but other then that it’s been smooth sailing 8)

 

[L2]

I used to have a pretty large freshwater aquarium. Lots of fun and some turtles as a whole other setup. That was a while ago though.

Hey, if my pH is at 8.0 exactally is that bad? And how do I bring it up and get it to stablize at 8.2? Will that happen when I do a PWC?

So 14 days in, do you think I'd be wrecking my tank if I got a hermit crab and maybe some snails? I guess they'll eat the algae... What do you think? Or should I play it really safe and wait yet another week?

LL

 

[tecwzrd]

8.0 ph is fine and I wouldn’t mess with it. Fluctuations in ph with a new tank is very common and will balance out on it’s own over time. It will not have any affect on fish/inverts either. Do you know what your alk/ca levels are currently?

I would either add a small shrimp to keep your bacteria going or add a inverts. If you don’t soon the bacteria you do have will slowly die off since there is no nh3 source.

 

[L2]

alk is hardness? i think it's pretty high like 240 or 300.. I forget. I have those notes at home.

When you say inverts do those include shrimps, hermit crabs and snails? or are those some corals as well?

Thanks!! I think I will get something small to put in this weekend then. If I do get shrimp or hermet crab then do I need to do a PWC for one or two specimens? Thoughts? what do shrimp eat?

LB

 

[tecwzrd]

I would start with hermits and snails and hold off on shrimp and corals for a couple of months. Both shrimp and corals require pretty high quality water and if you got a nh3/no2 spike it could kill them off quickly.

Doing the pwc couldn’t hurt and is generally recommended. My main concern is that you have never had any signs of nh3/no2 and still have 0 no3. That leads me to believe there was very little die-off from your lr or your lr had sufficient bacteria to handle any increase in nh3. Going very slow at this point will save you headaches of having your tank re-cycle and will give your tank time to develop more bacteria.

Hermits and snails put off very little nh3 but over the course of a month to two just feeding them will help to build it up and then I would add one fish or you could add a small 2”-3” fish now and closely watch your water parameters performing 20% pwc as needed if you do get any detectible nh3/no2.

As far as feeding goes for the tank I would vary between quality po4 free flakes like Ocean Nutrition Formula one and two or NutraFin Max Marine Flake but mostly feed a good frozen mixture like Marine Cuisine thawed in tank water and rinsed in ro/di before adding to tank.

When you get fish I’d soak the frozen for an hour or two in Kent Marine Zoe or Selcon to ensure they get all their vitamins needed.

Feed sparingly every other day and watch for any uneaten food and feed less if most is not consumed within 5 minutes.

 

[L2]

So hermit crabs and snails can't survive on the substrate and algae alone and need additional food just like fish?

Sounds all good. I'm going to take it slowww, I'd hate to crash at this point!!! Oh yeah, and what do I do about the lights? Leave them on or off?

LL

 

[tecwzrd]

In larger tanks with 1.5-2 lbs of lr per gal they do just find scavenging but with a smaller tank and the fact that there wouldn’t be the traditional left over scraps from feeding a fish I would supplement with small quantities of frozen/flake to ensure they get enough to eat. Once you get a fish then the leftovers should be enough with the occasional extra little bit after the lights go out for the scavengers.

Lighting should be no more then 12 hours a day and if you want to enjoy the tank at night I’d recommend putting the lights on a timer. I have my timer set for 9am to 9pm.