Changing from IO to Oceanic - good/bad?

[MrMonkeyFingers]

Well for the last several months I've been fighting a Nitrate problem and I've tried massive water changes, Nitrate absorbers, I've cut back feeding, tried different carbons, increased my sandbed, even tried biospira and nothing seems to help so about the only thing left is salt. I've started the tank with IO and used it for the last year so today I bought a thing of Oceanic from Discount and figured I'd give it a shot. But I won't go all out I'll do like a 50/50 mix of IO and Oceanic until all of my IO is gone. Now i know for a time people were saying Oceanic was causing tank crashes but I haven't heard too much about it anymore and I know a lot of people use Oceanic.... can I just get some people's thoughts on this?

Thanks...

[JR719]

I did the switch and happy with Oceanic. I did not mix the salts though. I did small water changes every couple of days. About 5 gallons in a 55 over about 2 weeks. My corals seem to be doing better. Don't think the salt was the only factor. I changed several things. A lot of people have great success with IO and Oceanic. Prob just a preference or availability for some.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

thanks for the info... I'll soon find out... doing my first change tomorrow night!

[Jacob D]

Greg,

Have you tested for nitrates in your freshly mixed IO? If it is zero then the salt is not as likely a culprit. You're not using any bioballs are you? How many fish do you have in your tank and what skimmer are you using?

I doubt you'll have any problems if you switch slowly like recommended above, small water changes over time. You may still have nitrate issues though.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

yeah I tested it before and it was pretty much Zero on a fresh batch of IO, nope not using any bioballs, I have a Coralife 65 gal skimmer on a 40 gal tank, using a fluval 404 filter all of my hardware is over spec for what size tank I have so I don't get it? I have 5 fish, two clowns, one hippo tang and two dominos [I know... I hate the things but for some reason the wife loves em] and the fish are all pretty small sized nothing too big. I figured the salt was a long shot plus I started using the Oceanic in my nano at work and I liked the results and so I figured I'd give the tank at home a change!

[Jacob D]

Sometimes you can't just go by the specs. Depending on your stocking levels, maintenance routine, etc... there are variables not taken into consideration. Your bioload is moderate to heavy depending on the size of all the fish, maybe you can borrow a larger skimmer from someone in the club and see if it makes a difference after a month.

What nitrate levels are you reading and what test kits are you using? Also what kind of media do you run in that cannister filter? Seems like I've heard the whole 'xxx will become a nitrate factory' regarding cannister filters, although I've never looked into it. People will say anything on these message boards ya know? :)

[MrMonkeyFingers]

I do a 10 gallon water change once a week, sometimes I push it every two weeks. I'm running Chemipure for my charcol, 4 sets of filter floss [the 404 filter floss] Kent Nitrate Absorb, two bags of it, and then the little ceramic noodles that come with the 404. I've got a lot of LR so I might be leaning towards maybe a lot of dead spots?

[Jacob D]

You could very well be collecting detritus in all the dead spots. Maybe an excuse to re-do the rock work and get rid of some rock. Do you clean the media in your filter very often? I don't pretend to know much about cannister filters but I would think that most of the media other than the ceramic needs to be regularly rinsed and/or replaced? To eliminate it as part of the issue you could always remove and keep an eye on things on a week-by-week basis.

[MrMonkeyFingers]

yeah I was looking for another excuse to redo my rock ;) Yes I either rinse or replace my filter floss everytime... but during lunch I went out to Carter's and talk to Danny a little bit and I think he got me talked into doing a sump with LR instead of the bioballs. Tonight going to go home and measure how much space I have under the tank to see how big of a sump I can go with. Looking at one of the All Glass Aquarium brand MegaFlow sump or a glass Oceanic sump.... He said the same thing about the canisters

[Jacob D]

Dude! Talk to Stephan (cyclebrkr). He might have something he can hook you up with for a good deal. He had all kind of sumps and stuff in his garage last time I was there,

I would NOT put any LR in your sump. It constantly sheds junk and becomes a place for detritus to settle. I used to have a sump w/ no LR now I have some in there that came from the main tank and I need to get rid of it (free LR anyone? I have about 15-20 lbs)

The real advantages to a sump (IMO) are:

a) place to put skimmer and other equipment
b) you can create a refugium section to grow macro algae in
c) adds water volume to your system, which helps w/ stability.

If you want any help w/ sump design just holler. I'm sure the club will chime in with all kinds of ideas :)


p.s. I left my cell at work... hope you didn't call it tonight!

[MrMonkeyFingers]

heh.. yup, did call... left you a PM... so if no LR what should I use? just leave the bioballs in there? as I said in the PM I'm stuck on which sump do to the limited amount of space... I only have 8" wide door on the front and on the back I have a 10 1/2" wide opening... so it looks like I'll have to break the tank down in order to go through the back... another reason to redo the rock ;)

[Jacob D]

The sump is not going to solve the nitrate problem. It has other benefits (some I listed above).

[plankton]

Greg,

Ditch the fluval 404, except if you are just using it to hold carbon, etc, and add a bigger skimmer.

By 'nitrate problem' what do you mean? What was your latest tank measurement of total nitrate, nitrite and ammonia? Then, what are your RO/DI, then water change water measurements?

Also, may want to try a new and/or test kits from different manufacturer (e.g. Salifert).

Scott

[MrMonkeyFingers]

Scott,
My nitrates have been running anywhere from 40-80+
Ammonia is always 0
Nitrite is always 0
Water Change is 0's across the board and I'm using the Pharmaceuticals test kits... maybe time to try another brand as well?

[plankton]

40-80ppm total nitrate is off the chart for a reef tank and suspect your test kit is old.

Definitely bring some tank water to someone who has another test kit (salifert, etc) and double check.

I'm available if you are ever in the Tracy area...

WRT Salifert kits, I think I have No3, Alk, Ca, Str, Magnesium and Iodide.

Scott

[MrMonkeyFingers]

Scott,

thanks for the offer but I'm pretty sure the reading were right due to that amount detritus that was in or around the rock.. I think I had not enough flow.... check my one post about the sump installation for all of the gooey details!