Hello

[AngelaH]

Hey there, my name is Angela and my husband are pretty new to the saltwater community. He previously had a 55 gallon African Chiclid set up, but when we moved a year and a half ago, we decided to change it up, and upgraded to a 90 gallon clear for life acrylic aquarium. I am pretty dumb when it come to the specifics on things so please be patient.. haha. Anyways, for lighting we have 4 T5 54 watt lights, 2 Actinic, and 2 I am guessing are sun...not sure they look white to me.. We have about 120 lbs of live rock, and I am not entirely sure about how many lbs. of live sand. As far as livestock, I am somewhat concerned that we may be overstocked. The tank was started in November of 2010. Currently we have a Sailfin Tang, a Mimic Tang(both apron. 3 inches), (both of which I know will outgrow the tank, but seeing as we only have a year left before the tank will have to be taken down before we move, Im hoping they will continue to do as well as they have been). Anyways, we also have a maroon clown, a starry blenny, a Helfreichi Firefish Goby, A blue cleaner Wrasse, and 3 green Chromis. Also for our cleanup crew we have a dozen turbo snails, half a dozen nassurus snails (sp?), a dozen hermit crabs, a pink and green sea cucumber, and 2 sand sifter starfish. Wow, that sounds like a lot when I type it. Everything has been doing really well so far. We currently have bio balls in the back, and am not sure if I should take them out or not. Ive read that some people say yes, and some say no. Ive gotten 2 different answers from out LFS... so I have no clue. And currently we have no carbon running in there. Is that something we need to get. As far as the filter in the back, it says RIO 2100, is that enough for a 90 gallon, we had a fluvial filter that was running with it, but my husband took it out a few months ago.. I can't remember why exactly. We have a skimmer, but its in the back, and to hard for me to see what kind. And 2 heaters Marineland 200 watts. Right now when I test, I know I need a better test, Nitrates are just under 20ppm (help) I know thats high. And that is with doing about a 15 gallon water change weekly. Nitrites are at 0, Alk is between 180-300 ppm, ph is right at 8.4, and my hydrometer reads at right about 1.023 and 1.024. I don't think I am overfeeding, so am I overstocked, or do I need to take the bioballs out. I know this is all scatterbrained..sorry. Any help, and constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.
Oh sorry, we also have a pineapple brain coral, a candy cane coral, a green lobo brain coral, and some green star.. Sorry, like I said scatter brained.
Angela

 

[Krish]

For starters, welcome to RF!! :welcome:

As for the bioload in terms of fish, it sounds kind of heavy and the reason they are all probably doing well is because of the bio-balls. Bio-balls provide a lot of surface area for beneficial aerobic bacteria to grow which are those responsible for converting ammonia created by waste etc into nitrite and then into nitrates. The problem with it though why people will advise not to use bio-balls in a wet/dry environment is because the buck stops there with an accumulation of nitrates as a wet/dry has no anaerobic zones for anaerobic bacteria to grow to convert the nitrates so it will accumulate over time (thus the reason for the name nitrate factory). A better option is usually to allow your liverock to do all of the biological filtration as both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria can grow on and in the rock. I had crazy algae issues when using bio-balls because nitrates = fuel for algae to grow. Sometimes a person will read zero nitrates in their tank with a lot of algae growth and it's only because it is bound up in the algae that is using it for its growth. It's a toss up and all depends on your goals. You keep the bio-balls and you will be able to keep possibly more fish, but you may have algae issues. Also, corals don't do so well where nitrates are present so if you are thinking about going the coral route, it would probably be advisable to start removing the bio-balls slowly now (so as to not shock your system) and allow your liverock to take over.

Just a few thoughts for starters to get the ball rolling.


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[bradreef]

ways you can get away with more fish is the addition of filtration methods. Protien skimmer is a great tool. maximizing that can really go a long way in pulling out pollution.

Personally I would lose the bioballs and use other methods of filtration. I prefer bioballs in the tanks at doctor's offices with fake rock and coral. There are animals that grow on live rock that simply don't like the high nitrates.

FYI do you go on the local website sandiegoreefs.com.
What stores have you been to around san diego? there is a new one opening in vista (i think) next week.

 

[mojoreef]

Welcome aboard Angela!!

 

[AngelaH]

Thanks for the quick replies. I am not looking at adding anything else to the tank, maybe more coral, but nothing else. Ill talk to my husband about removing bio balls slowly. And as far as fish stores around here that we have been to, we have driven down to Fontains in la Mesa, I was in love with them when we were doing chiclids, but Wasn't too impressed with them, plus the drive was a bit much. Then we started to go to Encinitas Tropical Fish, I actually like the people who work there, and they have a pretty good selection of fish/corals. We have even gone to Escondido to A Fish Haven, I didn't like them at all. I heard about the new one in Vista off Craigslist..I saw their advertisement. And if we did eventually take all of the bio balls out of the back there, would I leave it empty, or put a piece of live rock back there. We actually have a bunch of that grass that looks like a pile of spaghetti (sorry thats the best that I can explain it) that is growing like crazy within the bio balls and right under the skimmer. And if we put live rock in the back, would I take a piece from the tank, or buy one from our LFS and put it back there. And if I did that, would that cause some sort of mini cycle..sorry I know I sound really knowledgeable when it comes to this stuff..haha. I hope these questions make sense.

 

[Derbird]

If you do decide to remove the bioballs be sure do it slowly and replace with the live rock as you go. The bioballs are the main source of filtration for your tank right now so you don't want to do it too quickly. The spaghetti stuff is some sort of macro algea, may be cheato or some other. If you do make the swich you will want to throw a light on the back of the tank for the new section to make it in to a refugium. It will house your live rock and macro. This will have the added benifit of making a breading ground for pods. A great source of food for fish and corals. In mine I also have a deep sandbed which also helps reduce nitrates

Don't worrie about not knowing the lingo, we all started at some time

 

[senji]

+1 on the removal of the bioballs bad nitrate producer. but if u replace with liverock u killed the point of removing the bioballs. high oxygenated area plus rock equals nitrates. basically uve replaced plastic with rock dont do it. hopefully mojo or peppie will chime in and back me up.

 

[AngelaH]

Thanks, as far as the macro algae in the back, our tank sits right in front of a window. The window faces to the west, so it gets quite a bit of sun during the day. I think that is why the macro algae is growing like it is. Do you think we should put some sort of light back there even with getting all that sun? We had gotten a ball of it about 7 months ago I think and put most of it in the back, and put some in the front of the tank.. Our sail fin tang loves to eat it. Do we just get some rubble size rock and start adding it to the back? And how much do we need to put back there? Thanks for the responses.

 

[AngelaH]

Oh ok, so what do I do, just leave it bare, or with sand?

 

[AngelaH]

Sorry I have so many questions, and if I leave it bare in the back, will it mess things up in the main part of the tank, (like a cycle of some sort).

 

[senji]

how is the sump set up id personally set up a fuge with a mud or sand bed and macros and hermits.

 

[senji]

pics could help a million

 

[Derbird]

I'm going to have to disagree with senji here. Live rock is a totaly different thing then bioballs. The surface of the live rock will have the same arobic bacteria that the bioballs grow. But the whole reason that live rock is so great is its pourous. It dosen't stop on the surface it has deep areas where anarobic bacteria will thrive and reduce nitrates. That with a deep sandbed and some macro and you have a efficent and natural way to filter your water.

If you have sunlight hitting it I don't think any additional light in needed. Can't beat the sun

 

[senji]

the worst that will happen imo will be an algae bloom till the system stabilizes again algea scrubbers work good too and simple to construct. also think of adding a bio pellet reactor for further nitrate controll

 

[senji]

just goin off what a man who created this site has over 40 years experiance and a bachelors in marine biology. id belive him nuthing personall

 

[senji]

also becarefull if the macros have darkness they will go sexuall and seed the whole tank

 

[AngelaH]

lol, ok Im not sure how many more posts I have to make before I can put pictures up. The sump I guess is built into the back of the tank. It is a uniquarium (sp?) The first small chamber on the left has a bag of carbon. The next small chamber has the protein skimmer and a heater. The next small chamber has the other heater. Next is the big chamber with all of the bio balls. And the last chamber has the pump.

 

[senji]

definately pull out the bio balls and add macros. i looked at the tank on google. cant add sand as the bafles are all wrong and would suck it up in the return pump. removeing the bio balls will deffinatley lower the nitrates. id say u are deffinately overstocked on fish. and the macros will lower it even further. my next question is what is the color of the skimate ur skimmer is produceing. for beeing set up for 2 yrs 20 nitrates is high. id consider adding another pump in 1 of the baffles the bio ball are in and plumbing in a bio pellot reactor. but start with pulling the bio balls and adding macros and wait a month to see where ur nitrates are at. then start considering more filtration

 

[senji]

now lets talk methods of removing the bio balls. since u do have a heavy bio load. have u ever cleaned them? if not pull them out rinse LIGHTLY to remove any detritus and waste food then put just enough of them back to just under the water line and wait a week then test. if nitrates haven't spiked pull out a another half or third of them then wait another week and so on. u have 150 lbs of live rock so u should have a good bacteria colony. the last thing we want to do is rise the nitrates above 40 then the fish will suffer and maybe even die. so be careful. after a removal of partial bio balls wait and hr or 2 and test nitrates if there is a major spike put the balls back in. so when u remove the balls make sure they are put into saltwater just in case u have to put some back. good luck ill check back tomm.

 

[saltwater-girl]

lol, ok Im not sure how many more posts I have to make before I can put pictures up. The sump I guess is built into the back of the tank. It is a uniquarium (sp?) The first small chamber on the left has a bag of carbon. The next small chamber has the protein skimmer and a heater. The next small chamber has the other heater. Next is the big chamber with all of the bio balls. And the last chamber has the pump.

Hello Angela...newbie here too... but wanted to share that I have a Seaclear System II 75G which is very similar in layout and design I think to your Clear for Life tank so I will be reading this post with interest as I have the bio-balls too.

definately pull out the bio balls and add macros. i looked at the tank on google. cant add sand as the bafles are all wrong and would suck it up in the return pump. removeing the bio balls will deffinatley lower the nitrates. id say u are deffinately overstocked on fish. and the macros will lower it even further. my next question is what is the color of the skimate ur skimmer is produceing. for beeing set up for 2 yrs 20 nitrates is high. id consider adding another pump in 1 of the baffles the bio ball are in and plumbing in a bio pellot reactor. but start with pulling the bio balls and adding macros and wait a month to see where ur nitrates are at. then start considering more filtration

dumb question and not trying to steal Angela's thread...but what are macros??? another type of bio-media?