Help! How do I clean my sump?

[miNiChher]

About the 2nd pic posted way early inthis thread, does that heater (one with the blue head) in there matter if the 'waterline' on it is below the water? I noticed it looks like mine, and I had to do some pain in the ass wiring to make sure it didnt drop below the surface in my fuge. Does it matter on these heaters if they are fully submerged like that?

Holy cow... I didn't read the directions on that, I'll check them out tonight, thanks for the heads up on that.

 

[Haole]

ummm... this might be a dumb question but this won't burn my fish will it???

Naw, the temperature will dissipate in the skimmer before ever reaching your display tank where your fishes are.

and what about all the other tubes, ie the ones connected to the jets... (those black things) do those need cleaning?

fwiw... Maybe I’m a bit more anal about this than some and plus the fact that I’m able to do this but, I clean all my pumps and tubing at least once every couple of months if not sooner. If I feel that the flow through my pumps has decreased than I take them out and clean them and any tubing attached to them as well.

 

[miNiChher]

WOOOOHOOOO!!!! NITRATES ARE ZEROOOO!!!! THANKS A LOT GUYS!!!

I want to send some shot outs to:

LakeEd, Chris&Barb (Chris), mmkeeper, krish75, DonW, Haole, ReturnsofId, c0yote, theJ

lol... ok so I did a 18 gallon water change... and i just cleaned that filter sock cuz I don't know exactly where to get a new one just yet... (guess i will be researching that tomorrow)

Again thanks so much guys... any feed back (especially on my hardware since I almost drowned my heater that wasn't supposed to be submerged) is greatly appreciated. Can't wait till I can begin giving advice myself... aaaah but i am still so new at all this... THANKS AGAIN though.

 

[LakeEd]

Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with what you would have in your area in the way of a Local Fish Store. Being that you are down in California though, I would guess there should be some nice choices if not in Long Beach, someplace not too far away from you. That is where I would look for anoter filter sock for your system.

Back when I used filter socks, I found it was best to have 3 to 5, because I am lazy, and didn't like having to toss one in the washer every night, so I could do a change out the next night.

Speaking of the washer... when you do get some more filter socks, wash them BEFOR you use them for the first time. Just toss them into the washer, NO SOAP, and run on cold cycle. I don't know all of the technical (chemical???) reasons for this, but something in a brandy new filter sock that about kills your skimmate production, and washing it prior to usage takes care of this.

Congrats on the nitrate drop, by the way!!! Just sit back for a couple weeks now, and watch how your tank responds. Resist the temptation of adding anything!

 

[LakeEd]

Almost forgot...

While you're watching how your tank responds, don't hesitate asking questions here!!! No question is dumb. If you don't know the answer, and want to... ASK! Ask about the type of fish you have, and what they like to eat. Ask about your Anemonie. Ask about the corals you have. ASK, READ, ASK MORE!

 

[miNiChher]

Awesome... well in that case... I'm not sure if you've read but I might've mentioned earlier that I lost a Scooter Bleny and 3 cardinals.

Well, before I lost the Scooter I bought an Orange Spotted Goby thinking well my Scooter's alive he must be eating... but I think he starved to DEATH Any suggestions on what I can feed the Orange Spotted Goby?

So far I've bought Arcti Pods... and I think the fish and shrimp eat that before the Goby gets to it... I dunno, any thoughts???

 

[miNiChher]

Heres a glimpse of my tank... let me know if there's something odd I should take care of...

 

[LakeEd]

I have purchased, and like, the Artic Pods also. If you put that into your main display tank, down by your rockwork... enough of those pods should of made it into the rock, so you still have them in your tank.

Easiest way to find them, is after your lights go out, use a flashlight, and you will see little "dots" moving around on the glass. Those will be your pods. They will reporduce in your tank, and as long as you don't add too many "Pod Eaters", you should be just fine.

As for your Goby, watch him, ensuring he isn't getting too skinny. If he currently is skinny, and you just added the Artic Pods... give it a while, watching his condition. Hopefully, you'll soon notice he doesn't look nearly as skinny as he did!

Since my finger's are flyin here... how goes your Anemonie? Still in hiding, or did he/she come back out where you can see them again? What are you feeding your anemonie, and how often?

 

[LakeEd]

Looks like you should have pleanty of rock!

What I see that you need to add, is just some time now. As your tank matures, sooo much life will start happening on that rock, soon you won't even reckognize it!

 

[miNiChher]

uhoh well the anemonie... there's two

there's a bta and a long tentacle... the long tentacle is pictured on the right corner of the tank and i think she's doing fine. although i don't specifically feed her. I once tried dropping in a piece of scallop and another time a piece of shrimp and she just moved it along and then put it on the sand below her... so I dunno am I supposed to feed her anything specific?

the BTA is not pictured cuz she's hiding behind a rock... I'm afraid she's not getting enough light back there.

I also bought Phyto Feast but I've only had the coral for such a short period of time I'm still not too sure on how to feed them...

 

[miNiChher]

Also I have flatworms... little black things with a bluish inside and a grey stripe down the middle... about i dunno a millimeter in length and some of them have like an orange spot on them... shall I worry???

 

[LakeEd]

Try again at feeding your Anemonies. True, they use light to help with producing the energy they need to live, but not nearly all.

Some are picky eaters, liking Scallops, or shrimp, or silversides, or even squid (this seems to be a major temptor ), or some like mine just like FOOD! hehehe Base the size you give, by the size of your anemonie's mouth. Try a piece of what ever you have, that is about 1/3'd the size of its mouth. So, if the mouth is about an inch long... try a piece of shirmp that is about 1/2" or so.

When you do get them to feed, try feeding that amount about every 3rd day. If they will take a variety, I try that, because I know I enjoy having different foods, why not my fish and anemonies? LOL

 

[LakeEd]

Also I have flatworms... little black things with a bluish inside and a grey stripe down the middle... about i dunno a millimeter in length and some of them have like an orange spot on them... shall I worry???

Remember... DO THINGS SLOWLY!

Do some searching here, and reading about flatworms... look at pictures, to get a good identification... so you know what you have. Read, read, read.

The stage your tank is at right now (Young, newly maturing) you don't need to rush into anything, even if you have a problem such as flatworms. Take a week or two to do some research for yourself. There will be time to do any treatment you may need to then, and your tank will be 2 weeks more mature and stable... which will only help in anything you do!

 

[sc18702]

I have had a similar problem but my nitrates are even higher - 30ppm. Strangely enough my corals look fine (soft only) and my long tenacle also appears healthy although he went under some rocks for a few days which I thought was strange. I have a filter pad that the water passes over in my sump before falling over the bio balls. I also have another filter / sponge before the water goes into the last compartment prior to being pushed back into the tank. I didn"t even know it was there until lastnight. It was very dirty. I am going to clean them more regularly and start to remove bio balls as well but very slowly.

 

[LakeEd]

I have had a similar problem but my nitrates are even higher - 30ppm. Strangely enough my corals look fine (soft only) and my long tenacle also appears healthy although he went under some rocks for a few days which I thought was strange. I have a filter pad that the water passes over in my sump before falling over the bio balls. I also have another filter / sponge before the water goes into the last compartment prior to being pushed back into the tank. I didn"t even know it was there until lastnight. It was very dirty. I am going to clean them more regularly and start to remove bio balls as well but very slowly.

SC,

WELCOME TO REEF FRONTIERS!!!

Yes, I would recommend you also clean those filter sponges on a very agressive basis, as well as removing your Bio Balls (If you have about 1lb of Live Rock per gallon of tank size???) also. Give this a shot, then start a new thread letting us all know how things are progressing for you!

Again, Welcome... and I look forward to reading more from you here in the future!

 

[sc18702]

Thanks, I have been hit hard by the reef aquarium bug and think about my tank constantly. I have about 90lbs of live rock for a 70gal tank. A bit nervous about removing the bio balls though but will do it very slowly.

Has anyone tried any of the chemical (absorbant) items sold at the lfs ? Even if it only helps a little i'd be willing to try it.

 

[miNiChher]

well so far I've learned many many things, but the first and foremost important factor was cleaning my filter sock and doing a water change... So far so good, I will keep u posted on how many bio balls I've been removing and how long it will take me to remove them completely

HAPPY REEFING... Now I must do some work before heading to school tonight... sometimes I wish I was a Marine Biologist... looking at things I enjoy... instead I crunch numbers oh well...

 

[theJ]

cant be worse than staring at 50,000 line tcpdumps all day :/

 

[sc18702]

just so you know, water changes didn"t work for me. I guess if filter socks, filter sponges and bio balls are not properly maintained, they can increase levels much quicker than water changes can help reduce them. I'll keep you posted.

 

[LakeEd]

You should be able to remove 1/4 of your bio-balls at a time... waiting 3 to 4 days, then another 1/4. Check your Ammonia & Nitrite, to ensure they aren't going through any peeks before removing the next 1/4... until they are all gone.