Where Am I Going Wrong?..

[bigfatfish]

I have been away for 2 days & have come back to an ammonia reading of 1 . I thought that maybe one of the recently aquired hermit crabs must have died, so I stripped the tank down to locate them both - alive & well. The tank has been set up as BW for a couple of years & finally made it up to marine about 6-8 weeks ago. There are 2 GSP (about 2") in a 55 UK gallon tank with a sump (12-15 gal)/skimmer etc underneath. I also still have one small filter running until I am happy with the liverock doing its stuff. There is about 22kg liverock. The puffs have not been fed whilst I was away. Few pieces of soft corals, but apart from the 2 fish & 2 crabs, no other stock. Both fish seem fine (& are starving!). I have put in a dose of Prime whilst I prepare some water. Any suggestions as to where I am going wrong? Do I need more rock perhaps?

[greenspottedlover]

I see your problem, you said your filter was small.

[jmiller]

Sounds like your rock doesn't have enough beneficial bacteria to support the waste produced. How did you get the rock?, dry and cured by you, from an established tank, what?

[Pufferpunk]

I agree--question the rock & how well it was cured.

[bigfatfish]

The rock is from a guy I know - he breaks up & sells marine set-ups that are no longer wanted. He keeps the rock for 6-8 weeks to make sure all ok, then puts it into his display tanks to sell it on. The journey from him to me is only 20 minutes, so I don't think there would be any die-off & it didnt smell. It is beautiful to look at - pink & purple coralline algae, lots of life inside it too - stars & other creepy crawlies that are visible under moonlights. Would it really have taken this long for ammonia to show if there was a problem with the rock? Have I got enough of it for the size of the tank?

With regard to the filter being small - how do you think that is the problem - my plan is not to have a filter at all. I stopped using the big filter when it reached marine SG.

[Pufferpunk]

I don't agree with GSP on the filter (he's a child & new to this). How much LR is in there & what skimmer are you running? How big are the fish? What test kit are you using? Any nitrite/nitrate?

[bigfatfish]

I don't agree with GSP on the filter (he's a child & new to this). How much LR is in there & what skimmer are you running? How big are the fish? What test kit are you using? Any nitrite/nitrate?

Aww, bless him for trying to help.
About 22kg of rock. Skimmer is a TMC V2 Skim 400 (& appears to be working fine). The fish are just shy of 2" I reckon. Test kit is API liquid. Nitrite is zero & nitrate is <5. Phos is <0.25. I also test for KH/Mg/Ca+ using a Red Sea Kit.

The more I look at things, the more I can't understand the problem. Going to run the test again I think.

[briguy44]

Let us know how your next test goes. The first thing that comes to my mind is your flow rate. Do you have a good amount of water flow blowing all over your live rock?

[bigfatfish]

Test the same I'm afraid - still 1. I have 2 of the new hydor koralia evolution (the 4000l/h) one at each end. Also the flow from the internal filter (that I will eventually remove) & the flow from the returning water to the tank from the sump. (the sump pumps 2000 lits/hr, although I have it tuned down a little, so about 1500l/hr). The movement in the tank seems ok - the puffs get a little buffeted around from time to time if they get in the area of main flow - they seem to enjoy the extra current though & come back for more! Sometimes I detach the powerheads & blow them behind the rocks to make sure no debris is caught up anywhere.

Keep throwing ideas at me - there has to be something somewhere!

[bigfatfish]

Just had a thought - the only thing that has changed - about a week ago I got a giant feather duster (thought it would be easy to look after, but I have since learned that this may not be the case). Anyway, I have it, so I will do my best. I bought some phytoplankton liquid that is kept in the fridge & a spot feeder pipette & started using this about 4 days ago. Just wondered what happens to any of the phytoplankton that is not eaten - could that cause any problems or is that just a silly question!

[J-P]

The tank has been set up as BW for a couple of years & finally made it up to marine about 6-8 weeks ago.

how old is the test kit?

have you tested the tap water just to make a comparison and ensure that the kit is still reading accurate?

[bigfatfish]

Its not the kit I started out with. Its maybe 3-4 months old. Water reads zero.

Any thoughts on the phytoplankton?

[greenspottedlover]

I don't agree with GSP on the filter (he's a child & new to this). How much LR is in there & what skimmer are you running? How big are the fish? What test kit are you using? Any nitrite/nitrate?

Aww, bless him for trying to help.
About 22kg of rock. Skimmer is a TMC V2 Skim 400 (& appears to be working fine). The fish are just shy of 2" I reckon. Test kit is API liquid. Nitrite is zero & nitrate is <5. Phos is <0.25. I also test for KH/Mg/Ca+ using a Red Sea Kit.

The more I look at things, the more I can't understand the problem. Going to run the test again I think.

Not a child
And when asking the same people who are saying I'm wrong what equipment to get for a tank with live rock and a protein skimmer. They said not to skimp on the filter"Go Big" remember

[Blaine]

I think they were referring to a sump,...not a filter. There's a difference. I figured you prolly meant sump.

[greenspottedlover]

I think they were referring to a sump,...not a filter. There's a difference. I figured you prolly meant sump.

No I asked "what size HOB AquaClear" and someone said "Go big".