the sand in the bottom of my tank started to turn a dark brown color. it is really not the sand its the shells and stuff in the sand. what should i do?
i had the tank for about 7 months. i havent put anything in ther but some horse shue and some starter fish plus some live rock. i have a hang on skimmer (D & D) i think that is the problem. i i have a coral life in the sumpskimmer on the way. please help. the tank helps my PTSD.
first of all get the horse shoe out. LFS people(in general) are jerks and worry only about the bottom line. Horse shoes should never be sold to reef tank owners, they require much more room than a tank can provide and they do not enjoy the reef environment as much as the LFS would like you to think.
i doubt the skimmer is the problem. It is probably just some gunk that has taken hold. I think in time it will go away but just in case:
you want to stop using tap water right away, it will end up causing you great difficulty in the hobby. You need to be using ro/di water for everything (water changes and top offs). I would suggest doing several water changes a week for a month or so to try to decrease the amount of crap introduced to the tank with the tap water.
The Following User Says Thank You to PhotoJohn For This Useful Post:
I agree with carmie and photojohn, some municipal waters contain chlorine or chloramines,nitrates,phosphates,and silicates. So it was probably okay for a while, but as time passes the undesirable things in tap water compound. It,s definitely better to use ro
The Following User Says Thank You to brodie1516 For This Useful Post:
t bird, listen to all the people on here they give great honest advice, dont listen to much to the guys in the shops,
like photojohn say,s they need to make the bottom line and make profit, if they see you coming and you look like a beginner to the hobby with not much knowledge they will rip you off.
i have to agree with the others on this one, stop using tap water right away, only use r/o d/i water in your tank.
members on this site have no monetary gain from giving you advice, so there advice will always be honest to the question you have asked
and also remember to put in as much detail as poss,
also remember its worth testing your tank parameters very regulary on new tank set ups,or if your experiencing problems. i tested mine everyday for the first six months, at the same time of day,
I have read that one of the universities in California has a program to supply filtered seawater to people. Not sure which one, but if I were you I would check with the University of Puget Sound and see if they have some kind of program like that. Otherwise get yourself a RO\Di unit or start to use distilled water for top offs.
__________________ Henry
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I am not sure about this, just speculation: I used to live in the pacific northwest, it is far from a reef environment. The water that may be collect naturally is probably drastically different from the water found in tropical areas. Not to mention Seattle doesnt have the cleanest water ever lol. Cold water in general is more rich in biologicals than tropical waters. This is why most of the great fisheries are in cold water (deadliest catch ) Putting the nutrient rich water into a reef system could cause two different outcomes, i suspect. Either everything will enjoy the nutrient lift and the systems biofiltration will keep pace or the system will crash parameters wise due to the excessive nutrients...keep in mind this is just speculation.
The Following User Says Thank You to PhotoJohn For This Useful Post:
dirty sand 
to TR. 
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