aquaexotica Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 (edited) Running into a few problems.....well not problematic for the fish, but rather an eyesore and cause for possible future concern. Anyhoo, our 130 gal FOWLR tank has been running for about 1-2 months. Inhabitants are: Medium Picasso Trigger, 12-18" Snoflake Eel, Large Regal Tang and Rusty Angel. (not too many fish). Our tank has an overflow, and we are runnin a sump below as our filtration. All our chem tests are good. Seems there is a brownish colored..looks like sand sitting on the bottom of the sump and all over the media. Not sure if what we have is sufficiant. We have Bio balls in the overflow column and 4 sump compartments consisting of : 1-live rock frags, 2- Black Foam, 3 Nitrate absorbing substrate, 4 - more live rock frags. I'd really like this tank to be as clean as possible. Does anyone have any tips or does and donts for a better set up in the sump?? I think maybe a protein skimmer might be needed. I need all the help I can get......starting to get frustrated, the tank doesnt look very nice anymore! Edited August 14, 2006 by aquaexoctica Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunl Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 How does the TANK actually look, compared to the sump? If it is brown algae, kill the lights. Should help things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaexotica Posted August 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 Yeah, as a matter of fact, the brown algae just started last week....I'll try the lights off for a bit. Another factor is that the tank is on the warm side. Its in our basement with no heater. Our basement sucks, as it is always warm believe it or not! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted August 14, 2006 Report Share Posted August 14, 2006 If you do not have a skimmer I would suggest you look into one, it will help to a point I have to aggree that killing the lights for a few days will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaexotica Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 I agree, we have a Remora Pro on our 65 reef tank, and that baby is crystal clear. The coraline is amazing and the fish are really happy. We are running a XP2 filter on that one. Nitrates are a bit higher....we started cleaning out the sponges every week and using RO water, and seems to be helping. Cant afford to do that with the 130. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midgetwaiter Posted August 15, 2006 Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 I'm having trouble making out exactly what the stuff in the picture is. Is it just soft brown gunk? I think that's probably the case so I'll ask the important question, what are you feeding and how much? Those are some seriously messy fish and I'm going to guess that you are using a pretty fair amount of frsh or frozen food. Without a skimmer that sludge is to be expected, just vacum it out when you do your water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaexotica Posted August 15, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 15, 2006 Yeah, you got it! Major mess and pain in the but to feed these guys....The Picasso and the Eel anyways. They get overly agressive because they eat the same food. They get a mixture of Krill, Brine shrimp, and silversides. The nasty stuff is just like you thought...soft brown sludgie stuff. I talked to my Husband last night, and we decided we're not happy with the overall set up on this tank. We bought it used from a guy whobuilt it himself. We've had it for 2 years, first with our Cichlids, then sold them to Edmontonrx7 and went salt. Probably gonna sell it as well as our 65 and just get one 90 gal tank and set it up as a reef. Less hassle and nicer to look at. Kinda sux to sell the Picasso, cuz we just basically got him. We might keep the Eel though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RD. Posted August 16, 2006 Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Before you tear this tank down & sell it, have you considered converting your fish to a cleaner food? The following 100 gallon tank contains Moorish Idol, Regal Angels, Parrot Fish, Butterfly Fish, Naso Tang, Venustus Angel, V. Lionfish, Bicolor Angel, Rock Beauty, Harlequin Tuskfish, Flame Angel, Grey Poma Angel, Indian Ocean Saddleback Butterfly, Magnifica Foxface, Passer Angel, Blue Tang, etc, and every last fish in this tank eats a dry pellet food. Most of these fish will eventually be moved into a much larger tank in the future, but I thought I would post these pics just to give you an example of what can be achieved without using frozen foods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaexotica Posted August 16, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 16, 2006 Regardless, the Eel HAS to eat the fresh stuff...he wont eat pellets. Once I stick anything in that tank, the Picasso and the Eel go phsyco. Its a no win. Amazing pics, lotta fish for a 100g! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlkWolfe Posted August 20, 2006 Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 An external skimmer between the tank and sump (overflow directly to the skimmer from the tank, then into the sump from the skimmer) would help clean the sump up, and the whole tank. Maybe a little $10 clip on fan to keep it cooler, kill the lights in the sump if need be. Personally i'd give the sump a good going over and suck all that brown poop out for the moment. can you say sump-cleaning-day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaexotica Posted August 20, 2006 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2006 Yey...sump day! :thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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