Hi, I'm new to this forum and SW tanks so I have a few questions. First, my set-up I have a 110 gal tank, wet/dry w the bio-balls, protein skimmer, UV ster, chiller, carbon packs above the sponge in the sump, phosphate guard packs in the sump, nitrate remover packs in the sump, and I forget what it's called, but the large stone under my bio-balls that is claimed to prevent frequent water changes, as far as lighting I have a 48" Pc with moonlights and also have 4m DQxSC whatever that is(?). Ok now in the tank I had set up on the 1st day 150lbs of live rock, 80lbs of live sand, and had a truck come in and fill with salt water from the ocean. I put in 5 damsels, 25 turbo snails, and 25 hermit crabs. The tank NEVER had a spike in Amm. and it is now a month old. All was well with nitrites and nitrates until I added a star polop and an anomone(sp?) yesterday and now I have my nitrites at .5! I have no nitrates and no Amm go figure! This makes no sense to me. Both new pieces semm very happy as the anomone is now 3 times the size that it was in the store and in the store it WAS open! I wanted little ones to let them grow into the tank. Maybe it's what I put in the tank? I put all kent products. Coral accel daily, stron and moly(sp?) every 4 days, tech-1 weekly, tech-m weekly, coral vite weekly, liquid calcium daily, but keep levels at around 450, ph-buffer when needed, but ph is solid at 8.2, phytoplex 2times week, zooplex 1 time a week. Why am I having a problem? Any advice would be appriciated.
nitrite problem
- Thread starter AnnnetteM
- Start date
I'm still new to the hobby myself, but I know a Nitrite level of 0.5ppm is not a tragedy, so don't panic. Keep a close eye on it till someone gives you better advice than me. Sorry!
Usually NO2 tends to go up slowly and peak over a course of about 6 weeks. You missed the NH3 spike, but it looks like you didn't get as lucky with NO2.
What is your alkalinity right now? Your Ca looks god, but I don't see that you are adding anything to keep the alk up.
As far as I know, there is no product in the world that will obviate water changes. Over time, the chemistry of the water will change, and the best way to keep things stable is to do regular water changes.
If it were my tank, I would simplify a few things. Frankly, I think Kent is getting rich from unnecessary additives. In a reef, the only things that are consumed substantially are Ca and carbonate (CO3), but you shouldn't be seeing much of that with your light bioload. NO3 removers are not particularly useful in a reef tank, and aluminate-based PO4 sponges can irritate your soft corals.
Nonetheless, I think the NO2 is simply because the tank is immature and cycling.
My guess is that you will see NO2 for a few weeks, and it's probably a good idea to do a partial water change. Let us know how things progress.
What is your alkalinity right now? Your Ca looks god, but I don't see that you are adding anything to keep the alk up.
As far as I know, there is no product in the world that will obviate water changes. Over time, the chemistry of the water will change, and the best way to keep things stable is to do regular water changes.
If it were my tank, I would simplify a few things. Frankly, I think Kent is getting rich from unnecessary additives. In a reef, the only things that are consumed substantially are Ca and carbonate (CO3), but you shouldn't be seeing much of that with your light bioload. NO3 removers are not particularly useful in a reef tank, and aluminate-based PO4 sponges can irritate your soft corals.
Nonetheless, I think the NO2 is simply because the tank is immature and cycling.
My guess is that you will see NO2 for a few weeks, and it's probably a good idea to do a partial water change. Let us know how things progress.
thanks
thanks Dave, my PH has been solid at 8.2 since I started the tank. I haven't had to use anything, but have pro buffer and b-ionic for Alk. I thought if my Alk. stays high then I wouldn't have PH swings. Now am I confused? And what Kent products would you not use that I am? By the way at the store they told my the anemone eats zoo-plex and phyto-plex. True or not? Thanks
thanks Dave, my PH has been solid at 8.2 since I started the tank. I haven't had to use anything, but have pro buffer and b-ionic for Alk. I thought if my Alk. stays high then I wouldn't have PH swings. Now am I confused? And what Kent products would you not use that I am? By the way at the store they told my the anemone eats zoo-plex and phyto-plex. True or not? Thanks
If you haven't yet, I'd suggest a copy of Eric Borneman's Aquairum Corals, and/or John Tullock's Natural Reef Aquariums. After reading those, I think there will be a lot less mystery to this.
There is a bit of a philosophical issue with regard to the supplements. It looks like your tank has been set up with a lot of technology, and using supplements instead of water changes. The successful reef keepers that I know go a different route, with less technology. My approach, with a small tank packed with corals, has been to do regular water changes to keep trace elements in line, supplementing only Ca and alkanlinity (using kalkwasser and B-Ionic), and, of course, food.
The products I would skip are:
CoralAccel
Coralvite
Molybdenum and Strontium supplements: ordinarily not depleted
Tech-I: It's likely there is enough iodine coming in with the food
Tech-M: same as Mb and Sr
Liquid Calcium: I would use a 2-part system (like (B-Ionic) and/or kalkwasser, because Ca and alkalinity need to be balanced.
There is always more than one way to skin a dead cat, so I won't put these products down. But I would find out if there is someone who has been using all of these products and has a thriving reef tank, and find out from them how they dose. In my opinion, though, these supplements are there to fix something that isn't broken.
Sorry if I'm rambling. Keep asking about things that don't seem clear.
Not, I'm afraid. I am assuming that it's either a condylactis, bubble tip (entacmea) or a carpet of some sort. They require intense light and meaty food, and don't catch much plankton. Those product might be good for filter feeders in your live rock, but that's a whole new thread. I am surprised that the LFS recommended an anemone so soon. Generally, people are urged to wait until the chemistry settles down, at least several months. There's more to tank stability than the nitrogen cycle.
There is a bit of a philosophical issue with regard to the supplements. It looks like your tank has been set up with a lot of technology, and using supplements instead of water changes. The successful reef keepers that I know go a different route, with less technology. My approach, with a small tank packed with corals, has been to do regular water changes to keep trace elements in line, supplementing only Ca and alkanlinity (using kalkwasser and B-Ionic), and, of course, food.
The products I would skip are:
CoralAccel
Coralvite
Molybdenum and Strontium supplements: ordinarily not depleted
Tech-I: It's likely there is enough iodine coming in with the food
Tech-M: same as Mb and Sr
Liquid Calcium: I would use a 2-part system (like (B-Ionic) and/or kalkwasser, because Ca and alkalinity need to be balanced.
There is always more than one way to skin a dead cat, so I won't put these products down. But I would find out if there is someone who has been using all of these products and has a thriving reef tank, and find out from them how they dose. In my opinion, though, these supplements are there to fix something that isn't broken.
That's true, but alkalinity is also important for the production of CaCO3 in coral and mollusc skeletons. If you are supplementing Ca, you should also be paying attention to alkalinity, keeping it about 3.5 to 4.0 meq/l.
Sorry if I'm rambling. Keep asking about things that don't seem clear.
Dave
oh, boy! Ok, so now that I have the anemone (sebae) what do I feed it? Too late to take away a mistake, but the guy who set up my tank told me that because I had fresh ocean water pumped in and LR and LS that the tank would cycle in 3-4 weeks and I could *** whatever I wanted except sponges because they are hard to keep. Enough said, what do I feed my anemone and polyps? I was told by this guy that all the chems feed everything except the fish, go figure....So here I am thinking I doing everything right and BAM I'm almost back to square 1 after 5 weeks to learn how all of you keep a great reef tank. As far as the coral accel, coral-vite, etc...will they hurt my tank? I was told it was food for polyps, mushrooms, etc.. got some mushrooms too that came on LR and doing great. As far as Alk my test only measures ranges and not specific #'s but it always is on the high end and my cal is always 450 or so. I also add liquid cal when Alk is high instead of B-ionic is that ok? Thanks for the wealth of info.
oh, boy! Ok, so now that I have the anemone (sebae) what do I feed it? Too late to take away a mistake, but the guy who set up my tank told me that because I had fresh ocean water pumped in and LR and LS that the tank would cycle in 3-4 weeks and I could *** whatever I wanted except sponges because they are hard to keep. Enough said, what do I feed my anemone and polyps? I was told by this guy that all the chems feed everything except the fish, go figure....So here I am thinking I doing everything right and BAM I'm almost back to square 1 after 5 weeks to learn how all of you keep a great reef tank. As far as the coral accel, coral-vite, etc...will they hurt my tank? I was told it was food for polyps, mushrooms, etc.. got some mushrooms too that came on LR and doing great. As far as Alk my test only measures ranges and not specific #'s but it always is on the high end and my cal is always 450 or so. I also add liquid cal when Alk is high instead of B-ionic is that ok? Thanks for the wealth of info.
Step 1. Don't panic
The tank is doing well so far. None of the additives will hurt the tank, unless you overdose. Things like CoralVite and CoralAccel may feed an algae bloom, but won't hurt in the short term. The good news is that your life will probably ultimately become simpler and cheaper if you decide to reduce the use of additives.
However, I would rethink things a little. While the guy was partially correct about the use of live sand and live rock, that it will speed the process of cycling, there will always be some cycling when you move the rock and sand. The bacteria that make up the biological filter live on surfaces, so ocean water is not a lot more useful than a synthetic mix.
The anemone and polyps live mostly from photosynthesis, so you will be OK if you have enough light.
Alkalinity test, like that made by Aquarium Systems , are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and will give you a real number rather than "hogh" or "low." If you are in the "high" end, you are probably OK, though.
Although I am dubious that a single product can keep Ca and alkalinity in balance, I don't know enough about liquid Cal to say whether you can use it instead of B-Ionic. If you want to learn a lot more about this issue, I like this article in Advanced Aquarist.
I don't like being a wet blanket, but I am afraid that sebae anemones have a dismal survival record in captivity. I hope that yours continues to thrive.
The tank is doing well so far. None of the additives will hurt the tank, unless you overdose. Things like CoralVite and CoralAccel may feed an algae bloom, but won't hurt in the short term. The good news is that your life will probably ultimately become simpler and cheaper if you decide to reduce the use of additives.However, I would rethink things a little. While the guy was partially correct about the use of live sand and live rock, that it will speed the process of cycling, there will always be some cycling when you move the rock and sand. The bacteria that make up the biological filter live on surfaces, so ocean water is not a lot more useful than a synthetic mix.
The anemone and polyps live mostly from photosynthesis, so you will be OK if you have enough light.
Alkalinity test, like that made by Aquarium Systems , are relatively inexpensive, easy to use, and will give you a real number rather than "hogh" or "low." If you are in the "high" end, you are probably OK, though.
Although I am dubious that a single product can keep Ca and alkalinity in balance, I don't know enough about liquid Cal to say whether you can use it instead of B-Ionic. If you want to learn a lot more about this issue, I like this article in Advanced Aquarist.
I don't like being a wet blanket, but I am afraid that sebae anemones have a dismal survival record in captivity. I hope that yours continues to thrive.