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- Jul 14, 2019
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Is there any way you can collect your water from a couple (or more) miles from shore? I think that would probably take care of the Ammonia issue for you - it is almost certainly coming from the run-off from land.
FWIW - you DO NOT need a skimmer or sump. I ran a 60g cube for 22 years using a canister filter and a HOB filter. Nothing more. You will find that your hydrometer is just fine. They tend to be off a bit one way or the other, but consistency is way more important than any exact number. If you can run a fan across the top surface it will hepl to cool things quite a bit. That will increase the dissolved oxygen in the water and by default make things easier for any life you have in there. I, too, would suggest getting rid of the FW "stones" you have. They contribute nothing and could possibly leach harmful chemicals into the water. In easy way to increase oxygen levels in the water is to point a power head up towards the surface to agitate it. The more, the better, as long as it's not spilling over the top! You might alos try collecting sand from a couple hundred yards out so that what you have is actually live. That, too, will help get your cycle going.
If I had access to real ocean water I'd never buy salt again! Once again, I will bet that the Ammonia is due to the FW runoff and not the ocean water itself. Collect it further from shore and that issue will go away all on it's own.
I wish you all the luck in the world! Please feel free to PM me too if I can be of any help. I want you to succeed!!!
Taking water from far offshore is exactly what the guy coaching me suggested but so far I've been unable to find a fisherman to do it. It still feels like cheating though since it doesn't actually solve the problem, it just avoids the problem.