From Nanoreef to Mantis Tank--Help, Detritus Nightmare!!!

[finneganswake]

I finally got my mantis shrimp, and I'm in love already, but there is one problem. My tank was set up as a nanoreef, with the only filtration being a red sea prizm hang-on skimmer (well, there is still some live rock, but not much, as I actually want to see my shrimp). Within two minutes of my mantis being in the tank, it had stirred up the sand enough that the tank is now one giant detritus storm. This is going to be a problem, as the prizm has no mechanical filtration built in. Does anyone know of a way that I can rig the prizm so that it gets the detritus out? I would just stuff some floss down it, but I think that this would really kill the skimming as the prizm's design is basically built entirely around the amount of water flowing through it. Any ideas?

 

[T-T-Trigger]

don't know what size tank you have but eirther an overflow with skimer or hang-on power filter are your veryu best best, the emp. 280 does a great job foe me.

 

[finneganswake]

don't know what size tank you have but eirther an overflow with skimer or hang-on power filter are your veryu best best, the emp. 280 does a great job foe me.

It'a a 10g and it's on my desk at work so there is very limited space, which is why I went with the prizm (it's only about 2" from front to back).

 

[csammis]

Put a filter sock over the outflow from the Prizm. I had to do this on my Prizm at one point, it worked really well.


\/\/\/ This too. Only do the sock if the solids are too big to get caught up in the skimmer.

 

[daFrimpster]

If the organic matter is suspended in the water column the skimmer should catch it. I use a turkey baster a couple times a week to blow detritus of my live rock. After I do this my skimmer starts producing a lot of foam for a while. I have a CPR back pack skimmer.

 

[finneganswake]

Put a filter sock over the outflow from the Prizm. I had to do this on my Prizm at one point, it worked really well.


\/\/\/ This too. Only do the sock if the solids are too big to get caught up in the skimmer.

Good idea; the skimmer is picking up some of the detritus, but many of the particles are too large; a lot of it is from a tuxedo urchin that I had; if you aren't aquainted with them, let's just say that they are very prolific in the doodoo department and the pieces are definitely too big for a skimmer to pick up.

 

[finneganswake]

If the organic matter is suspended in the water column the skimmer should catch it. I use a turkey baster a couple times a week to blow detritus of my live rock. After I do this my skimmer starts producing a lot of foam for a while. I have a CPR back pack skimmer.

Yeah, I do the turkey baster thing in my main reef tank every couple of months; it's the only time I use mechanical filtration--I'll tie some filter material at the end of the hose running from my overflow to the sump and leave it there for about a day and that takes care of the detritus for quite a while; personally, IMO, if you're having to do this twice a week, you shold get more detrivores in your tank--serpent stars and brittle stars are great as long as you avoid the green brittle stars (brittles have an undeserved reputation as fish eaters, IMO; unless you're starving the tank, the non-green ones won't touch anything that is living; the green ones are a separate species and are very aggressive towards small fish). I tried the turkey baster with my nanoreef (now mantis tank) and the prizm skimmer just won't trap the big particles.

 

[daFrimpster]

DO you think that a brittle star would starve in my little 10g? I have quite a few of the tiny white brittle type stars. I thought of adding a large one but I feared I might not have enough for him to eat.

 

[T-T-Trigger]

I think aquaclear filters have a surface skimmer attachment you can buy and I hear the work well.

 

[finneganswake]

DO you think that a brittle star would starve in my little 10g? I have quite a few of the tiny white brittle type stars. I thought of adding a large one but I feared I might not have enough for him to eat.

I'd just look for a small (3" or so) brittle star. If you get a really big one, it may not have enough to eat, but it probably depends on how much you feed the tank. I feed mine every day and I've never had any nitrate problems because any food that the fish, shrimp, and crabs miss is eaten (usually within about 5 minutes) by the four brittle stars and one serpent star I have. This is in a 50 gallon tank, and the stars range from about 3" to 10".