The Puffer Forum

I changed my BW tank to Marine 3 days ago - I added a sump & a skimmer & 6 wk cured LR. When it was BW I had a large Fluval 305 external a smaller Fluval Internal filter. To enable the sump/skimmer to be plumbed in, I used the pipework that was already in use for the external filter. So, I still have the internal running & I placed the sponges/ceramic rings from the bigger filter into the sump, hoping to still benefit from the bacteria until the whole LR/skimmer thing was settled. Now I have ammonia issues! Being new to the marine side of things.......I assume its still water changes that I need? I have 75 lits of RO water almost ready to go. Is there something else I should be doing?

Thanks!!

You didn't raise the salinity in the water too much, too fast did you? Doing so will kill the nitrifying bacteria. Safe way to convert brackish to marine is to raise the specific gravity of the water by no more than .002 in a week's time. Do you have any fish in this tank?

I have been raising the SG very slowly (trust me - its taken about a year!!) Yes, I do have fish - the same stock as before (2 x 2" GSPs). The tank is a 55UK gallon & the sump is another 12.

If the sponges are just loose in the sump, not so set that the water must pass through them, they will not function as they did in the canister housing.

RTR wrote:If the sponges are just loose in the sump, not so set that the water must pass through them, they will not function as they did in the canister housing.

I did wonder about that, so I managed to squish them into the smaller filter. This morning - ammonia zero!

Great job!