Again Another Rio 125!

[twinstarzeon]

Hey everyone!

I have had my Rio 125l set up for about 5 weeks now. Yay!

I have the standard filter with 600lph pump, a Hydor Koralia 2 powerhead (2600lph) 10kg lr, live sand, 1 x actinic blue and 1 x marine day tubes. Also have led moonlights fitted.

I have loads of life in there, worms, shrimp etc etc. Very exciting times! I will post some pics soon

I did a test yesterday and it reads: Nitrate 5
Nitrite 0.05
Ammonia 0.25
SG 1.024
Sal 33.5

Could anyone tell me if these levels are ok?

I have the original sponges in the filter and they are causing problems for me. Yesterday i went into my lfs and said i was going to take all the sponges and the bio basket out and replace with lr rubble and floss on top of that. Well....they advised me against it saying there will not be enough movement in the rubble to work. I was thinking of changing the 600lph pump for 1000lph, surely that would be ok?
They advised me to take the sponges out and clean them, so i did, i put them back in and it was ok for 10 mins, the detritus was going into the filter but then again, it stopped! Surely i dont need to clean the sponges 10 times a day?! The koralia powerhead i have is at the other end of the tank and pointing upwards to created 'ripples' on top of the water.

Any advice would be cool!

 

[seffieuk]

Have you had your cycle?

Do you mean you want to put lr rubble in the filter box? If so, buy a filter bag, pop in the rubble, then each week when you do your water change lift the bag and pour your fresh water over the rocks and into the filter box this will give it a good flush through - the pump you have should be fine

Take out those blooming sponges and chuck them in the bin

Get some more live rock, 14k min but I would go with something like 16/17k

Seffie x

 

[twinstarzeon]

Have you had your cycle?

Do you mean you want to put lr rubble in the filter box? If so, buy a filter bag, pop in the rubble, then each week when you do your water change lift the bag and pour your fresh water over the rocks and into the filter box this will give it a good flush through - the pump you have should be fine

Take out those blooming sponges and chuck them in the bin

Get some more live rock, 14k min but I would go with something like 16/17k

Seffie x

Hi thanks for your reply.

I think it cycled.....when i first got it the lfs said just to test for nirite...it went up then down. i got nitrate and ammonia test the other day and nitrate is reading 50ppm (5) and ammonia 0.25 so im not sure if its ready?

Im just realy worried that the particles that are floating on the top are not going into the filter...unless i wash the sponges out but even then it only sucks them in for a short amount of time.

Ok, i will change the sponges for the lr rubble and see what happens. Hopefully it will be ok?

Sorry, i am trying but am getting so much different advice its confusing!

Thanks xx

Also the lfs said not to do a water change yet. Should i be doing it now and how much?

xx

 

[seffieuk]

Sorry, i am trying but am getting so much different advice its confusing!

It shouldn't be confusing but can understand why it might be - remember, we are on here to help, get help and socialise, what are the lfs there for?!!

Thanks xx

Also the lfs said not to do a water change yet. Should i be doing it now and how much?

They are correct in this aspect, do not change your water until your cyle is complete. It sounds like you are still in your cycle, what basically happens is: Ammonia spike, then you will get an nitrite spike which then goes into a nitrate spike. At that point you do a large water change to get rid of the remaining nitrates

Get rid of those awful sponges, they are not helping at all.
Then after 24 hours test again, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate post your results on here.

Are you able to buy a little more live rock, if so do it now so that it doesn't effect your cycle too much.

Your cycle is taking a long time, I suspect the live rock you put in had a fair amount of die-off, was it out of water long?

xx

Together we will get you there, don't worry, no more stress - just enjoy have you seen anything yet in your tank?

Seffie x

 

[twinstarzeon]

Sorry, i am trying but am getting so much different advice its confusing!

It shouldn't be confusing but can understand why it might be - remember, we are on here to help, get help and socialise, what are the lfs there for?!!

Thanks xx

Also the lfs said not to do a water change yet. Should i be doing it now and how much?

They are correct in this aspect, do not change your water until your cyle is complete. It sounds like you are still in your cycle, what basically happens is: Ammonia spike, then you will get an nitrite spike which then goes into a nitrate spike. At that point you do a large water change to get rid of the remaining nitrates

Get rid of those awful sponges, they are not helping at all.
Then after 24 hours test again, Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate post your results on here.

Are you able to buy a little more live rock, if so do it now so that it doesn't effect your cycle too much.

Your cycle is taking a long time, I suspect the live rock you put in had a fair amount of die-off, was it out of water long?

xx

Together we will get you there, don't worry, no more stress - just enjoy have you seen anything yet in your tank?

Seffie x

Yes, i have life in there. I have quite a few red worms with white leg type things, things crawing all over the rock, tiny little white creatures that are on the glass....lots of them, I can see about 10 or so feather dusters. I also have some tentacles coming out of the lr, they are white and they retract very quickly if something touches them.

The lr is quite colourful too

Do you think i should take the sponges out and fill with lr rubble first or take the sponges out and get some more lr in the tank? The lr i bought was not out of the water at all....i put it in buckets of ro water then put it straight in the tank. I am wondering if its taking a while to cycle because i started off with about 5 kg of lr at first then added more a couple of weeks later.

So when the tank has finished cycling, how much of a water change should i do?

Thanks for all your help

x

 

[Morri]

Just take the sponges out I would not put LR rubble in as if there is not enough flow the LR will will just fill up with Nitrates also either leave it empty or add in some useful media like Rowaphos, Carbon or even Purigen (These need changing on a 4 - 6 week basis)

 

[twinstarzeon]

Just take the sponges out I would not put LR rubble in as if there is not enough flow the LR will will just fill up with Nitrates also either leave it empty or add in some useful media like Rowaphos, Carbon or even Purigen (These need changing on a 4 - 6 week basis)

What if i change the 600lph juwel pump for the 1000lph pump, then put some lr rubble in. Would there be enough flow around the rubble then?

Do you mean put all three of those in the filter?

Thanks

 

[Morri]

Just take the sponges out I would not put LR rubble in as if there is not enough flow the LR will will just fill up with Nitrates also either leave it empty or add in some useful media like Rowaphos, Carbon or even Purigen (These need changing on a 4 - 6 week basis)

What if i change the 600lph juwel pump for the 1000lph pump, then put some lr rubble in. Would there be enough flow around the rubble then?

Do you mean put all three of those in the filter?

Thanks

How much LR do you have in your DT ?

I would recomend using both Rowaphos and Carbon Purigen is an option I use it as it removes addtional Nitrates but its not needed,

Meh just read your first post 10Kg is ok you could and I would most probably advise you to add another 1 - 2KG of LR if you are going to transport it in water I would use salt water I am not sure if RO will kill the life on the LR or not

 

[seffieuk]

Yes, i have life in there. I have quite a few red worms with white leg type things, things crawing all over the rock, tiny little white creatures that are on the glass....lots of them, I can see about 10 or so feather dusters. I also have some tentacles coming out of the lr, they are white and they retract very quickly if something touches them.

cool

The lr is quite colourful too

Do you think i should take the sponges out and fill with lr rubble first or take the sponges out and get some more lr in the tank?

I would take the sponges out NOW! If you decide to put in the live rock, make sure it goes in media bags so it can be lifted out. However, if you get more live rock for the display, you really could do without it in the weir/filter box. Then as Morri suggests run phospate remover which imo is an absolute basic need for a newbie and most others as well

The lr i bought was not out of the water at all....i put it in buckets of ro water then put it straight in the tank. I am wondering if its taking a while to cycle because i started off with about 5 kg of lr at first then added more a couple of weeks later.

Ah right, dont transport in fresh water, its like giving the rock a freshwater dip - it will kill off somethings. Transport in salt water

So when the tank has finished cycling, how much of a water change should i do?

50%

Thanks for all your help

x

Add the new live rock now, so that if you get a mini cycle it will not harm any critters you later buy. And yes, adding more live rock probably put your tank into a mini cycle, which explains your stats


Seffie x

 

[twinstarzeon]

Ok. I have made some progress....i think....

I have taken the sponges out of the filter and replaced with Refresh H2O spheres. On top of that i have 3 layers of floss. I was going to use lr but have read that this stuff is more porous and effective.

I have noticed an immediate difference. All the detritus on top of the water has gone and there is much better flow into the filter. The water looks alot clearer too.

What do you guys think to RefreshH2O?

I was told it was very good

 

[seffieuk]

Ok. I have made some progress....i think....

I have taken the sponges out of the filter and replaced with Refresh H2O spheres. On top of that i have 3 layers of floss. I was going to use lr but have read that this stuff is more porous and effective.

Well, there are varying views on this product - it replaces live rock and is colonised by bacteria over time (so will make no difference in a system until it is seeded!) -seems expensive to me.

I have noticed an immediate difference. All the detritus on top of the water has gone and there is much better flow into the filter. The water looks alot clearer too.

Good, that is because you have removed those nasty sponges

What do you guys think to RefreshH2O?
as above, but htink I would rather use live rock rubble

I was told it was very good

Seffie x

 

[twinstarzeon]

I am going to get another 4kg of lr today, then that should be it because my lfs has corals attached to lr so i need to leave some room.

I cant believe the amount of life i have in there....i have lots of tentacles coming out of the rock and they retract quickly when disturbed...i think they are britle stars?

Oh....and i have an aiptasia in there!! Its brown and i know i have to get rid but i cant put any peppermint shrimp in there yet to get it!

 

[seffieuk]

I am going to get another 4kg of lr today, then that should be it because my lfs has corals attached to lr so i need to leave some room.

cool

I cant believe the amount of life i have in there....i have lots of tentacles coming out of the rock and they retract quickly when disturbed...i think they are britle stars?

probably

Oh....and i have an aiptasia in there!! Its brown and i know i have to get rid but i cant put any peppermint shrimp in there yet to get it!

Well you can try that, but if it were me and as you have no live stock at the moment I would take out the rock and burn the sucker with either a blow torch or soldering iron

Seffie x