Newbie with a couple questions

[usctrack]

I am fairly new to marine aquariums and have learned a lot on here. I am running a 90g FOWLR (for now). It has 75# of Marco (Dead) rock that I have seeded with about 10# of rock from my LFS. It is still all white but I am adding purple up to hopefully get some life soon. Lighting - running 2ea 260W PC with 2 atcnic and 2 12k on each light for a total of 520W. It also has led for night.

Here are the situation and questions:
In my sump (designed for a 125G) I have the bioball setup, then a sponge seperates this are from the return pump area (which houses a ASM G1 skimmer and a CA4000 return pump). the return pump is tall and need a good bit of water to flow without bubbles. this is causing the bottom bioballs to be under water.

Question 1 - is that a problem for the bioballs to be under water?

Question 2 - what are the normal times for lights? I am running the led's all night, then the atcnic come on for about 1-2 hours before and after the 12k lights which are on from about 10am-6pm. Do I need to adjust anything? Should I have total darkness at some point?

Thanks for the help. I am sure there will be more ? as I progress.

[Chiefsurfer]

1, it sounds like you're running a 8 hr light cycle with daylights, and 10 or so for actinics. If you don't have any algae problems this is fine. If your tank won't have corals, you only need to run lights for your pleasure, so you can run them any amount really. Also, those of us that have timed LED's usually do have some complete dark time, although I don't see how it would be necessary.

As to the bioballs, the problem is not with them being under water, but rather with them being in the tank. Search around here about them, 99% of people do not like them. That said, the main reason they don't like them is because they are said to be nitrate factories. They hold a lot of nitrification bacteria(removing nitrite and ammonia) but no denitrification bacteria. This mostly affects inverts(starfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, etc) and if you are running a fish only, it would only be a concern if you have algae issues. Algae also consumes nitrates, and with an abundance, could thrive.

I would HIGHLY reccomend SLOWLY removing the bioballs(5 a week) until they are gone. You have plenty of rock for the correct bacteria in that tank(the rock and bioballs serve BASICALLY the same purpose). Lastly, don't waste your money on purple up. All it is a basic single-part calcium suppliment with a very inflated price. Keep your calcium levels up, and eventually the corraline will grow.

[usctrack]

Any calcium product you would reccomend?

The rocks even have no life on them is enough of a bacteria area that I can remove the balls? If that is the case I may eventually remove them and add a sand bed there and some chaeto if the flow is not too fast.

I have actually also built one of the DIY Denitration Coils (kind of fun to build) but expect it to take months to get up and running.

[usctrack]

I also have a couple Bubble tip anemones - do they need more reular light or actnic?

[Chiefsurfer]

The rock won't likely have enough bacteria right now, that is why you take the bioballs out slowly, so bacteria can colonize the rock and not give you ammonia spikes.

As to the bubble-tips, how old is your tank? Most nems will not do well in a tank less than 6 months old, and prefer one more like 1 year old. Lighting is secondary to the age/stability of the system. If you can have someone nearby house them while your tank matures, it would be a good thing. Also, PC bulbs are USUALLY not near enough light for anemones, although some have success.

Lastly, for calcium, I believe I use seachem single-part, but I have low calcium needs, and use reef-crystals for salt mix which is naturally high in calcium. A lot of people use reactors with media, and a lot use a 2-part system, but I can't remember the name of it.

[thegrun]

Do you have two tanks? If you only have one tank and it has the anemones in it, by definition you do not have a FOWLR. Anemones require both high amounts of lighting (something your 90 gallon tank is currently lacking) and stable water chemistry (another thing your 90 is lacking if it is less than six months old). as mentioned above, slowly remove the bio balls and replace them with either live rock or better yet change the first section of the sump into a refugium with cheato growing in it which will give you a denitrifying export system.

[usctrack]

Thanks for the input guys. I will get me a calcium test to see where I am. I dont have another tank for the BTA so I will try to get them to hang on as best as I can. I didnt know they needed a much more stable system. The guy I got them from knew my system was new and said they would be fine. From here on out, I will ask before I buy anything.

I am now starting to get some brown algae on the rocks, sand and a spot or two on the glass - is this good or bad?

my nitrite levels have been elevated for a week while nitrates still seem normal. Thoughts?

[usctrack]

on the lighting - 520W is supposed to be sufficient for a 90g (5.7 watts per gallon) correct? It might be on the lower side of the normal 5-8 per gall. Or is is that PC dont penetrate enough?

[Chiefsurfer]

right now not too much to worry about. If its growing on your sand, it is likely cyano. But algaes are a natural process, if they get out of hand, try to syphon the cyano, manually remove the hair, and scrape the diatoms. Most of this should pose no real threat once the cycle has been completed if nutrients are controlled.

Well your nitrite levels can screw with your nitrate test, so don't worry about that right now. If your nitrite levels are up, and ammonia is falling, likely you have passed phase 1 of the cycle. Now you should see the nitrite drop, and the nitrate rise. What is the nitrite reading?

as to the BTA, many people will tell you whatever they need to to sell their product. If this is a LFS for you, find another one. As I understand it, BTA's are one of the hardier ones, but not by any means strong enough to be "alright" through a cycle. A Condy MIGHT, but they are very aggressive, and huge fish-eaters, and that I know of, nothing hosts it.

calcium tes, DO NOT get the API. It is consistantly waaaaay off. I like the simplicity of my Tropic Marin Alk test. The Tropic Marin tests are designed to be VERY easy to use, and be as accurate as possible. Whatever test you get, just double-check it against someone elses test, so you know the test is accurate.

[Chiefsurfer]

Comparing different wattages in different bulbs is like comparing apples and oranges. While lets say a 54 watt t5, and a 65 watt PC put out a similar wattage, their lighting capacity is VERY different. Really wattage means very little vs whats called PAR. Don't remember what PAR is an acronym for, but it has to do with the amount of usable light that your corals and plants can use photosynthetically. a t5 puts out MUCH more PAR per watt than PC bulbs. Also, many lights in just a black hood, will not provide enough PAR on their own. This is why Reflectors are so important. I would tend to guess that t5's even put out more PAR than Mh's per watt. That said, Mh do so in a MUCH smaller space. Also, you lose PAR through water. Generally PAR loss through air is VERY insignificant, alsmot negligeable at any distance. Through water, the loss is MUCH greater. The reason MH is generally used for deeper tanks is because the brightness and type of light they produce penetrates much deeper with less PAR loss than t5 or other flourescent bulbs.

[usctrack]

learning more every step of the way!! I am going to look at a established 55g FOWLR this evening and if she still has it I might grap it if only to hold my BTA and Damsels until the cycle is complete. Might be more of a necessity right now. I dont want to see the BTA die.

depending on the lighting that comes with the 55 - i might have to move some of it over there and possibly upgrade the 90. I had heard of PAR but I thought I read that PC's were sufficient but I guess I was wrong. I was aiming for as many watts as I could fit and I could not fit full 48" t5's under my hood (idiot that built it put the frame inside so I only have 47" clearance - this time I was not the idiot).

Will keep you in the loop. Thanks for all the advise.