Orca Tl-450 Anybody?

[ben1987]

Yeah if that LR was out of the water 30mins and it was cured in the shop then you may not even see a cycle. If you have no reeding over a week or so then you might be able to add some cuc.
Check that water though. Every day/every other

 

[leeroysw20]

ah right i see. ye im guna go and check the water now!

 

[leeroysw20]

ok have just checked the water, and its exactly the same as it was before i added the LR on sat.
ammonia is 0
nitrite is 0
nitrate still reads 20, although will test it again in a few days just to make sure!
(had this prob b4 didnt i but water was fine when tested at the fs!)
the ph level has dropped instead of risen to my suprise from 8.0 to 7.8, have checked salinity level and it reads 0.021 so thats ok.
temp is at 25/26.5 so i think thats fine too, was told that its a good idea to have it a little warmer whilst cycling?!

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, now that you have biological processes going on in there using O2, Calcium, Carbonate, and Magnesium and producing CO2 pH drops a little bit. Perfectly normal in a new tank

 

[rabbut]

Salinity looks a little low for a coral tank.... I'd traget about 1.023 as a minimum if you are keeping coral, with 1.025 being "adverage" for these set-ups and 0.028 beign the top end for most...

Temperature in a FW cycle does affect the cycle's speed. I'm not shure if this transferes to SW set-up's though I would have thought it would affect speed though

A low pH is common in a new tank. It should start to raise itself up with time, and it's not low enough to be dangerous yet

All the best
Rabbut

 

[leeroysw20]

ah ok thanks pple! ah right was just going by the hydrometer so thought that was ok, will make this right then.
is it ok to just add extra salt into the tank? or best to do a water change and add extra??

 

[rabbut]

You should get away with adding salt in small quantities to a high-flow area of the tank do it little at a time, you don't want to overcook it, or salinity shock any corals or the crab you have...

 

[leeroysw20]

ah cool... my koraille (if thats how you spell it!) nano powerhead being delivered tomorrow so will wait till thats fitted i think so theres a better flow in the tank! good timing! ha ha

 

[leeroysw20]

ok have just fitted my nano powerhead and water flow is flowing so much better around the tank now! )

question!!.... with regards to the common problem of the back 3 compartments from the left hand side 'overflowing' back into the tank....is there any reason why i couldnt increase the size of the holes on the spray bar???!!

tried removing the bar totally but the level drops too much, so thinkin if i jus drill out a couple of holes one at a time to get it right with jus a 3/4 mm drill bit...surely this will allow more water to pass through wouldn't it??

n maybe then i wouldnt have to cut down the foam and add a new pump alltoghter to reduce it as these are the other options ive been told of that can help?!

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Yeah there is no reason you cant drill the holes out on the spray bar a little bigger. The other thing you could try is just dropping the water level a little bit in the tank.

 

[leeroysw20]

ye i started with a lower water level, but the level in the compartments stays the same! lol
will give the bigger holes a whirl n if it makes no diff will just have to order a maxi jet 900! hopefully that will do the trick and give it a faster flow!

 

[leeroysw20]

well after fiddling about with the foam in the far right compartment, i was going to remove half of it hoping it may reduce the water level...it didint! but on the good side....all the bubbles which were floating around my tank have gone! wondering if there was just lots of air in the foam or somethig!?! but anyway its much better now!

have tested my water again...

ammonia = 0
nitrate = 0
ph = 7.8 (low i know but hopefully will correct itself once cycled)
nitrate = 15!.......so is slowly coming down!

guessin the cycling is well under way!

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Sounding good. Personally I would give it a couple more days and if the ammonia and nitrite is stilll at zero start getting your cuc.

 

[leeroysw20]

cool. before i do that i wana get a new pump fitted, have been lookin at the maxi jet ones as most pple seem to have them, is there a diff between the maxi jet pump, and the maxi jet powerhead?
im guessing that the ph just blows right and the pump sucks in the water and blows it out??

if this is right would the maxi jet 1000 be ok to use? getting this as i need to lower that water level in the back 3 compartments, hoping i can just remove the stock pump and fit a new one in its place, hopefully if its powerful enough the water will flow quicker and drop the level!

 

[westiemarble]

ok have just fitted my nano powerhead and water flow is flowing so much better around the tank now! )

question!!.... with regards to the common problem of the back 3 compartments from the left hand side 'overflowing' back into the tank....is there any reason why i couldnt increase the size of the holes on the spray bar???!!

tried removing the bar totally but the level drops too much, so thinkin if i jus drill out a couple of holes one at a time to get it right with jus a 3/4 mm drill bit...surely this will allow more water to pass through wouldn't it??

n maybe then i wouldnt have to cut down the foam and add a new pump alltoghter to reduce it as these are the other options ive been told of that can help?!

Leeroysw20 - did you open up the spray bar holes to see if it reduced the back chamber overflow? I have the same tank and same problem

Cheers