regular maintenance

[lee_in_corpus]

ok i've gotten lots of different answers to this, so i'll toss it to the professionals here!  ;)

as far as maintenance, how often should i do water changes, and how often should i clean out the filters?

its a 180gal tank with probably around 50 pounds of live rock.  i have a protein skimmer, but its not working at the moment.  ive read different numbers, and the guy i bought it from said he almost never did water changes. 

The filter is a large canister filter that sits under the tank....the brand and model escapes me....ive had the tank since late october, and ive cleaned the foam in the filter once i december i think it was.

As far as other maintenance, i scrape the algae off the front window every few days, but i let it grow untouched on the back wall. 

TIA!  :)

[Bergy]

protien skimmers are totally optional.. they AT BEST will minimize the amount and frequency of water changes.. thats it.

there is a lot of discusison about 'cannister filters' but i will let that go for now... (needless to say, i dotn really like them a lot)


As for water changes, i believe it is absolutely necessary, like Jake said in a different thread, the solution to pollution is dilution


basically the fish are swiming in their own pee and poo, and the only way for that waste to come out is to physiuclly remove it, or at least remove the water it is dissolved in...

this removal process is diluting the waste and pee

as example if you had 100 mg/l  of nitrate in a 100 gallon tank  the logic would dictate that if you removed 25% of the water and put in 25% of clean water, the nitrates should drop to 75mg/l

or if you did a 50% water change, then the nitrates would be reduced 50%

for the sake of corals it is wise to more frequent and smaller water changes then less frequent larger changes

the size of the water change should be sufficient to constantly be dilluting a LITTLE bit more each time so eventually you would have a cleaner then before system


i personnaly do wc every two weeks or more...



ALSO. you should be encountering water evaporation.. FRESH Water evaporates leaving the salt behind, or actually rasing the salinity of the tank

you should be adding fresh water daily to minimize the changes in salinity

scraping or mag cleaning every other day is cool... up to you


cleaning the cannister... if you have the bio bead/balls, you should rinse them bi-weekly or once a month at the most in SALT WATER...  jsut a few swishes is fine... (Again, i dont like cannister filters, and i really dont like the bio bead/ball... in fact you should lose them altogether)

the sponges i would clean weekly... at monthly i would buy new ones.  again another reason to not like cannister filters


bascilly the cannister filter is not a NEEDED/necessary filter.. you can lose the entire filter and not notice a difference in your tank.. period

the cannister filter at best only filters large particles... and you know what, folks that dont have cannister filters nevef complain about large particles, EVER

the important filter you absolutlely need, or your fish and corals would die is one that you kno wyou have, but dont realize the significance / importance..

that is the biological filter.. the biollogical organisms that are in the rock and sand, and touching all exposed parts/glass/pipes, etc


as long as that filter is healthy, you dont need a cannister..

but i said i would go there, and i apologize..

i hope the schedule summary i gave helps

[pinkorchid]

I am FAR from a professional .... haha. Still a newbie but I thought I would chime in with my routine.

I have a 55gal FO set up using an Aquaclear 110 filter with foam and carbon. Run a seaclone skimmer but it never collects anything...still trying to figure that out.

I do a 5gal water change monthly, top up weekly, rinse my foam filter bi-weekly - replace it montly. I also replace the carbon monthly.

I'm thinking I should be doing larger water changes, but I'm kind of a weakling and find the 5gal buckets HEAVY!!! LOL

[Bergy]

to determine if you need to do more or not, i suggest doing some nitrate tests JUST before you do your water change...  and then about an hour after you do it...

if your routine is keeping nitrates down, then all is good,.,


and for fish only, it dont really matter as much

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

the solution to pollution is dilution

If your gonna use that quote a lot, you should throw it in your sig

I would get more rock for your tank lee

[lee_in_corpus]

i definitely plan on getting more rock!  its all a matter of time and money.  i'm working full time and in grad school.........but i'm thinking of adding a few pounds at a time.  i know they had some big rocks with mushrooms on them marked down about 20% off..............

[Bergy]

yea, no rush, and no problems in adding it later on, like you said, little bit at a time

and definately a good way to get rock is to buy the corals and get the rock they are grown onto...

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

yeah, live rock can have a hefty price especially if you add it all together, I can only buy one item for my tanks every month

[lee_in_corpus]

yeah, once i get my tax money i'll have some wiggle room, so next month i'll probably pick up a few pounds of live rock.  the irony, i took on this tank basically as a favor to a friend, and said i wouldn't spend crazy money on it.....and yet here i go!  :p

and as far as my canister filter...i thought about the ramifications of taking it out, but i think i'm gonna keep it.  it provides most of my current, and my surface skimming!!

[psykokid]

i wouldnt stress on the can filter, as long as you are keeping up on the maint. of it then its not going to cause any harm.

[Bergy]

yea, dont stress on the cannister filter.. most folks on this forum prolly use one...

But, when you get tired of doing extra work and spending extra money, you can consider it later on...

i wouldnt stress on the can filter, as long as you are keeping up on the maint. of it then its not going to cause any harm.

i wouldnt stress on the can filter, as long as you are keeping up on the maint. of it then its not going to cause any harm.

yeah, once i get my tax money i'll have some wiggle room, so next month i'll probably pick up a few pounds of live rock.  the irony, i took on this tank basically as a favor to a friend, and said i wouldn't spend crazy money on it.....and yet here i go!  :p

and as far as my canister filter...i thought about the ramifications of taking it out, but i think i'm gonna keep it.  it provides most of my current, and my surface skimming!!

[OCtrackiepacsg1]

i wouldn't spend crazy money on it.....and yet here i go!  :p

lol we all start with that excuse for our spouse/parents

[Just_Greg]

i wouldn't spend crazy money on it.....and yet here i go!  :p

lol we all start with that excuse for our spouse/parents

Renee is keeping track, just for fun...this doesn't include the new frondosa, which is a March expense, nor does it figure in the electric bill:

 Total for January

    * $63.00 - Carbon/Sediment RO/DI replacement filters.
    * $68.45 - Bulk DI resin.
    * $17.99 - Printable postcards for tank logging.
    * $379.95 - Eshopps Skimmer.
    * $14.81 - 8gb flash pen for storing/transferring fish related PDFs.
    * $28.50 - Polishing Filter Socks.
    * $15.00 - Dual timers for RO/DI and test kits.
    * $73.96 - LFS CUC and fish food.
    * $7.52 - Urchin for Roe.
    * $3.50 - Live ghostshrimp.
    * $25.00 - Postage for mailing RKE for service.
    * $191.02 - Salt and test kits.
    * $5.99 - Fish Roe
    * $25.75 - Food and Sand.
    * $3.64 - Fresh Fish Food.
    * $156.98 - Fish Purchases

1081.36

Total for February

    * $4.50 - Fish Food from market
    * $23.30 - Water change and plumbing supplies.
    * $286.50 - Chiller.
    * $37.00 - Magazine Subscription Renewal
    * $63.04 - UV Bulb and Chiller pump.
    * $48.86 - Live shrimp, frozen food, magazine, Jtube.
    * $16.05 - Black tubing and food.
    * $30.13 - Water conditioner, live brine, rigid tubing.
    * $56.00 - Macros and zoas.
    * $6.00 - Macro
    * $39.47 - Sand
    * $320.76 - Equipment.
    * $288.39 - Salt, lights, odds and ends.
    * $1.12 - Scallop.
    * $61.50 - Food Enrichments.
    * $98.76 - Tank Stand
    * $50.36 - DIY Supplies.
    * $76.74 - Fish Purchases.

1508.48

Yearly Total: $2589.84

define "crazy amounts"!!!

[Bergy]

Damn Greg,  If i had your money, I would throw my money away!!!!

BTW:  i dont see bakery goods on the list!!!

[Just_Greg]

Damn Greg,  If i had your money, I would throw my money away!!!!

BTW:  i dont see bakery goods on the list!!!

i don't consider that an "aquarium-related" expense...

actually, we basically don't do much other than "the hobby", so that's where our bux go, and "go", they do!