I have a 35 gal red sea salt tank w/4 small-med. live rocks.I waited 2 mths before adding any fish. I now have 3 damsels, 3 maroon clowns & 2 cleaner shrimp. I waited 2 wks between adding ea.group. My water has always been hard (1100 ppm),ph is 8.3-8.4(perfect), nitrate & nitrite were both @ 0.Now nitrate is @ 0-10(safe) & nitrite is @ .5-1.0(caution), alkalinity is @ 300 (ta ppm). Are these levels ok or can you tell me how to lower my nitrite,hardness & alkalinity levels? tankonfused
tank conditions ok?
- Thread starter tankonfused
- Start date
Good, this helps a lot.
First off, the amount you feed doesn't sound excessive to me, unless your pinches can be measured in cups.
Secondly, not having a skimmer is a valid option for a tank, but having one does help a lot with removing nutrients. Without one, you should have an alternative method to remove them. I'd suggest either more live rock or adding a refugium to your sump if you have one. To be honest, I'd be inclined to suggest you'd be better off with a skimmer than without.
As for circulation, when you say you have a pump, do you mean a powerhead in the tank (i.e. something there purely for water circulation like a maxijet) or a return pump on a system with a sump? Having only a return pump might not be the best idea. Although it is more important to have good water circulation if you are stocking the tank with coral (you didn't mention coral, so I assume you're going to have a fish only tank (sometimes called FOWLR or fish only with live rock), is that right?), it is still helpful in a FOWLR tank, as spots with little circulation can sometimes become little traps for uneaten food/other detritus, which can push your nutrients up.
First off, the amount you feed doesn't sound excessive to me, unless your pinches can be measured in cups.
Secondly, not having a skimmer is a valid option for a tank, but having one does help a lot with removing nutrients. Without one, you should have an alternative method to remove them. I'd suggest either more live rock or adding a refugium to your sump if you have one. To be honest, I'd be inclined to suggest you'd be better off with a skimmer than without.
As for circulation, when you say you have a pump, do you mean a powerhead in the tank (i.e. something there purely for water circulation like a maxijet) or a return pump on a system with a sump? Having only a return pump might not be the best idea. Although it is more important to have good water circulation if you are stocking the tank with coral (you didn't mention coral, so I assume you're going to have a fish only tank (sometimes called FOWLR or fish only with live rock), is that right?), it is still helpful in a FOWLR tank, as spots with little circulation can sometimes become little traps for uneaten food/other detritus, which can push your nutrients up.
First off, when in doubt (with an established or QT tank) do a water change. Second, those fish are going to quickly outgrow that system. The maroons will likely take it over, and personally, I think that would be a nice display. I'm assuming you started with a small trio, yes? You may want to act preemptively and remove the damsels now. That would do two things--reduce bioload very quickly and allow the maroons better room to do their own thing.
Ape, I believe that model Whisper is a H.O.T. box filter (someone like John Henry would probably know immediately, I no longer dream in sku's). For a small fish load what I'm picturing would likely be sufficient. But for active, aggressive fish that are going to grow quickly (all of these fish can likely get to small pan size, or about as big as a man's palm) I don't think it's sufficient. Not without a skimmer or some other additional filtration in absence of frequent water changes.
The number of pieces of live rock doesn't tell us much. Those four 'small/med' pieces could be the size of an orange or a watermelon. Type or source (Fiji, for instance? Tonga?) and pounds are more helpful information.
What else...? I don't know, but I'm getting tired of my fish library being packed away in a place I can't seem to locate. :? I like reading my fish books, especially the bibles.
Oh yeah, you can upload pix as an attachment (see bottom, can't be too big or it won't upload) or as a link, but for some reason Photobucket is giving me grief (ask Len).
Ape, I believe that model Whisper is a H.O.T. box filter (someone like John Henry would probably know immediately, I no longer dream in sku's). For a small fish load what I'm picturing would likely be sufficient. But for active, aggressive fish that are going to grow quickly (all of these fish can likely get to small pan size, or about as big as a man's palm) I don't think it's sufficient. Not without a skimmer or some other additional filtration in absence of frequent water changes.
The number of pieces of live rock doesn't tell us much. Those four 'small/med' pieces could be the size of an orange or a watermelon. Type or source (Fiji, for instance? Tonga?) and pounds are more helpful information.
What else...? I don't know, but I'm getting tired of my fish library being packed away in a place I can't seem to locate. :? I like reading my fish books, especially the bibles.
Oh yeah, you can upload pix as an attachment (see bottom, can't be too big or it won't upload) or as a link, but for some reason Photobucket is giving me grief (ask Len).
3 of my live rocks are about the size of a grapefruit & the 4th one is a little bit larger but has a hole in the center so it's like a doughnut.I appreciate all your replies - I can't get my pics small enough to send though.all my fish are quite small - the largest,2 of my clowns are approx.1/2"h x 1 1/4"w.my shrimp are about the same size.
Hmm. Yes, I think you need a bit more live rock. It would certainly help to see pics to get an idea of how full the tank is with rock anyway. I'd recommend loading them onto a photo hosting website and then hotlinking them to here (i.e. by copying and pasting the url once you've uploaded them into a post here and surround it with img tags (one of the buttons above the posting window when you post). I often use facebook to do this. Alternatively, if you're having problems resizing, ask for help (are you on a Mac or PC?) and someone might be able to help you create a photo that's neither too large (file size) nor too small (size on the screen).
BTW, SeaMaiden's right to point out that you need to plan for the eventual size of the fish, rather than their current size. If they won't fit when they reach full size, it's probably best to start thinking now about an exit strategy.
BTW, SeaMaiden's right to point out that you need to plan for the eventual size of the fish, rather than their current size. If they won't fit when they reach full size, it's probably best to start thinking now about an exit strategy.
tankonfused":2p0cpnp6 said:
Well, if your nitrite is rising that means that somewhere along the line you had an ammonia spike and it is still sorting itself out. Remember- the chain of events is ammonia, then nitrite then nitrate. I would think a series of larger % water changes is in order. Secondly, when you say your 'water is hard' do you mean your untreated tap water? If you aren't using R/O water (treated) in your tank, that could be where your problems are originating-the water itself can have excess nutrients in it (phosphate, etc).
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