finally taking the plunge.. 120g from cichlids to salt

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Powerheads aren't a filter...?
Your rock is your main source of biological filtration.
A sump, will normally be mechanical, unless it's a nano or you are unable to a sump. In which case it would be a HOB or Canister. Hob being more common.

Without water flow the rock wouldn't be filtering much. You can have a very successful tank with no real mechanical filtration. I would just use rock, powerheads, and a skimmer.
 
Without water flow the rock wouldn't be filtering much. You can have a very successful tank with no real mechanical filtration. I would just use rock, powerheads, and a skimmer.


No...? The powerhead stops detritus from settling... Rocks can filter without out them.
Nor did I state that you can't have a successful without mechanical filtration.
A skimmer is also part of your mechanical filtration. It removes dissolved organics in the water, but it is a machine. Making it mechanical filtration.
 
ok so i used bio spira and even some seachem stability over the court of the first week. got the brown diatoms (indicative of tank cycling i think), which turned green all over the rocks and sand. now the water itself is greenish. i haven't done a WC yet, only a top off from evap. the tank is 18 days old. it has 8 fish and all are active/healthy and eating. should i do a WC at this point?
 
I just went back and read and did not see details...what filter , sand, rock, etc did you go with?

You mentioned diatoms, which is just something that happens with new tanks. They are usually brown though and will go away as silicates disappear. Green is probably algae.

You just mentioned 8 fish in an 18 day old tank?! What are your parameters? In a tank that new...I would start with one fish since you used a bacterial supplement and that would be just to make sure there is enough BB to handle a fish. I'm guessing 8 is overloading your BB and your ammonia and nitrites are high (they should be zero ). Saltwater is a slow process and you have to add fish slow. A fish every few weeks, not a fish every other day. Your BB can't grow and handle rapid increases in waste like that.


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Have you tested your water? 8 fish in 18 days is way too fast, my guess Is you will need to be doing regular water changes to keep your livestock alive. What fish do you have?


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