Water Change long overdue?
- Thread starter noskimmer
- Start date
I have no reason to doubt my LFS as he is also a friend, not only that but his staff have all mentioned it as well.
Like so many things in this hobby it's all down to personal preference. I for one would not recommend going 12 months without doing a water change but different things work for different people.
Thanks all for the responses.
This particular tank has been running for about 4 years or so. It is a 4x2x2 and runs a remote sump http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105248
The main reason for the thread I guess, was my shear astonishment at the lack of nitrate, as it has always been quite a battle.
I don't skim, don't feed my corals, and am a firm believer that the skimming process is detrimental to the health of tanks, unless they are so big (the tank) that it does not have an impact. The water column if full of micro organisms, some you can see, some you can't. I used this argument in a previous thread.
We all know how much crap fills our skimmer cups.. Yes? Well if you think of this, if you were to collect all that crap over the course of a week or so, and were to put it back in your aquarium, that would be bad.. Yes?
But, all that crap that I haven't skimmed is still in there.. Yes?
So what is that crap? or what was that crap? and was it really crap to start with..?
Has another cycle happened? Because something must me removing the stuff.. or the stuff wasn’t ever really crap, but living stuff.
In regards to the PH crash, well we know that is highly unlikely but a good point.
Look, I don't have the greatest tank in the world. I quite like the algae, I also encourage it's growth and trim it when it gets obtrusive, some people may not regard the algae as their cup of tea, but each to his own. All I know is that I have an abundance of organisms, and they are just the ones I can see, they weren't so abundant when I was skimming. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113943
Some info on the tank. Additional to what has been mentioned. I run a reverse photo period, the main tank has 2x55watt Actinic (420nm) and 2x55watt 10k fluorescent what ever you call them, in addition 2x250watt Giesman 14k MH’s in an Arcardia pendant, the sump has 1x55watt Actinic, and 1x55watt 10k and 1x250watt MH 14k. Stock consists of LR http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111248 (unfortunately it doesn’t look like that anymore), 1 Blue Mandarin Goby (avatar), twinspot goby, pair of allardi’s, midnight Pygmy Angle, Maroon CF, 3 Green Damsels, 3 Tangs, Comet Marine Betta, Blastomussa Wellsi, torch coral, and a bunch of other stuff. I have feather dusters just popping up every where, the zoanthids are just nuts, the sand is riddled with tubes of things, worms, and other stuff. I can’t even begin to guess the amount of brittle stars. Here are some other threads to give you an idea http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105938 http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107644
Oh, and if you think that I’m pretter weird so far….
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108887
This particular tank has been running for about 4 years or so. It is a 4x2x2 and runs a remote sump http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105248
The main reason for the thread I guess, was my shear astonishment at the lack of nitrate, as it has always been quite a battle.
I don't skim, don't feed my corals, and am a firm believer that the skimming process is detrimental to the health of tanks, unless they are so big (the tank) that it does not have an impact. The water column if full of micro organisms, some you can see, some you can't. I used this argument in a previous thread.
We all know how much crap fills our skimmer cups.. Yes? Well if you think of this, if you were to collect all that crap over the course of a week or so, and were to put it back in your aquarium, that would be bad.. Yes?
But, all that crap that I haven't skimmed is still in there.. Yes?
So what is that crap? or what was that crap? and was it really crap to start with..?
Has another cycle happened? Because something must me removing the stuff.. or the stuff wasn’t ever really crap, but living stuff.
In regards to the PH crash, well we know that is highly unlikely but a good point.
Look, I don't have the greatest tank in the world. I quite like the algae, I also encourage it's growth and trim it when it gets obtrusive, some people may not regard the algae as their cup of tea, but each to his own. All I know is that I have an abundance of organisms, and they are just the ones I can see, they weren't so abundant when I was skimming. http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113943
Some info on the tank. Additional to what has been mentioned. I run a reverse photo period, the main tank has 2x55watt Actinic (420nm) and 2x55watt 10k fluorescent what ever you call them, in addition 2x250watt Giesman 14k MH’s in an Arcardia pendant, the sump has 1x55watt Actinic, and 1x55watt 10k and 1x250watt MH 14k. Stock consists of LR http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=111248 (unfortunately it doesn’t look like that anymore), 1 Blue Mandarin Goby (avatar), twinspot goby, pair of allardi’s, midnight Pygmy Angle, Maroon CF, 3 Green Damsels, 3 Tangs, Comet Marine Betta, Blastomussa Wellsi, torch coral, and a bunch of other stuff. I have feather dusters just popping up every where, the zoanthids are just nuts, the sand is riddled with tubes of things, worms, and other stuff. I can’t even begin to guess the amount of brittle stars. Here are some other threads to give you an idea http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=105938 http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=107644
Oh, and if you think that I’m pretter weird so far….
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=108887
I've got algae growth about the same as yours. It's all over my intake and spray bar, along the corners of my tank, and at the sand line. When the fish were taken out because of ich, I noticed tons and tons and tons and tons of pods everywhere. It really got the point to where I could add a cubic inch of shrimp meat and watch it disappear over 24 hours. But now that the chromis are back in, pods are almost all gone, and my chromis are fat and happy
By popular demand... updated pic's
Still haven't finished... but it seems to be running it's self
Some infamous red algae... in the dark spots
Some sump Rock
RO and topoff.. very rudimentary.
Return is via a 1262 @ about 900 US Gallons\hour, but probably loose 150 - 200 due to head, and bends etc, however the water movement in the sump is quite slow, so I use two power heads to help circulation in the fuge. Remember the total sump dimensions are 3.28x1.97x1.64 feet so the pic's are a little deceptive as to it's size
Still haven't finished... but it seems to be running it's self
Some infamous red algae... in the dark spots
Some sump Rock
RO and topoff.. very rudimentary.
Return is via a 1262 @ about 900 US Gallons\hour, but probably loose 150 - 200 due to head, and bends etc, however the water movement in the sump is quite slow, so I use two power heads to help circulation in the fuge. Remember the total sump dimensions are 3.28x1.97x1.64 feet so the pic's are a little deceptive as to it's size
still a very impressive beast of a sump mate...some serious green hair algae going on in there...do you have any critters in there to graze on it at all?
Niko
Niko
cant really tell in that pic but it looks like your sand bed is almost a foot deep!!
also how are those lil rings things (2nd pic bottom right) working out for you? alot of memebers say to not use them ect ect I have some that came w/ my AC 70 but havent added them in, any advise?
also how are those lil rings things (2nd pic bottom right) working out for you? alot of memebers say to not use them ect ect I have some that came w/ my AC 70 but havent added them in, any advise?
The noodles are extremely porous and slowly dissolve, I use them permanently to slow and distribute flow, there is nothing different to that or rock rubble, except maybe these would have more surface area, and they dissolve, providing calcium, and providing a buffer. I could see them becoming a problem in a sterile tank, as they would collect detritus, and there would not be any greablies to clean them.
Niko, I bought a sea urchin last week, a short spike one so not to be too destructive and he is wiping out the hair algae in the main display tank, but not the sump… other than that I don’t really know what to add, so suggestions are welcome. I do know my Tangs don’t touch it, well when I’m watching anyway.
There is some coral growing in there as well, soft and hard, and some really nice structured algae, but I will wait to see if it develops more.
The sand bed is 6.5" - 10"inch, but I am not sure if the depth is actually beneficial more than a couple of inches.. certainly the top few inches, even at this short stage has high uptake of worms etc.
I chuck vongola in there (baby clams) that I buy for dinner at the fish market, they are alive and just burrow in the sand and stick out their little breather\feeder tubes, some die, and some live. I never take out the dead one’s and when I find they are dead, it is just an empty clean shell..
Niko, I bought a sea urchin last week, a short spike one so not to be too destructive and he is wiping out the hair algae in the main display tank, but not the sump… other than that I don’t really know what to add, so suggestions are welcome. I do know my Tangs don’t touch it, well when I’m watching anyway.
There is some coral growing in there as well, soft and hard, and some really nice structured algae, but I will wait to see if it develops more.
The sand bed is 6.5" - 10"inch, but I am not sure if the depth is actually beneficial more than a couple of inches.. certainly the top few inches, even at this short stage has high uptake of worms etc.
I chuck vongola in there (baby clams) that I buy for dinner at the fish market, they are alive and just burrow in the sand and stick out their little breather\feeder tubes, some die, and some live. I never take out the dead one’s and when I find they are dead, it is just an empty clean shell..
suggestions for algae controll have you tried a kole tang? I had one, and ate every lil algae that was growing in my tank, I was really amazed. You can give that a shot. Im sure you will be surprised at the rate he works.
