chasesng

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stamford ct
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was reading Prettyboy's thread about his problems with his new tank and am not sure i understand some of the references. i therefore ask for clarification of:

ammo rocks? noodles? biomax? are these all the same thing? those little white tubes in the sump? why are they bad?

and what's photo-time? is that how long the lights are on?

i'm especially interested in the white tubes cuz of the tank i just picked up.

its 40g long. currently running with LS LR and SW. came with a fluval 402 canister, a heater and a powerhead. standard kid quality light hood

got the tank home 2 sundays ago, pulled the fluval apart, cleaned it, put it back together with new white tubes and 50% change of carbon. did this primarily cuz thats what was in there when i got it. put about 50% new water in from reliable source i found thru MR member manny (many thanks to him)

tanks been running for 9 days now. first week ammonia and nitrite have been 0 but nitrates anywhere from 40 -160 ppm. pH ranging from 7.8 - 8.4 primarily cuz its hard to read those damn testtubes/color cards. SG is steady around 1.026.

Of note, as of last nite, there seemed to be some ammonia present but the nitrates looked like they were down to around 20ppm

tests done with aquarium pharmaceuticals 'Saltwater Master Liquid Test Kit'

i made major bonehead move 2 days ago when i tried to increase LS....i dumped in silica sand! am now planning on draining water and LR this Saturday, yanking all existing sand, and replacing with aragalive.

if interested, pics of tank were posted in "Genl" forum last nite when i asked for opinions as to whether rock was "real or memorex". thought maybe i had been duped into buying crappy rock.

anyway, doctors....any thoughts or advice as i look forward to my reconstruction this saturday? oh...i've got some kind of skimmer and new lites coming in the next couple of weeks. dont know specs but seller is earlier source of water..i believe he's an MR member, seems quite knowledgeable and so going with his recommendations.

chasesng
 

nanoreefer22

Live Sale Pioneer
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Yup all those words were refering to the white things in the sump.

The reason that they are bad, if they are left unchecked for a few weeks(2) they build up nitrates. They're also a detritus trap aka crap trap.

Those are extremely high nitrates..40-160....

'Photoperiod' is the amount of time the lights are on.

BTW did you buy SW from someone??

What kind of water are you using in your tank? And was the water you started with old SW? Also did you use someones old sanD?
The test kits aren't good either. Most guys on the board invest in salifert test kits, as I will be doing tmrw :D.

Any ammonia in the tank is a big no no.
 

chasesng

Senior Member
Location
stamford ct
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appreciate response and the info nano

yes i did buy the SW from someone who i believe is an MR member, comes well-recommended and who's own tanks looked awesome

i had left the original sand in the tank and will be taking that out this weekend. will be replacing with new aragalive / aragonite combo...assuming is should use sugar size rather than course.

i'll take a look for the salifert test kits...are they individual or combined...approximate cost i should expect?

thanks again
 

alrha

...
Location
Brooklyn
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chasesng said:
will be replacing with new aragalive / aragonite combo...assuming is should use sugar size rather than course.

Dont bother with the Aragalive, save your money - the sand you add to your tank will become live on its own (just add some live rock or a cup of live sand from someone). And yes, sugar size is better than coarse (which can trap rotting junk in your tank)

chasesng said:
i'll take a look for the salifert test kits...are they individual or combined...approximate cost i should expect?
Salifert Kits
Seachem Kits
both are good kits.

the relevant ones: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, Phosphate.
 

nanoreefer22

Live Sale Pioneer
Staff member
Location
11756
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chasesng said:
appreciate response and the info nano

yes i did buy the SW from someone who i believe is an MR member, comes well-recommended and who's own tanks looked awesome

i had left the original sand in the tank and will be taking that out this weekend. will be replacing with new aragalive / aragonite combo...assuming is should use sugar size rather than course.

i'll take a look for the salifert test kits...are they individual or combined...approximate cost i should expect?

thanks again

Personally I would stop buying SW and start mixing your own.

Since you used old live sand it might be a good idea to completely restart the tank. Start with fresh dead sand as Albert said and seed it with a cup of live sand from someones tank.

Salifert kits carry a pretty high price(at least on my college budget) but are well worth it.

Start with 100% new water, keep the rock, and get some new sand.
-Kris
 

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