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Saltwaterstart
07/03/2007, 05:43 PM
Hi everybody at reef central!


A few months ago I just put in a brand new Bio- Cube 29 gallon aquarium I won in an auction. It came with the salt, live sand, stand, tank, book and a few other mandatory items to run a saltwater tank such as a hydrometer and thermometer. After reading the book, (Which was 300 pages by the way) I decided that it was finally time to set up my tank. I put in the sand, water and live rock all in separate intervals, giving the tank time to cycle, and there were no visible signs of nitrite, ammonia, or chlorine, and everything in the water parameters were set to normal.

After letting the live rock settle for a month, I added 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 royal gramma, and 2 white banded cleaner shrimp. I was told by the LFS that these were all very hardy fish and that they would do well in a n aquarium with even higher nitrates. (They were all tank raised too!).

Suddenly after this, I had a problem with Saltwater ich, so I went to the LFS where i bought my fish and asked for an invertabrae safe medicine, which they didn't sell. Because i didn't have a quarantine tank, the ich killed all of the fish and one of the shrimp.

Now comes the problem. I have a trickle down filtration unit in the back of the bio- cube that was built in, and it has done a good job with all of the water parameters, except the nitrates. Now, the nitrates are at 40ppm, and even after water 20% changes twice a week, they are not decreasing at all. Would this be the filtration, because trickle down filters are known to cause high nitrates.

I have no protein skimmer, and no other means of filtration that is available. I also don't have a sump or any type of plumbing available. My parents called the LFS and they said that there is a resin that is a quick fix, but i would rather not resort to that because I don't think it will work or be effective. I am thinking that I should replace the Bio- Balls in the trickle down filter with live rock, but that may not even help too much.

What should I do to bring down the nitrates, but that won't empty out my wallet?

sabbath
07/03/2007, 06:50 PM
WELCOME TO REEF CENTRAL!!!!!!

I would get rid of the bio balls... How much Live rock do you have. You would be well served by about 1 & 1/2 lb's per gallon. A good Protein Skimmer is a must IMO. Fuges are great as well. There are hang on the back models....Most things can be DIY if you are handy.

Saltwaterstart
07/04/2007, 10:51 AM
I have about 30 pounds of live rock, so 1lb to a gallon is no problem. I don't think that my local LFS sells refugiums, so could I put a form of macroalage in the bio-ball compartment?

Also, is there a reccomended model of protein skimmer that I should get?

kkyyllee
07/04/2007, 10:55 AM
protien skimmer arent a must, the macro algea will need light so probably no

Saltwaterstart
07/04/2007, 10:57 AM
Also, instead of bio balls, would it be a good idea to replace them with a few pounds of live rock? The saltwater salesman at the LFS did that and his nitrates rarely get above 2ppm

ggk1988
07/04/2007, 11:32 AM
IMO a few months is not enough time to turn bioballs into a "nitrate factory". If you do decide to remove the bioballs do it slowly. take out one layer at a time so you dont crash the tank. also you should know that without the bioballs there is a very loud waterfall noise.

Saltwaterstart
07/04/2007, 11:35 AM
Is there anything I can replace the bio-balls with as another means of filtration, or do I just let the live rock handle the biological filtration?

plummike
07/04/2007, 12:30 PM
I would add a bag of Algone to drop the Nitrates. Also place a little bit of carbon in the back. They make small protein skimmers for the nanos.
Rinse half your bio balls in Distilled water this week and half next week. Do you have a filter pad in front of the ball chamber? It may not be the balls causing the Nitrates it could be a sediment buildup on them or under them.
You could also grow a little Macro in the back of your tank.

sabbath
07/04/2007, 12:35 PM
If you have the Live Rock out of the water. I do not think they will remove Nitrates like that either.

You do not need Protein Skimmer, I said "IMO". The more you can do to export the better, I have found.

Psychojam
07/04/2007, 12:56 PM
Here's a protien skimmer made just for the BC29

Sapphire Aquatics (http://www.sapphireaquatics.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4&zenid=90913e446e35b0bbd2f708322776cb06)

Saltwaterstart
07/05/2007, 01:34 PM
I have no live rock that is even close to being out of the water right now. I had to take apart a few of my structures and caves for me to take out a few dead fish. I do have carbon filtering now, but after 3 days it was full of detrius and turned into a brown- black colour. I also have no filter pad in front of the bio balls, but there is a sponge behind them to "remove" excess chemicals.

I think that removing the bio balls slowly is my best bet after a bit of research.

And my dad went out to the LFS and bought a chemical called Cycle by Nutrafin. Apparently it releases nitrite levels and ammonia levels. Would this be good to add to the tank, or should I just throw it out.

Remember I still have one cleaner shrimp and 10 hermit crabs in my tank!

Saltwaterstart
07/05/2007, 02:02 PM
For a protein skimmer, (if it comes to this) I was thinking I could add a Red Sea Prizm Deluxe Protein Skimmer. It looks pretty good and some of the reviews seem to be positive.

Here's the website if anyone wants to take a look.
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RS1133

I'm on my way to do a water change and remove some bio balls!

caseyone
07/05/2007, 02:58 PM
I have that protein skimmer and it works pretty well in my tank, I had a HUGE nitrate problem a few months ago and it is now getting under control with the Prizm.

Saltwaterstart
07/05/2007, 03:20 PM
But in my situation, would it fit on the back of the BioCube, or does the canopy have to be modified.

I can modify it if I have to, but I would rather not for warranty purposes.

Rue
07/05/2007, 03:52 PM
...the value of Cycle is debatable...

Having said that, I've used it in my FW tanks for years...it certainly won't hurt...but what it's supposed to do is add nitrifying bacteria to your tank...there are supposed to be 2 species that supposedly break down ammonia and nitrites...INTO nitrates...

I know it can be used in SW...again...I don't know that it will help...

Saltwaterstart
07/05/2007, 08:03 PM
The question for the cycle idea would be more along the lines of, "Does it harm invertebrates?"

The cycle itself sounds like a good idea because by removing the bio balls, I am taking the nitrifying bacteria out of the tank. The cycle just replenishes the bacteria. It sounds like a bit of a hit and miss, but then again, good things only happen with time.

Saltwaterstart
07/05/2007, 08:07 PM
Also, I read a book called, "The Simple Guide to Mini-Reef Aquariums" before I put anything in the tank. I stumbled across a page on Xenia corals, and the page said that most species of Xenia corals absorb nutrients in the water as a form of feeding.

Would this help in absorbing the nitrates, or would this just add to the problem.

rsw686
07/05/2007, 08:19 PM
As far as reducing the nitrate with water changes keep in mind that a 50% water change will drop the nitrate by 50%. So your 20% water change (5.8 gallons) will only reduce your nitrates from 40 to 32 which is probably hard to notice on a test kit.

Saltwaterstart
07/06/2007, 10:53 AM
I just did a 20% water change. rsw686 was right. There is no noticeable drop in nitrate.

Next time i go to the LFS, I am probably going to get an additional 5-10 lbs of live rock to handle most of the biological filtration. I might put some into the bio ball chamber instead of a protein skimmer on top of a nitrate remover.

I just removed 13 bioballs today, I still have to wait until the next water change to remove some more.

I'll keep updating you on the progress.

rsw686
07/06/2007, 11:04 AM
You need an oxygen free area for the bacteria that converts nitrate to nitrogen gas to live in. Live rock has a small area inside the rock to help with this, but most of this is going to come from the sand bed. However your sand bed is only 1" so its not going to be oxygen deprived. So you either need alot of live rock, or a deeper sand bed, or a combination of both.

On my 90gal I have about 2.5" of sand and I can sometimes see the nitrogen gas bubbles rising from it, meaning the bacteria is down there. My nitrates are < 5 ppm.

Saltwaterstart
07/06/2007, 11:16 AM
You're probably right rsw. Next time I go to the LFS, I will buy a bit more sand and a few extra pounds of live rock. It's probably best I add to the sand bed because my dad said that we need more sand. I thought it was ok, but I guess it bit me in the butt a few months later.

Still doing the water changes though. That will help in the long run.

Would the red sea primz fit in the second chamber in the back of my biocube without any modification, or do i have to cut down a few walls and a hole in the canopy to put it in?

Saltwaterstart
07/07/2007, 06:53 PM
Also I had a breakout of Ich that killed all of my fish 2 weeks ago. So how long would it take for the ich to cycle and leave the tank at a temperature of 84 degrees and no host? (I'm just wondering as to when I can add fish again, because it seems like a waste to have guests over who look into an empty aquarium).