| General Reef Discussion In this forum we discuss issues related to keeping marine and reef aquariums in a friendly flame-free environment. |
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11-03-2005, 02:42 PM
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#1
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Little Fishy
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 64
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hate to be lazy but...
im having lots of issues with my tank with niterates and amonia.. browsing old treads but im lazy and not really looking to hard thought maybe i could post and get a few links to a few threads that will help me out and gettin that under control sorry for any inconvenience and thanks for any help
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11-03-2005, 02:45 PM
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#2
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Shark
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: waukesha, Wisconsin
Posts: 1,294
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How do you clean (water change) your tank and do you have a skimmer.
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11-03-2005, 02:48 PM
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#3
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Little Fishy
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 64
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its a 210g with 55g sump... how much water should i change and how often should i change it... and yes i have a skimmer
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11-03-2005, 02:56 PM
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#4
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Shark
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: waukesha, Wisconsin
Posts: 1,294
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I would say 10-25% bi-weekly. 25% if you have high Nitrate.
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11-03-2005, 03:00 PM
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#5
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 94
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by cjones
im having lots of issues with my tank with niterates and amonia.. browsing old treads but im lazy and not really looking to hard thought maybe i could post and get a few links to a few threads that will help me out and gettin that under control sorry for any inconvenience and thanks for any help
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The ammonia spike thread on teh first page has some good info. Something is putting lots of waste into the water. Stocking and feeding would be two things to look at first.
Chris
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11-03-2005, 03:06 PM
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#6
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I've got the REEF rash!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 25,834
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53 gallon bi weekly.
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11-03-2005, 03:18 PM
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#7
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Little Fishy
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 64
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haven't put stock since the tank was up maybe over feeding... i have 1 clown and 1 cardinal how often should i feed and how much?
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11-03-2005, 03:18 PM
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#8
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Noo Doot Aboot It!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Prince George
Posts: 2,768
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Chris also brought up a good point. Tell us what you have for stock as well as your feeding/waterchange schedule.
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11-03-2005, 03:19 PM
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#9
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Noo Doot Aboot It!
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Prince George
Posts: 2,768
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how old is the system and what kind of skimmer?
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11-03-2005, 03:25 PM
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#10
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 94
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Okay give us the run-down.
How long has the tank been running?
What is it stocked with? Fish, corals, inverts...
What have you got for filtration?
How much live rock have you got? How long has it been in there? Did you watch a nitrogen cycle happen after adding it? When was the ammonia spike?
What do you mean by ammonia and nitrate problems? What numbers and what test kits?
Chris |
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11-03-2005, 04:02 PM
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#11
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Tang Lover
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Rockville, MD
Posts: 7,284
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awaiting details...but I think you're on the right track. Probably overfeeding...and sounds like you haven't been doing water changes.
I 2nd the recommendation for 10-25% (I'd start with 25% for a few changes...then drop down to maybe 15%. Do them every other weekend, religiously!)
and as far as feeding...not everyone, but MOST of the schedules I've seen on here are about 3-4 times per week. Smaller than you'd think, amounts.
Once you get back to us with details of your system, we can help you better!
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11-03-2005, 04:30 PM
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#12
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Little Fishy
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Grand Rapids, MI
Posts: 64
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by GruntSculpin
Okay give us the run-down.
How long has the tank been running?
What is it stocked with? Fish, corals, inverts...
What have you got for filtration?
How much live rock have you got? How long has it been in there? Did you watch a nitrogen cycle happen after adding it? When was the ammonia spike?
What do you mean by ammonia and nitrate problems? What numbers and what test kits?
Chris
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it has been up and running for about 11 months it has 1 clown 1 cardinal 3 urchins several snails and a few blue hermits.. flitration is a gravity flow out of main tank to a sponge to filter and drip into the sump tank then pumped to the main tank.. i have about 70lbs of live rock and about 200 pounds live sand and has been in there since the tank was setup no i didn't watch the nitrogen cycle and not sure when the spike happened... i've not been home for 2 months and had a friend take care of it while i was away and what i mean by ammonia and nitrate problem is when i tested it my test kit said they were at stress levels sorry i don't have exact numbers my test kits gives off colors and says this color means this  anymore info needed? i will do my best to get what every you guys need to help me out.. im to the point right now i just want to give up /cry/
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11-03-2005, 04:45 PM
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#13
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Nothing to See Here
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Cartersville, Georgia
Posts: 2,995
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by cjones
im to the point right now i just want to give up /cry/ |
Awww don't give up and cry!! It will be ok, these guys here will get you back on track, don't worry!! Reef tanks aren't always easy, but hang in there!!
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11-03-2005, 05:10 PM
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#14
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It can be rebuilt.
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Pittsboro, NC
Posts: 19,158
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do you have any other evidence that there is a problem besides the test kits sayin there is? i have a hard time believing test kits that say:
good
not so good
not bad, but not good
mostly bad, but there could be some good
pretty much bad.
bad
sorry, getting late over here.
i find it hard to believe you would have an ammonia problem in a 200g tank with 4 small fish. i think you would need your neighbor weeing in your tank to mess with that.
what kind of skimmer are you running?
G~
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11-03-2005, 05:46 PM
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#15
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Portland
Posts: 94
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What's your media like? All I can think of is MASSIVE overfeeding with a lot of food in the sponge. You should be able to whiz into your tank without an ammonia spike with that stocking level.
Chris
PS. And massive overfeeding happens with other people. Get a good saltwater ammonia test kit and check it out as well. I had a FW ammonia kit that would always show ammonia. |
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