sand is kicking up

[elgordoinavw]

hello again, i currently have 2 maxijet mp900's when they are on they kick up the sand and make the water cloudy, now i know all i would probably have to do is just point the p\h in a different direction but what i'm wanting to know is how long til the sand stay's? even when a chromis swims close it will kick it up.
also i have the p/h on the same timer as the pc lighting should i have them run all the time? i was trying to create a day and night -sort of
another thing i also have my protien skimmer on with the lights, bad idea?

[Yoshi-22]

from what i understand(its late so bare with me) just reduce the current from the power heads and make them at a angle toward the top. the cloud shouldnt stay too long, always keep your powerheads on, never turn them off, unless maintenance. Leave the power head and light schedule on different outlets, the power heads should be on all the time. the protien skimmer should be on all the time. How long have u had your tank up?


Brandon

[thefatman]

and now for another view.

i say run the skimmer 24/7 there are some folks that only run them a few hours once a week, i belive in running it 24/7

powerheads. there are lots of people that turn off extra powerheads at night, for less flow in the darkness. however, do you also have a sump? in other words, is there at least still some flow at night when the powerheads are shut off? or is it standing water? you dont want standing water, you want some flow. if you havea sump and a return pump, i say go ahead and shut down the powerheads at night.

but, that's jsut my opinion

[Reefer Addict]

Jay's got good advice... I turn off my PH's at night and just keep the sump flowing. Makes it a lot easier on the fish when they're sleeping... they don't have to swim hard against a current to stay in one place. Of course, when my PH's are on my tank is circulating around 1100 gallons/hour, so it definitely makes a difference in my case...
I usually turn my skimmer off at night too, and that's just because of the noise factor... there's nothing to be gained or lost (aside from a little nighttime skimming) by doing it this way.
HTH

[Casey]

Just remember by turning ph,s off and on I have noticed they burn out faster even the great mj.s.

[thefatman]

casey i thoguht that was only bad when done quickly, like with using a wave maker?

are pumps subject to this as well?

i was considering shutting down my cls each night, and runnign only the sump and skimmer pumps ( on the new system)

[elgordoinavw]

thanks everyone, ok i have a 25 gallon sump with a rio 2500 as the return pump that runs 24/7, my 2 mj mp900's ph run 12 hours, my cpr ps runs 12. basically ph,ps, run when the ligts are on. sump return pump is on constantly.

[grazhopr]

Is your setup new? or recent? If so, you may want to redirect your PHs flow away from the sand for awhile. This will give bacteria the chance to populate your sand and this will help create a bonding layer on top of your sand, that will likely make your sand bed stabilize, even with PHs pointing towards it. I know someone has raised this issue somewhere here.

[elgordoinavw]

yeah this setup is new it's been up and running for about three weeks, used to be fowlr kind of like right now only i removed the cc and replaced with sand. it's been cycling for three weeks, also added 31 more pounds of lr and will cycle until at least 4th of july. then i'll go to jeffs and buy the 9 corals for 99.

[Doug1]

Originally posted by elgordoinavw
hello again, i currently have 2 maxijet mp900's when they are on they kick up the sand and make the water cloudy, now i know all i would probably have to do is just point the p\h in a different direction but what i'm wanting to know is how long til the sand stay's? even when a chromis swims close it will kick it up.
also i have the p/h on the same timer as the pc lighting should i have them run all the time? i was trying to create a day and night -sort of
another thing i also have my protien skimmer on with the lights, bad idea?

I assume you mean the skimmer only runs when the lights are on? Actually if I were to only run part time I would run it at night , that way you maintain some CO2 outgassing and better o2 saturation. Keep in mind that at night algae if any will give off CO2, as well as respiration from fish and inverts. This is reason for nocturnal pH drop. Running the skimmer at night will help drive off excess CO2 and help raise O2 levels in water, esp important if you are reducing powerhead flow to simulate calmer night scenario

[Reefer Addict]

Thanks for the info on that Doug... I went back to running my skimmer 24/7... nice to know the science behind what we do.

[Geoff]

you just have to be patient. the sand will eventually get heavy from bacterial growth and not get blown around. it may take 3-4 months, but it will settle down. i ran my tank with minimal waterflow during the cycling to keep it down. after nearly a year the sand does not go anywhere. i run close to 2500gph through the tank. i am thinking of upping it to 4500 gph in the next year. i do not think i will have a problem with the sand blowing.

it just takes time, sorry.

G~

[Toadfish]

In nature, currents are caused by wind. In some areas on the reef the current is ever flowing 24/7. Fish adapt to the level of current. I would leave the ph's on 24/7. By leaving them on it will help clear debries and toxins that some corals tend to release at night. IMO water flow is the third most important compenent of a healthy tank. Following, water quality and lighting(if it's a reef tank)