First Saltwater Tank

MarkoD · #1 01-03-2011, 02:59 AM

thanks for the advice. but why should there be no sponge? shouldnt there be something to catch the debris that gets sucked in?

the g6 filter also came with a phosphate filter thing that i put in there.

reefwars · #2 01-03-2011, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkoD

thanks for the advice. but why should there be no sponge? shouldnt there be something to catch the debris that gets sucked in?

not needed your system is perfectly capable of breaking it down with a cuc ( clean up crew) like crabs,worms,snails,urchns,pods ......you can leave the sponge but it would need to be rinsed very frequently or it ruins the risk of hosting ditrius and thus creating nitrates which in turn fuels yoiur algae

paddyob · #3 01-03-2011, 03:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefwars

not needed your system is perfectly capable of breaking it down with a cuc ( clean up crew) like crabs,worms,snails,urchns,pods ......you can leave the sponge but it would need to be rinsed very frequently or it ruins the risk of hosting ditrius and thus creating nitrates which in turn fuels yoiur algae

I ran a canister for 4 years before upgrading my tank, and as long as you do regular maintenance on your filter, as Denny said - clean the sponge, it should be fine.

I NEVER had nitrates/nitrites present in my 20 gallon while running my canister. I am a believer in some sort of filter to catch large particulates (poop, etc). I even run a large sponge in my sump now and would never do any different. It helps keep my sump looking pretty (not that a sump needs to look good - hahaa)... but I would not worry too much about it.

If you start having an issue with NO2/NO3 then perhaps you can address whether or not the sponge is the problem. Just clean it regularly.

MarkoD · #4 01-03-2011, 03:05 PM

completely removed the sponge filter cartridge. and put a bag of carbon in there. so im running carbon now in both cartridge slots.

anyone have any tips on catching damsels? im now trying the inverter bottle trick.

paddyob · #5 01-03-2011, 04:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkoD

completely removed the sponge filter cartridge. and put a bag of carbon in there. so im running carbon now in both cartridge slots.

anyone have any tips on catching damsels? im now trying the inverter bottle trick.

Tip. Remove rock. Scoop with net. Ha ha! They are fast. You won't have a lot of luck otherwise.

Good luck!

MarkoD · #6 01-03-2011, 04:57 PM

lol thats exactly the first thing i tried..... i take the rock out, and they're inside it and dont come out.

they'd rather die than be captured

MarkoD · #7 01-03-2011, 05:50 PM

lol finally got them out. wow what a hassle