hello all, i am currently converting a 30 gal brackish (.008) to a full marine, i have kept the 2 filters , ac 50, and penguin 150 for bacteria reasons and have added a fluval 405 to it. this filter is going to be used for a 65 gal later. i bought the live aragonite substrate and a boyu dg-2516 protein skimmer, as well as 6 lb of liverock with some macro algae (i think he said it was) on it. used friends red sea sea salt for raising salinity, seachem buffer and purple up also. this is the second day and things look good other than a crap load of bubbles in the tank from the protein skimmer. is this normal for the startup of a protein skimmer, if not how could i possibly fix it. i am going to wait 2 weeks at least before trying to put anything in there as far as life. by then i hope to upgrade lighting. currently using a 50/50 t8 flourescent. i will keep posted what is happening and how its all going, ill put up some pics tomorrow for everybody. any comments, advice and yes even criticism is welcome, i am looking forward to this saltwater journey.
first saltwater attempt
- Thread starter goldfish guy
- Start date
New protien skimmers can take a week or so to break-in. Until the break in period is over, you can expect that it will not be working as it should.
Other than that, the best advice I can give you is read as much as possible and research, research research.
Other than that, the best advice I can give you is read as much as possible and research, research research.
perfect, thanks a lot, im planning a sump build and am currently researching what design and features i need to incorperate into it, thanks for the advice
What is the skimmer brand? Sometimes with a tank this small, oversized skimmers can also plague you with micro bubbles.
My advice, good skimmer, and if it is still a tank size issue you get a bubble trap.
My advice, good skimmer, and if it is still a tank size issue you get a bubble trap.
yeah i was thinking that the skimmewr might be to big, but its been a week and the bubble broblem is gone, the skimmer is bedding nicely i can see the formation of the protein in the collection cup tube, not quite there yet but close, i have added a orange spot watchman goby, buddy gave me a hermit crab thing, some button pollops, kenya tree, and waving hand, all were small pieces that had fallen off his rock while moving and cleaning, so far so good, have had these for about 6 days now and their all doing well, as far as i can tell, i also added a torch frag and some sand pollops, everything is opening nicely and seems to be staying where it is, i know it might have been to early for this stuff but it was mostly free or cheap, might as well see if the tank can contain life yet, waiting for more liverock and thats it, no more fish or corals till i get more liverock, things seem to be going ok and i dont want to mess it all up, liverock and thats it for a while, hoping to get pics up soon.