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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 3, 2013 17:49:23 GMT -5
I know the first layer is what was in there when i got the tank. That i know is crushed coral, the second layer is black birch sand or something like that, I cant remember what its called exactly, and the last layer is also pretty coarse but I got it for free on CL and they never told me what kind of sand it was, but she said she paid 9 bucks an lb for it, but thats all i know.
If the sand bed is the prob, i could prob buy a bag or two of fine sand and it would eventually settle at the bottom right?
and hey jordan. wanna come live at my house for the next month or so and fix my problem? hahahaha
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Post by jess on Mar 3, 2013 17:50:46 GMT -5
Crushed coral it's bad imo.
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 3, 2013 17:55:50 GMT -5
This is what the grain of sand looks like in my tank.... this is how much sand I have in the bottom....  this is the grain and nitrogen bubbles....    |
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 3, 2013 17:56:37 GMT -5
why is crushed coral bad?
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 3, 2013 18:00:02 GMT -5
this is a view of all of the sand before it started the nitrogen bubbles, but it gives you a better idea of size...  |
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Mar 3, 2013 18:26:48 GMT -5
Christian is absolutely right about your sand bed. Large grain deep sand beds like yours are not able to support the anoxic denitrifying bacteria that a fine grain sand bed will. You will have bacteria that can convert ammonia and nitrite into nitrates but you need the anoxic fine grain sand layer that's at least 3-5 inches in depth to support the bacteria that convert nitrates into nitrogen gas. Even though there are bubbles forming in the sand, its not a clear indicator that the sand bed is working. Also, be very carful when buying activated carbon for a reef tank. Just google KENT REEF CARBON CONTAMINATION and you will understand. Many brands of activated carbon have proven to be contaminated with chunks of iron and even worse COPPER!! If your unsure before you buy something, feel free to ask.
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Post by jess on Mar 3, 2013 18:33:55 GMT -5
That's why crushed coral is bad
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 3, 2013 19:00:35 GMT -5
So what would you guys do with this if it was your tank? How can I fix this without releasing all the crap in my sand bed?
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Post by Cowdogz on Mar 3, 2013 21:21:29 GMT -5
I agree with Christian and Ryan. I actually think my first tank failed because of using too-large grained gravel. It looked great for about 2 years, then I battled various nuisance algaes for another two years before I gave up and moved into a bigger tank. All the time it tested zero for nitrates, because they were being used up by the algae. High nitrates could be why your Hammers aren't happy. I wound up losing all my Euphyllias and Caulastreas.
Try the remote DSB. Get a bigger sump if you have to. Doesn't have to be anything fancy, could even be a heavy-duty Rubbermaid container. Use sugar-fine oolithic sand, or something with grain size of .5-1.5mm. Throw some chaeto in there and light it with a clamp light and a spiral CFL bulb. You might slowly take the gravel out of the main tank until you have just an inch or so left for aesthetics, if you don't plan on having any burrowing or sand-sifting fish.
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Post by Marlin & Coral on Mar 4, 2013 6:40:56 GMT -5
We have found that Purigen works great! We've been using that along with Chemi Pure elite in our filters for over 2 years and our nitrates are undectectable. We also use our tap (shallow well) water and do weekly 25% water changes.
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 4, 2013 8:08:58 GMT -5
Ryan, I bought the petco brand. I did read about the Kent contamination, that's crappy.
cowdogz-I have a very small cabinet under my tank. I couldnt even fit a 20 tall in it for a sump which is why i went with the rapids pro compact sump system. Its actually a great sump. It's rated for 750 gal an hour and up to a 125 gal tank. Also, do you mean throw the sand in the sump? I doubt I could do that with my sump. I dont have any sand sifting fish or stars but I do have a LTA and he loves to bury his foot deep in the sand.
Marlin, is purigen and chemi pure? Are these additives?
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Post by ryansweatt2004 on Mar 4, 2013 9:01:07 GMT -5
petco brand carbon and the marine land brand of Carbon are junk in my opinion. Those are the brands of carbon that I've found chunks of Iron inside. I had no idea until I saw a rust stain on the bottom glass of my sump were my bag of Carbon had even sitting. In that bag was a chunk of rusty iron the size of a pencil eraser. That same container of carbon had even more pieces of iron inside. Of course I'm sure it's not a common thing to find pieces of iron in a container of carbon but after what happened with the kent reef carbon, I won't buy anything but the best. Rox carbon and Seachem matrix carbon are the only two brands that I'll use now.
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 6, 2013 8:13:08 GMT -5
So I did a 20 gal water change the night before last in my 55 gal and tonight I wanted to do another 20gal water change to get these STUPID nitrates to go away! My question is, is it too soon after the first water change to do another? Should I wait for a certain amount of time? I know a few said dont do anything over 50% at once, so is it too much to do twice in a week? Or even every other day? Is there any rule of thumb on this so I dont harm my tank?
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 6, 2013 9:45:28 GMT -5
I'm gonna have to ask my husband... He's got the golden touch and we can try to figure something out. The issue we're working with though is space, I don't know where we could put it...
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Post by lindsey1984 on Mar 6, 2013 9:51:17 GMT -5
This is the room I have behind my tank and my sump system....   Sent from my Desire HD using proboards |
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