oro50

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm just wondering as my tank approaches the last stages of it's cycle, should I remove the carbon media bags from the filters?

What I am wondering is, if these media bags are stripping any last traces of ammonia that need to be utilized by the growing strains of nitrifiying bacteria continuing to establish themselves in my tank as their energy source?

If I should, then I would put in these carbon bags only after I put in my first fish?
 

edd

Advanced Reefer
Location
nj
Rating - 100%
96   0   0
i don't think carbon removes ammonia.
when amo is 0, then you should be ok to add fish. but while your waiting don't forget to feed your clean up crew, as they are producing amo.
give it patience, it will stabilize.
 

MWoodhill

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 100%
6   0   0
I'm just wondering as my tank approaches the last stages of it's cycle, should I remove the carbon media bags from the filters?

What I am wondering is, if these media bags are stripping any last traces of ammonia that need to be utilized by the growing strains of nitrifiying bacteria continuing to establish themselves in my tank as their energy source?

If I should, then I would put in these carbon bags only after I put in my first fish?

nope

carbon IMO is quite pivot in the long term success. better keep it runnin

it absorbs chemicals and so reduces chemical warfare and calm down your skimmer. when my carbon is goin to expire, my skimmer got wild and got a lots of bubbles
 

Arati

Advanced Reefer
Vendor
Location
LI
Rating - 100%
56   0   0
you can run carbon throughout the cycle. I would take it out and wait until the cycle finishes. then do a big water change and add carbon at that time. either way will be find. but it will save ya a few $ to wait, with no ill effects. just my.02$
 

ReefWreak

Advanced Reefer
Location
Astoria, NYC
Rating - 100%
48   0   0
nope

carbon IMO is quite pivot in the long term success. better keep it runnin

it absorbs chemicals and so reduces chemical warfare and calm down your skimmer. when my carbon is goin to expire, my skimmer got wild and got a lots of bubbles

He's just starting a tank, and his tank is largely empty right now. No chemical warfare, no chemicals, and no skimmer....

I would do as recommended as Arati
 

Dan_P

Advanced Reefer
Location
Connecticut
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'm just wondering as my tank approaches the last stages of it's cycle, should I remove the carbon media bags from the filters?

What I am wondering is, if these media bags are stripping any last traces of ammonia that need to be utilized by the growing strains of nitrifiying bacteria continuing to establish themselves in my tank as their energy source?

If I should, then I would put in these carbon bags only after I put in my first fish?

Have you read any books on setting up and maintaining a salt water aquarium?

My concern is for the animals that you will eventually put into your aquarium. You must understand the basics before you embark on something as complex as a salt water aquarium. The "figure it out as you go along" approach is not an approach with a high success rate.

I sincerely advise you to please stop, and take time to learn more about this hobby before you stock your aquarium.

Dan
 

oro50

Advanced Reefer
Location
Manhattan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yes I have, plus I've talked to numerous people about setting up this aquarium.
I can't see first how it can be so super complicated, or nobody would set up these things in the first place.
Secondly, what I've read, and what other people have said have conflicted, and even widely sometimes. To make this clear, what I am saying is, some people have suggested one particular procedure on how to do a certain task, and then when I'm talking to someone else they say something, that make's the previous suggestion seem completely wrong?

Again too new to know who is right here, but since this is a hobby that only a few seem to be doing, I can see that is one reason why there are similar and sometimes not similar procedures on how to handle issues.

I am going slow with it. There isn't a fish in the tank yet. I recently just had my new RO/DI water tested by Manhattan aquarium staff, who use better tests than I. They said it wasn't ready yet, but that it was close.

Right now I am leaving the tank alone, (except for adding new RO/DI water) when I see that evaporation has eliminated a good chunk of my present water in the tank.

What else? I already have invertebrates in the tank. A Manhattan aquarium employee suggested I try out a cleaner crew before I place a fish in. Then another manhattan aquarium employee days later I was speaking with, suggested I should have gone with fish first, since invertebrates are more sensitive.

Yet anyway it's done, and though 2 snails out of my pack are dead, these guys basically died almost instantly after being submerged in my water?

The others seem fine, and it has been more than a week going on two weeks.

I read up that ninja star's can't right themselves up if they fall over? Perhaps it did, at some point I wasn't looking, and I didn't right it up fast enough?

In any case, I was told that I should remove the carbon filters during the cycling process.

I did remove one out of my HOB filter.

With this said, I didn't remove the old carbon filter from my canister one, for two reason.

First reason, I was told that though the cartridge my be exhausted at this point, it wouldn't do any harm, just keeping it in there?

Second reason, it's a pain to remove and add stuff out of my canister filter, so until I feel such actions are absolutely necessary, I try to leave this canister filter by itself?

Other details about my aquarium right now.

Temp 82-81 degrees
Salinity: 1.023
Cured live rock for a 20 L gallon tank, 16lbs.
Substrate live argonite sand
Filters:
HOB filter for a 30 gallon tank
Fluval 106 canister filter
Voyager Nano 530 US gph
 

edd

Advanced Reefer
Location
nj
Rating - 100%
96   0   0
people alter things the way they work best for their tank. thats why your getting mixed opinions. once you have the basics down, it will become easier to maintain your tank.
i would raise your salinity to 1.026 and don't wait for a lot of water to evaporate before topping off. top off every day with ro water so you don't have big fluctuations in salinity level.
get an under standing of how it works, and do what works best for your tank.
i think your getting too many opinions and confusing your self.
 

Jlavine

Advanced Reefer
Location
NYC
Rating - 100%
82   0   0
Lower your temp down from 82 and increase your salinity a tad. You will have overall problems with your parameters with an open top 20 gallon unless you are vigilant with your top offs.


At 7 weeks you should be good to go, especially after adding the bacteria. Something is off if it's not. What's with the ? marks?
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top