Protein skimmer question

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Hi! I'm new to this forum and I have a question. I have a 55 gallon tank with the following: approximately 50-100 lbs of live rock,30 lbs of live sand, a lattice butterfly, a yellow tang, a lawnmower blenny, a strawberry crab, 2 peppermint shrimp, 2 turbo snails, and numerous very tiny snails. I have 2 maxi-jet 1200 powerheads, an Emporer 330 otb filter and a Cpr bak-pak protein skimmer. Is this too much filtration? Should I remove the Maxi-jets? At this point though I have a couple of small mushrooms, coral doesn't seem to be something I have any luck with, any suggestions?
Thanks,
Renee
 
Hello Renee and WELCOME!

Simple answer is no you do not have too much filtration but some of the equiptment you mentioned is not technically filtration in my opinion.

The live rock and sand do filter as far as the nitrogen cycle goes but definitley not too much here.

The Maxi Jets provide water movement, there may be some filtration if you have sponges over the intakes but again not too much here. Do you have sponges over the intakes?

I would not say the skimmer is overrated for the tank.

Depending on what media you use on the 330 will depend on how it is filtering but again not too much.

There is a bit more information you could provide to help us help you.

Do you know what your water quality levels are? The basic ones are

Amonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
pH
Alkalinity
Specific Gravity/Salinity
Water temperture

Others to consider are

Calcium
Phosphates

If you do then let us know if not then you should get it tested by the local fish store (LFS). Getting some test kits of your own should be considerd.

Also if you tell us a little bit about your lighting that would be good.

It sounds like you have a pretty good basic set up for a fish only tank. There are a few things that we normally do not use if we are trying to keep corals, one being the OTB type filters. These types of filters while great for mechanical filtration can be a source of elevated nitrates in the system. While fish will tollerate some nitrates corals will not.

So again not over filtered but if you are moving towards corals then maybe not the right kind.

@pookiejane wrote:
 
Thank you. I have an Orbit compact flourescent light. Which I really like.
Last time I had my water checked, it was all within normal ranges,including calcium and phosphates. Kinda surprised my fish guy with that, I've been fighting phosphates for about a year. I'll know more about the levels tomorrow, I just did a water change and added the butterfly, I get antsy when I add new stuff, my tank has been known to completely crash on me and kill everything. I've only had one silly damsel for the longest time, because the last crash, about a year ago killed everything. So I've been really skittish ever since. Thanks again, I want to get this going right. Once and for all.
Renee
 
Well you have come to the right place!

I have kept salt water tanks for over 20 years but always with mediocre resutls. After I joined the club, got involved and started to grow my knowledge I have had great success. Ask lots of questions and do lots of research. There are plenty of mysteries here to be solved and some experimentation to be done. You will learn that what works for one does not always work for another but by and by there is a solution to be found.

One other question, where do you get your water for water changes from?

A good source of at least Reverse Osmosis (RO) filter water is pretty much a must. If you can add Deionization (DI) that would be optimal.

There is a long time member and former club president who has a great web site for browsing and research.

Here is a link.

http://www.melevsreef.com/
 
Took s water sample to my fish guy today, all my parameters are within normal ranges except my salinity is just slightly low, but I thought it might be I'm running low, and my phosphates are just sslightly high, but, he said with the addition of the skimmer I should see that go down to normal too.
As for water I just buy distilled. I should probably start getting it from my lfs, but...
Thanks for the link.
Renee
 
@pookiejane wrote:
Took s water sample to my fish guy today said:
Renee,

You really need the exact number's for all of your basic parameters as listed above. Most of the time, lfs's only have time to test a few parameters unless you specifically request them to test more. As suggested above, you would do yourself a big favor by purchasing your own test kit's as well as your own ro/di unit. A good RO/DI unit can be had for around $150 and it is one of the best things you will purchase for your tank with the exception of a refractometer(which brings up another question). Do you currently use a swing arm hydrometer or a refractomer, I ask because hydrometers are known to be inaccurate unless "calibrated" against a reference. Hydrometers can also be incorrectly used, for example... bubbles on the swing arm will render inaccurate results. Sorry to ramble on but I think it's important to test and make your own water, if something happens to your tank in the middle of the night, you will have no test kits to try to figure out what happenned, no known good water supply and possibly a swing arm hydrometer that may or may not be telling you the truth. I'm not saying you won't have problem's if you have these item's, but you will at least give yourself a fighting chance to possibly save your tank in the event something happen's.

Cheers,
Click to expand...
 
I'm in the process of ordering a new test kit. My other one was about 2 years old and I wasn't always sure about the results. I do have a swing arm hydrometer, and though I know they're not the best, so far I have gotten pretty accurate results. My lfs guy came up with the same number I had 1.021 for salinity, but, I do hope to purchase a refractometer in the future. As far as an RO/DI unit, I'm not sure. I get good results with the distilled water and I keep extra on hand for refills between changes, and for changes. I try to always have between 3-5 gallons in the garage just in case. And I get it from the store about a 100 yds away, so unless a calamity happens at the store I Think I'm safe there.... the best laid plans.... Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. Right now, my big purchase plans are a new test kit, and a new heater, the one I have now fluctuates too much and I don't trust it any more. I've had it for about 5 years. I would also like to get some lunar lights. Then a refactometer, and finally, I'd like to get an angel of some type, and a jawfish. Any ideas... do you think I'll be overloading my tank with the addition of the 2 other fish?
Thanks,
Renee
 
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