350G FOWLR Maintenance

[Moneymaks24]

Today at work while doing maintenance at a residence i noticed a 350g FOWLR tank covered in cyano and the glass looking really dirty. At the end of the job I asked if I can take a look at their tank and noticed a few possible problems. They mentioned to me that 2 fish died recently and they didn't know why. I checked the filtration and noticed the skimmer wasn't skimming at all, also I noticed they had no wave pumps only 1 return line from sump. I suggested getting a wave maker and adjusting the skimmer to help w the cyano. Also they run 2 filter socks. Do you guys suggest they remove the filter socks? Any other suggesting for me as I will be helping them and i would like to give good advice and maybe be the regular maintenance guy instead of the current company who comes on a weekly basis.

 

[edd]

i would do a big water change and syphon out as much cyano as you can.
keep the socks but clean them on a regular basis.

 

[Moneymaks24]

Thanks edd. Socks weren't really dirty but I thought its better to put on the socks during cleaning only to catch all the crap and keep them off otherwise. Also they didn't have any reactors for phos or carbon should I reccomend one? They only hve a skimmer and those plastic balls In the sump. And not that much "live" rock but also very few fish like 6 small and the large 2 died.

 

[empire]

phos and carbon. hit it with some chemi clean. syphon out and get some wave makers. you pretty much nailed it. what kind of skimmer?

 

[cmantis]

Those bioballs need cleaning and add reactor and wavemaker.

 

[Moneymaks24]

I don't know the kind of skimmer, but it was big, however the collection cup was totally clean so I know the maintenance company didn't do it right on the previous visit. How about the live rock? It looks like they hve about 100lbs and some fake coral inserts is that enough because the bio balls are the main filtration in this case?

Ill recommend a dual brs reactor for phos and carbon. Thanx again.

 

[edd]

i think a brs dual reactor is way too small for 350g. i would recommend 2 independent reactors for carbon and gfo.
if you do clean the bio balls, only use tank water or you will kill the bacteria on them.
i think you'd be better off ditching the bio balls and get more live rock.

 

[Moneymaks24]

Edd so you would remove the bio balls and place LR in that section of the sump or in the DT? Btw Man they had such a cool looking mature tang and it died what a shame, stupid maintenance ppl don't have a clue only want $$.

 

[empire]

I have 3 BRS dual reactors on my 100g system..get rid of the bio balls

 

[jackson6745]

A 350g tank is a big expense. Even a FOWLR is expensive and labor intensive. IMO you should stay clear of this tank maintenance unless they are willing to drop some coin on their system and show some initiative.

 

[marrone]

It's a FOWLR not a reef tank, so having Cyano isn't something that you would even worry about. Similar with having wave pumps, there isn't a need for it as a couple of good size power heads will do. Then again it all matter what is in the tank. If it' large fish, like Triggers, Groupers and Eels, you're going to have high nitrates just from feeding heavy meaty foods. Cleaning the glass and changing the filters and doing water changes, also with just normal maintenance, and the tank will look fine.

 

[Moneymaks24]

I'm sure $$ isn't a problem they live in a PH both doctors, and I realize cyano isn't a huge deal but it tells me somthin was off especially since fish die. As far as being an issue for me to handle, the way I see it all maintenance is doing a 10% water change so a 35 gallon bucket a syphon and some basic knowledge I should be able to handle it.

 

[lnevo]

As long as they don't have any mushroom corals, i think you could handle it

However the one thing I'd say before taking this on is what would you do in the event of some big issue where you need to do a massive WC or something else goes wrong? Are you equipped for the worst case scenario? How are you going to transport a lot of water (10% is 35gallons) and salt mixing, etc?

 

[JonnyJ]

I'm glad your trying to get involved for a lot of reasons but you need to be careful. If something goes wrong, especially when you're not there it will still be your problem. It's a very big responsibility and a very large system. I would suggest that they contact a maintenance company that can handle it. I know from experience, if your not set up right you are asking for problems. Just my 2 cents, good luck either way.

 

[NYreefNoob]

not trying to be funny, but if you need to come and ask what to do, then suggest they switch to a maintanence company that knows what to do, which really arent many. i use to do tank service, but the customers drove me crazy. you would be surprised at the known stores that send guys out that dont know anything, you can train a monkey to do a wc, but knowledge and true experiance in knowing the issues and problems is the differance

 

[Moneymaks24]

Point is they have a maintenance company - 2 guys come weekly to do a water change. No corals or mushrooms so I should b fine.

 

[Moneymaks24]

What would be a good price to charge lets say to do weekly or bi-weekly maintenance for them on the 350?

 

[Moneymaks24]

Inevo we live inthe same bulling so transport 35g jug is not issue and they can contact me 24/7 if it's an emergency.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

As stated, legitimate service on a 350 FOWLR is no small task and if you need to come here to ask about what to do I doubt you'll be able to properly care for the tank. Service is a completely different game for several reasons but mostly because it isn't your tank and it has to look great even though you aren't there everyday. There's also the question of insurance... most buildings will require a certificate before you can do any work in there. If the place floods (your fault or not) while the system is under your care expect the worst kind of phone call and a bill, maybe even a visit from a process server.

 

[Moneymaks24]

What's a reasonable price to charge per visit? I'm thinking like $30? Figure it'll take me about an hour to do a WC and make sure everything is working. I'm not worried about insurance or anything these guys are doctors they can care less about $$. They just want a nice tank and this professional service company isn't getting the job done. If it gets difficult by myself I can always hire help but what a good price to charge per visit?