Eheim Filters - Decision, Decision, Decision

[kelstorm]

Any reasons why you said 8-10 fishes are too much ? Because in my 3 Ft. Fresh Tank, I keep more than 100 fishes !! and all are doing fine.Can please enlighten me on this issue ? And only 2 Corals ??!!

100 fishes for your 3ft??? this is unlike FW leh.. what fishes are u keeping... yes...for FW u can do that.. but in marine.. fishes are more territorial than those of FW and they grow to very big.. unlike tetras... and when we say schooling fishes in SW, it is like 5-6 coz they need the space..and certain fishes can grow very big..

[Cedric]

Hi dsftan,

it worries me to see your stocking list, filtration equipment and water parameters!

Your 3-tier top filter, UGF filter may work for a fresh water setup but for marine, it is not sufficient.

I noted that you have 2 anemones? Correct me if I am wrong but it seems that you only have two fls. One 10k and one actinic blue? Anemones are hard to keep creatures requiring very high lighting and excellent filtration. Their slime and mucus adds a very heavy bioload to your system. They also prefer cooler temps. 29-30 degress is high for them. Please adopt corrective measures...

Your water parameters read:
Salt level=1.020
Ammonia=1.10ppm
NO2=0.2ppm
NO3=1.50ppm

For long term benefits of your tank inhabitants, NH3 and NO2 must and can only be zero. I'm sure your fishes will thank you if you can improve conditions.

I also noted you purchase natural seawater from Pac marine. Is that why your salt level is 1.020? I would advise you to bump it up a little to 1.023 because its a little too low for your inverts. If you choose to take my advise, increase your salinity very slowly. Shrimps go into osmotic shock very easily.

You have no mention of any substrate. A good size sandbed can help in filtration. LR is good too! Reborn just had new shipment of LR today. Go get it quick!

Lastly, you really need to invest on your filtration. With poor water parameters, it is possible that your fishes will fall sick and your corals will not strive. For now, do more water changes!

Hope this helps!

[dfstan]

hi cedric

many thanks for ur comments....

seen your tank posted, very very impressive...
would love to have such setup.
but still got long way to go b4 reaching that high level of yours.

i've been trying stuffs here and there and picking up more pratical knowledge b4 getting into serious project of setting up 4ft tank (could be bigger depending on new house space availability).

it's been quite a while since i measure my water parameters. will take the tests tomorrow and post results for comments.

current inmates for 2ft tank:
2 common clowns
2 clearner shrimp
1 boxing shrimp
1 tomato clown
1 regal tank
1 branch coral(dun know the name)
1 anemone (dun know name either)
hopef to get my camera soon, so much easier to ask around for comments.

I've removed my UGF..only running the 3 tier top overflow filtering. 1st tier is sponge, 2nd tier is ceramic and 3rd tier is bio balls. is this arrangement alright ?

I've been think investing to my 2ft tank though not too much cause afraid might not suitable when upgrade to 4ft tank.

For the minimum comfort for the inmates, what would u recommend...

thanks again..

[Cedric]

Hi,

you removed your UGF already? Untill you booast up your filtration, I would rather you keep it! The problem with UGF is that it traps detriutus. Other than that, it is a proven method! Seriouly speaking, I always wonder how much filtration can a overhead do? In most cases, I would only consider it more as a mechanical filter, not so much a biological filter.

From what I can see, you will need to improve on quite a few things.

Filtration:
You will need to explore the 3 areas of filtration; mechanical, biological and chemical.

Get a protein skimmer, it really helps!!! I spend $350 on my tunze skimmer and I'm still considering of upgrading...

Lighting:
2 fl is not the way to go if you intend to keep your anemone alive! When I was using fls before switching over to MH, I had 6 tubes! The cheapest short term alternative is to use PL tubes and DIY. Can you figure that out?

Temperature:
29 maybe ok for short term, but you should try to aim for 27 in the long term. Very importantly, avoid fluctuations in temperature! This will stress the fishes!

Water changes!!! Do lots of it! I dunno how good is natural salt water coz I never tried it. I normally use synthetic salt mix. I tried Red Sea, Coral Life, Instant Ocean, Reef Crystals, HW and finally Tropic Marin. Most of these salts are ok, however, do aviod Red Sea Salt! Water changes is the best way to compensate for your filtration for the moment till you can upgrade your filtration I guess.

Hope this helps!

[setiardi]

Hi there, me scaling down on my marine from reef to fish-only setup. Read abt filter. Me currently selling my 2227 at only $230, bought at $300+. Only 4 mths old. Also selling chiller and stuff.Can go see in the classified.

[Killerwhale]

Why give up ?

[setiardi]

Priority change. One of my discus pair now have fries. Been trying to breed them so long suddenly it happen. Juggling between reef setup, planted setup, discus rearing and attending to my kids leave me with no time to spare.