Overfiltration

[ebauman75]

I'm currently running two emperor 400's and a seaclown 100 (as well as some live rock) in my 75gal. I've been hearing that I need to remove the emperors because they will cause a nitrate spike. There's a penguin 660 powerhead in there now and tomorrow there'll be two MaxiJet 600s. If I remove one of the emperors, and run the other with just foam cartridges (no carbon media) will this remove the risk of nitrate spike?

Help!!!

 

[fluffhead]

Sounds like alot but whatever turns you on.Nitrate spikes will come from lack of cleaning if you have two I'd say aternate cleaning every two weeks and you should be fine.Slack off on that and you'll add nasties.

 

[ebauman75]

I was also thinking about it because it's making WAY too much noise (wife!) and I really don't have any room for anything else on the back of the tank. 48" tank w/ 2 ~18" filters and the pump and return lines from the skimmer doesn't leave any room for the feeders she bought me for my b'day! (And she wants to see them used!)

 

[ebauman75]

As usual, I only bought all of this filtration because the LFS said I'd need it! I'll keep it because in a couple of years I'm getting a 240 (96x24x24) to upgrade my reef tank, and the 75 will be a cichlid tank. They need all of the waste removal they can get, which reminds me, do skimmers work on freshwater?

 

[ebauman75]

Huh?

 

[demonsp]

Well the rocks are main filtration. I say way to much. hope you turn those off befroe feeding. And its the bio wheels that are nitrate holders. along with the fliters but frequent cleaning prevents this , but you cant clean the bio wheels just remove them. I use 1 emp.400 in my 75 gal just to help clear debris the fish kick up. But in a well established tank these filter are not needed if you have good skimmer and plenty of rock.GL

 

[moze229]

Never heard of a "Seaclown" skimmer. Just kidding.

You're going to get a nitrate spike regardless of what filtration you use. Skimmers will not work on fresh for the most part, although I have heard of people using them in brackish water tanks. The nutrients that you would remove though would best be fought by water changes. Skimmers are expensive, but pay off for larger saltwater tanks.

Wet/dry filtration will keep your nitrates high. I would just save the 400's for the cichlid tank, unless you want to run one with just a foam cartridge like you mentioned. This of course, would be a waste of the 400 since your only going to get mechanical filtration, and very little at that. Sand and live rock (and refuge) are what you need to aim for with frequent water changes. Leave the powerheads and make sure you have at least 80 or so lbs. of live rock.

 

[bertoni]

If your tank is up and running, and you pull the plug on the filters in one fell swoop, the tank might suffer an ammonia spike. Before doing anything, what's in the tank?

The bio-wheels, ceramic rings, and other biological media might cause a nitrate problem, especially if not cleaned, but if your tank is not having a problem, you could leave it alone and hope for the best.

 

[ebauman75]

blue linkia star, tiger striped serpent star, sand sifter, midas blenny, two false percs, two lyretail anthias, and a bunch of snails are what's in there so far. I'm waiting a while (6 months or so) before adding corals and the other few fish I want. I'm in the process of removing one of the emperors and adding the MJ600s right now, along with the timed feeder and the frozen feeder. I guess only time will tell!

 

[ebauman75]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9486172#post9486172 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bertoni
The bio-wheels, ceramic rings, and other biological media might cause a nitrate problem.

Ceramic rings?

 

[bertoni]

There are some filters that provide ceramic rings as a media. They look like tiny, short ceramic tubes.

 

[ebauman75]

Gotcha! This one's bio-wheel only. As long as I rinse it out on a regular basis, will it be a problem to keep that in there?

 

[bertoni]

The bio-wheel will be fine as long as the nitrate level in the tank is acceptable. I don't know about rinsing them and what that'd do, since I don't use them. Maybe a quick rinse in tank water would be fine.

 

[Scuba_Steve]

I hate to bring bad news, and use this as a lesson. Do your research before you buy fish and inverts. Read as much as you can, and ask on the forums. Linkias are beautiful stars, but dont get very attached as I can almost guarantee it wont make it very much longer. We dont know exactly what they eat, but it is hard for them to survive in even a well established reef, not to mention one just starting out. They still eventually starve to death. As for the emperors, i would take one off, wait a few weeks, then take the other. Live rock is all the filtration we need along with a good skimmer. Other types usually lead to places where nitrates can collect. They do great things for freshwater though, as nitrates arnt very important, and there is no live rock to do the proper filtration.

 

[Zestay]

id put the blue linka back in the ocean.

 

[ebauman75]

Not my idea! The wife decided that I was getting a blue linkia because "they look so cool!" I agreed with her and when I got home from work a few days later there was a blue starfish on the front of my tank. All I can do without feeling terribly guilty is keep the star and not let someone else make the same mistake by buying it after I return it!

 

[ebauman75]

I've been doing my homework! I got a ten gallon freshwater tank 12/05, and have been studying up on saltwater tanks, equipment, livestock... since then. I've actually been reading posts on this site since around July '06, I just didn't register until I bought the tank, as I thought maybe I could learn from others mistakes. (Guess not!)

 

[tk1360]

I understand where you are coming from. My gf likes "pretty fish" and is upset when I refuse to put tangs into my nano.

BTW how much live rock do you have in the tank?

 

[ebauman75]

it's got about 80 lbs of rock roughly 50/50 live rock/tufa. The tufa's getting pretty well impregnated(?) by the existing live rock, which is what I was going for. Why pay 7.50 a pound for all of the rock when you can grow some of your own?