Mike
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hey all, I could really use some help with my reef aquarium, and I thank you for your help in advance.
First, here is my setup, which even now I'm unsure about. I've had some different conflicting advice depending on which LFS I go to.
37 Gallon Tall Aquarium
SeaCone 100 Protein Skimmer (hangs on tank)
Fluval 404 with BioMax and Carbon filter media
Acura 1000 heater
GE 55 Watt 30 in Flourescent Striplight (high output compact)
Here is how I started the aquarium - or how I was told to. I filled the aquarium with the premix of salt, water, SeaBuffer pH and Alkalinity Booster. Once filled, I added probably about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of live sand to the bottom. I then added 2 bottles of FritzZyme #9 Nitrifying Bacteria.
I let it run a couple of days, I then over the course of about 3 days added about 41 pounds of "cycled" live rock. It was in the LFS for a couple of weeks. We saw critters and feather dusters within days.
After about a week we added a Blue Devil Damsel (bad idea). He got very comfortable with his new territory, and when we added 5 more fish (Maroon Clown, Bi-Color Blennie, Royal Gramma, Flame Angel, and Lemon Peel) he tore the Royal Gramma apart almost instantly, so I had to remove him (Gramma) from the tank (The Gramma is recovering nicely).
Ok, now for my questions:
1. Do I have an adequate setup for a reef?
2. I've been reading about sumps, whats the deal with these? Do I need one? What are bulkheads for? Drilling tanks? What!
3. After about 2 weeks, we have no more feather dusters, no tiny critters on live rock. It looks healthy, but no more critters. Did my angels eat them? Do I need critters? Is this normal? I have red lumps on the rock with white hairs growing. What are they, are they bad? How about green bubbles? Is it bubble algae, something else?
4. I've been reading alot about Nitrates and how they effect everything. When I told the LFS that tried to sell me the fancy filter, they said that the Fluval while it is a "good" filter, pumps nitrates back into the tank due to the nature of the filter. They said that they're filter wouldn't do that, is this true? I also read, that if you have enough Live Rock, that the filter media in the Fluval is unnecessary. How can that be? How will you create less Nitrates in the tank if you remove the filter media, biologicals are being broken down either by the live rock or the fluval, why does the fluval produce more? Don't I need the Fluval to filter out chunks of uneaten food and fish waste?
I'm really uncomfortable with everything because I've read so much conflicting advice, opinions, etc... I don't know what to believe. Any advice could be really helpful.
P.S. By the way, does anyone use a Ground Fault Interrupter? Do I need one? I currently have everything on a power strip behind the stand.
Thanks again everyone!
First, here is my setup, which even now I'm unsure about. I've had some different conflicting advice depending on which LFS I go to.
37 Gallon Tall Aquarium
SeaCone 100 Protein Skimmer (hangs on tank)
Fluval 404 with BioMax and Carbon filter media
Acura 1000 heater
GE 55 Watt 30 in Flourescent Striplight (high output compact)
Here is how I started the aquarium - or how I was told to. I filled the aquarium with the premix of salt, water, SeaBuffer pH and Alkalinity Booster. Once filled, I added probably about 1 1/2 - 2 inches of live sand to the bottom. I then added 2 bottles of FritzZyme #9 Nitrifying Bacteria.
I let it run a couple of days, I then over the course of about 3 days added about 41 pounds of "cycled" live rock. It was in the LFS for a couple of weeks. We saw critters and feather dusters within days.
After about a week we added a Blue Devil Damsel (bad idea). He got very comfortable with his new territory, and when we added 5 more fish (Maroon Clown, Bi-Color Blennie, Royal Gramma, Flame Angel, and Lemon Peel) he tore the Royal Gramma apart almost instantly, so I had to remove him (Gramma) from the tank (The Gramma is recovering nicely).
Ok, now for my questions:
1. Do I have an adequate setup for a reef?
2. I've been reading about sumps, whats the deal with these? Do I need one? What are bulkheads for? Drilling tanks? What!
3. After about 2 weeks, we have no more feather dusters, no tiny critters on live rock. It looks healthy, but no more critters. Did my angels eat them? Do I need critters? Is this normal? I have red lumps on the rock with white hairs growing. What are they, are they bad? How about green bubbles? Is it bubble algae, something else?
4. I've been reading alot about Nitrates and how they effect everything. When I told the LFS that tried to sell me the fancy filter, they said that the Fluval while it is a "good" filter, pumps nitrates back into the tank due to the nature of the filter. They said that they're filter wouldn't do that, is this true? I also read, that if you have enough Live Rock, that the filter media in the Fluval is unnecessary. How can that be? How will you create less Nitrates in the tank if you remove the filter media, biologicals are being broken down either by the live rock or the fluval, why does the fluval produce more? Don't I need the Fluval to filter out chunks of uneaten food and fish waste?
I'm really uncomfortable with everything because I've read so much conflicting advice, opinions, etc... I don't know what to believe. Any advice could be really helpful.
P.S. By the way, does anyone use a Ground Fault Interrupter? Do I need one? I currently have everything on a power strip behind the stand.
Thanks again everyone!