Lots of ?'s/pics critique my tank!

[motlot77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9707599#post9707599 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sparty00
I keep seeing people mention that the skimmer has to break in, how long does this usually take for a skimmer to break-in?

i have the same skimmer and it was going for 2 months running 24/7 and still had microbubbles. i put the surface skimmer on and it works great.

just be sure to clean the little filter at the bottom of the box weekly since it will gunk up and water will flow up back over the return box. some people take it out altogether and throw in lr rubble.

 

[ReefDreamz]

Check out what I spotted last night. Anyone have any idea what kind it is?

 

[rustybucket145]

that would be a brittle starfish. good hitchiker

You REALLY need to be running that skimmer 24/7. It takes them a while just to get going good so if you think about it you are only getting a couple of hours a day of good skimming. If the bubbles are a problem consider adding a small filter pad to the overflow portion of the skimmer.

Also you really are going to need to skim the surface of the water. I understand that your pump is 5 inches below the water line but all you have to do is get an overflow box. Think about this.... say you had a square (or round) tupperware container that was similar in shape to a tea pitcher (tall) simply put the pump inside of the pitcher, insert it into the tank and sink the pitcher until water overflowed into it and supplied the pump. You are also going to want to drill a few holes below the surface in case you were to loose water someday.

Other than that everything else looks good to me. Turn the skimmer on and leave it on!!! and everything will be fine

 

[ReefDreamz]

Hey Rusty I just ordered this http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...&Product_Code=AQUAC-RSSMJ&Category_Code=AquaC I think it will solve the problem.

 

[sage_commander]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9708022#post9708022 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefDreamz
-- the rock I have is only half of what I bought from TBS. They send it in 2 shipments, the first one to cycle the tank and the second has more life on it.
-Cody

Do they always do it that way? I'm planning to order from TBS (not quite that much tho), but I don't want to have to make two trips to the airport for this.

 

[ReefDreamz]

Well if you order the "package" they do. Check out the website for more info. www.tampabaysaltwater.com

 

[jer77]

Looks like your on the right track ReefDreamz. I'm glad you got the surface skimming box and the DI unit. This should solve your problems. So you have 40 gallons of RO saltwater huh. Thats a lot to just throw away, but it would be better i you did. About the caulerpa, I'd let it grow for a while while your tank is establishing itself. But eventually without trimming it will take over your tank and quickly become a nuisance. Plus i you every see it turning clear or opaque take it out immediately because its about to go sexual. When it does this it will release all kinds of junk back into your water. But this usually doesn't happen for many months so I'd just let it grow and trim it when you see necessary.

Your rock looks great, lots of life! Just be on the lookout or any unwanted hitchickers like mantis shrimp or crabs.

 

[ReefDreamz]

Hey jer. Just did a 10g water change im actually filing the tank back up right now. So last night at some point after I went to bed the gfi turned all the power off to the tank. The temp went from 79 to 75 overnight. I have no idea why this happened but I found a dead gorilla crab. Hopefully nothing else will die and this wont happen again. I ordered the DI unit online so it wont be here for a week so I used the RO water I have for this water change but hopefully that will be it. Maybe next week once I get the DI I'll do a huge water change like 60%. Besides the dead crab everything else looks good. The caulerpa and hair algae is spreading and the sand is turning a little brown (which I just siphoned so it looks a little better) but besides that its all good.

 

[Jfountain179]

Tank looks real nice, I also bough a TBS package the cycle is very quick you can almost miss it. I had a spike in Amo for about 2-3 days only to about 1ppm there really is not that much die off. I also had a AquaC Remora with a MJ1200 it was producing tons of waste the first couple of days then nothing as well. TONS OF MICROBUBBLES!!!! They never stopped even after I bought the preskimmer box. Hope you have more luck but I ended up bitting the bullet and getting the DeltecMCE300 and it is awsome always skimming out waste. Keep up the good work and watch out for mantis shrimp got 2 out of my package and one to go. Good luck.

 

[sage_commander]

This is a good thread, I've added to my favs. Please post some more pics when you have the second part of your order. I was only planning to put about 60 lbs in my 46g, but I'd be interested in seeing what 80 looks like.

I'm planning to just get the LR. The "package" sounds cool, but again I don't want to have to make two trips to Seattle. But who knows, when the time comes to actually make the order...

 

[jepuskar]

The TBS package looks cool....the rock I've seen from others on here, as well as your own is top notch. However, I really want to setup a 180 and looking at their package price for a 180....makes me want to go all base rock..hehe

You get what you pay for.