AC50/70 Filter questions, when to rinse/replace

[esacjack]

I know beneficial bacteria is housed in part of the included filter. But I'm curious if I should be rinsing the carbon bag, or anything else off? My Nitrates have never really settled down in the month and a few weeks I've been running the tank, and I'm wondering if its due to my filter. My current bioload consists of the following;

1 Emerald Crab

1 Fancy Damsel

2 small snails (type unknown)

1 slightly larger snail

1 Mushroom frag with 4 mushrooms

2 Zoa frags, total of 4 polyps.

1 paly frag 12 polyps

1 Torch Coral 3 heads

1 Kenya Tree

1 Neon Pineapple Tree

2 Frags of GSP

Here are this mornings water tests. A 30% water change was done last night at about 5PM, tests taken this afternoon, 12:00PM. Water tests taken with Nutrafin Reagent kits

Nitrites: Near zero, almost totally clear, with only a very very VERY slight hint of pink, If i had to err on the side of caution, I would say 0.1

Nitrates: Between 5 and 10 on the color scale

pH: 7.5*

Ammonia: 0.6

[mFrame]

Can you tell us a bit more about the setup (equipment list, tank size, etc.) and how long the tank has been running?

[jestep]

Nitrates wont go down on their own unless you have an effective nitrate removal mechanism like a deep sand bed, biopellets, or macroalgae. Nitrates are primarily removed via water changes and thoughtful stocking on small tanks.

If you are reading any nitrites or ammonia at all, it means your tank isn't completely cycled, and realistically you should not have any coral or inverts in it. Cycling typically takes 30 days unless you started with very good quality live rock, in which you may see a soft cycle or no cycle. It can take longer if water changes were performed during the cycle or if there was not enough waste in the tank to build up the necessary bacteria that converts ammonia into nitrates.

Edited October 17, 2012 by jestep

[esacjack]

The tank has been running 6 weeks.

It's a 3.5 gallon pico with RealReef™ Rock purchased from Aquatek, with a 3 inch sand bed of CaribSea Black and White Aragonite. Running an AC50 filter with water purchased from AT. Im running a secondary Koralia Nano powerhead, an Eheim Heater (50w), TrueLumens LEDs, and a CF 50/50 that was included with the unit. The tank itself is a JBJ Picotope.

I've built a pico refugium out of the included filter, but have been having some problems locating Chaeto to put in it.

I perform water changes in the following frequency :

Sunday : 30%

Wed: 10%

Fri: 10%

I'm dosing Reef Carbonate and a diluted lugols solution. I'm feeding PE Mysis to the fish and torch. And coral frenzy for the Zoa's/Shrooms/Palys/Trees.

For timers I'm using a TrippLite Timer on a Sunrise/Sunset cycle (7:35am Actinics come on, 8:15 main lights come on. Mains off at 6:57, actinics off at 7:45)

Edited October 17, 2012 by esacjack

[victoly]

What's your feeding schedule ? Also, your water change schedule is pretty aggressive, you might consider reducing the quantity to 10-15% weekly. If you're still having nitrate issues at 50% weekly water changes, it's not an export problem, it's an input problem.

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[jestep]

Ok, good info.

So going back to the original question, bacteria is what primarily breaks down the ammonia, to nitrite, and then to nitrate. Carbon is for removing toxins, heavy metals, and other undesirable compounds. It doesn't inherently remove ammonia or nitrite. However, if you leave it in there long enough, it will build up beneficial bacteria and become part of the biological filtration system. Since it's not normally intended for this purpose, I would suggest replacing it ever 30 days or so if you want to use it. It's not always necessary, but I would run it in you case since you have soft coral which use chemical warfare to stunt or kill other coral around them. I would replace it monthly.

I wouldn't do anything to the tank or filtration right now. I also wouldn't add any supplement to the tank except topoff water. Just leave it be and let everything settle in, ideally for a few months. Also, if you don't have a really good test kit for it, don't even think about dosing in a tank that small. Nonetheless, I would just leave the water alone for a long time.

I would get on a steady and consistent water change schedule of 10% per week. It's such a small tank that you may want to do a gallon per week, but you need to make sure your tank and makeup water are perfectly matched in salinity, calcuim, temperature, and alkalinity if you change this much or you're going to stress everything.

I would reduce feeding to 2 to 3 times per week max. In such a small tank it's going to be tough to maintain a balance.

Lastly, get the AC50 going with chaeto if you can. That should be a great addition to the tank and will go a long way in controlling nitrate and increasing overall stability.

Anyway to sum it up, I think your best bet is to not mess with anything except getting on scheduled weekly water changes and let the tank settle in for a few months. After that you can decide if you need to dose anything, but you shouldn't assuming you are getting good makeup water. Watch the coral and inverts closely for signs of stress. Check the ammonia and nitrite daily. You're pretty much committed at this point, hopefully the rock has enough bacteria to prevent a full cycle, but you're definitely in one right now.

Edited October 17, 2012 by jestep

[victoly]

You might also cease feeding the coral, all the ones you listed will do just fine without it, and the added nutrients are going to be problematic in a small tank.

Also, your photoperiod is a little on the long side. People can get away with those periods with LEDs that ramp up and down, and aren't full intensity for that the entire time. You may be ok, but if you get nuisance algae problems, light intensity and length may be part of the problem.

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[bige]

Both these guys nailed it. I would recommend the same.

Edited October 18, 2012 by bige

[esacjack]

thanks guys! I'll be cutting back my light timers. Currently, I'm only feeding twice/three times a week. I had my water tests re-verified by Aquatek yesterday, and apparently my tests are coming in on the high end of the results. The tests done in-store actually came back right on the money, with the exception of my salinity being 23, which i compensated for during this mornings top-off.