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fattimoo · Nov 20, 2007, 03:00 PM

I were looking in the filter system at the back and the dirt is in th bit with the ceramic rings. How would I get rid of it from there? I feel like I'm asking daft questions but I don't want the dirt to build up

AKaeTrue · Nov 20, 2007, 06:09 PM

What type filter and does it have a back flow?
Is their a sponge inside it that is suppose to trap dirt before the water flows over the ceramic rings?
Or does the water hit the ceramic rings first?

I'm trying to rack my brain at what this could be... or why it's happening.

What brand do you use to get the chlorine out of the tap water?
Is your crab still carrying it's eggs?

Does the dirt look like it's attached to slimy stuff?

fattimoo · Nov 21, 2007, 12:35 AM

I don't put anything in my water to get rid of chlorine should I be doing? They told me tap water would be fine, no there's no sponge before the ceramic rings and before that is my protein skimmer and that looks covered in it as well. What colour would the eggs be? This is white stuff a bit like sawdust

AKaeTrue · Nov 22, 2007, 01:40 AM

I was just curious about the crabs eggs...

If your tap water is treated city water, then yes, you should be adding a water conditioner. If you have a well, it's not necessary.

Since you mentioned that it's white and kind of looks like sawdust, I'm pretty sure you have some salt build up(salt creep) and/or calcium deposits.

This happens to my tank as well, mostly around water surface lines.

My filter has a debris sponge that water passes through before it reaches the
Rings, this way dirt/debris is kept out.
When I notice any white build up, I just wipe it off and let the filter clean it out of the water.
I take a paper towel and clean around the water line inside the filter as well.

Does your filter have anything that traps debris?

fattimoo · Nov 22, 2007, 11:08 AM

It goes through some vents to the filter and uv sterilizer, there's a sponge on that, it then goes to the protein skimmer then to the heater and ball things and then to the rings but there's no sponge there and then filters back to the tank

fattimoo · Nov 25, 2007, 09:24 AM

Hiya I went to the fish shop and saw a nice fish and when I asked about it they said it grows 13 inch is that in the wild or in a tank as well?

fattimoo · Nov 27, 2007, 03:03 PM

Hiya do you have any good websites that have fish diseases on?

AKaeTrue · Nov 29, 2007, 07:29 AM

Originally Posted by fattimoo

hiya i went to the fish shop and saw a nice fish and when i asked about it they said it grows 13 inch is that in the wild or in a tank as well?

It will certainly grow to 13 inches in a tank that is the appropriate size for it.
Otherwise it's growth will be stunted and it will die.

Most often I refer to my fish book for all my needs unless I find a website that goes along the same line as the book because there is a lot of bad information on lots of websites.
I'll check a few websites for you tonight and give you links to the ones I feel are correct.

Is everything going OK?

fattimoo · Nov 29, 2007, 10:05 AM

Yeah thanks everything seems fine at the moment I've got two clown fish a well now and they are fine. My crabs got eggs again! Good job they don't get to become fully grown crab or id endup with too many!

AKaeTrue · Nov 29, 2007, 10:32 AM

I love clown fish, they are my favorite!
I'm glad everything is going good.

fattimoo · Nov 30, 2007, 02:29 PM

I've been reading a questions page on a different site about orca marine tanks and I've just realised my protein skimmer hasn't been on! How stupid am I. what does the protein skimmer do? I've done water tests and my nitrate has gone up its red now my nitrite is 0 and my ammonia 0. hen I went to the shop they said it doesn't really matter all their nitrates are all over is this true?

AKaeTrue · Dec 1, 2007, 11:57 AM

You know all the frothy white foam that the water gets? The protein skimmer helps the tank not to get it. Might be why you were having the white build up.
I like to keep my nitrates low because I feel it does matter.
It is a form of a toxin, not nearly as dangerous as ammonia and nitrites, but it is a byproduct (waste) of bacteria and therefore a toxin to fish - which can make them acceptable to disease.
So, in my opinion, it matters.
You're probably having a hard time keeping nitrate levels down due to the size of the tank. Are you still doing weekly water changes?

fattimoo · Dec 1, 2007, 03:16 PM

Yeah I feel it matters as well I've done a test on my tap water to see if that contains any nitrate and its come up zero 5 at the most so at least I know that's not the problem. I've been on a website I think its Fishkeeping.com - aquarium care fish keeping Resources and Information. This website is for sale! and on the questions page its full of people who have bought the same tank as I've got and a lot of people say the protein skimmers crap and doesn't work its good to see water I can do to improve mine but someone was saying the bioballs (I think that's what they are called) that are in the same compartment as my heater cause nitrate and they've taken them out. Do you know anything about them and do you think I should take mine out in case that's what's causing it? Also I was thinking(not good when I get thinking haha) maybe my tank hasn't cycled yet? I've had it running for just over 2 months and fish in 2months with the live rock but when I got my nitrate test and tested it it was 10 I think and didn't move and just recently its gone up. I do a water change every week sometimes twice depending on my water tests

AKaeTrue · Dec 1, 2007, 08:16 PM

You're tank is cycled. You can tell by your water readings, plus you have live rock.
Your water is testing 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite and you have a nitrate reading.
This is what it should be in a cycled aquarium, so no worries there, your tank is cycled.
The bio ball are important, they need to stay in the tank.
Nitrates come from the last stage in the cycling process (not anything from the tank or filters).
It is the waste from the good bacteria in the last stage of the cycling process.
In nature, plants, algae, etc feed on them and remove them from the water, but in an aquarium they are removed by water changes.

fattimoo · Dec 2, 2007, 07:00 AM

Yeah thank you I've been reading stuff off the internet and you read different things and I never know what to think. I read someone say something about a nitrate sponge that takes the nitrate out of the water in your opinion does it work? Thanks for your help!

AKaeTrue · Dec 2, 2007, 05:00 PM

Yes they help.
The Prime water conditioner that I mentioned before is what I prefer to use. Using both the prime and the sponge could help detoxify and remove the nitrate and that would probably benefit your tank a lot.

fattimoo · Dec 3, 2007, 12:08 AM

Thanks for your help would it be safe to put the sponge with my ceramic rings?

AKaeTrue · Dec 4, 2007, 10:22 AM

Depending on which one you buy, it will tell you on the instructions where to put it. The only ones I've seen personally are in their own individual bags (kind of looks like a net type bag) and the whole bag was placed inside the filter. Most filters has designated chambers (I call them baskets) for stuff that you'd like to add, if your filter has one of these, that's where you'd put it.

fattimoo · Dec 4, 2007, 02:05 PM

Yeah maybe that's the one with the ceramic rings they are in nets. What fish do you have? I'm always asking you advice and I've never asked you, how bigs your tank? I like them porky puffers they have cute faces are there any type o puffer I could have?

AKaeTrue · Dec 5, 2007, 05:49 PM

I have a 55 gallon (208 liters) saltwater with 4 spotted cardinals, a royal gramma basslet, and an ocellaris clown.

A 55 gallon (208 liters) rift lake set up with assorted africian cichlids.

A 55 gallon freshwater with 2 angels, 2 gorimies, a dojo loach, and a scool of glass tetras.

And a 20 gallon (75 liters) with 4 fantail goldfish.

I don't know of any puffers that would do. They are cute though aren't they.