Need Help With I.d On A Couple Of Items And Filter

[nickc]

i have 3 things i need help i.ding
2 of the items are
http/i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/ni...ng/DSC01184.jpg
and the other is
http/i596.photobucket.com/albums/tt46/ni...ng/DSC01185.jpg

i have also got a filter a fluval 204 and it seems when i switch it on my nitrate goes very high all the time i have the sponges that come with it and also ceramic rings in the trays would it be the external filter causing the problems or something else

i have a 180l tank with around 16 kilo of live rock,red sea prism skimmer,2 power heads,fluval 204 filter,live sand,nitrate 2 is 0 nitrate 3 is 60 ph is 8.1
2 clown fish,small damsel,goby,brittle star,sandsiffter,foxface,humbug,3 hermits,1 turbo snail dont know if that will all help with an answer or not lol

 

[arobinson1984]

What do you mean by "when you switch the filter on?"

How many filters you have on the tank? If u only have 1 then it needs to be on 24-7

Sorry if i've misinterpreted what you wrote

Andy

 

[nickc]

hi
i didnt really use a external filter i had a small internal but i have up graded my tank and needed a bigger filter my nirate was nice and low before switching the filter on,and after the filter had been on for 48 hours i done another test and nitrate went upto 60

 

[arobinson1984]

Are you now running both filters together to seed the bacteria? Or did you put any of the media sponges from your old internal into your external filter?

60ppm isn't particularly high, the recommended guideline is to keep nitrates below 40ppm by doing regular water changes but studies have shown that the majority of fish can withstand nitrates well into 3 figures, I'm not sure if this is the same for marine fish as I have no experience with marine

Andy

 

[mixmaster jay]

its best to use natural filtration in a marine tank like live rock in the tank and in a sump with plenty of water movement the rocks filter the water alot better and you dont get bad spikes from them as you do with spponge and ceramic filtration

this is what i have been told alot as im looking into (well have been for two years) at going to the salty side

 

[mixmaster jay]

Live rock becomes the main biological nitrification base or biological filter of a saltwater aquarium, while at the same time enhances the look of the aquarium and provides shelter for the inhabitants. To better understand what purpose live rock serves in an aquarium, Delbeek explains it like this:

"The use of live rock immediately introduces into the aquarium numerous algae, bacteria and small invertebrates all of which contribute to the overall quality of the aquarium water. Live rock has just as much, if not more, surface area for bacteria than a trickle filter. Since live rock in the aquarium contains various types of bacteria, algae and corals, waste products such as ammonia, nitrate and phosphate can have a number of fates. Ammonia, nitrate and phosphate are readily assimilated by algae and photosynthetic corals growing on and in the rock. Ammonia can also be quickly converted into nitrate by the bacteria on and in the rock. This nitrate can be either absorbed by the algae and corals, or it can be denitrified by bacteria in close proximity to the nitrate producing bacteria."