Are inverts a must?

[border324]

i have a 55 gallon saltwater set up! that i have had for about 1 year now.i have never had liverock or live sand. had all the basic equipment.
XP2 filter
150 watt heater
sea clone 100 protein skimmer
1 power head
never had a problem with allege so i never thought much on inverts for my tank. just had fish. and did my daily and weekly chores.
since day one i have always had problems and never really got any enjoyment out of this tank. i really would like to get my tank started back up and i hope do things right this time!
i have a empty tank now but i just ordered 35 pounds of live rock from live aquaria.com 150.00 shipped. i would like to go with some indopacific black sand (fine grade) i just dont know about a deep sand bed?
i dont have a ro unit so i was thinking about distilled water?
can you think of anything else i should get for my restart.
thanks
michael[/b]

 

[fishfreek]

What kind of problems where you having. I am guessing by your message they where not algae based as you said you never had an algae problem.

Knowing what the problems where in the past will help us give you advice on how to avoide those in the future.

 

[border324]

i could never keep a fish for more than 1 month. except for 1 clown fish. that is now dead. i have every thing that was needed and i did my proper chores on the tank.
1 problem i think i had was my ph never stayed the same. it always dropped and then i would add a buffer and it would go back to 8.2 but with in a few hrs it would be back at 7.8 or lower. i know a sudden change in ph can stress out fish but i just could never help it. my tank was fully cycled ammo got up a little and nitrites was at 0 ppms and my nitrates well always at lest 20ppm even after a water change(20%) if you can get anything out of this i would be so greatfull.
thanks michael

 

[steve-s]

Even though just an FO tank, good water flow is still very important. With the XP I'm assuming there was no sump? If so, was the tank covered with a glass lid?

ph issues are often caused by improper gas exchange and insufficient GPH moreso than chem deficiencies. I PH and the filstar will not come close. The XP2 runs at 300 GPH when emptyand once media is placed in it the flow will be cut by about 1/3. What kind of PH?

What I would suggest is once you get the LR in the tank, completely recycle it as it where a new tank. You can read up on fishless cycling in the articles section. The LR will cause a small spike in the readings but unless uncured will not be enough to properly fuel a cycle. Once the tank is properly cycled and with the addition of the LR, you should have less NO3 problems. You may also wish to lose the sponge filter pads in the canister. They can reduce the flow a fair amount and the LR should handle your bio filtration. I use mine mainly for carbon and a poly filter.

How was the skimmer performing and how often did you rinse the media in the Filstar?

Cheers
Steve

 

[border324]

With the XP I'm assuming there was no sump? If so, was the tank covered with a glass lid?

no there was no sump. should i have one? and what are they for?
i had the basic plastic hoods that came with the fish tank but i had to cut holes so my protein skimmer would hang on the back. along with my heater and return for my xp2.

I PH and the filstar will not come close. The XP2 runs at 300 GPH when emptyand once media is placed in it the flow will be cut by about 1/3. What kind of PH?

do you mean i have to hook the power head up with the xp2?
i have a maxi-jet 900 for a power head. i dont understand how i increase the gph with my power head? i have my power head in my tank just to create a curent.

i rinse my xp2 every 2-3 weeks. if i loose the sponge filters in the xp what do i replace it with?
thanks michael

 

[Travis]

Michael,
I think you are making the right decision including live rock in the "new" system. Second time around you will be able to make a lot of adjustments. I would include as much live rock as you can afford (1-1.5 lbs per gal.)

Secondly, I would create a 5" DSB using sand such as Old castle brand, that you can find at your local home depot. ( I believe you should be able to get it in Maryland.) That black sand definitely looks cool, but I am not sure if it is beneficial to use in a marine tank.

I totally agree with Steve on the circulation issue. Circulation should not be an afterthought, afterall these fish are from the ocean, and all we can try to do is mimic that enviroment. Pick up a few Maxi jet 1200 power heads. You can get them for around $18 each...not too bad. The tank should be turned at least 10 times an hour...some people turn the tank upwards of 20 times per hour.

The sponge in your filter is a trap for debris that will cause water quality to decline in a hurry. You could run your filter with only some carbon and it will increase your circulation quite a bit.
I don't have any experience with the seaclone skimmers, but you should check up a little and see if an upgrade to the skimmer is necessary.

You're on the right track now with the LR! HTH Good Luck.
Travis

 

[MACATUA]

The black sand works fine, just a lot more expensive. But it looks cool!

 

[gooyferret]

Seaclone skimmers are very descent skimmers for the $$, and will do just fine for a 55 gallon. For a fish only tank i dont know if you will need to turn the tank over 10 times, if its going to be having corals then definitly, but not for a FO tank. 5 times i would think would be fine. 2 maxijet PH will do a good enough job for turning and making circulation, i would go with 1200's or rio 600's whatever your prefrence is. A problem that you may have had with your old tank is ammonia, with only a HOB filter and protein skimmer im sure the ammonia may have spiked quite often. Was the skimmer properly setup, they can sure be a pain to get the right?

 

[border324]

i never had a hang on filter. it was a canister filter
thanx guys i hope i do better this time around
any more help would be greatful
thanx michael

 

[border324]

1 more question?
when i put my power heads in, where do i put them?
at the top of the tank pointing down or at the bottom pointing up?
also some one said

dont know if you will need to turn the tank over 10 times

how do you measure how many time you turn the tank over? and is circulation a major key to having a saltwater tank?
thanks
michael

 

[Travis]

Michael,
I would place the power heads on opposite ends of the tank attached to the rear glass. Submerge them several inches into the water and point them so that the flow makes an X pattern in the tank.

To measure how many times you turn the tank over, simply add up how many gallons per hour all your filtration equipment pumps....then divide that number by the number of gallons in your tank. ie filtration pumps 100 gph in a 10 gal tank= 10 times an hour.

As far as whether circulation is key to a marine tank...I think it is one of the most important and overlooked factors. If you turn your tank over 10 times an hour, you are in pretty good shape, and it is one less variable to look at if a problem occurs. HTH
Travis