Detritus Cleanup

[tjgr34]

My tank has been accumulating an excessive amount of detritus and I'm looking for idea on how to get it under control. Here's my setup:

 

Tank: 27 Gallon Cube

Filter: Aquaclear 10-30 gallon model. I run this with two sponges and a carbon bag. The sponges get changed once or twice a week.

Skimmer: Aqua-C Remora with an MJ 900. I know it's under-powered, but it consistently produces skimmate.

Movement: Koralia Nano (240 gph)

 

The tank also has about 30 lbs of rock and a 1-2" deep sand bed.

 

Livestock: 2 small Oscellaris Clowns, 1 Firefish, 1 Yellow Watchman Goby with a Pistol Shrimp. Other inverts are an GBTA (who hates his life right now) three zoa frags (also not happy), a rhodactis mushroom, and a candy cane frag that is doing really well. I'm not sure about exact numbers for the cleanup crew, but I would guess 2-3 red-leg hermits, 5-7 so small nassarius snails, 5 or so cerith snails, 3-5 astrea snails. I added three turbo snails last week, two of which died within a day. I haven't seen the third since and assume that he also fell victim to high nitrates. I feed frozen, rinsed mysis once a day and sometimes supplement with pellets or an additional mysis feeding on the weekends.

 

Does the cleanup crew seem under-stocked?

 

My nitrate levels were, and still are very elevated due to neglect. I'm trying to correct that problem with frequent 10% water changes and reduced feedings. I have really noticed the detritus buildup because of these water changes. When I fan the rock off before siphoning my tank looks about like a snow-globe.

 

Any suggestions?

[trockafella]

I think your lacking flow big time and filtration. I think your CUC is ok, your livestock is ok, I think your skimmer is probably ok as well, though a little upgrade wouldnt hurt. (someone is selling a nice Deltec HOB skimmer)

[treesprite]

Once a week blow off all your rocks with a turkey baster, including inside of the holes in the rocks (you would be surprised how much gets in those tiny places). This will get detritus in the water column so it can be filtered out, and will feed corals.

[tjgr34]

I think your lacking flow big time and filtration. I think your CUC is ok, your livestock is ok, I think your skimmer is probably ok as well, though a little upgrade wouldnt hurt. (someone is selling a nice Deltec HOB skimmer)

 

I was afraid to hear that about the lack of filtration, but I suspected it. Do you think something like a HOT Mag 250 would be appropriate for both filtration and flow help?

[spankna]

Koralia Nanos IMO are very underpowered and the flow is over rated. I too have a 27g cube and use a Koralia Nano 420gph as a supplement to my Vortech. I use a 240gph Nano in my sump just to stir up the detritus once a week. You want the detritus to stay in the water column until the filter/skimmer pick it up. Dont just upgrade your powerhead, get another more powerful one to keep the detritus from settling.

 

Sent from my GT-P7310 using Tapatalk

Edited February 27, 2012 by spankna