wet/dry filter question

[mdl91881]

i just install a wet/dry filter with a built in protein skimmer on Saturday and have a few questions.

1. Do these filters evaporate water quickly? i've already had to add water to the system twice! i fill it about an inch and a half above the marked level and then it seems like its gone in no time! i've checked for leaks in the system and haven't been able to find any.

2. i can't seem to get the skimmer adjusted correctly, this is the first one that i've used so i'm not sure if it working right or not? it is createing bubbles(i adjusted it for the smallest possable) but the bubbles are not making there way into the collection cup. they just seem to float on the water level inside the skimmer and never make there way into the cup. is this an adjustment problem or could it be something else?

another off subject question

I got a coral beauty about 1 1/2 weeks ago and all it does is hide in the live rock. is this normal for them or is it still adjusting to the tank? they are such a pretty fish and it would be a shame if all it did was hide. also i have not seen it eat at all and am getting worried about that.

thanks in advance for all the help!!!

 

[fishfreek]

1. Yes, a wet/dry or any type of sump will enhance your evaporation. The reason is that a) you have more water surface area thus more gas exchange. b) if your using the bio balls and the water is trickling down over them you have significatn more chance for evaporation.

Keep up with your adding fresh water to top off your tank. This will be a daily or bi-daily thing from here on out.

2. What brand of skimmer is it. You saidits built in so you might have to just tell us the name and model of your wet/dry sytem. Did the skimmer come with a pump or did you add a pump to it. Its a great possiblity that your pump is undersized for the skimmer. Overall the water height in the skimmer should be just under the bottom of the collection cup. Skim wont appear instantly but over the period of a few hours to a day you should start to see it collect in the cup.

off topic question

Yes these fish are known to be shy. I have had my coral beauty for 2 years now and it still spends most of its time swimming around and behind the rocks. Try to sit away from the tank and remain still. You should see it come out and basicly swim the maze of your rock work. If its not eating it could be from stress of the move or it could be something is picking on it. Try enticing it to eat by offering brine shrimp.

What are you feeding this fish now? They should have a diet of algae and meat.

 

[mdl91881]

it is an aquaclear 75 pro with the built in skimmer. yes it did come with a pump. the pump it came with is a rio 600 and i bought a cap 2200 for the return pump. the water sits about 1 inch below the cup and the bubbles almost come to the bottom of the cup. i let it run all day saturday and sundayand the bubbles never made it into the tube that runs through the middle of the cup, (except for about the first ten minutes, the bubbles went all the way up and overflowed into the cup, but then they died down and haven't gone back up yet)

as far as the angel i've tried to feed it everything. brine shrimp, flake food, and i've even tried the frozen pygmy angel food (i think formula one makes it). i haven't seen anything pick on it at all. the only other things that are in the tank are 5 damsels, a serpent star, some blue legged hermit crabs, and turbo snails. the one thing that i did notice is that the angel took over the spot where the starfish used to hide and he doesn't move out of that spot. he just sits in there and turns in circles. as for the starfish he looks as if something has been picking on him. it looks like he has "bite" marks on his legs. that has never been there before the angel was added. could the angel be picking on the starfish?

thanks again for the help!!!

 

[maiceman]

My skimmer took about a month before it really settled in. Your water level sounds to low to me but it will probably create wet bubbles if you raise it to the level suggested in a pervious post. I just continued raising the level in mine every 30 minutes until I started getting dry bubbles. Every other day or so it would need adjusting again for about a month. Now it is fine but still slightly below the O ring of the collection cup.

My Coral Beauty I guess is pretty bold. It did hide for about 2-3 weeks but now is all over the tank all the time. If I stand right up close it shys away a little but that is all. When made sure early that I stepped back right after feeding so he would come out and eat plenty.

 

[mdl91881]

this might sound dump but what is the difference between wet and dry bubbles?

 

[maiceman]

Wet bubbles will burst quickly and create a pool in your collection cup that will need to be emptied within an hour usually. Dry bubbles have very little moisture content and hold there form for a very long time. They do not overflow the cup and they eventually dry up and create a slime coating in the cup.