I'm new!

[fit]

Others will know better, however I think you want the skimmer in the middle section. And you may want/need to add another baffle/wall to the last chamber to reduce the chance of bubbles from the skimmer getting to your return pump.

Aerobic bacteria stains are good to convert ammonia to nitrate, and other strains of aerobic bacteria to nitrate. Then you can, if you chose, benefit from anaerobic bacteria that can survive deep inside dense live rock or a deep sand bed, to take nitrogen all the way out the tank, by converting nitrate to nitrogen gas which escapes the tank. Deep sand beds are dangerous because they could theoretically release a large bolus of toxic nitrogen or sulphur some say that will kill everything in your tank.

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[Kevin Says]

Others will know better, however I think you want the skimmer in the middle section. And you may want/need to add another baffle/wall to the last chamber to reduce the chance of bubbles from the skimmer getting to your return pump.

Aerobic bacteria stains are good to convert ammonia to nitrate, and other strains of aerobic bacteria to nitrate. Then you can, if you chose, benefit from anaerobic bacteria that can survive deep inside dense live rock or a deep sand bed, to take nitrogen all the way out the tank, by converting nitrate to nitrogen gas which escapes the tank. Deep sand beds are dangerous because they could theoretically release a large bolus of toxic nitrogen or sulphur some say that will kill everything in your tank.

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I would use the middle section for macroalgae and put the skimmer in the last section. ATO would need to be used to keep the water level constant in the last section. There isn't enough room to add another section in that sump.

 

[Carl]

I'm up in Lincoln Square in Chicago. I'll message [MENTION=1658]Rcunning8[/MENTION] about that Octo. I don't know if I can DIY that vertex. Will definitely pick up some Chaeto or Caulerpa for the refugium (I've got a nice light from my old freshwater days). I read that you kind of grow that stuff in your refugium and then harvest portions and throw them out. Does that mean I could get a cutting from someone who already uses it?

 

[Rcunning8]

I have a ton of macro from a pest free tank u can have


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[Rcunning8]

O and welcome to the community! Strap in this hobby has a lot of ups and downs!


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[Carl]

Well, I pulled out the bioballs and miracle mud. My tank got crazy cloudy and stayed that way overnight. I guess I should have turned off the sump system for that and let everything either settle, or just swapped out all that water before turning on the sump again.

Can anyone advise on a cleanup crew? I've got this stuff grown on the live rock. I don't really understand what it is. I scrubbed off the slime algae from the rock, but after putting it in the tank, I saw this stuff. In the tank it looks white, but I can't tell if it is actually white or if that's from the settling of white dust from the substrate? Either way, I'm worried about how to get rid of it permanently. Will grazers clean up these rocks?

View attachment 19069

 

[Danieldv6]

Lol..

- - - Updated - - -

Lol..

Sorry is just the looks of that rock make me laugh.

 

[jrpark22000]

It's hard to tell what is covering the rock from the pic. Good cleanup crews usually include hermits (I prefer scarllet) and snails (banded trochus eat well, can right themselves, and breed in our tanks.) You can try small emerald crabs but they turn to onmivore as adults, eating whatever in your tank they can catch.

 

[Carl]

That's hilarious. Didn't notice before I posted! Alright, I'll get the water tested and maybe pick up some hermits and snails. Thanks!!

 

[Reeferbrownies]

If you have not done so, do a large water change, a decent skimmer will help.

 

[Carl]

Picking up a skimmer this weekend. Anybody know of someone selling a used RO/DI system? I'm probably going to buy this one refurbished if I can't find one local.

http://spectrapure.com/Refurbished-90-GPD-RODI-System

Thanks!!

 

[wrasse]

Check this one out
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-plus-ro-di-system-75gpd-1.html
its new
on sale
free shipping
an this is one of the main things they do.

 

[Carl]

Hi everyone. So I'm two weeks into my tank and I've come a long way. Here's some updates:

- Removed the bioballs and miracle mud from the sump
- Hung my lights.
- Got a used Coralife 125 protein skimmer. I'm having trouble getting the pump to work; when I plug it in it doesn't make any noise or vibrate at all. I have a couple of pumps here, so I may try to see if I can outfit it with one of them.
- Got my water tested and it is interesting. Phosphates are at 1 (ppm?), which isn't so bad I don't think. But nitrates are astronomical - 140. I'm hoping the protein skimmer keeps them from getting any worse and I can use water changes to bring the nitrates back down to earth.
- Picked up some cleaners - 10 Astrea snails and 10 red leg cortez hermits.

Watching all the activity from them has been super exciting for me already. I'm very eager to get my nitrates under control while I continue cycling. I hope I haven't made an error keeping the original sand...

Here's an updated picture

Thanks again for all the help!

View attachment 19121

 

[madjoe]

Wow i cant see sand being that bad . Did u remove the glass tops to allow for gas exchange im thinking bioballs and stiring up the mud maybe of spiked things give it some time see what happens just dont stock it till it settles down

 

[Carl]

Yeah, I took off the glass once I hung the lights

 

[jrpark22000]

agreed, with all the work you've done on it give it time to settle down. Don't get too excited with the numbers, instead just keep testing. This hobby is always best if you don't react quickly to one thing or another. Give it time to settle down.

 

[Carl]

So, I'm thinking about getting a hang-on-back protein skimmer and deactivating my sump system for the time being. The reason is that the hang-on-back sump system is very loud and doens't have any filter media in it at the moment, so I don't think I'm getting any benefit out of it. I've got one Hydor 650 running, so I'm getting some good flow. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

 

[Kevin Says]

So, I'm thinking about getting a hang-on-back protein skimmer and deactivating my sump system for the time being. The reason is that the hang-on-back sump system is very loud and doens't have any filter media in it at the moment, so I don't think I'm getting any benefit out of it. I've got one Hydor 650 running, so I'm getting some good flow. Anybody have any thoughts on this?

If you are going to stay in the hobby for a while, that hang on back protein skimmer will just be waste of money. It won't work long term. Also, I would consider adding a bottle of Microbacter7 or Waste-away to speed up the process.

 

[Carl]

Hi everyone! Just a quick update. I'm about three weeks in (I think, maybe 4?). I'm extraordinarily excited. My plan is still to experiment with this setup for a few months and then build a custom setup if my fiance and I think we want to commit long term. We're imagining the smallest reef ready tank we can get with a sump/refugium system. Anyway!

Things are going really well. I'm up to a Coralife 125 skimmer that I'm hanging on the back, for now. The sump system is just still too loud to run. It gurgles like mad, has a waterfall sound at the bottom, and the return pump I think is just too old. For livestock, I've got 10 Astrea snails, 2 turbo snails and 10 red left cortez hermits. Also, one sweet Kenya Tree graciously gifted from Irsug1. Thinkgs are looking very good, though I still have this mysterious white fur that collects on things that don't get touched very often. It comes off at the slightest touch, so I suspect much of it is coming off when the shells of my cleanup crew brush it. Water flow seems very high to me, but I don't actually know how to gauge it (or control it...).

Also, I'm still having a little trouble siphoning out some of the debris on the sand. Any tips? I feel like I shouldn't disrupt the sand bed very much, but when I bring the siphon down to the gunk the sand always gets disrupted. I'd love a little advice from those who know!

Here's a pic!
View attachment 19150

 

[IHaveCrabs]

Hi everyone! Just a quick update. I'm about three weeks in (I think, maybe 4?). I'm extraordinarily excited. My plan is still to experiment with this setup for a few months and then build a custom setup if my fiance and I think we want to commit long term. We're imagining the smallest reef ready tank we can get with a sump/refugium system. Anyway!

Things are going really well. I'm up to a Coralife 125 skimmer that I'm hanging on the back, for now. The sump system is just still too loud to run. It gurgles like mad, has a waterfall sound at the bottom, and the return pump I think is just too old. For livestock, I've got 10 Astrea snails, 2 turbo snails and 10 red left cortez hermits. Also, one sweet Kenya Tree graciously gifted from Irsug1. Thinkgs are looking very good, though I still have this mysterious white fur that collects on things that don't get touched very often. It comes off at the slightest touch, so I suspect much of it is coming off when the shells of my cleanup crew brush it. Water flow seems very high to me, but I don't actually know how to gauge it (or control it...).

Also, I'm still having a little trouble siphoning out some of the debris on the sand. Any tips? I feel like I shouldn't disrupt the sand bed very much, but when I bring the siphon down to the gunk the sand always gets disrupted. I'd love a little advice from those who know!

Here's a pic!
View attachment 19150

Good luck! This is a great and interesting hobby. As for the noisy overflow and sump, check out Bean Animal overflow. They are fantastic but hard to run on anything but a larger tank due to requiring 3 drain holes (1 full siphon handles 99% of the water flow silently, 2 standard stand pipe that the remaining 1% trickles through silently, and the 3rd is a stand pipe that is for emergency. If the full siphon gets clogged, the first stand pipe (#2) becomes a full siphon and #3 makes th4 gurgling noise so you know and can fix it.

When I get home today I'll send a picture.

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