OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
I’m messing with it now trying to figure out this air thing in the back. I guess its not plug and play like a filter.
Water changes and questions
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gbroadbridge
2500 Club Member
Getting skimmers dialled in can very irritating and time consuming, especially when they're new.
Freenow54
Valuable Member
I found 2 you tube videos. One is from the manufacturer, the other is a review. It looks like you adjust the air intake with the small blue screw. Looks like very touchy adjustment First I would disassemble, and make sure all the tubes are clear. Then make sure there is no blockage in the plastic parts. Sometimes from the extruding process , it will leave a very thin layer of plastic blocking flow. I would just blow through the tubes to ensure air flow, then carefully, and slowly adjust the air mixture. As I said it takes some time to actually settle down. I had mine overflow once, and it was because the air tube was blocked by I assume algae. I on a regular basis as it almost electrocuted me because the water ran down the cord, and melted my power bar . I regularly take it off 3 months and run bleach through it and take it apart completely and clean. then of course rinse it very well ( all that for the future )
Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
WOW post overload.
Thanks this is very helpful.
Ill go home here shortly and check the ammonia. If its hi assume i should change some of the water out. I have about 20 gallons of salt water i bought from him.
You're welcome!
My question about the ammonia is it going up or down? if it's going down I wouldn't do any more of a water change than what you've decided for routine maintenenace. Keep in mind ammonia (but not nitrate) is an important food source for photosynthetic organisms in reef ssytems so you want to keep feeding (that's what the fish are for).
In a 90 I'd add 6-12 damsels initially (FWIW I primarily get Chrysiptera sp.). I would also be adding easy to keep corals (mushrooms, purple stylo, Sinularia soft corals) to help establish food webs and promoting beneficial microbial populations.
Here's another article for you to read:
Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock
Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.
www.reef2reef.com
Freenow54
Valuable Member
Not arguing but that's a new one on me. I was told by others that Nitrates are a food source not Ammonia ( assuming you meant coral as well ) Of course bacteria need it . Could you please lead me to your source for that? I would be interested in reading that articleYou're welcome!
My question about the ammonia is it going up or down? if it's going down I wouldn't do any more of a water change than what you've decided for routine maintenenace. Keep in mind ammonia (but not nitrate) is an important food source for photosynthetic organisms in reef ssytems so you want to keep feeding (that's what the fish are for).
In a 90 I'd add 6-12 damsels initially (FWIW I primarily get Chrysiptera sp.). I would also be adding easy to keep corals (mushrooms, purple stylo, Sinularia soft corals) to help establish food webs and promoting beneficial microbial populations.
Here's another article for you to read:
Establishing a Healthy Microbiome in a New Aquarium Using Live Rock
Studying the effects of live rock in a newly established aquarium shows that high-quality live rock promotes the rapid establishment of an effective biological filter and a microbial community similar to those found in mature reef tanks.
OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
I can only go so high. Tanks not rimless.
Timfish
Crusty Old Salt
I do need to clarify my post as algae will use nitrate as well as ammonia. Corals do not like nitrate and it is their least preffered source of nitrogen and it will cause problems for corals. They much prefer organic N forms amino acids and urea and inorganic N form ammonia/ammonium. Here's links:
Sugar enrichment provides evidence for a role of nitrogen fixation in coral bleaching
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Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals
Ammonium Uptake by Symbiotic and Aposymbiotic Reef Corals: Ingenta Connect
Amino acids a source of nitrogen for corals
Uptake of dissolved free amino acids by the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata
SUMMARY. This study was designed to assess the importance of dissolved free amino acids (DFAA) as a nitrogen source for the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata. For this purpose, experiments were performed using 15N-enriched DFAAs, and %15N enrichment was measured both in animal tissue and...
journals.biologists.com
Urea a source of nitrogen for corals
Urea uptake by the scleractinian coral Stylophora pistillata
Urea can be one of the major sources of nitrogen for phytoplankton, but little is known about its importance for corals. Experiments were therefore de…
Diazotrpophs a source of nitrogen for corals
Diazotrophs: a non-negligible source of nitrogen for the tropical coral Stylophora pistillata - PubMed
Corals are mixotrophs: they are able to fix inorganic carbon through the activity of their symbiotic dinoflagellates and to gain nitrogen from predation on plankton and uptake of dissolved organic and inorganic nutrients. They also live in close association with diverse diazotrophic communities...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Context Dependant Effects of Nutrient Loading on the Coral-Algal Mutualism (The authors who have been researching nutrients on corals reefs for years reviewed the data from over 200 experiments and over 40 papers for this overview)
Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Request PDF
Request PDF | Context-dependent effects of nutrient loading on the coral-algal mutualism | Human-mediated increases in nutrient availability alter patterns of primary production, impact species diversity, and threaten ecosystem function.... | Find, read and cite all the research you need on...
www.researchgate.net
Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
Elevated ammonium delays the impairment of the coral-dinoflagellate symbiosis during labile carbon pollution
Labile dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a major pollutant in coastal marine environments affected by anthropogenic impacts, and may significantly con…
Differential growth response of Ulva lactuca to ammonium and nitrate assimilation - Journal of Applied Phycology
Controlled cultivation of marine macroalgal biomass such as Ulva species, notably Ulva lactuca, is currently studied for production of biofuels or functional food ingredients. In a eutrophic environment, this macrophyte is exposed to varying types of nutrient supply, including different and...
link.springer.com
Idech
2500 Club Member
Read this to learn how to set it up properly.
Tunze 9012 micro bubbles from the bottom
The 9012.110 can come off and be loose in the skimmer, 3130.480 fits very tight, so this would be unusual, but not impossible.
www.reef2reef.com
OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
Read this to learn how to set it up properly.
Tunze 9012 micro bubbles from the bottom
The 9012.110 can come off and be loose in the skimmer, 3130.480 fits very tight, so this would be unusual, but not impossible.
OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
I ordered a Red Sea marine test kit and seachum ammonia alert
No offence but this is horrible advice. The tank has been seeded and it clearly processing ammonia at some level. Prime would be more effective for neutralizing it short term while it’s processed. You idea is to completely overdose more bacteria which would drop oxygen levels while turning off his filter which is oxygenating his tank? At best it’s a waste of money at worst he crashes the tank.
OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
Yeah I really don’t want to put anything else in the tank to be honest unless there is some snake oil that you can use to drop ammonia levels. From what im gathering it doesn’t exist. Sounds like patience is the name to this game.
OP
OP
doubleshot00
2500 Club Member
OK I am going bye the local shop today to buy more water
reeftankdude
Well-Known Member
Hows it go there Bert? I could be wrong but it is my understanding that water being pumped to the surface is what oxygenates the tank. I would not keep adding prime and wait for the bacteria to catch up. He cycled the tank and then added to many fish. My thinking is that by the OP adding to many fish crashed the bacteria, because he now has ammonia in the water. I did the same thing as the OP by adding to many snails at once, and got a liitle ammonia spike. I added a whole small bottle of Dr.Tim's into my 20 gallon nano, and BINGO ammonia gone.
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I believe op doesn’t have a sump or power heads so the filter is the only thing oxygenating the water. Correct me if I’m wrong op. My biggest concern was more that you told op to dump a ton of bacteria into a tank which can lead to depleted oxygen if there is a bacterial bloom without mentioning anything about that part. He hasn’t added any prime yet as far as I know and the levels he was at aren’t crazy high even if accurate so I doubt the bio filter will take long to catch up that’s why I suggested he look at it as an option. Also as far as I’m aware dr tims and stabilty both take a bit of time to work unlike turbo start or live bacteria so don’t think it would work faster than the bacteria in there can multiply at this point. Hopefully someone with more knowledge on bacteria can chime in here.
gbroadbridge
2500 Club Member
Bottle Bacteria does not contain anything live. It contains dormant spores which take a while to activate.
I don't think adding them would have any benefit, but it is unlikely to cause any harm other than to the wallet.
Ammonia consuming bacteria in the tank multiply quickly and will catch up before anything you can add.
Prime is a good idea to convert Ammonia to non toxic ammonium.
