Ranger's Tank Journal

[SkiFletch]

Yeah and if a sump's not an option, you can hide the heater behind rocks pretty easily and make sure you paint the back or your tank blue, black, or something to hide the body of the protein skimmer which I assume is a hang-on.

 

[maidenfan]

i've used a piece of black card on the back of my tank didn't want to use paint not sure if it would work for you though just an idea hides all my tubes from my externel and wires from my powerheads got my heater hidden behind my rocks

 

[Ranger]

Yeah, i have one kindof an ocean background on the outside back of my tank. But I meant more internal clutter, and sump isn't an option. I guess I'll try to hide what I can behind rocks and stuff.

 

[Ranger]

Yay, after some setbacks, I finally got the water/LR in the tank. I figure there is about 20 USgal of water in the tank, and I have 10 lbs LR. I plan on getting more within a week, I didn't have enough cash at the time. How are you able to tell that the LR is still... "living" and that it hasn't all died? I'll try to post some pictures soon, I haven't really aquascaped it how I want it yet cuz all the LR isn't there yet.

 

[Mr.September15]

Yay, after some setbacks, I finally got the water/LR in the tank. I figure there is about 20 USgal of water in the tank, and I have 10 lbs LR. I plan on getting more within a week, I didn't have enough cash at the time. How are you able to tell that the LR is still... "living" and that it hasn't all died? I'll try to post some pictures soon, I haven't really aquascaped it how I want it yet cuz all the LR isn't there yet.

You can't really tell if theres life on the rock because most of its microscopic. But what you can see is color, the more color you see the better. Or that's what I've heard.

 

[Ranger]

Just checked my ammonia and nitrite. Ammonia was 2 ppm and Nitrite 0. Normal yes? Just out of curiosity, how long does it take for the ammonia to turn to nitrite? I know the whole nitrogen cycle takes 4-6 weeks.

 

[SkiFletch]

Since you've added established bacteria with your LR, it should take you only 1-2 weeks to catch up and complete the mini-cycle. 2ppm ammonia is a little high but still within "typical" ranges. Keep watching the stats

 

[Ranger]

Should I have my protein skimmer on? Because I turned it on and it keeps on overflowing the...uh "gunk box" really fast and sometimes overflows onto my floor before I notice . Is that normal for a new tank/skimmer?

 

[SkiFletch]

You should have the skimmer running. That behavior however is not normal for a skimmer. One of two things is going on here. Either the air intake valve is closed or set too low, Or the skimmer outlet is restricted too much. Restrictions cause back pressure in the main reaction chamber which forces water up to the top of the cup. What kind of skimmer is it?

 

[Ranger]

You should have the skimmer running. That behavior however is not normal for a skimmer. One of two things is going on here. Either the air intake valve is closed or set too low, Or the skimmer outlet is restricted too much. Restrictions cause back pressure in the main reaction chamber which forces water up to the top of the cup. What kind of skimmer is it?

I don't mean that the water is overflowing, i mean the bubbles are bubbling alot (sounds dumb I know) but like they kindof "leak" out the top of the skimmer and then condense back into water and drip down onto the floor. IDK the kindof skimmer right now cuz I'm at school, but I'll get back to you when I get home.

 

[Ranger]

The skimmer i have is a Cyclone Bak Pak II R Reef Ready. It came highly recommended by a trusted local fish store, and it wasn't one of the higher priced ones they were selling, so I didn't think they were trying to "hustle" me.

EDIT: Upon further inspection (i was looking on the internet for the model) it isn't that exact model, only slightly different. Same manufacturer(sp) though. Actual model is just... Cyclone Bak Pak II Bio Filter. It claims to be a protein skimmer/bio filter. But you need to buy said "bio bales" in order to have the biological filtration. (Sidenote: Are the bio bales worth buying?) A link to one is here -->http/www.aquariumguys.com/cyclonebakpak.html

 

[Redstratplayer1]

The reef ready and bio bale bac pacs are diferent modles

 

[Ranger]

Yeah, I figured that out then edited my post

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I figured that out then edited my post

Ah the wonders of CPR products. CPR does FANTASTIC acrylic work and their sumps and especially overflow boxes are awesome pieces of work. However their skimmer... not so good . Its pump is under-performing and it lacks good discharge control (often leading to overflowed collection cups). If you want a good hang-on skimmer in the states, go with an AquaC Remora, or a Coralife Superskimmer (60g model). That CPR is pretty much a waste of money , sorry to say. Ironically enough with skimmers, you really do get what you pay for. If you do decide to return what you've got and get one of those I reccomended, check out craigslist for used ones, or buy new online.

 

[Ranger]

Called my LFS store about the skimmer (and return of said skimmer ) Said i should give it a few more days for the skimmer to behave normally. I'm going to take his word for it, cuz this guy has been serving me quite well for the past 3 years with my freshwater tanks. However, should my skimmer still be acting like a retard I will follow your advice and snag a coralife superskimmer. Just out of curiosity, could you someone explain to me why the coralife superskimmer and aquaC Remora are good?