Bangai Cardinal problem/protein skimmer - Page 2 - Aquarium Advice

land locked · 05-07-2008, 06:58 PM

What type of filter do you Kurt? That blue fuzzy stuff? Because when I switched to LR from my bio balls I got rid of the filter too.

Kurt_Nelson · 05-07-2008, 08:33 PM

Yeah... if you're switching from bioballs to LR, I can see ditching the mechanical filtration that went with the bioballs. I'm assuming the original poster removed some stand alone filter unit. Maybe my assumption is wrong.

My point was that skimmers and filters, while both reducing bad stuff in the water, can serve very different purposes. If you're limited on live rock, a filter can house a good portion of your bacterial population in the floss, sponges, etc. Getting rid of that population could cause issues. But if you have plenty of live rock, the beneficial bacteria in your rock is going to be doing most of the work and the bacterial in your filters is kind of just an added bonus. Mechanical filters can still serve a good purpose in a tank with LR by straining debris from the water column. You just have to keep up on maintaining it.

A skimmer on the other hand reduces dissolved organics by pullling them out of the water via foam, versus trapping the debris in a sponge as mechanical filters do.

Me personally, I have a HOT Magnum 250 and a Biowheel 100 with filter pads for switching over to a quarantine tank. The HOT Magnum gets it's sponge around the carbon cannister swapped out with a new one every week.

land locked · 05-08-2008, 08:52 AM

Got it

Sorry to interrupt, but thanks for clarifying.

dex2369 · 05-08-2008, 08:57 AM

I thought that aquarium advice would help with a couple of problems. I've gotten some nice, simple suggestions so thanks to those who didn't just bombared me with fancy questions and abbreviations. I don't carry my water quality readings with me all the time, I just know they are good. I even took them to the aquarium store and they tested them as well. Obviously I'm new to this, but if my tank wasn't doing good, everything would be dying or dead. I would at least be able to tell a difference, because I pay close attention to it. I wanted friendly help, not a bunch of posts with smart comments that make the beginners look stupid. I'll get help elsewhere.

**roka64** · 05-08-2008, 09:29 AM

Dex, I don't see any unusual bombardment of fancy questions. They all look standard to me. It is important to know your water parameters and I also don't carry my parameters around with me. If I post a question about issues with my critters, it is very important to let folks know the exact numbers. For example, I'm new, and my water looks clean but I have an issue with one of my fish, I post: ammonia 0.25, nitrItes 0, nitrAtes 5. Folks would ask did anything recently die in the tank or have you checked your water source for ammonia. Then we can proceed to find out the exact problem and how to resolve it. If you feel folks here are asking too many questions, it's only because we care and want to help.
If you don't understand the fancy questions (we were all new and asked the same questions as you, so don't sweat that) simply ask for clarification and we will be happy to answer. You do have another way, find some one that you understand and trust and PM them. I hope you stick around, I think you may find other sites a lot less friendly (that's why I am here, I couldn't stand the other sites that let members bash others).

Kurt_Nelson · 05-08-2008, 10:43 AM

The short, non-caring answer is skimmers don't cause fish to stop eating. And since absolutely everything in your tank is perfect, you just must have a finicky fish.

Agree with roka... good luck asking this same question at some of the bigger "reef" sites.

fijiwigi · 05-08-2008, 10:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dex2369

I thought that aquarium advice would help with a couple of problems. I've gotten some nice, simple suggestions so thanks to those who didn't just bombared me with fancy questions and abbreviations. I don't carry my water quality readings with me all the time, I just know they are good. I even took them to the aquarium store and they tested them as well. Obviously I'm new to this, but if my tank wasn't doing good, everything would be dying or dead. I would at least be able to tell a difference, because I pay close attention to it. I wanted friendly help, not a bunch of posts with smart comments that make the beginners look stupid. I'll get help elsewhere.

I agree that the responses if worded differently may have been more helpfull. Sorry dex if you felt bombarded normally its an awesome friendly place for advice. Its easy to forget sometimes after you have been doing this a while what it is like to be new at this.

**Ziggy953** · 05-08-2008, 11:02 AM

From the information you provided it sounded to me like you set the tank up 2 months ago and added the cardinal and the clown at that time. That is why I asked you if you cycled your tank. You provided very little information about your set up so I was just trying to go through my list of things that it could be. If a fish is doing fine and then suddenly starts acting strange chances are there is something going on in the water.

I'm sorry if you took our questions the wrong way, but we aren't there looking at your tank we have to get the information in written form and it's not always easy to figure out what's going on. I hope you will stay here, other sites are, well they are other sites..

05-07-2008, 06:58 PM	#11 (permalink)
land locked Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 159	What type of filter do you Kurt? That blue fuzzy stuff? Because when I switched to LR from my bio balls I got rid of the filter too. __________________ 72 gallon bow front, koralia 1 powerhead, approx 30 gallon sump and separate 20 gallon display refugium, Aqua C protein skimmer, Live rubble filteration, 80 # of LR, and a 4 inch sand bed.

05-08-2008, 08:52 AM	#13 (permalink)
land locked Aquarium Advice Activist Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Wyoming Posts: 159	Got itSorry to interrupt, but thanks for clarifying. __________________ 72 gallon bow front, koralia 1 powerhead, approx 30 gallon sump and separate 20 gallon display refugium, Aqua C protein skimmer, Live rubble filteration, 80 # of LR, and a 4 inch sand bed.

05-08-2008, 09:29 AM	#15 (permalink)
roka64 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 9,427 Images: 12	Dex, I don't see any unusual bombardment of fancy questions. They all look standard to me. It is important to know your water parameters and I also don't carry my parameters around with me. If I post a question about issues with my critters, it is very important to let folks know the exact numbers. For example, I'm new, and my water looks clean but I have an issue with one of my fish, I post: ammonia 0.25, nitrItes 0, nitrAtes 5. Folks would ask did anything recently die in the tank or have you checked your water source for ammonia. Then we can proceed to find out the exact problem and how to resolve it. If you feel folks here are asking too many questions, it's only because we care and want to help. If you don't understand the fancy questions (we were all new and asked the same questions as you, so don't sweat that) simply ask for clarification and we will be happy to answer. You do have another way, find some one that you understand and trust and PM them. I hope you stick around, I think you may find other sites a lot less friendly (that's why I am here, I couldn't stand the other sites that let members bash others). __________________ Uh-oh, I just overloaded my Bioload! Vote for AA Good reading about: Nitrogen Cycle Fishless Cycling Need more help? Articles Acronym List --Scott

05-08-2008, 11:02 AM	#18 (permalink)
Ziggy953 Aquarium Advice Addict Community Moderator Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Sumerduck, Virginia Posts: 2,898 Images: 5	From the information you provided it sounded to me like you set the tank up 2 months ago and added the cardinal and the clown at that time. That is why I asked you if you cycled your tank. You provided very little information about your set up so I was just trying to go through my list of things that it could be. If a fish is doing fine and then suddenly starts acting strange chances are there is something going on in the water. I'm sorry if you took our questions the wrong way, but we aren't there looking at your tank we have to get the information in written form and it's not always easy to figure out what's going on. I hope you will stay here, other sites are, well they are other sites.. __________________ Happy Reefing! *NEW 150G Pick up 6/29/08 Build will be 4th of July weekend* Visit our Article section for answers on a variety of topics. LFS, PWC, PH RO/DI what in the world? Look here! Pods, algae and more!

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05-07-2008, 08:33 PM	#12 (permalink)
Kurt_Nelson Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: WA Posts: 1,934 Images: 28	Yeah... if you're switching from bioballs to LR, I can see ditching the mechanical filtration that went with the bioballs. I'm assuming the original poster removed some stand alone filter unit. Maybe my assumption is wrong. My point was that skimmers and filters, while both reducing bad stuff in the water, can serve very different purposes. If you're limited on live rock, a filter can house a good portion of your bacterial population in the floss, sponges, etc. Getting rid of that population could cause issues. But if you have plenty of live rock, the beneficial bacteria in your rock is going to be doing most of the work and the bacterial in your filters is kind of just an added bonus. Mechanical filters can still serve a good purpose in a tank with LR by straining debris from the water column. You just have to keep up on maintaining it. A skimmer on the other hand reduces dissolved organics by pullling them out of the water via foam, versus trapping the debris in a sponge as mechanical filters do. Me personally, I have a HOT Magnum 250 and a Biowheel 100 with filter pads for switching over to a quarantine tank. The HOT Magnum gets it's sponge around the carbon cannister swapped out with a new one every week.

05-08-2008, 08:57 AM	#14 (permalink)
dex2369 Aquarium Advice Newbie Join Date: May 2008 Location: Asheville, NC Posts: 7	I thought that aquarium advice would help with a couple of problems. I've gotten some nice, simple suggestions so thanks to those who didn't just bombared me with fancy questions and abbreviations. I don't carry my water quality readings with me all the time, I just know they are good. I even took them to the aquarium store and they tested them as well. Obviously I'm new to this, but if my tank wasn't doing good, everything would be dying or dead. I would at least be able to tell a difference, because I pay close attention to it. I wanted friendly help, not a bunch of posts with smart comments that make the beginners look stupid. I'll get help elsewhere.

05-08-2008, 10:43 AM	#16 (permalink)
Kurt_Nelson Aquarium Advice Addict Community Mentor Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: WA Posts: 1,934 Images: 28	The short, non-caring answer is skimmers don't cause fish to stop eating. And since absolutely everything in your tank is perfect, you just must have a finicky fish. Agree with roka... good luck asking this same question at some of the bigger "reef" sites.