Flow?

I currently have the following in my tank and was wondering your guys input on if I need to add more flow or even upgrade the PH I have now.

I have

2 RIO 1400's
1 AquaClear 70 HOB filter
Odyseaa PS75 Skimmer

I have no idea on how to calculate if this is enough or not. It is around 70-75 gallon tank and you can see how I have it setup in my pictures. I have one PH on each side the HOB filter on one side and the Skimmer on the other.

I am not running a sump either at the moment. I seem to have a small Cyano problem but it does seem to be going away with me feeding less.

Should I supply more Flow?

TIA

 

I'm not an expert on water movement or flow, but cyano often means too much flow. What are your parameters? They may give a clue into the cyano problem.

 

I suggest more flow - Cyano can not be in your tank if it can't hold on.

 

I did a test lastnight...


Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate 5.0ppm
Calcium 600
Phosphate 0
PH 8.1

 

It's actually the opposite that is true. When you have stagnant water or very low flow, you will find cyano in your tank. What happens is that the detritus will settle on the sand and rock and there is not enough flow to break that up and algae and cyano will form to feed off that. When you lift cyano up off the base it's growing on, you will always find a lot of detritus and bio sediment underneath it. It's also a good idea to get a turkey baster and blast the areas of rock that don't get much water flow to prevent buildup of waste there.
Many people suggest using Koralias to add flow, which I do too. I also suggest Seios too. Tunze or Vortechs are awesome but are very expensive.

 

It seems to be mainly on one rock that is kinda of hinding in the tank. I dont want to move the rock because I looks good where it is but I was thinking of buying a low powered small PH to place in that area.

Or should I just feed less for a week or two to see if it dies off?

 

Ca is a little on the high side. What are your dKH and Mg levels? Those are keys to successful Ca levels. Gradually raise your pH to ~8.3 over the next week too. My basic thought is that larger Rios are used to returns since they use strong suction to push water, where others (like Koralia) churn the water in a less of a "direct blasting" way and distribute the water in a more natural "wave current" way. But definitely add more flow. For a 70G, I would get a couple Koralia 3's and maybe a couple 2's to push water in your tank more.

 

I use a few VorTech MP40's set on wave - it was nearly $1,500 in pumps but a worthwhile investment. they have a smaller MP20 I think its around $300 or so - very nice reliable pump tho !!

 

Feed less to slow it down. Feeding should be once every other day and jsut enough for the fish to eat within a minute time. I personally would ditch the Rios and get Koralias or Seios and have them pointed offset towards each other at each corner of the tank, if that makes sense. If you get a small PH and point it a the rock, it will just move the sand all over the place.
Try not to get too hung up on the looks of rock placement. I loved the way my rockscape looked but I had to move it around a bit when my anemone needed to get moved up in the tank for a while to stimulate its zooxan growth when I first got it. Now I like how the rocks look even more than before. It may be incidental, but I have seen much coralline growth after moving the rock too.

 

Put two Koralia 3's in there along with one or even two of your current pumps and you should be good to go. One of my 75gal tanks has two koralia 3's and a quietone 1200 for flow (and two rio 2800's for sump and skimmer).

Here's a good deal for them, free shipping and four available Hydor Koralia 1 Aquarium Circulation Pump 3.5W - 400gph - eBay (item 260332888365 end time Jan-13-09 13:18:55 PST)