What Else Do I Need?

[Nemo Keeper]

Ok, guys, bare with me here. I am fairly new to this hobby. I aquired a 75 gal SW tank that has been running for about 10 years. It has about 2.5 inches of livesand, about 125 lbs of live rock, about 20 snails 5 crabs, 1 cleaner shrimp, 2 blue damsels, 1 Cardinal fish, 2 clowns, 1 white anenome, 3 mushroom anenomes, 1 frogspawn, 1 green star polyp and a 6 line wrasse. As for the equipment I don't really know the names of some of the things so I placed pictures below in the order they are mentioned. I have an overflow filter with a white sponge, running into a sump which runs through a white filtered sheet then a carbonated sheet and before being sucked into the pump it passes through a filter sock filled with activated carbon and another one full of sea sorb, This all gets sucked in via a 640 gph little giant water pump which in turns splits. I pipe takes it to a protein skimmer, which dumps back into the sump, and the other returns it back to the tank.I am also running a 200 gph power head for movement on one side of the tank and I have Rio Aqua Pump 600 running my Turbo Twist 3X UV Sterilizier which pumps to the other end of the tank. I top off my tank with distilled water until I can get an RO system.

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/v...per928/008.jpg (Overflow)

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/v...r928/004-1.jpg (Sump)

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/v...r928/005-1.jpg (Pump)

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/v...r928/006-1.jpg (Skim)

http://i694.photobucket.com/albums/v...per928/009.jpg (Pow Hd)

I would like to know if all this is is enough or am I missing something to better my tank. I just ordered new, stronger lights so I can have some coral. One problem I am having though is my Nitrates. I have a test kit which shows me that everything is perfect, even my hydrometer is on the money. However, no matter what I do, I can't seem to shake the Nitrates. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. I couldn't think of having a better,more enjoyable, hobby.

[Seige]

P.S. I couldn't think of having a better,more enjoyable, hobby.

This hobby is fun isn't it. ;-)

Do you do water changes? How big and how often? What type of salt mixture?

How high are your Nitrates? Can you list your test kit readings so we know exactly what they are and what your testing for?

What type of corals are you planning on? What type of lighting did you order?

How big is your sump?

[sober_pollock]

Bio-Balls = Nitrate Factories!

(In your second picture, labeled "Sump")

[Nemo Keeper]

Yes, I do water changes every month. It's a 75 gal. tank and I change about 20 gallons a month with water that I buy from LFS. Of course I test there water to make sure everything is fine given that I don't have an RO system in place yet.
My water readings are as follows:
High Ranhe PH = 8.5
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 98 ppm
Salinity = 1.022
I ordered Lunar Aqualights Compact Fluorescent Strip Lights which comes with 2 blue florescent buls and 2 white with built in lunar lights.
I,m not quite sure how big my sump is, what I can tell you is that up to about 6 inches above the pump intake it hold abnout 10 to 12 gallons of water.
Are bio-balls really bad for a tank? If so, what should I use to ereplace them.
Thanks for the responses.

[Nemo Keeper]

As far as corals, I haven't really looked up exactly the one's I want. I will start that research once I get my lights in. I also feed my fish every other day. I add Iodine, 3 drops, 3 times a week and I also ass trace elements once every 2 weeks, according to the directions of the bottle.

[Seige]

For the Nitrates you can start by removing the bio balls slowly.

from RC's FAQ... "Why are bio balls bad?"
Bio balls are exceptionally good at converting ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate, but their effectiveness stops there. If they are your main source of filtration, nitrates will probably accumulate in your tank, causing algae growth and other problems, like reduced stony coral growth, and eventually (if they get high enough) stress in marine fish. If you have bio balls in your system now, your best option is to slowly remove them over a period of a few weeks in order to give the rest of your system a chance to develop natural mechanisms of nutrient export. Do NOT remove them all at once!
---------------

You should be testing for everything you add as chemical suppliments. Iodine at high levels is toxic and usually never needs to be added as it's contained along with the other trace elements in the saltwater mix.

Feeding every other day isn't often enough. Quote from the following link. You should read the whole link but this is the part about feeding frequency.

Feeding Frequency
Unless the fish is a strict predator (like a Lionfish), then you should know that the fish eats throughout the day. Most fishes are grazers or nibblers. Large Angelfishes are well known nibblers. Some have been measured to nibble 3 to 5 times every minute on the reef! Ideally they are fed small meals throughout the day just like they eat in the wild. Their digestive track has evolved for this kind of continuous and small intake of foods. Though inconvenient for those of us with full time jobs, the next choice would be three meals per day. In no case should fishes that graze or nibble should be fed less than twice a day. Try to find three times in the day you can feed the fish. Feeding frequency is mentioned in other sections below relating to the foods and types of fishes. Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition

If your going to have corals you should raise your salinity to 1.025 - 1.026. You can do that by replacing evaporated water with saltwater rather then the distilled water. Make sure you aerate the saltwater for 1-4 days prior to adding it to your tank.

That's about all I can help with. I'm relatively new to this too. Hopefully one of the more experienced members will review your post and fill in the gaps.

[Seige]

oh you didn't include water temperature. It should be around 80.

Your lights should be set up to be on for 12 hours. Preferably 1 hour of actinics (simulating dawn); followed by 10 hours or actinics and daylights; followed by 1 hour of just actinics (simulating dusk).

[Nemo Keeper]

WOW...that great...I didn't know bio balls were so bad!!! Now once I remove them comletely after a week or so, will I need to put them back into the tank eventually? I just printed out the reading you posted and I'm going to try them out. Thanks, I am ALWAYS open to suggestions

[Nemo Keeper]

Hey Seige, didn't know that. I have the simulatiion dusk and dawn for about an hour and daylights on for about 8 hours. Mainly because I was told that too much light will grow too much algea.

[Seige]

You can go with less light until you add corals but a 12 hour day is what's normal for fish along the equator.

You may want to take longer then a week to remove the bio balls. I'd probably run a ammonia / nitrite test every couple days and if the reading is ok pull out roughly 10%-15% of them. The readings will tell you if your tank is gearing up to handle the extra work the bio balls aren't there for any more. Hopefully you'll see your nitrate levels drop soon.

Let us know how it's going.

[Nemo Keeper]

I just took out about 10% of them. I'll give about 24 to 36 hours to run like that then test. I will def keep you informed on how it goes...Thanks a mil

[Seige]

You probably won't see much change at first. 90% of them are still doing there job. ;-)

It'll probably after the first week or so and the number has dropped a lot that you will see a difference.

I didn't see any plants in your sump. Do you intend to run reverse lighting in your sump to help level out ph?

[Nemo Keeper]

Well I never had a problem with PH. Once in a blue moon it'll drop a litle bit. I read somewhere about mangroves or something but that's all foreign to me. What do you suggest or do you have any good articles I can read up on and learn about? Also, once I remove the bio balls, will I need to replace it with anything else or can I drop in that space some activated carbon and sea sorb or do you recommend anything?

[zhenya]

Well I never had a problem with PH. Once in a blue moon it'll drop a litle bit. I read somewhere about mangroves or something but that's all foreign to me. What do you suggest or do you have any good articles I can read up on and learn about? Also, once I remove the bio balls, will I need to replace it with anything else or can I drop in that space some activated carbon and sea sorb or do you recommend anything?

I don't believe you have a problem with your ph. Anywhere between 8.0 and 8.5 is fine providing that it doesn't swing wildly.
Instead, I would slowly raise salinity level to about 35ppt (or 1.026 specific gravity).
Here's a good article for you to read on this subject:
Reef Stability, A Moving Target by Ronald L. Shimek, Ph.D. - Reef Hobbyist Online Magazine

As far as your sump(wet/dry filter, actually) goes, after removing all of the bio-balls keep this section of the filter open. I had this filter in 1998 when I started my first reef aquarium and after removing bio-balls I kept it free of everything. Well, I had heater in there for a while but removed it as well later when I added real sump.
You could use some activated carbon in there for passive filtering.
Here's some more information on the sumps and filtration methods for marine aquariums.
Overflows and Sumps - Reef Hobbyist Online Magazine

Like Sage had mentioned already, take your time in removing bio-balls. Take out handfull at the time and allow some time for your tank to catch up. I removed bio-balls every time I did water changes but you can do it at any time.

[Seige]

Do you always take your ph readings about the same time of day? If you test in the morning and evening you'll likely see a fluctuation. If you don't see a fluctuation your display plants may not be large enough to cause a significant ph change. By adding plants to the sump and running reverse lighting it'll level out your ph.

Zhenya has way more knowledge then me about sumps so follow his advice.

Reverse lighting only works over a refugium containing algae. You want to block the sump from light sources during the day and run its lights at night. The idea is that the lit algae will be producing oxygen in the sump while the main tank is in the respiration mode, balancing your system.

Photosynthesis requires light.
Respiration requires the absence of light.

[Nemo Keeper]

Thanks guys. I am gonna read up on these articles tonight. I really apreciate all the feedback. As far as reading my ph, I actually have a calendar inside the furniture for my tank that I follow as far as testing and adding elements...etc. I can honestly say that I don't check at the same exact time. It's always between 5pm and 10 pm.

[Seige]

Thanks guys. I am gonna read up on these articles tonight. I really apreciate all the feedback. As far as reading my ph, I actually have a calendar inside the furniture for my tank that I follow as far as testing and adding elements...etc. I can honestly say that I don't check at the same exact time. It's always between 5pm and 10 pm.

Check just after you turn the lights on and compare that to your usual tests you will likely see a difference.

[Nemo Keeper]

Well, I took the first water test after taking out a handful of those bio balls,and I have to say, you were right. I didn't see a big jump but my Nitrate's went from 98 ppm down to 89 ppm. I don't know if this is coinsidence but it worked. I've had them out for about 48 hours and just now took out another handful. All the other readings were perfect. I am going to try the test when they come on when I'm of from work and see what the difference is. I will keep you guys posted on the progress with thesebio balls

[Seige]

Woot!!! Glad you found the source of your problem.

[Nemo Keeper]

Yeah, thaks seige and the rest of the gang that pitched in. BTW the last articles were REALLY informative...Thanks again.