Serious Filter Questions..Need Pro Help!

[saltman]

Hey all, I have started a 55 gallon salt water tank (fish only) and everything is going excellent fo rthe first 6 weeks. I have a Aquaclear 300 power filter, & Powerhead for water movement and a Amiracle wet/dry system for biological that's not hooked up yet.. Now here is my dilemma, My LFS owner tells me that I should take the carbon out of my power filter and just use fluff. The reason he tells me this is so I can constently put copper in my tank as a "prevention for desease". Now that sounds all well and great but every book I have read and most articles I see everyone uses activated carbon for mechanical filtration. If I was to put a dose of copper weekly in my tank the carbon sucks it right out and I get no copper readings. So my question for the pros out there are what do I do?? I don't want to have parasite problems but I also dont want to slowly kill my fish with constant copper doses?? Anyone having a suggestion would be very helpful. I alos want to know if I should keep the Aquaclear hooked up for mechanical filtration when I install the wet/dry for biological.

 

[NIGE]

That would be like constantly taking antibiotics to make sure you dont get ill!

It is not only expensive but pretty pointless, if you look after the fish well they wont get ill -if they do (which does happen no matter how well you care for your fish)then you can treat and stop when they recover.

Skimmers remove copper and it dissapates so you have to regually top up the copper level even if you dont do water changes! not to mention the cost of constantly testing your levels!

Basically its expensive an added complication and unnecessary.

 

[saltman]

How do you feel about my carbon question in my power filter?

 

[NIGE]

Yea deffinatly keep it going -the more flow the better, and use it as a chemical filter but dont just use carbon keep things like phosphates in mind

 

[Landlocked]

Carbon is useful because it continuously removes tons of nutrients from the water. It takes out just about everything, but it only works for 2-3 months, tops. Here's an idea of how carbon works:

CARBON
First 2-3 months: Removes nutrients from the water
Next 6 months: Doesn't do anything (just sits there)
From then on: Leaches nutrients back into the water
Hope this helps!

 

[saltman]

So how often do I need to change the carbon element in my filter? Also what do you all feel appropriate for % water change per month to keep the fish very healthy.

 

[Adrinal]

If you understock and keep your levels low. 5 gallons a month will be fine. Its more corals and inverts that need the trace elements to grow so the salt mix is added, along with iodine and calcium injections and perhaps more...

So, if you do have good filteration and your Nitrogen is neer nothing, then you are just doing water changes to add some trace elements.

 

[NIGE]

No nitrates + addatives = No water changes
but its quite a 'how longs a piece of string' question

as for changing carbon different grades have differnt lives (a lot is to do with the micron sizes and purity and stuff) so just follow manufactures reccomendation

 

[Adrinal]

Once again.. no waterchanges = not ok. It is possible for trace elements to be consumed without our ability to test for it. So, even in the cleanest of systems at least a small waterchange really should be done on a regular basis.

 

[saltman]

Thank you for all the info...keep it coming. I have just noticed in the last week or so that there has been a algae bloom on some of the coral and crushed coral floor. It's all brown looking. Is this normal? Should I do anything about it. The tank is exactly 5 weeks old.

 

[NIGE]

Yea Adrinal I probably agree with you -im trying to simplify things too much, but you have to admit the less you can mess with the tank the better.
yea the algae blooms are very normal and do clear themselves but someone may know a way of speeding it up

 

[Adrinal]

I've never had algae blooms I even did a 50+ % waterchange when moving my tanks recently... perhaps that is because I use RO water? Even when I have had bad chem spikes do to me being very stupid (added some large shells from a garden store after boiling but not quarentining or doing smell test ). There isn't even a fish or snale in there now to eat the stuff if it was growing... just good luck?

 

[saltman]

I do weekly tests on PH, Amonia, Nitrites & Salinity. I just checked everything today and all looks well. I thought the blooms were normal as well. So this brown stuff will go away?? And what kind of things can I put in the tank to eat this stuff.

 

[Great Lakes]

Saltman. Any fish store that tells a person to put copper in their saltwater tank needs to be banned!!!

Copper is Deadly!!

I am not a chemist, so I can't explain how, but copper is an element that can molecularly bond with things in your tank, and can't ever be completely removed

I am going off to have a fit now,,,,aaagghhhh

GL

 

[ostrow]

Copper will end your ability to keep any inverts in your tank until you empty the tank, bleach clean it, rinse it forever then let it sit in open air for several days.

The brown is likely diatoms. You will have cycles of different algae blooms for months. This is normal. Certainly you must have read about diatoms and cyanobacteria when reading before setting up the tank?