Problems with new tank cycling?

CMOS

Reefing newb
Hello All,

I have a 50 super high that I'm making a reef tank out of. Here are the details:

Tank set up (w/ Supreme Skilter 250 filter, twin Actinic Blues & 175W Metal Halide) about one month ago with base rock (dead). Ran for 2 weeks (no ammonia) and then I added about 35 pounds of good quality freshly harvested live rock. 2 weeks after the introduction of the LR I still had 0 ammonia and nitrite, however I do have about 15-20ppm of Nitrate, and a very prosperous bloom of brown algae (diatoms).

I am unsure why I didn't see the cycle go through ammonia and nitrite, yet now I am seeing the Nitrate.

Is it possible since my live rock probably had little dead stuff on it that the tank did go through the ammonia and nitrite cycle, but on a level too low for my test kit?

Thoughts?

Since I "thought" I was on the back side of the cycle, a couple days ago I added 2 small frags of soft corals - and they do not appear to be happy at all (not coming out).
frown.gif
I'll probably move these to my brother's tank temporarily until I get things evened out.

Another note - In the next couple of days I'll be adding an Eheim with some bio media and carbon.

Thanks for any responses/suggestions.

CMOS
 
mine did not go through the cycle ether.you might have missed it with the live rock.and i would not put a canister filter on your system.they are nitrate traps.i use one just for carbon and gfo.but this is just my opinion.iam a newb to so the experts will awnser you soon.btw welcome to the site.this is the best of the best.
 
First off welcome to the site.
Since you used good cured live rock,you probably completely skipped the cycle.Which is good for all the life on the rock.So no problem there.
The corals you added may take a few days to adjust.Thats fairly normal.
I will advise to get a better skimmer.Skelters just dont pull the gunk out of the water.
 
ypu probably skipped the cycle so just do a 40% water change and that will take you nitrates down and then start making weekly 20% water changes and that will help out a lot.
 
70 is frigid. 78-82 is the optimal temp.
Also, 20ppm won't kill your LPS or softies, mine lived through almost a year of constant 20-40ppm.
Also, if you're just cycling withought any corals (if you moved them to your brothers) you could do without the lights to prevent algae outbreaks.
I'd suggest getting the best skimmer you can afford and a good snail crew, and go slowly from there. Good luck!
 
The temp could be doing it. Especially if the corals went from a normal temp tank to a cold one. The shock is enough to make them unhappy. You need to raise the temperature by about 10 degrees. Inverts are especially sensitive to temps.
 
Okay, a heater goes in tomorrow (if my LFS has what I need).

About the skimmer. I know some of you guys don't seem to like the Skilter 250 but I will say this - my brother has had one on his 60 gal reef for the past year, only the Skilter 250 - and his tank is amazing. My observations over that year are that the skimmer feature seems to pull out a LOT of crapola when it's activated. However, I do see y'alls point to the importance of a top notch skimmer so I will consider getting an upgrade in the future. I appreciate the advice.

CMOS
 
CMOS,

Welcome to the site.
Coming from someone who used to use the Eheim........don't waste your hundred bucks.
Everyone is telling you correctly about the nitrate problems you will have.

If you have live sand & live rock, you don't need additional "BIO" filtration. The rock & sand are enough bio filtration for your tank.

Take the money you were going to spend on the Ehiem and re-allocate it to an upgraded skimmer.

I purchased an Octopus BH-100F hang-on-back style and the tank has never been better.
Aquacave has some good prices on the new style units. They are about $150.00.

Good luck (and get a heater in that tank....brrrrr).

:-)
 
Yeah, skip the Eheim. If you have a protein skimmer and 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, you will be set for filtration. Canister filters lead to nitrate problems. And they are pain to keep clean. They are not really suitable for saltwater.
 
CMOS,

Welcome to the site.
Coming from someone who used to use the Eheim........don't waste your hundred bucks.
Everyone is telling you correctly about the nitrate problems you will have.

If you have live sand & live rock, you don't need additional "BIO" filtration. The rock & sand are enough bio filtration for your tank.

Take the money you were going to spend on the Ehiem and re-allocate it to an upgraded skimmer.

I purchased an Octopus BH-100F hang-on-back style and the tank has never been better.
Aquacave has some good prices on the new style units. They are about $150.00.

Good luck (and get a heater in that tank....brrrrr).

:-)


Already have the Eheim :mrgreen: so I'll run that with some carbon and some nitrate/phosphate absorber for now. I will, however, consider an upgraded skimmer in the future.


CMOS
 
Yeah, skip the Eheim. If you have a protein skimmer and 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, you will be set for filtration. Canister filters lead to nitrate problems. And they are pain to keep clean. They are not really suitable for saltwater.



Biffer, what about running the Eheim (which I already have) occasionally with some carbon & nitrate/phosphate absorber? Make any sense to do this?


CMOS
 
Running the Eheim with carbon or phosphate removal media instead of some "bio-whatever" media is a good idea. That's what lots of people use their canister filters for. The skimmer you got will be fine with an average bioload in the tank, and if you don't try to keep really tough animals that require pristine water. For the average reef tank, it's fine.
 
I'll add, the problem with bioballs and other "bio-whatever" media (the mesh, the sponges, the grass, there are tons of varieties) is that it houses the aerobic bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates, but there aren't any anaerobic areas for it to house the bacteria that convert nitrate to nitrogen gas. So those nitrates tend to build up. If you have live rock, the live rock provides aerobic and anaerobic environments so that populations of both types of bacteria can be cultivated. And the protein skimmer will usually remove organics before they have a chance to turn into nitrates. So you're really not doing yourself any favors by using biological filtration media. It tends to trap particulates, detritus and crap, which just rots in your tank. Which is why, after a few weeks of use, they are all gross and slimy and nasty. A skimmer physically removes that crap from your system. In a canister filter, the water is still flowing through it, pushing all the gunk back into your tank.

It's used a lot in fish only tanks, but that's because it does a good job of keeping ammonia and nitrites at zero, and the fish can withstand high nitrate levels. Inverts cannot, however, tolerate high nitrate levels, which is why that type of filtration system doesn't usually work for reef systems.
 
CMOS,

Even with the carbon / absorber media, you will have to clean it weekly.
Your canister cages (the white baskets) will begin to accumulate the "gunk" biff is talking about.

PS....I've used the nitrate/phosphate absorber in the Eheim and it did nothing for me.
You could save yourself some dough on media if you haven't purchased it yet.
I never tried to use it with Carbon, so I have no information on that one for you, but it should work without issues.

Good Luck....let us know how it works out.
 
We have a couple of the Rena canister filters at the LFS that we use to run carbon at times.They do great for that.But we only run them a couple a days at most.But they are great for carbon.
 
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