My NEW 60L Jireh Eco Marine System

[DJC80]

Hi guys,

Here are some pics of my new 60ltr Eco Marine System (well..... the beginning of what will be a marine system, hopefully). Purchased this IOS system from Jireh on the weekend, it now 6 days old. 5kg Live sand, 5kg live rock (pre-cured), Protein Skimmer, build in return pipe with adjustable/directional output, LED lighting. I'm un-certain of what makes/models the Skimmer and pump are as it was a pre-installed IOS system (will look into it and report once i know).

Purchased a chiller yesterday (AL60 - East Coast Marine).

Green Algae has just started growing on some of the LR, not sure if its the good kind or bad, will do some testing tonight of water parameters and see whats happening. Was told in the LFS that this particular type of set up you can add l livestock immediately (no thanks), my last Marine Setup back in Australia took me 8 weeks before anything went in the tank. Also have some small white looking ants?!? crawling around the live rock.. hmmm

As you can see, i have no idea how the Protein skimmer is supposed to work (advise needed), no foam building up in the catchment area, only water??

And the digital temp reader inside the tank (cheap stick on one) is read 91f (32 celsius) yet my chiller is reading 28 celsius.... STRANGE things happening.

Hoping to eventually keep soft corals and just a few marine fish.

 

 

 

[DottyClown]

Hi bro,

I'm no expert myself, but allow me to make some comments.

I think the AL60 chiller may be a little under-powered for a 60L tank.  Monitor how frequently it is kicking in and how long it runs each time.  then compare with others to see if your chiller running time is acceptable.

The Green Algae growth seems a sign that your tank is cycling.  (Even though you are using live sand and rocks)  You made a wise decision not to add livestock immediately.  You saved a fish from unnecessary stress.  Good for you!

The white looking ants are probably Copepods, which are good.

Adjust the skimmer height and bubble size to get foam instead of water in the cup.

Barring inaccuracies of the digital temp reader inside the tank and chiller's thermocouple.  The digital temp reader is reading the temp of water inside the tank, but your chiller is reading the temp inside your chiller.  So it will never be the same.  If you can, do an external temp probe so that the chiller measures the water temp of your tank.

 

Happy reefing

 

[DJC80]

Hi bro,

I'm no expert myself, but allow me to make some comments.

I think the AL60 chiller may be a little under-powered for a 60L tank.  Monitor how frequently it is kicking in and how long it runs each time.  then compare with others to see if your chiller running time is acceptable.

The Green Algae growth seems a sign that your tank is cycling.  (Even though you are using live sand and rocks)  You made a wise decision not to add livestock immediately.  You saved a fish from unnecessary stress.  Good for you!

The white looking ants are probably Copepods, which are good.

Adjust the skimmer height and bubble size to get foam instead of water in the cup.

Barring inaccuracies of the digital temp reader inside the tank and chiller's thermocouple.  The digital temp reader is reading the temp of water inside the tank, but your chiller is reading the temp inside your chiller.  So it will never be the same.  If you can, do an external temp probe so that the chiller measures the water temp of your tank.

 

Happy reefing

 

Hey DC,

I had a feeling the chiller may be under-sized after doing more research i found out you want a chiller that can handle much more than the capacity of the tank! No a cheap mistake to make  . Thanks for the advice though, so far i see (whilst set at 27.5) it kicks in for about 20 mins an hour, but im looking to get the temp down to 26 which i highly doubt this chiller will do without working 24/7.

Do you think the skimmer needs to be higher or lower?(adjust the skimmer height?) I have a valve which i can turn up and down, but if turn it up too much the water just flows into the catchment chamber (but no foam). 

The chiller has a prob which is in the water reading the temp, should i assume the probe is correct and the $9 stick up temp gauge in the tank is totally out?

Thanks DC, always looking for people in know.

[DJC80]

First water parameter test (1st week in cycling):

Ammonia - 0.25

Nitrate - 40

PH - 7.8

Where should PH sit for a marine tank?

[DottyClown]

Skimmer is tricky. Did they give you the manual? If I were to guess, set the height higher. The valve I guess is the air-intake valve that controls the bubble-size. So make the bubbles smaller.

On the temperature, maybe get another thermometer and compare the readings?

[I love angel]

Chiller return outlet is at the same compartment as the chiller pump, you may try to put the chiller return outlet into the display tank to see whether it solves the issue.

28C and 30C should be able to feel it by your hand.

Edited February 4, 2016 by I love angel

[tuajia]

Looking at your skimmer, seems like your bubble strength is huge, so if you're not sure how to tune it down, just lift the skimmer out of the water more. Ideally the bubbles should be breaking near the surface but not overflowing into the cup yet (eventually when it does catch stuff it will overflow into the cup). Then monitor it on how fast it fills up. Some people like to skim a lot so their cup fills up every day while some set to "dry" skim which fills it once a week.

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

[DJC80]

Chiller return outlet is at the same compartment as the chiller pump, you may try to put the chiller return outlet into the display tank to see whether it solves the issue.

28C and 30C should be able to feel it by your hand.

Will try that out tonight, I placed it that way to keep the tank looking as tidy as possible, as im learning, sometimes the ideal way (when dealing with an IOS) is not always the neatest way.  thanks bro

 

[DJC80]

Looking at your skimmer, seems like your bubble strength is huge, so if you're not sure how to tune it down, just lift the skimmer out of the water more. Ideally the bubbles should be breaking near the surface but not overflowing into the cup yet (eventually when it does catch stuff it will overflow into the cup). Then monitor it on how fast it fills up. Some people like to skim a lot so their cup fills up every day while some set to "dry" skim which fills it once a week.

 

Sent from my E6653 using Tapatalk

 

 

Hey Tuajia - yes the main tube bubble strength is very strong, when I turn it down via the outlet valve, the water/bubbles don't reach the catchment cup so I turned it up. The issue now is the cup fills with water and not bubbles (need to find a happy medium I guess). I'll raise the level of the Skimmer see if that helps. Thanks for your advice mate.

Another thought..... As here is no livestock and only live rock/sand - would there be much to skim in the first place?

[tuajia]

Hey there, considering your tank is still cycling, there will definitely be skimmate. I noticed my skimmer started collecting less only after the the tank became stable 6 months later

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[JasonLim]

Hey Tuajia - yes the main tube bubble strength is very strong, when I turn it down via the outlet valve, the water/bubbles don't reach the catchment cup so I turned it up. The issue now is the cup fills with water and not bubbles (need to find a happy medium I guess). I'll raise the level of the Skimmer see if that helps. Thanks for your advice mate.

Another thought..... As here is no livestock and only live rock/sand - would there be much to skim in the first place?

Dont worry about the bubbles or foam not reaching your collection cup, the dirt or foam will soon build up in the chamber and the continuous bubbling will push the skim mate up and into the collection cup. 

Btw, is that a air stone skimmer you are using? If so, I will advise you to look into a reliable hob skimmer suitable for your nano tank size, hob may not be eye pleasing but getting a more reliable skimmer helps alot if you plan to increase your bioload in the future. 

[DJC80]

Dont worry about the bubbles or foam not reaching your collection cup, the dirt or foam will soon build up in the chamber and the continuous bubbling will push the skim mate up and into the collection cup. 

Btw, is that a air stone skimmer you are using? If so, I will advise you to look into a reliable hob skimmer suitable for your nano tank size, hob may not be eye pleasing but getting a more reliable skimmer helps alot if you plan to increase your bioload in the future. 

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the advice, more patience needed my end. The Skimmer is as per the photo below - it's a Boyu Mini Protein Skimmer 310. Do you recommend a better skimmer (that size wise, would fit the chamber it currently sits in)? or is this suitable?

This skimmer came with the setup so I thought I'd see how it handles the load before judging its performance.

Thanks Jason

 

[JasonLim]

Hi Jason,

Thanks for the advice, more patience needed my end. The Skimmer is as per the photo below - it's a Boyu Mini Protein Skimmer 310. Do you recommend a better skimmer (that size wise, would fit the chamber it currently sits in)? or is this suitable?

This skimmer came with the setup so I thought I'd see how it handles the load before judging its performance.

Thanks Jason

 

Ahhh i see.. I personally have not tried any boyu products before, will not be able to comment on its performance. However, i judge a skimmer based on the amount of fine bubbles it is producing, i believe thats important. 

For a better brand of in chamber skimmer, perhaps you can check out the Innovative Marine Ghost Protein Skimmer? You will be able to find it at Fresh n Marine or Madpetz i think. 

[Idly]

I've tried this skimmer before.good skim.just need to adjust the level of the cup to get the right point.

[DJC80]

I've tried this skimmer before.good skim.just need to adjust the level of the cup to get the right point.

Hi Idly,

How long did it take for your skimmer to break / start skimming? I've read this could take between a few days to a few weeks..

 

[Idly]

Hi Idly,

How long did it take for your skimmer to break / start skimming? I've read this could take between a few days to a few weeks..

 

hi bro!its around 2 to 3 days.the skimmate is brown.

[DJC80]

hi bro!its around 2 to 3 days.the skimmate is brown.

1 week today and no skim mate

[DJC80]

Update on skimmer (Boyu Mini Protein Skimmer 310)  - Still not creating foam / skim mate in catchment cup. Played around with it last night few an hour or so. Few things i did to see if i could get it skimming properly:

- Change height of skimmer (raised the whole skimmer height in the rear IOS).

- Water outlet on Skimmer now above water level

- played around with cup positioning (lower, higher etc etc).

No of the above changed the outcome... still not skimming.... Considering buying the Innovative Marine Ghost Protein Skimmer as Jason advised me above but not sure if i should give this skimmer another week to see if it starts to create skimmate?? thoughts

 

[Boonboy]

Not sure if it will help... You may want to turn down the flow of the water exiting the skimmer. This will allow the water to have more contact time with the bubbles.

[Clement Chen]

Sometimes it takes hours for the bubbles to build up to get the skimmate. So what I do. If it is not skimming after a few hours I raise the water level a bit den wait again

[DJC80]

Sometimes it takes hours for the bubbles to build up to get the skimmate. So what I do. If it is not skimming after a few hours I raise the water level a bit den wait again

If i lower the skimmer will that act as the same as raising the water level around the skimmer? Or do you mean raise the water level inside the skimmer by increasing the power or the water flow going into the skimmer? Sorry about the question, one confused rookie here.

[Clement Chen]

It depends on ur skimmer. If u can raise the power or water flow den go ahead. If not u lower the skimmer a bit.

Do u run carbon as well? Last time when I rum a nano skimmer I find when I newly add in carbon it might hinder the skimmer for awhile.

[Clement Chen]

But if u got budget n space can consider the ghost skimmer. Have heard it is a good skimmer

[DJC80]

It depends on ur skimmer. If u can raise the power or water flow den go ahead. If not u lower the skimmer a bit.

Do u run carbon as well? Last time when I rum a nano skimmer I find when I newly add in carbon it might hinder the skimmer for awhile.

Yes running Carbon, have done since day 1 - now that 1 week has passed and the skimmer still has no skimmate, im questioning the skimmer.
Although, new tank with LR and Live Sand, no livestock yet.

[DJC80]

But if u got budget n space can consider the ghost skimmer. Have heard it is a good skimmer

Went to a store yesterday, supplier out of stock till April. Will need to find something else