Please help

[sharon]

Hey guys!!! I just purchased a Power-glo and a Marine glo for my tank. I have a dual fixture and I wanted to know if that was good enough for live rock? Can I put in some kind of anenome or feather dusters? Also, I never had a protein skimmer. Would that become a problem? I have a 40 gallon with 3 fish in it

[7digits]

What size is your tank? The live rock will be ok. I think the feather dusters would be ok too. Anemones like lots of light. I'm not sure on that one, but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will chime in. How old is your tank? Most suggest that the tank be at least 6 months old for an anemone. As for a protien skimmer, I would say any system would benefit from a protein skimmer. Some people just use live rock and a protein skimmer for filtration.

[MyNameIsJoe]

How long are the lights? 36"? If so that would be about 69 watts.
Do you want to have coralline algae (good purple algae) grow on the rocks?
Do you plan on having corals in the system?
Live rock does not generally require high intensity lighting unless you are looking to grow some coralline on it. You will also need to maintain proper calcium levels and other parameters must be in range for good coralline to grow as well. The lights you have should work fine to keep the live rock "alive".
Anemone do require a good amount of light, however they can also be fed by hand on a regular basis to survive. Protein skimmers are always a good addition to any system. If you plan on having corals, you should look into getting a skimmer. Feather dusters should be fine with those lights. If you put an anemone in the tank, it will move to a position where it will receive optimal lighting.

[sharon]

Hi Joe...Yeah they are 36". Ok, I think they are 30 watt each. When I get home I will def check. I've had this tank for a year now and I need to do something new. I've been neglectful and now it's a mess. I have old tank syndrome. My nitrate is soo high i dont know how my fish are still alive. I have a clown coral bearty and blue damsel. I'm running a fluval 404, emperor hang on with 2 bio wheels and a Magnum canister. Its a 40 gallon but i wanted enough filtration. I do not have a skimmer. If i get live rock i need one right? I need to get this nitrate controlled! Thanks a bunch for your reply

[Parrothead]

Anem. do require really good light, excellent water quailty, they can be feed by hand, but that will not help if the first two requirements are not met

[Parrothead]

Hi Joe...Yeah they are 36". Ok, I think they are 30 watt each. When I get home I will def check. I've had this tank for a year now and I need to do something new. I've been neglectful and now it's a mess. I have old tank syndrome. My nitrate is soo high i dont know how my fish are still alive. I have a clown coral bearty and blue damsel. I'm running a fluval 404, emperor hang on with 2 bio wheels and a Magnum canister. Its a 40 gallon but i wanted enough filtration. I do not have a skimmer. If i get live rock i need one right? I need to get this nitrate controlled! Thanks a bunch for your reply

Any saltwater tank whether it's a reef tank of fish only tank should have a skimmer as one of it's first pieces of equipment, so my prior post about excellent water quailty for the anem. a skimmer goes a long way towards doing this, based on your despcription of your tank, you might think about tearing it down and starting all over, and with standard flourecents you can keep live rock and fish, but thats gonna be about it

[7digits]

So I assume by your previous post that you don't have ANY live rock? You definitely need live rock, about 1 to 1.5 lbs per gallon of water. Get a skimmer too. You won't believe the nastiness that it takes out. As for the nitrates, throw the bio-wheels in the trash. They create nitrate problems, and while they are probably not the only contributor to your problem, I'm sure they are making it worse. They are known to be Nitrate Factories. I agree with Parrothead though, you should start over, but you need somewhere to keep your fish while the tank and live rock cycle. If you don't have another tank set-up, then get the skimmer and live rock going, and do lots of water changes. Oh yea, most importantly, throw the bio-wheels out. I had one too. Rookie mistake.

[Parrothead]

Find a fellow hobbyist who could or be willing to hold your fish, or talk to your lfs, if they can't hold them, I'm sure they'll give you some store credit, I'd start over.......JMHO

[MyNameIsJoe]

I 2nd dumping the bio wheels---> I use to have 'em as well. Once you get the CURED live rock in the tank, that will do most of your filtering (along with a skimmer). If you dont wanna start over from scratch, Just get a big, rubbermade tub and cure your rock in there. Make sure to have plenty of H2O flow in the tub. It may take up to 2 weeks to cure the rock.
Here's a link on how to cure live rock.
If you just google "how to cure live rock", you will get a lot of info.
You might get lucky and find some rock thats already cured and you can skip this process.

Starting over? Go with a 2-3" sand bed and forget about crushed coral. crushed coral as a substrate ends up being a detritus trap and increases nitrates. Get a skimmer. If you want to upgrade your light system, a T5HO fixture will cover live rock, fish, inverts, and most corals.

Any questions? Let us know what you end up doing and how it ends up...

[sharon]

Hey guys...thanks for answering my questions....well when i found out i had the nitrate problem, i removed part of the crushed coral, did a huge water change then purchased bio chem pure...2 bags. I checked my water quality this morning and there were no nitrates or ammonia. I only have those test kits so i couldnt test other things...can i slowly transition to sand by removing coral then adding sand? Also, what kind of protein skimmer do u recommend?

[Parrothead]

Look into the AquaC Remora Pro with the mag 3 pump,

yes you can remove the crushed coral and replace with sand, just start on onside of the tank and patiently work your way to the other, what kind of sand are you using????????????????

[MyNameIsJoe]

Another thing to consider....is that when you put the sand into the tank, it is gonna be extremely cloudy for at least a day. All the sand that is suspended in the water will eventually settle on everything. The fish should not have any problem with this, but if you have any corals or anemones you will want to clear the sand off of them ASAP. I would just you a basic turkey baster to do this. the sand can suffocate them. Just a heads up.

[Parrothead]

Another thing to consider....is that when you put the sand into the tank, it is gonna be extremely cloudy for at least a day. All the sand that is suspended in the water will eventually settle on everything. The fish should not have any problem with this, but if you have any corals or anemones you will want to clear the sand off of them ASAP. I would just you a basic turkey baster to do this. the sand can suffocate them. Just a heads up.

get a 3 inch dia pvc pipe a little longer than your tank is deep, use that to pour the sand into, it will help reduce the sand storm, have some extra filter floss or pads around as well, it's gonna be a mess anyway when you start pulling the crushed coral

[sharon]

Thanks for all the info...So how many inches of sand..what kindof sand? Also, I heard that sand traps all these toxic chemicals that would kiil my fish, gases etc....How can i clean the tank? I useto siphon with the coral, now how will i do this with the sand...thanks for the info on the protein skimmer...the info for the tanks states. for tanks 70 gallons and over..would it be ok with my 40 gallon? thanks for answering all my questions!

[sharon]

Also...I have a tetra pond uv sterilizer...not sure how many watts...its still in the box! givin to me by a friend. should i use it? can it be too strong for a 40 gallon tank?

[ToddTT]

Thanks for all the info...So how many inches of sand..what kindof sand? Also, I heard that sand traps all these toxic chemicals that would kiil my fish, gases etc....How can i clean the tank? I useto siphon with the coral, now how will i do this with the sand...thanks for the info on the protein skimmer...the info for the tanks states. for tanks 70 gallons and over..would it be ok with my 40 gallon? thanks for answering all my questions!

Some fish and snails will help with keeping your sand clean. You shouldn't need to do much yourself.

If you buy a goby for this task, many are known leapers. Keep your tank covered, or sooner or later you will have a suicide on your conscience.

With sand, do not use a magnet glass cleaner anywhere near your sand bed. You will scratch your tank, it's just a matter of time.

I believe you'll want to purchase a few filter bags. Fill them with crushed coral, and put them right back in your tank. Then remove the rest of the coral, and start with the sand. After a few weeks, start removing the bags of coral one at a time.

Good luck!

[Parrothead]

You never disturb your sand bed, it requires no siphoning, just a good clean up crew(snails, etc), as I stated above the current lighting on this system will support live rock and fish only, it will not support a nem., let alone must of the corals out there, maybe some shrooms or zoas but I'm not sure I would try it, just because I want to see creatures thrive not just survive, However with it only being a 40 gallon tank, her 3 fish are about it, especially once you add some rock in there, a 40 would make an excellent nano tank, but would require the skimmer which is needed on any salt system, T-5 lighting, a deep sand bed of 3 + inches, and the live rock. Hope this helps