| Cautions and Warnings cautions that may or may not fit in various segments |
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04-17-2003, 08:56 PM
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#1
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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HELP!!! water issues
i was adding water to my W/D filter and doing a water check last night. When i added the water i added the amquel detoxifier to level out the pH. now my pH has gone wacko and it is low at 7.8. what do i do to get it back up to the 8.2?? can i add the detoxifier directly to the tank without harming my fish, snails and crabs?? ALSO - my nitrate level is at 40. the LFS gave me fritz zyme and i added half of it but it is still high?? my amonia and nitrites are where they are supposed to be. any suggestions/advice - just tell me what to do 
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04-17-2003, 09:02 PM
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#2
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Shark
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Posts: 3,074
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wet/dry...high nitrates...hmmmmm
for starters, how much live rock do you have? if you have at least 1-2 lbs per gallon, i'd start pulling out the bio balls from the wet dry. they are nitrate factories.
do some searches here at TRT about bio balls and you'll see many threads about this.
hth- jay
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04-17-2003, 09:05 PM
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#3
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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live rock - i have 45 lbs and about a 3inch live sand bed
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04-17-2003, 09:33 PM
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#4
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Shark
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Toledo, Ohio
Posts: 3,074
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i'd say it's time to start slowly pulling out the bio balls.
someone may have an actual number/percentage. but my guess would be 25% a week for the next four weeks. or heck, if your sand and rock have been in a while, you may even be safe pulling all the balls out now.
but i'd wait for more experienced comments first before doing so.
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Proud member of the "J" Crowd
Proud Co-Founder of the SRD's
Proud-Macho Member of the MMR club
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04-17-2003, 09:35 PM
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#5
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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if i pull them out then what filters the water -
so what do i do to get the pH up and the nitrates down????
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04-17-2003, 10:11 PM
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#6
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Puyallup, WA
Posts: 178
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your LR and you sand will do a great job. Do you have a skimmer?
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04-17-2003, 10:20 PM
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#7
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Demotte IN
Posts: 131
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Jan
You might just consider doing some water changes. that will slowly lower your nitrates and help raise your PH some. how many gallons is your tank? Also out of curiosity why are you using Amquel?
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04-17-2003, 11:03 PM
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#8
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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my tank is about 7 weeks old so i am not sure if it is ready for a water change yet. my tank is 60 gallons and I was adding tap water to the wet/dry filter and thats what the LFS told me to use to get rid of the clorine and other crap and to make the pH levels correct. I dont have a protein skimmer yet - thats the next purchase i guess |
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04-17-2003, 11:14 PM
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#9
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 96
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Don't panic....your tank is very new. Sometimes when you think your tank has stabilized it will go through with a spike....I would guess you added some live stock which caused a cycle spike. Just take a deep breath, a small water change, don't try to control your Ph to soon
the LFS gave me fritz zyme and i added half
Do not remove your bio balls, not until your LR/sb have well established themselfs..............do some reading in the archives on new tank cycling...
good luck  |
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04-17-2003, 11:14 PM
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#10
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Demotte IN
Posts: 131
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jan
can you get RO water to use instead of tap water? Also IMO it would be fine to do a water change now especially if your ammonia and nitrites are down to 0.
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04-17-2003, 11:17 PM
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#11
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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ok - i will be patient - i did recently add some snails and hermit crabs about a week and a half ago. so my pH being at 7.8 is not going to kill anyone in my tank - right?? :-)
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04-17-2003, 11:18 PM
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#12
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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sorry - still a newbie - what is RO
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04-17-2003, 11:34 PM
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#13
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 96
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Don't be sorry.....RO is Reverse osmosis...it is a way to filter your tap water to help give great quality water to your tank. It will help reduce phosphates which will help redusce algea growth in your tank...
a Ph of 7.8 will do just fine for what you have in your tank, what is your salinity? |
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04-17-2003, 11:35 PM
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#14
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Little Fishy
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: yorba linda, CA
Posts: 67
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my salinity is 1.022
what is more important - a protien skimmer or RO |
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04-17-2003, 11:41 PM
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#15
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Member
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Texas
Posts: 96
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for you right now, RO set up. Its best to supply the best water possible to your tank. You can also purchase water from your LFS. Most sell the 5 gallon buckets and sell the water for about 5 bucks. I did that for a while until I got tired of lugging the jugs around...also you don't know the true quality of the water you are getting.
As for a skimmer, its a great addition to a tank, but for now you don't have the bio load to worry about it, the skimmer would rob your tank while it sets up.
I would wait a bit on a skimmer.....unless you have the funds for both. A good RO set up can run 150-300 and a good skimmer will run 150-300
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