Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Dear Bob,
I have a 3 month old 125 gal saltwater aquarium set up according to your Live Sand Secrets booklet guidelines. After reading your The New Wave book, I have several questions I was hoping you could answer.
1. Is a protein skimmer a good addition to the live sand filtration systems? On page 234 of your book you state that "Previous methods have favored indiscriminate removal of carbon micelles by foam fractionalization. This prophylactic treatment has perhaps been the center of some invisible problems. We believe the natural system should be tuned to deal with itself without the overuse of conveyer belt removal systems." I was planning to use an Aqua C for phosphate removal and aeration purposes (currently have a small inefficient skimmer), but don't want to limit nutrients necessary for sand microbes. Ammonia and Nitrite tests are 0; Nitrate (not Nitrate-Nitrogen) is 5 ppm; I am waiting for phosphate or oxygen level test kits. The tank is very lightly stocked at this point--only 2 small fish and 3 corals left over from my previous tank, which was taken down after 4 years due to severe algae problems.
2. I have a problem with diatoms on the glass sides of the tank, but no signs of any on the sand surface. This is a maintenance headache! My suspicion is that this is due to very high silicate levels in our tap water. When I test the RO water, the silicate level is still 1.0 ppm. I have ordered a Fluval canister filter and am going to use ROWAphos in one of the baskets, but am not sure if this will do the job. Am I right that silicates might be the problem? Do I also need to get an add-on to my RO system to boost the pH to remove more silicates? I currently use a high silica removal cartridge.
3. What is the proper average temperature for a reef tank and how many degrees of fluctuation should be allowed during a 24 hour period?
4. What is the easiest way to set up and maintain a quarantine tank? I really don't have the space for one, but know I need it. Do corals need to be quarantined?
5. I would like to add a Calcium Reactor in the future. Could you recommend some specific ones for me to look at?
Thank you very much for your help. I enjoyed The New Wave very much and know it will help me in my aquarium pursuits.
Barbara
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your letter and excellent questions.
As for question one, notice the key words "the 'overuse' of conveyer belt removal systems." They were placed there to especially denote the possibility of 'over skimming' a closed system. Not that it happens frequently, but that it should be thought of in sandbed systems, especially those that rely on substrate filtration where bioload is extremely low. There are very few closed systems that would not benefit from common sense levels of protein skimming. However, where the nutrient level is quite minimal, skimming levels may be better begun at early evening hours and stopped in late morning hours. This would increase dissolved oxygen content during the most critical nighttime hours and marginally remove nutrients, preventing the loss of some of the microbe numbers in the sandbed due to insufficient foodstuffs. In a nutshell, it's an environmental balancing act, with the informed aquarist the major controller. I would definitely equip your aquarium with a better skimmer, and the brand mention is among the many I highly recommend. And when it come to picking the correct size skimmer, you may want to read my booklet "Protein Skimming and Activated Carbon Secrets" that is explained in my "Bob's Books" section of my website (www.saltcorner.com).
As for question two, your problem lies in the tap water used for evaporation makeup and water changes. It's caused by an over abundance of silicate. Silica/silicate is used in the structure of their cell walls (diatoms) and an overabundance of this element, usually anything over 0.2 mg/l may cause a rapid increase of this type algae. Note that this small level only needs to be present in the makeup water, not the aquarium itself to generate these quick blooms. Silicate is used quite quickly in the aquarium, hence fast appearing blooms. Make-up water, even if processed through an RO system, will still contain silicate. Very few RO units are affective at removing silicate. In fact, even quality RO units remove only about 85 - 90% of the incoming silicate. To remove all silicate from tap water, one must also utilize the proper combinations of resins in a well-engineered DI unit. I highly recommend the use of a SpectraPure unit, a combination RO and DI unit. In fact, the SpectraPure unit is only brand that I know of that removes 'colloidal' silica. Read my product review of their "Ultimate DI System" in my 'Book and Product Reviews' section of my website.
And yes, the ROWAphos powder will help reduce the silicate, however, it (silicate) should not be introduced in the first place. And as for the product, the correct and only way in my opinion to use it is in a canister filter, which is your goal.
As for question 3, my thoughts on this issue have always been a low of 76 to a high of 82 degrees F, depending upon season, with a daily spread of no more than three degrees.
As for question four, that really depends upon fish size, as you're looking at a thirty-day stay and want to make the specimen comfortable during that timeframe. Usually a ten or twenty gallon will do nicely. If the fish requires a sandbed to tunnel or burrow into, that media should be composed of inert gravel or silica sand, which can be found in many different grain sizes. Otherwise, recommend no sandbed. Calcareous substrates such as aragonite, crushed coral, dolomite and any other calcium carbonate type media should not be used, as they would remove copper if it became necessary to transform this tank into a hospital or treatment tank. Also, bear in mind that if medications are needed, any live rock will have to be removed, so it would probably be best to use inert, non-calcareous items for hiding places while fish are in quarantine. As for filtration, a sponge or corner box filter, or preferably an external hang-on biological filter, along with strong aeration is recommended. And generally, corals do not need to be quarantined, however, a good inspection is necessary to insure unwanted hitchhikers do not gain access. But that is not always feasible, but still a good idea.
As for question five, there are several brands, (Note, readers should contact me directly for my list of quality calcium reactors.) Again, visit my website for reviews of some of them.
Hope this helps.
Bob
