I have a 5 gallon with an undergravel filter, 5 pounds of LR, rocky substrate. There is a small firefish, 3 hermits and a smallish scarlet cleaner shrimp. Who or what is this????? they seem to be attracted to the light. Can they survive? Should I move them? Should I move the firefish instead???
What is this??????
- Thread starter the dewd
- Start date
Sorry to get off topic but aren't undergravel filters a no no for saltwater tanks? I thought they created pockets for bacteria to build up and die. Then when the pocket is disturbed you have a real problem on your hands. If not I am sorry if I scared you but I thought undergravels were a no no.
gatorracer":3vuzjko9 said:
UG filters usually do not have that problem gato, but there are some people who say that about deep sand beds. UG filters do work for some SW applications like a fish only/hardy coral setup.
I know I ran them for years in the far far way back time of my youth
.I think those are mysis shrimp! Especially they way they look like they are swarming about like that.
I have never seen it when my cleaners have babies, so I don't know, could be that too.
But whatever it is, put yout firefish back and let him eat them. You will not be able to raise this batch no matter what they are if you don't already have a bunch of food cultures going. They are good firefish food.
I have never seen it when my cleaners have babies, so I don't know, could be that too.
But whatever it is, put yout firefish back and let him eat them. You will not be able to raise this batch no matter what they are if you don't already have a bunch of food cultures going. They are good firefish food.
My understanding (freshwater or salt) is that undergravel filters primary benefit is that they give aerobic bacteria a place to thrive & process ammonia & nitrites. The pitfall has alway been that with traditional usage, it becomes a trap for detritus which must be cleaned out periodically & just creates a big sloppy ol' mess. In my small 15g FW, I am currently running a reverse flow undergravel setup (powerheads to push water down through the 'uptake' pipes of the UG which then comes back up through the gravel), & there is very, very minimal accumulation of detritus. Might possibly be the most sparkling FW I've ever run!
But that aside, what I'm getting to is that even with the barest amount of circulation, you should not be able to sustain in an undergravel an anoxic (oxgyen-free) enviroment where anaerobic bacteria would live. These are the bacteria that one is trying cultivate in a deep sand bed to process nitrates into (supposedly) harmless nitrogen gas. Here is where I get out of real-time experience & into simply conceptual understanding.
I had originally setup my fuge (10g in addition to 72g main) to incorporate DSB as a way to assist processing nitrates. I used a 4" (the reputed minimum to sustain an anoxic environment) layer of sugarfine aragonite, then added live rock & macros (yes, very little space for water, but the amphipoids are happy, & so is my mandarin ). There is nothing there but perhaps some small bristle worms to agitate the substrate. After about a year of running this, I maintain an average of 7-10ppm nitrates, but I honestly don't know how much my mini-DSB is contributing to this. I believe there's supposed to be a ratio of area of DSB to overall volume of the setup. I also run Boyd's Chemi-Pure in my cannister to assist with nitrates.
This is where I start getting confused, though. I keep hearing about DSB's turning evil & various nasties going back into the tank. From what I've read, the only threat should be from the main tank to the DSB, in that the DSB is usually not deep enough or is disturbed too much to maintain anoxia (?), oxygen kills off the anaerobic bacteria, & then I guess you could have a potential bomb of un-processed nitrates to be returned into the tank & cause an algae bloom or something.
Anyway, sorry get get so very off topic. Anyone care to clarify me? How offbase am I?
But that aside, what I'm getting to is that even with the barest amount of circulation, you should not be able to sustain in an undergravel an anoxic (oxgyen-free) enviroment where anaerobic bacteria would live. These are the bacteria that one is trying cultivate in a deep sand bed to process nitrates into (supposedly) harmless nitrogen gas. Here is where I get out of real-time experience & into simply conceptual understanding.
I had originally setup my fuge (10g in addition to 72g main) to incorporate DSB as a way to assist processing nitrates. I used a 4" (the reputed minimum to sustain an anoxic environment) layer of sugarfine aragonite, then added live rock & macros (yes, very little space for water, but the amphipoids are happy, & so is my mandarin
). There is nothing there but perhaps some small bristle worms to agitate the substrate. After about a year of running this, I maintain an average of 7-10ppm nitrates, but I honestly don't know how much my mini-DSB is contributing to this. I believe there's supposed to be a ratio of area of DSB to overall volume of the setup. I also run Boyd's Chemi-Pure in my cannister to assist with nitrates.This is where I start getting confused, though. I keep hearing about DSB's turning evil & various nasties going back into the tank. From what I've read, the only threat should be from the main tank to the DSB, in that the DSB is usually not deep enough or is disturbed too much to maintain anoxia (?), oxygen kills off the anaerobic bacteria, & then I guess you could have a potential bomb of un-processed nitrates to be returned into the tank & cause an algae bloom or something.
Anyway, sorry get get so very off topic. Anyone care to clarify me? How offbase am I?
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