If You Are New to Reef Central, Introduce Yourself Here!

[Leronidas]

Hi all

Hi all

Hi All my name is Zack i am new to reef Central and new to Salt water fish and boy am i having a headache with my tank tried just about everything to get my nitrates down but no matter what they stay at the 80's and i keep getting sick fish and they keep dieing from the stress i am betting its from the high nitrates i have started using this stuff called AZ-NO (Absolute Zero Nitrate) i am still only on the second day of using it i hope when the week is up that they will be down i will keep you guys posted i have a love for fish and its hurting that i am killing them so i hope to learn allot from you guys i have a 80 gal sett up

 

[Tony78]

Hello everyone, my name is Tony. I'm 32 from the Chicago suburbs and have recently gotten back into the hobby after a few year break. My two previous setups were a 29G biocube - a total disaster and a 5G nano which I had much success. My new setup is a 75G RR in-wall with a 55G sump. The tank has been cycling for about 3 weeks now and I've added a small CUC about a week ago. I'm currently struggling with two things: 1> getting the SRO skimmer dialed in. 2> small floating particles in the display. They don't appear to be microbubbles and they don't settle out.

 

[Leronidas]

I agree with Tony here i have the same exact problem as him with the small Particles as well as the High Nitrate Problem i Discussed Earl yer i have asked people about it before and they said it was Microbubles but it isnt

 

[Leronidas]

Nice to meet you Tony i am Zack Nice tank by the way love how you sett it up

 

[Tony78]

Zack, nice to meet you as well. Thanks for the kind words. If you figure out the particles please let me know. They are driving me nuts.

As for your nitrates...
How old is your setup? Has the cycle finished? Have you done any water changes? Are you using RO water?

 

[Leronidas]

Zack, nice to meet you as well. Thanks for the kind words. If you figure out the particles please let me know. They are driving me nuts.

As for your nitrates...
How old is your setup? Has the cycle finished? Have you done any water changes? Are you using RO water?

Your very welcome yes they have been driving me nutts too and it seems like out of 10 professionals at stores havn't been able to help me with the particle thing tho its not as bad as it was when i first set it up.My sett up is about 1 month old but it was used and i bought it from an experienced person so i was able to transfer everything successfully 50% of the water too and live rock and live sand as well i really did get a good deal. yes the Cycle is complete only the nitrates are high and i have done plenty of water changes yes and yes it was Bought at a very well known Aquarium store too
so the best stuff i can use in my tank premixed like i said in the last post i am trying to use this stuff AZ-NO (Absolute Zero Nitrate) its supposed to eventually bring down my tank to 0 i am only half way in the week treatment
when the week is up i am gonna test the nitrate level again hopefully it will be okay by then

 

[Michael]

Hello reefers! My name is Greg and I'm finally getting back into the hobby after a four year "hiatus" (no time & no money). I've had 40G and 60G FOWLR tanks that did quite well and I am now going to take the leap to a reef tank with my empty 60G. I want to set this tank up the right way the first time, so here I am on RC. The info I've read so far is amazing and quite frankly a little overwhelming, but I am excited to start my tank. I think I already have the wife convinced that the kids will love it and it doesn't really cost a ton of cash.....hopefully I can keep her thinking that!

Hi-Greg :thumbsup: Welcome, Take a look around the new to the hobby forum for a while and have a good read of the posts at the top called the stickies, Then when your ready just fire away some questions.


mike

 

[Michael]

Zack, nice to meet you as well. Thanks for the kind words. If you figure out the particles please let me know. They are driving me nuts.

As for your nitrates...
How old is your setup? Has the cycle finished? Have you done any water changes? Are you using RO water?

Hi-Tony, have you got a bag(Sock) over the outlet in the sump? This will reduce particles 20 fold, Also it could be sand particles, Try moving your powerheads about a little bit, And Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Leronidas]

how about particles that like to float at the top of your tank is there a efficient way to get that out?

 

[Michael]

how about particles that like to float at the top of your tank is there a efficient way to get that out?

You can point a powerhead to the top of the water and this will stop them gathering on the surface, and a powerful skimmer will also suck water from the surface, id try the powerhead first with a sock over the outlet in the sump, It should work, the particles will blow about for a while, but eventually get stuck in the sock and slowly clear, I also think you need to look at whether its sand particles, if so, you need to reduce the flow around the sand bed areas.

 

[Tony78]

Hi-Tony, have you got a bag(Sock) over the outlet in the sump? This will reduce particles 20 fold, Also it could be sand particles, Try moving your powerheads about a little bit, And Welcome to the Forum.

Michael - thank you. No I do not have a filter sock on either outlet into the sump. That was going to be my next step. I was hoping the particles would clear by themselves. I thought maybe once there was enough bacteria they might settle. My overflow plumbing splits in two with about 5% going to the refugium and 95% going to the skimmer & gfo/carbon reactor section of the sump. Do you think 1 sock on the 95% side would suffice or should I buy two socks??? I tried some filter floss in the bubble trap baffles last week and that didn't do much. Thanks again!!

 

[Michael]

yeah try a sock on the 95% end, its all trial and error, it may or may not work, but if the particles are not micro bubbles it can only be sand or detritus from the rocks and a sock will soon sort it out, double check the flow around the sand bed though.

 

[Tony78]

Thanks. I'm going to the LFS to get a sock. I appreciate the advice.

 

[Lynnmw1208]

Hi, I've been peeking around in the forums for about a week so far and haven't formally introduced myself. My name is Lynn, I'm 25 years old and have been doing freshwater for years now. Right now all I have is a measly 30 gallon tank with 2 FW angelfish in it lol. I was going to go into cichlids but decided that saltwater is so much more exciting. I worked at Petco as the aquatic specialist for about 7 months when they cut back my hours drastically and I quit. I don't have a tank yet but I will be getting my sister's 125 gallon tank to have fun with :rollface: I have been researching as much information as possible through books and the internet and feel that I am ready to start. I will have to paint the room before setting up a large fishtank as it will stay put when it's up lol.

I am going to start with FOWLR first and see how things go and eventually I want to add some nice corals.

The only thing I can't decide for my setup is whether I should go canister filter or wet/dry, and T5 or compact flourescent lights. I realize I need about 380 watts for the size tank I'll have for now, but the fixtures are sooo expensive!!

I can't wait to get my tank here and start working on it slowly! I will post progress when I start, but for now I will be creeping in the shadows of this forum reading others opinions and such. nice to meet you all!! :wavehand:

ps my favorite fish is the jawfish, LOVE how he digs himself in a hole and peeks out, soooo awesome!

 

[cooper13]

Finally past the lurking stage

Finally past the lurking stage

Hi all. Thanks for providing such a great resource to reefers. Despite joining 4+ years ago, I just made my first post today! :eek2:

My children are big enough to trust with a tank in the living room, and the wife and landlord have both given their approval. So the planning begins and the build will hopefully start in the next few days. Follow if you wish here:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1898338

We're going to have a 20g nano with a 10g sump/fuge.

Chris

 

[LeBeers]

Hey all!

Hey all!

Just joined up! I've had many smaller FW aquariums in the past, but just dove into the saltwater realm head-first with a 90 gal FOWLR (or so it will be soon, I'm taking my time setting it up for the sake of money and caution).
If anyone has starting advice, it would be much appreciated! I've found that the hardest part is figuring out my sump and protein skimmer, as most info out there is for people who know nothing or know lots; if anyone can direct me to a good place for explain how it all fits together for someone less experienced, I'd be eternally grateful.
Thanks!
Lindsey
Stamford, CT

 

[Mjake]

Hey finally posted

Hey finally posted

Hey I figured I might as well post something and get the newness worn off.
Well anyway my names Jake I'm a 23 year old construction worker and been wanting a s.w. tank for quit some time now and finally was able to get a oceanic biocube 29 hqi for a birthday present and I've had it up and running for about three weeks now with 22 pounds of live rock and 20 pounds of live sand anyway glad to find this place and look forward to talking about this awesome hobby

 

[aleonn]

Hello!

Hello!

Hi everyone! I'm Andy and I've been maintaining a small reef tank for about a year. I love all the information and advice on RC, and will hopefully soon be using that knowledge to upgrade to a 180 gallon reef tank. I just wanted to say hello and thank you in advance

 

[ClockworkCow]

Beginner doesn't even start to describe me...

Beginner doesn't even start to describe me...

Hi,

If you thought other people before had asked silly questions, prepare to be shocked and amazed at my level of ignorance.

I am now the proud owner of a medium (?) sized saltwater tank due to my flatmate leaving. Yep, that's about all I know.
It's been running for around 6 months, and apparently is rather healthy, though I'm no judge of that. All I know is that it's covered with green and black gunky stuff across most it's surfaces.

Inside at the moment are 2 star fish, one for cleaning the windows and another that cleans the sand.
There are 2 shrimp with bright red stripes down their backs that are some kind of cleaner shrimp, but all they are interested in cleaning is their little caves. They shed their shells at least once a month, which I've been told is a sign of happy healthy shrimp.
And a fish of some sort. Doctor fish maybe? Blue and yellow and skinny.
(EDIT: Googled for a bit and discovered it's a Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse)
There were a few more fish, but it seems they didn't make it through the summer under the attentions of our house sitter.
No corals, just live-rock and some sandy gravel stuff.

Oh, and a ton of potions, tubes, and other random esoteric fish-keeping equipment.

So I'm gonna read through various FAQ's and what have you, now that I'm here, but my most pressing need is to top up the tank with more water without killing the inhabitants then buying some sort of hardy little critter that'll clean the gunk off the rocks.

If you want to point a useless idiot like me toward the Kindergarten-level guide to saltwater tanking, please pm me.

 

[benita]

salty and wet on the continent

salty and wet on the continent

Hi everyone

newbe here on RC at the moment have a 75L nano set up and running since April this year - just received my new upgrade a beautiful Elos Midi System :love2:

Hope to set up in the next two weeks and transfer all my stock in to the new tank ( have to wait until then as having some DIY done on the house)