DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?

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supertech99

New Member
well i got my first fish and added him to my tank. I seem to have to change my water every other day due to nitrates. they go from 5 or less the day before, and rise to 10-15ppm in 2 days. my tank is a 10 gal with 15lbs of live rock, and 10lbs of live sand, 1 margarita snail, 6 narsisuss snails, 1 tonga narsisuss snail, 1 tribanded hermit, and 1 green clown goby. I am running a pf with seachm matrix in it and a empty filter pad for mechanical filtration. I added a small internal filter running no media to act as a powerhead (perfect size) and have it blowing over the top of the rocks. shouldnt i have more anerobic bacteria in there to keep the nitrates down?
ill never be able to add corals if i have to change my water daily. Did i set up something wrong?
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Just sounds like a young system. Our tanks are constantly "cycling" it's wether or not you have a noticeable spike that we see. Every time a new bio load comes in our systems will fluctuate until things right them selves. Is the filter pad washed or replaced every couple of days? If not try doing that for a week. (or even just take it out all together and run when you need to scrub the water)
 
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supertech99

New Member
I WAS THINKING ABOUT TAKING THE PAD OUT BUT WILL I BE REMOVING TOO MUCH BACTERIA? HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE TO DO A WATER CHANGE? ALSO I HAVE HAD MY GREEN CLOWN GOBY FOR ABOUT 2 WEEKS AND I FINALLY SAW HIM EAT A LITTLE SOMETHING ABOUT 5 DAYS AGO BUT HE JUST HIDES CONSTANTLY, I CANT EVER SEE HIM, I WAS TOLD THAT THESE GUYS USUALLY HAVE GREAT PERSONALITIES, DO YOU THINK HE IS STILL ACCLIMATING TO THE NEW CONDITIONS OR IS HE JUST A CHICKENFISH? i AM ALSO PLANNING ON A FALSE CLOWN BUT I WANT TO BE SURE THAT MY GOBY IS HAPPY FIRST AS HE IS SMALLER AND LESS AGGRESSIVE. i ORDERED SOME ALGONE, DOES ANYONE HAVE GOOD EXPERIENCE WITH THIS, REEF CENTRAL POSTS ALL SAY THAT ITS GREAT AT ABSORBING EXCESS NITRATES.
 
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supertech99

New Member
WELL I THOUGHT I WOULD BRING CLOSURE TO MY OWN POST. I REMOVED MY FILTER PAD AND AFTER A DAY DID NOT NOTICE A CHANGE IN NITRATES ABOUT 10PPM 1 DAY POST WATER CHANGE (HOWEVER IN THAT TIME PERIOD IT NORMALLY WOULD HAVE INCREASED SO THAT WAS A IMPROVEMENT) I FINALLY GOT MY ALGONE FROM PREMIUM AQUATICS AND PUT IT IN MY FILTER BOX AND PROMISED THAT I WOULD NOT CHECK MY WATER FOR 2 DAYS (3 DAYS POST WC) TO LET IT WORK AND TEST IT. THE FIRST DAY THE WATER HAD A SLIGHT YELLOW TINGE, BUT IT WAS VERY SLIGHT. THIS EVENING I TESTED MY WATER AND MY NITRATES ARE UNDETECTABLE! THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT A LONG TERM SOLUTION, BUT THIS WORKED GREAT FOR A YOUNG SYSTEM. ANYONE ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENTS ON THIS PRODUCT?
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
I've never used it, but it did get rid of that nitrate. I would run a complete set of tests just to see if it changed anything else. LOL chicken fish. I love that! I would make sure you have your water under control before adding more fish.
 
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supertech99

New Member
WELL I CHECKED MY WATER AND EVERYTHING IS GREAT. I HAVE HAD THE ALGONE PAD IN THERE FOR JUST OVER A WEEK AND I THINK THAT I WILL LEAVE IT IN THERE FOR 2, THE PACKAGE SUGGESTS JUST ONE BUT THAT IS RATED FOR A 50 GAL SO I AM SURE THAT WITH MY SMALL BIOLOAD IT HAS PLENTY MORE ABSORBTION ABILITY TO GO, I ALSO ADDED ANOTHER 2 LBS OF ROCK SO I AM NOW RUNNING ABOUT 17LBS, REALLY FOR LOOK. ON AN UNRELATED QUESTION, IF I WERE TO BUILD A 10 GAL SUMP FOR MY TANK COULD I USE A POWERHEAD AS THE RETURN FOR IT, DO POWERHEADS HANDLE THE HEAD OF 2 FEET.
 
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