Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

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Lindsey17
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Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Lindsey17 »

I have a 55 gallon with just 1 porcupine puffer in it. I just got a test kit but I usually take my water in and they tell me if it's good or bad so I have no idea what the numbers should be at.

I need to know...

GH (General hardness) ppm

KH (Carbonate Hardness) ppm

pH - I believe that should be 8.0 - 8.5

And nitrates should be as close to zero as possible right?
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Pufferpunk »

You only need to know: ammonia (0)/nitrite (0)/nitrate (<20). If you're using commercial marine salt & doing regular WC, everything else should be in balance. What kind of filtration is on there? How large is the puffer now? What are your plans for upgrading this fish to a larger tank?
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Lindsey17 »

I have two hang over filters one with a bio wheel and one with those lil stones in it. I also have a decent size protein skimmer. Oh and tons of live rock. My lil puff is about 2 1/2 inches. I plan on upgrading the tank as he gets bigger. I tested my water and the NO2 is reading at about 3 and the NO3 is pretty much 0. I've been going through a brown algae bloom for what seems like a over a month now any advice on that? I do a 20% water change about every week and a half and get my water from the LFS. I'm also getting these tiny lil white specs on the glass that move. From what I've read online it seems like those are a good thing. Is this true?
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by RTR »

One more parameter is required in addition to those listed by Pufferpunk, salinity or specific gravity. is also required.

You will need to upgrade tank size sooner than you think.

Your filter is not fully adequate/mature. Nitrite titers should be undetectable, zero. More frequent and larger water changes are needed.
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Pufferpunk »

Thanks RTR, forgot this was SW. Ammonia? Any other fish?
How long has this tank been set up? Remove those HOB filters. They're for FW. In SW, they're considered nitrate factories. How much live rock in there? Powerheads?

library/water-filtration/brownalgaediatoms/
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Gunner »

Pufferpunk wrote:Thanks RTR, forgot this was SW. Ammonia? Any other fish?
How long has this tank been set up? Remove those HOB filters. They're for FW. In SW, they're considered nitrate factories. How much live rock in there? Powerheads?

library/water-filtration/brownalgaediatoms/
I completely understand the whole concept of carbon filters and the like being nitrate factories because they collect detritus and what not, but wouldnt it be ok to just remove the carbon filters and let the "filter" run for added water circulation, and to keep the biowheel running? Thats what im doing in my 55 gal as i was under the impression that it was beneficial due to added circulation and the whole idea of the biowheel for beneficial bacteria
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by RTR »

Certainly, but I would not remove the filters yet unless you have adequate LR in the system. All aerobic biofilters are nitrate factories - that is what they are supposed to do. They have aerobic bacteria which convert toxic ammonia (a major part of fish waste) to still-toxic nitrite, and that nitrite to much less toxic nitrate. Nitrate is removed by water changes, or in some tanks by algae bed filters. Those same water changes replenish other materials used up by conventional biofiltration or released by fish as waste. FOWLR + skimmer as you have is greater initial investment, but offers much lower operating cost by requiring much reduced water changes for lower operating costs. If this is supplemented by a 24/7 lighted refugium, the mature tank will be better still. But you must have enough conditioned LR to carry all biofiltration requirements. Puffers do grow fairly fast. IME, it is far better to get the fish into their permanent home just as soon as possible. Very many mature hobby fish are stunted because common practice has tended to be moving up in tank size "as the fish needs it" - this is a sure-fire technique for stunting fish. Captive fish should reach the same size as their wild cousins, and this is too rare because folks keep moving up too little and too late. Getting the fish into its permanent home ASAP is cheaper overall and much better practice.

HTH
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Punkster, the 4" red T miurus
Mongo, the 4" A modestus
2 T biocellatus
C valentini
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C papuan
Also kept:
lorteti
DPs
suvattii
burrfish
T niphobles
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Pufferpunk »

Gunner wrote:
I completely understand the whole concept of carbon filters and the like being nitrate factories because they collect detritus and what not, but wouldnt it be ok to just remove the carbon filters and let the "filter" run for added water circulation, and to keep the biowheel running? Thats what im doing in my 55 gal as i was under the impression that it was beneficial due to added circulation and the whole idea of the biowheel for beneficial bacteria
Absolutely, that's exactly what I use on one of my tanks, sans the Biowheel, which will make quite a mess with the salt spray. I also have several powerheads added. You do know the puffer is going to need a tank 2x that size as an adult?
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by Master of Puffers »

Pufferpunk wrote:
Gunner wrote:
I completely understand the whole concept of carbon filters and the like being nitrate factories because they collect detritus and what not, but wouldnt it be ok to just remove the carbon filters and let the "filter" run for added water circulation, and to keep the biowheel running? Thats what im doing in my 55 gal as i was under the impression that it was beneficial due to added circulation and the whole idea of the biowheel for beneficial bacteria
Absolutely, that's exactly what I use on one of my tanks, sans the Biowheel, which will make quite a mess with the salt spray. I also have several powerheads added. You do know the puffer is going to need a tank 2x that size as an adult?
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Re: Advice on what my levels should be at please!!!

Post by RTR »

Just please, please remember that "filters" as we use the term are not magic boxes. Exactly the same bacterial types can and will establish in a tank with no "filters " at all, they just will occur wherever they find a site which provides them. "Filters" are simply boxes which can provide sheltered conditions for some attached bacteria and for many infusorian types as well. A filter-less tank with pumps only (i.e.no specialized boxes) will still have the whole range of bacterial and infusorial types as a filtered tank, the bacteria and infusoria are just disseminated wherever the get a foothold. Filter-less tanks still have the standard complement of microbes and infusoria.

So-called filter-less tanks just do not provide special boxes for the biofiltration bacteria. Providing no box does not at all mean that the bacteria are not there in the tank. Back even before my time, they still had the required bacteria. Detritus and waste still occurred then just as it does now, folk just knew and understood less about handling glass boxes with aquatic critters in them.

You do not have to have filter boxes. But you still have to handle detritus and waste both in the water column and on surfaces, dissolved and particulate. Special equipment may be used or not. That is just personal choice. The biology is the same.

HTH
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