New tank problems.

[toxai]

Hello, My name's Adrian. And I am an spanish boy new to this hobby.

Firs of all, sorry if my english is not that good. I'll try my best .

I set up a 120L tank more than 2 o 3 months ago and I am having quite a lot of problems.

I have an auxiliar bomb, skimmer, a bunch of bacteria in the sump, live and mature rock, and sand. I don't know what's the problem, but, even after all this time cycling, the water is kind of muddy/withish.

I'll add some pics later so you can have a look on it. I've done some cleaning on the sump ad there was a lot of "brown sand" and dirt and also did some water changes but...still the same.

Here I'll add a pic of the skimmer where you can see that It's "tube" is quite dirty, but I don't know if that may be the problem and, if so, how to solve it.

DKH was low so I slightly started adding this product some weeks ago

Here are some pics of the tank and the sump right now ( the empy space is where the skimmer must go, but I took it off to inspect it and take some pics, as you've seen ).

(There's the black bag with bacteria)

It's also important to mention that the skimmer was not "making bubbles" or anything at first sight. And the bomb of the filter looks a little bit dirty but I guess that's normal.



Feel free to ask whatever about me and my tank's problems .

 

[Dan_P]

Hello, My name's Adrian. And I am an spanish boy new to this hobby.

Firs of all, sorry if my english is not that good. I'll try my best .

I set up a 120L tank more than 2 o 3 months ago and I am having quite a lot of problems.

I have an auxiliar bomb, skimmer, a bunch of bacteria in the sump, live and mature rock, and sand. I don't know what's the problem, but, even after all this time cycling, the water is kind of muddy/withish.

I'll add some pics later so you can have a look on it. I've done some cleaning on the sump ad there was a lot of "brown sand" and dirt and also did some water changes but...still the same.

Here I'll add a pic of the skimmer where you can see that It's "tube" is quite dirty, but I don't know if that may be the problem and, if so, how to solve it.

DKH was low so I slightly started adding this product some weeks ago

Here are some pics of the tank and the sump right now ( the empy space is where the skimmer must go, but I took it off to inspect it and take some pics, as you've seen ).

(There's the black bag with bacteria)

It's also important to mention that the skimmer was not "making bubbles" or anything at first sight. And the bomb of the filter looks a little bit dirty but I guess that's normal.



Feel free to ask whatever about me and my tank's problems .

The water does look a little cloudy. The rocks seem to have small white filaments on them. I am wondering if both are a sign of bacteria growth.

Another thought about the cloudiness. Is the pump stirring up the sand bed?

I cannot comment on the tube with brown material in it not sure which part of the skimmer that is.

 

[toxai]

Hey. Thanks for your reply and happy new year first of all.

Coming with the topic, the cloudiness is not due to the sand. It's not stirring it actually.

I don't know what's wrong. I cleaned the skimmer and put it back on its place. However, nothing changed. Maybe I have to clean it more on the inside, but I am a little bit afraid from damaging it. It is still not making bubbles, but IDK if that may be due to absence of fish and livestock in the tank, with the propper absence of dirt. No idea to be honest.

Any ideas ?

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I would suggest to run some activated carbon, if you don't have any way to run carbon, then you can buy a cheap hob filter and run carbon that way. Carbon will help clear up the water.

A skimmer should make bubbles, if no bubbles at all, then it indicates an issue with the airline hose connection. I am not familiar with your skimmer, but maybe if you can show a pic someone might be able to help.

 

[bobnicaragua]

I second the carbon suggestion. I would just run it passively in a filter bag, place it someplace where water will flow through it.

 

[Lavey29]

You mentioned setting the tank up 3 months ago. Has it been cloudy the whole time or is the cloudy water recent? Your skimmer has not worked properly since tank set up?

 

[r2odie]

Happy new year! Have you tested your water? Are you using RO water to top off? Do you have a way to raise or lower your skimmer so it makes bubbles?

 

[I never finish anythi]

How low was alk ? I'd stop the kh blend , do a water change and up the flow

 

[toxai]

You mentioned setting the tank up 3 months ago. Has it been cloudy the whole time or is the cloudy water recent? Your skimmer has not worked properly since tank set up?

In fact, the cloudiness is recent. 3 weeks. It started when I cleaned all the algae from the walls for the first time.
And the skimmer has been working like it is right now from the begining.

 

[Lavey29]

In fact, the cloudiness is recent. 3 weeks. It started when I cleaned all the algae from the walls for the first time.
And the skimmer has been working like it is right now from the begining.

Well it could be an algae bloom, or sand stirring from powerheads or some chemical that you added recently.

 

[toxai]

How low was alk ? I'd stop the kh blend , do a water change and up the flow

It was 4.8 and I guess now it is on 6. I already did a water change on a half of all the tank's volume. And still the same. The water was from the fish store.

 

[toxai]

Happy new year! Have you tested your water? Are you using RO water to top off? Do you have a way to raise or lower your skimmer so it makes bubbles?

Yup. I use RO most of times. And, about the skimmer, I have no idea. But I don't think so. It's a tunze 9001 or similar. Sorry for my ignorance at this. I'm actually really newie.

 

[toxai]

Well it could be an algae bloom, or sand stirring from powerheads or some chemical that you added recently.

If it was an algae bloom, what may I do ? I'm almost sure about it is not due to sand stirring. And it already was like this before adding the kh blend, so Likely the first option. But, in case it's an algae bloom, wouldn't the skimmer just get rid of that (if it was working propperly) ?

 

[Lavey29]

If it was an algae bloom, what may I do ? I'm almost sure about it is not due to sand stirring. And it already was like this before adding the kh blend, so Likely the first option. But, in case it's an algae bloom, wouldn't the skimmer just get rid of that (if it was working propperly) ?

Yea they usually resolve themselves in a few days. You would just need to watch fish because they can deplete 02 so an air stone helps but you most likely have a chemical imbalance due to your alk fluctuations. I would check and replace media. Add fresh carbon. Do a few water changes etc... and see where you stand
.

 

[toxai]

I would suggest to run some activated carbon, if you don't have any way to run carbon, then you can buy a cheap hob filter and run carbon that way. Carbon will help clear up the water.

A skimmer should make bubbles, if no bubbles at all, then it indicates an issue with the airline hose connection. I am not familiar with your skimmer, but maybe if you can show a pic someone might be able to help.

Never hear about that. But sounds like that may help. I'll do a research on that right now.
The skimmer makes no bubbles at all. Anything. So I guess this is likely the problem. I posted some pics of it there. Would it help If I upload some of them with it dismantled ?

 

[I never finish anythi]

It was 4.8 and I guess now it is on 6. I already did a water change on a half of all the tank's volume. And still the same. The water was from the fish store.

What test kid do you use for alk?

 

[anthonygf]

Happy New Year toxai! First off you don't need the skimmer at this point in time, you have no waste in the water for the skimmer to remove. Wait several months for the skimmer and concentrate on getting your tank established. Second, get a little more real live rock from a well running system. Use some carbon in a small bag like what was suggested. What are your water parameters? Take your time with this, if your tank is cycled and water parameters are good you can get a fish or 2. I didn't add my skimmer until my nitrate and phosphate was a little high and water changes was not enough to lower them. For now just do 5-10% water change a week. I have been doing this for 7 years.

 

[anthonygf]

The first photo was my 46 bowfront after 2-3 years, half that time without a skimmer and I didn't have a sump. The third pic was about a year after upgrade to 75 gallon, I had to frag most of my corals to remove the aiptasia that was taking over my tank. I was desperate to get a larger tank for my Yellow Tang, he has outgrown the 46. Just curious, how old are you? Again, take your time with reefing. It takes time for the tank to go through it's stages mature, you cannot rush it.

 

[toxai]

Happy New Year toxai! First off you don't need the skimmer at this point in time, you have no waste in the water for the skimmer to remove. Wait several months for the skimmer and concentrate on getting your tank established. Second, get a little more real live rock from a well running system. Use some carbon in a small bag like what was suggested. What are your water parameters? Take your time with this, if your tank is cycled and water parameters are good you can get a fish or 2. I didn't add my skimmer until my nitrate and phosphate was a little high and water changes was not enough to lower them. For now just do 5-10% water change a week. I have been doing this for 7 years.

Thank you Anthony. Same to you !

To be honest, I adquired the skimmer just in order to avoid adding more rock. I like it as minimalist as it is. That's the main reason. However, nitrate was high some weeks ago ! Idk why. Still no fish there. Maybe due to the possible and mentioned algae bloom happened after cleaning the walls some weeks ago. Nitrate are now stablished. I cleaned the sponges of the filter several times. That likely helped. Then I did a big water change because the salinity was low. Now everything seems good when it comes to parameters, but I'll do a test tomorrow to check how's it going and will also take the skimmer to the fish store for them to have a look on it for it to work properly.
In addition, I'll ask them for some activated carbon to help with cloudiness.

 

[anthonygf]

Hi Adrian
I understand your reasoning of the skimmer, but live rock is more beneficial. More surface area for bacteria and copepods to colonize, you can make more caves for fish to hide in. But the one thing that rock cannot provide is gas exchange, skimmer helps to remove co2 and add oxygen.

For a couple years now I have my skimmate draining into my filter box, the filter catches the large particles and the nutrient rich water is released back into the tank water. I do this in part to help keep my nitrates and phos from bottoming out and helps feed the corals. For a couple years now my nitrate has been 25ppm +/- 3 and my phosphates 0.08-0.12.

I am sure you will do well with or without skimmer, looks like you are trying to learn what is best for your reef. Do you have test kits yet? How is your dkh lately? I use Brightwell aquatics Alkalin8.32-P to keep my alkalinity stable, I use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon a day to maintain 9dkh. How is that stuff KH Blend working out for you? Keep up the good work.