bio-load question

[lionlover]

i have a 55 gallon with a fluval 404, prism hang on skimmer, and 40 lbs. live rock. Would 2 ocellaris clowns, 1 purple firefish, 1 green chromis, 1 cherub angel,1 sand sifting star, 20 snails, 8 astralian algae hermits, and 1 cleaner shrimp be too much of a bioload. i was also thinking of having a few low light soft corals, and mabey a pink starlet coral. any advice would be appreciated.

[TheReefGeek]

That bioload will be fine, even with a prizm *COUGH* (preferably upgrade that to a CPR bakpak II or better yet, an AquaC Remora).

You dont have to worry about the cleaner crew adding to the bioload, nor most corals unless you direct feed them.

Clean your Fluval regularly (with a better skimmer, remove it), and do weekly 10% water changes.

[DanG]

If you want to make your prizm better, there are mods out there that increase the skimming performance a lot.

[Bob I]

Since all advice even by so called experts is merely opinion, I will add mine. Yes the bioload is fine, but as to changing skimmers, I would say that is unnecessary. Due to the fact that I have run a Fluval for five years, and have never had a skimmer. I would advise the opposite ie. throw the skimmer out, but keep the Fluval clean. Possibly use Chemipure in the Fluval because that is what I do with excellent results. I guess I just like things that work well.:mrgreen:

[TheReefGeek]

Bob, would like to hear more about your skimmerless experience, what size tank are you running? Do you run a fuge, if so what is in it? How often do you do water changes? What corals are you keeping? What all do you run in the Fluval besides Chemipure, if anything?

[Bob I]

Bob, would like to hear more about your skimmerless experience, what size tank are you running? Do you run a fuge, if so what is in it? How often do you do water changes? What corals are you keeping? What all do you run in the Fluval besides Chemipure, if anything?

I have run a variety of tanks, the largest was a 75. Right now I have a 33 gallon semi cube. At this time no refugium. I have a variety of soft corals, zoanthids, some LPS and a nice piece of Staghorn. I do almost no water changes. The Fluval only has foams and Chemipure. It works very well with no crash ever.

[digitalsteve]

bob, arent you supposed to change your watter every 4 days with chemi pure , and arent you supposed to change like 30-40% if u use that stuff>?

[lionlover]

if i upgrade to a CPR bakpak i can get rid of the fluval 404?

[TheReefGeek]

Yes. I ran a CPR BakPak on my 50g for 1 year, and I would say it is my most successful tank to date, although my 180 is coming along slowly.

An AquaC Remora would be even better though, I ran the Pro for 1 year on a 110 gallon.

[Beverly]

I run my 37g, 67g and 120g BB tanks without skimmers or sumps. Don't use Chemi-pur or anythink like that to remove whatever those things are designed to remove. Do not run carbon unless there is a problem, which is maybe once every two years. Do weekly maintenance as described on my webpage (link below). Lots of pics, lots and lots of blah, blah, blah ....

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/reeftips-maintainbarebottomtanks.htm

The only problem not mentioned on the page is that we have is a scum build up in each tank, probably due to the rinsed PE mysis we feed soaked in Kent Zoe and Garlic Xtreme. Easily taken care of by skimming the water's surface weekly with the powerheads off.

[TheReefGeek]

Beverly, have you tried pointing some powerheads upwards to break up the surface of the water more? That might help with the scum build up. Or maybe you want it to develop so you can remove it....

[Beverly]

All powerheads in all tanks are at surface level for optimal air exchange.

[Bob I]

bob, arent you supposed to change your watter every 4 days with chemi pure , and arent you supposed to change like 30-40% if u use that stuff>?
:question::question::question::question:

[OCDP]

I'll throw in my two cents as well. Fluval filters are junk, complete junk. They lose efficiency and as been stated in previous threads.. collect so much nasties it's not even funny. They need to be frequently cleaned. Like... weekly. When I DID use mine, it was only for carbon use. When I used the fluval, I had algae all the time... nuisance algae everywhere. Since I got rid of it... the phosphate/nitrate factory is gone and I am seeing a slow improvement.

Skimmers are most definately important... the #1 thing to have IMO. I would definately put a skimmer on your tank. When you see the crap that it takes out of your water you'll think "wow... what a great investment" trust us.

In my opinion... (key word here, MY) the basics to a successful reef are:

- A good skimmer (decent anyways for the size of tank)
- A good amount of Live Rock for the size of tank
- Keeping paramaters as stable as possible, at all times. Stability is key!
- Doing smaller, but frequent water changes. (weekly)
- Good water circulation throughout the entire tank
- And keeping all equipment clean so no junk can build up and reduce performance.

There's my little rant. :wink:

[Ruth]

I think another classic mix up with chemi clean and chemi pure is taking place here. This bush has been run around so many times that I am getting dizzy (ier). I wish they would change the name of one of them.
I think I have this right - chemi clean is for treating your tank for cyno algea and then the whole water change regime come into play.
Chemi pure is sort of like a super carbon that stays in your filter or passively in the sump to help maintain water quality.
In a nut shell anyway - as long as I don't have the names backassward.

[SJSobczyk]

See i have been using a fluval for about a year now and i never have any junk collect in it. Usually i will open it up once a month and things are fairly clean. My nitrates have always been zero and never any algea. Then again i have a fairly light bio load and i also have an aqua c remora pro with a mag 5.

Remember these are only suggestions. Everyone has different experiences so the best thing to do is what you think is right.

Steve

[OCDP]

Oops.. I mixed up the two products myself :redface: Edited my post.

And as stated, everything said by everyone is THEIR opinion. What works for some does not work for others. Or.... what works for one system wont work for another..depending on what kind of tank it is.. what you keep, etc. (in other words... tons of variables)

[Beverly]

I'll throw in my two cents as well. Fluval filters are junk, complete junk. They lose efficiency and as been stated in previous threads.. collect so much nasties it's not even funny. They need to be frequently cleaned. Like... weekly.

Well, I'll throw in my 2.5 cents :biggrin: :razz:

I use mechanical filtration in our three reefs, but not canisters which are a PITA to take apart, clean, then prime for use.

The foams in the Quickfilters attached to our 802s, 402s and 301s in various tanks are definitely cleaned on a weekly basis. They collect tons of crud which slows down water moving capability. We even break down all powerheads weekly to remove crud build up there too. A well maintained powerhead will last longer and will be more efficient, ime.

I see mechanical filtration as a very useful tool, as long as they are properly maintained. And I can't imagine NOT doing weekly maintenance, including water changes, in any of our reefs.