Carbon, GFO, Biopellets, Skimmer, Algae Scrubber, Ozone, Oh My!

[MPDBullitt]

Working on a new setup.....

It's 90gal mixed reef mostly LPS, 29 gallon sump - no refugium, 2-3" of medium sand, 100-150 lbs of marshall island rock and might as well plan for heavy bioload just in case.

So I'm starting from scratch pretty much. Consider it a stand and two tanks at this point. I have access to pretty much everything given the amount of reactors, biopellet reactor, "3 cube a day" algae scrubber I built a while back, etc...

But what do I run? All of it? Does some of it not contradict or inhibit the effectiveness of other efforts? Yes i know there's a ton of threads with all kinds of theories....but I want to hear yours please!

I have.....

2 - 400w metal halide setups with batwings(too much)
2 - 250w metal halide setups with one spider style and one hamilton style
1000w titanium heater and controller
TLF 550 reactor
TLF 150 reactor
Reef Octopus 400ml biopellet reactor
Homebrew algae scrubber with pump that works great on current tank
Old school ozone equipment (no idea how to use it)
ATO system ready to plug n play after i decide on container/tank
150lbs of sand, 200lbs of marshall island rock

undecided on skimmer.....maybe the Reef Oct SRO2000

already have my dual 44gal brute mixing station with 5 stage 150gpd and Mak40 set up and worth every penny

 

[MPDBullitt]

and considering dosing 2 part at some point down the line as well....

 

[BassandReef]

I am sold on biopellets. Starting with them is easier than adding them later.

 

[MPDBullitt]

That section of the project is definitely in the plans along with a good skimmer.....the rest is really where i need the opinions. I plan on running about 200ml of warner marine ecobak pellets right from the beginning....i think.

 

[sucker_fish]

I have heard lots of good things regarding algae scrubbers, I think I would start off with that and if it didn't work out then use a reactor with Gfo. Also dosing 2 part is a plus. When u get it up and running I may have a free frag or 2 for you if you're willing to make the journey into Covington.

 

[neuroslicer]

All of these items are used to keep waste levels low (NO3, PO4) and the problems that arise with high waste levels, so how many of them you choose to use really depends on what kind of bioload you're expecting to hold. I've got a deep sand bed of fine aragonite, a GFO reactor, running carbon, skimming, growing chaeto in the refugium, and running an algal turf scrubber. the first five on the list are standard for me, but adding the last (ATS) really makes a difference. I stay away from dosing and biopellets for a variety of reasons, but also because I keep my fish load (and feeding) low (one frozen cube a day).

 

[MPDBullitt]

I definitely believe in the ATS, my friend and I built it after fighting tons of green hair algae and red cyano on occasion. The ATS had my tank beautiful in two weeks which i thought was extremely fast. I built a "3 cube" size scrubber knowing i would be upgrading.

I hear some people say that running carbon is necessary to have your skimmer run well, i hear people say carbon is a waste of money.

I guess right now i'm thinking skimmer, biopellets, and possibly the ATS to start with......then explore carbon, gfo, purigen etc as my load goes up.

 

[MPDBullitt]

Trying to decide on a skimmer...the following will fit nicely in my sump design, it's just a matter of price vs performance vs "bigger is better?"

Reef octopus NWB150 - $225 rated at 150 gallons - standard needle wheel with Haliea 2000 pump

Reef octopus SRO 1000 int - $320 rated at 125 gallons, next line up, water blaster 1000 pump

Reef octopus SRO 2000 int - $410 rated at 180 gallons, water blaster 2000 pump

In Jay's original build he used a xp1000 on his 120, his reasoning was bigger didn;t work well on his maintained system. But a lot of people swear by the +1 ideology saying you should buy a skimmer at least one "level" above your tank size.

Thoughts?

 

[sucker_fish]

I think the +1 size on the skimmers is just something that has stuck around as a habit from when skimmers were not as efficient as they are now. With all the improvements in skimmers in the last 12 yrs or so it may not be necessary to get a bigger rated skimmer now days. Not sure if you can really over skim or not, so the worst case scenario may be wasting money that could be used somewhere else on a bigger skimmer. Then again there may be drastic problems with over skimming, I'm no expert but I'm sure someone else can chime in. Personally I am running a Sri Xp 2000 on my 90 with a 30 gal. Sump and it pulls all kinds of dark skimmate out I have it set to skim tick though so it only fills the cup about 1 time per couple weeks.

 

[OneReef]

I'm running a Super Reef Octopus SSS1000 on my 120 and it runs like a champ. It has a Bubble Blaster 1000 on it I think. Best pump I ever had besides a Red Dragon. I have a medium bioload and it has no problem keeping up. I have never wished that I had more skimmer size. I think it would be perfect for a 90 of any bioload.

As far as filtration media, this is just my opinion but I might just run EcoBak pellets from day one, a good skimmer, and nothing else except maybe a filter sock. I have run every media that you mentioned, and I settled on biopellets after all these years. There is no maintenance. You have to change out carbon, you have to change GFO, you have to clean and maintain an algae scrubber. You just hook up pellets and forget about them.

This is all opinion, no one can tell you what works best factually. People may act like they know what's best, but they don't. They know what works on their tank and they are offering their opinion, (although some feel their opinion is fact, ha). It's all trial and error, and that's why everyone uses different things and the market is filled with thousands of products. I just chose what gave me the best results with the least maintenance. I run a SPS tank and they have always looked great. I had a crash last year after about 6-7 years of reef keeping with no issues. It was an alkalinity issue due to user error I believe, but had nothing to do with my filtration.

My tank runs itself pretty much. Calcium reactor keeps my water parameters stable, pellets and skimmer keep my water clean, and my ATO and ReefKeeper unit keep everything else running. I just do water changes and let things grow.

A good rule of thumb is not to listen to anyone whose tank doesn't look like you would want yours to look.


Edited to add: the problem that I had with a skimmer too big is that I found when too big, especially with a skimmer with a huge wide neck, was that I had problems getting it to push foam up into the cup. Once I got a skimmer that was more closely rated and had a skinnier neck diameter, it skimmed very well. But I have talked to people that like huge skimmers and get them to work well. So again, it's just personal experience and opinion....


Good luck.

 

[Blindside]

plus one for what Jay said.

 

[MPDBullitt]

thanks for the insight Jay.....i plan on trying a dual 4" sock setup, the biopellets, and this sro1000 i think. My algae scrubber is running on my old tank and it'll be a while before i set up the 90 and have it ready to transfer all my coral anyway.

I think i am going to ditch the ozone for now....i actually read that it can keep your biopellets from colonizing and working correctly.

All of you with biopellets...you're running reactor output to your skimmer intake right?

 

[neuroslicer]

The March meeting date hasn't been announced yet, we're still yet to have our February meeting at Union College in Jackson... but the meeting topic will be biopellets, and Carlii (Carl Woodward) will be hosting... so stay tuned!

 

[OneReef]

thanks for the insight Jay.....i plan on trying a dual 4" sock setup, the biopellets, and this sro1000 i think. My algae scrubber is running on my old tank and it'll be a while before i set up the 90 and have it ready to transfer all my coral anyway.

I think i am going to ditch the ozone for now....i actually read that it can keep your biopellets from colonizing and working correctly.

All of you with biopellets...you're running reactor output to your skimmer intake right?

I never got around to plumbing mine into the skimmer, but I understand that that is the best route. I have my pellet output hose ending right in front of the skimmer pump intake though.

 

[MPDBullitt]

I'll probably go ahead and construct a tee fitting for mine....might as well...love to DIY! As soon as my filter socks arrive I'll be constructing my dual sock holder in the sump. Until they arrive i have no idea what the actual diameter of the ring is in order to cut the holes out.

 

[MPDBullitt]

So I have a Mag 9.5 that came with the tank working as my return....I don't think i want to tee it off anywhere as it may be a little under powered already. What do i need for my Biopellets? A Mag 3?

 

[Rudolph]

I have found that PC lights are the biggest secret to my success...wait you already agreed to buy my lights...never mind....

 

[OneReef]

So I have a Mag 9.5 that came with the tank working as my return....I don't think i want to tee it off anywhere as it may be a little under powered already. What do i need for my Biopellets? A Mag 3?

Mag 3 is good, I run it just because that's what my pellet reactor manufacturer recommended. Mag pumps are workhorses.