skimmers mesed up?

[Guest alex wlazlak]

i cant run my skimmer, i must have way too much protein or somthing in my tank.?..but it bubbles sooooo darn much -way way way too much- and then bubbles go allover the tank.i dont have a sump to begin with.whats the alt. besides getting a sump, or how would i go upon getting a sump.also i herd theres somthing bad about overflow things..?so what do you guys recomend?i might be getting a 90 gallon or so soon maybe, and get it drilled.but until then or even if i dont, what should i do. its a 55 gallon tank now.

[steveoutlaw]

Alex - Calm down and just breathe......nice and relaxed.

 

Ok, There is absolutely nothing wrong with overflows. I ran an amiracle overflow on my 55g and it did great. All you need is a tank for a sump (a 10g is only 10 bucks) and the overflow (amiracles run about $40.00 shipped) and a return pump. If you get an overflow you want to make sure you get the U-tube design because it never loses its' syphon.

 

Now, once you get this stuff you can run your skimmer on the sump......but you need to install bubble baffles so none of the bubbles get to your return pump.

 

And Viola - Your problem is solved.

 

Let me know if you need any help with getting one together.

 

Steve

[fishface]

Did you add anything to the water like a water conditioner?

They will cause that to happen.

If you didn't, then review the settings. You may have to just back off on the flow until you determine the cause. Try to figure out what might have changed. It might be so obvious that you are missing it. If it worked fine for a while, then look for where something has changed.

 

In the meantime, be sure to do water changes every few day until you work out the skimmer problem.

Very important!

 

FF

[Guest alex wlazlak]

another problem is whenever i do a water change -even 3-4 gallons- my ammonia goes high for like a week, then cools down..did it once or twice and a yellow tang died, and a clown died too. i cant have that all the time!but i just wanna get a 75-90 gallon thank with "the goods".im pretty much not screwing with my tank, and didnt for probly the last 1-2 months.....i had some softies and most of them died:( even a feather duster! i didnt think you could kill one, but oh boy i did!!!!haha, but i have some zoos now, and they will probly be gone soon. but oh well. i just want a new tank asap! anyone know where i can get a drilled 75-90 gallon tank with stand or ANYTHING pm me.

[fishface]

You need to find out why this is only happening to your tank, and not everyone elses. Secondly, a water change is going to dilute any water quality problems and make it healthier for the livestock. So maybe the water change process needs adjusting. Are you disturbing the sand bed during the change? Proper RO water has nothing that could cause an ammonia spike. How are you filtering the water?

If you aren't working at this problem aggressively with people online or with a LFS in your area then you have some aspects to your approach that you have to look at:

 

1. Whatever problem you have may not be corrected by moving things into another setup. And...

2. You can't just assume that all will work out when you get the tank that you prefer to have.

3. You are caring for these animals, and it's not a responsible view to think that you'll just replace whatever dies, and do nothing for the current occupants until the next tank is setup.

4. If you have a bigger tank, it will probably require just as much maintenance as this one requires. The related expenses are certaily greater.

5. If you are not taking the time to research and solve a small problem, you will have a lot more on the line with a bigger tank, and a lot more to lose then.

 

FF

[HowardofNOVA]

Alex,

When you do a water change, you should be draining out water from basically 2 areas (sump or main tank off rocks for example) where destrius has built up the most and only about 20% of your tanks capacity per month.

Example: Your 55g = about 11g per month.

 

Your trying to help remove as much nasty as you can while your draining the water out of your tank. Your saying your getting a Ammonia Spike, my deduction is your using a siphon tube and disburbing the sand/gravel/arragonite on the bottom each time you do this correct? What's happening is instead of just removing just the very top layer, your possibly really stirring up the bottom, aka. A whole lot of uh....destius floating around. hence your spike!

 

I would take a 5g bucket and drain with a hose about 3-4g per week (no sump) out of your main tank, with trying to suck anything on the rocks, crevices, holes, etc, without removing crabs, snails, corals etc. After removing the water, replace with NEW SW mix with Salinity around 1.024-1.026 area (Personal levels).

 

I would also PRACTICE on your 55g tank BEFORE you "Step-Up" to a new tank. I learned on a 30g before I moved up to my 90g! Let's just say I "UPGRADED" from my under $1000. 30g tank to my "OVER" $1000. 90g, plus a few more taxing features to get where I'm at today!

 

Try this for a couple of month or so and see how it goes? If well? Your ready!

Howard

[Ne0eN]

Alex,

One thing you need to work on in this hobby is patience! Without patience you will not have a successful reef. Try to read as much as you can, visit your LFS and ask questions. Experience cannot be rushed - it's acquired slowly. We all made our mistakes and learned from them. My parents bought my first fresh water aquarium (10 gal) when I was in grade school. I have kept fresh water fish for the next 20 years until I moved on to salt water fish. Now I have a successful 60 gal reef tank (2 years now) and except for 2 dead damsels in the beginning I have not had a single fatality

Remember - every single fish, snail, crab, anemone, coral is alive and should be given your utmost care. Without respect for life you shouldn't be in this hobby. Believe me - size of the tank will not make your problems go away. It will just make for even bigger problems and issues, not mentioning a huge expense simply maintaining it.

 

60 gal reef

-1 three-stripped damsel

-2 false percula clowns hosted in BTA

-1 purple pseudochromis

-1 yellow sailfin tang

-various snails, hermit crabs, shrimps, emerald crab, sea urchin etc...

-various mushrooms, polyps, leathers and softies...

-small brown monti SPS

 

-Rob