General Filtration Questions

[jwright]

I have been running my tank now for about a 18 months. It is a 125 fowlr and invertebrates. The tank is stocked such that as the fish mature it will be over stocked. My plan is to grow into a 180 or 200 gallon tank in a year or 2. Anyway I have a few general questions?

1) I have a sealife 125 wet/dry filter that has been running on my tank since the beginning. Im looking for Ideas to get away from the sponges and filter pads. I am tired of rinsing and changing them . I do this every week when I know it really needs to be done every 3 or 4 days. The Bio balls appear as clean as can be. there isnt much algae or slime in the bioball area which surprises me. This chamber is kept a little over half full of water at all times.

2) Has anyone used purigen by Seachem? they say it works on the normal things as well as nitrates. My Nitrates run between 15 and 25 parts per million. I use RO water and I have about 85 lbs of live rock. I was thinking about adding this to my carbon filter which is a fluaval 403.

3) The nitrates are feeding quite a hair algae crop that I am currently stuck with. Im thinking of adding some macro algae to the sump to compete with the hair algae but unsure about which would be the best?? Im also thinking of adding 20 or 30 Turbos unsure if they would attack the hair algae or not? But it is time to replenish my snail population it has slowly been dwindling away.

4) I guess my final questions deal with my turbo floater multi 1000 that I have running in the sump as well. Does anyone know on average how long it should take for the collection cup to fill? Is it better to have a really thick dark collection which takes several days or a watery collection? I try to keep it set so that the bubbles are half way up the entry tube of the collection cup but some times I get some really watery output.

Thanks for help, this site is great.

 

[lando]

You can just remove the filter pad from the trickle tray. I also suggest ditching the bioballs and replacing them with LR rubble. Your best defense against NO3 is to manage them by regular and frequent water changes using a NO3 free source water. Evaluate your stocking level and your feeding schedule as these are the two biggest contributors to NO3.

 

[jwright]

We love the fish that we have and because I am planning on the larger tank Im going to stick it out with my current setup. The fish are still less than half size at this point in time. I do finally have my family understanding that many fish means harsh water quality. I did have a single soft mushroom coral that had arrived on a piece of live rock that has budded into 2. I thought that may mean im not doing to badly.

I like the idea of adding live rock rubble to the wet dry filter. Do I keep it suspended on the grate or do I just fill it from the floor up?

Would this have to be siphoned and cleaned I imagine it is going to trap all of the sediment?

Would you recomend lighting this area and adding cleaners to it?

Just trying to get a feel for the type of maintenance that would have to be performed in the wet dry if I do this.

Thanks for the info.

 

[Salttanker]

You will want the reef rubble submerged at all times. With this type of setup, there is minimal maintenance involved. I don't clean the reef rubble in mine at all. Make sure you get between 30-40# of rubble for adequate biological filtration.
I would only add lighting to it if you are planning on keeping macro algae, or plants that require lighting.
Lando it right. Bio balls seem to have traces of nitrates regardless of how clean you keep the tank. If you don't have one already, I would get a good skimmer to help out with the docs in the water.

Mike

 

[jwright]

This might sound silly but how large should the rubble pieces be as to not restrict flow? I think this has just become my weekend project thanks for the advice.

John

 

[Salttanker]

Nope. It's not a silly question. Reef rubble is just broken off pieces from lr. You can order it online, or maybe your lfs will sell or give you the scraps. It won't restrict flow at all, and it will give you a more natural biological filtration.

 

[jwright]

Ok one more question. Do I want to lay the rock on the bottom of the wet dry and let it pile up or do I want to leave the eggcrate in the wet dry that holds the bio balls off of the bottom?

Thanks again

 

[Salttanker]

You can leave the eggcrate on the wet/dry if you desire. Just make sure the reef rubble is fully submerged. You can let it pile up, but make sure they don't get dry.

Mike

 

[lando]

I would remove the egg crate. this will allow you keep the LR rubbl fully submerged and the water level in the sump a little lower. It will help prevent an overflow should you lose power. What do you currently have in the tank and what are you feeding? What is your feeding schedule?

 

[jwright]

1 Blue Ringed Angel approx 5 inches had over a year
2 Banner fish Approx 3 and 4 inches had over a year
2 percula clowns 2 inches have had over a year
1 royal gramma 2 inches have had over a year
1 Midas Blenny 2-3 inches about 6 months
1 neon Goby 1 inch about 6 months
1 fire fish 1 inch about 6 months
1 Shrimp goby 3-4 inches about 8 months has done a job on my dwarf hermits
1 Flame Angel 2 inches newest and final edition had one before but lost after several months.


5 scarlet hermits
1 blue legged hermit
1 sand sifting sea star
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
a dozen or so assorted snails
about 85 lbs of mixed lalo and fiji live rock


I know my tank is at capacity. My plans are to grow the tank along with the fish in a year or so. Or ill have to thin out stock if that doesnt happen.

I feed Once a day usually after I get home from work. I feed on a rotation - Mysis shrimp, Angel formula, Squid, formula 1 frozen and pellets and 3 times a week I add some sea veggies in addition to some combination of the above. I often skip a day here or there but I dont stick to a particular every other day schedule. I feel like i dont feed enough the guys have a voracious apetite. I dont leave uneaten food in the tank.

I do a 15 to 20 gallon water change with RO water 2X a month. as well as vacuum the crushed coral once a month.

 

[jwright]

Well I ordered 30lbs of Live Rock Rubble to start with from toofishy.com it was 1.50 a lb. It its good Ill get some more. I called my lfs one wanted 3.00 bucks a lb but was out and 1 wanted 2 bucks a lb but they were out also. So with any luck Ill have fresh live rock rubble early next week. I am excited about this change because a long term goal is to have a mandarin running around in my tank. But from reading on this site I know how difficult they are to keep. But maybe this is a step in the right direction for that too. Who knows. This is a very addictive hobby.

Thanks for all of the help. When I get the rubble im going to add it to my sump and slowly over time start removing the bio balls.

John

 

[Salttanker]

It sounds like you are headed in the right direction. You will be happy with this arrangement. Let us know how you make out.

Regards,

Mike

 

[lando]

A step in the right direction. You are at the maximum capacity for your tank but should be okay. I would slow feedings to once every other day. That is plenty. I feed my reefs about once every three days. Feeding once a day is certainly contributing to your NO3 issues. Cut way back (don't worry, your fish will be fine) and make sure you thaw and rinse all frozen food with RO/DI water prior to feeding the tank. Soaking it in a dietary suppliment like Vita Chem and Selcon is also a good move. Keep up on water changes until the NO3 is down.