FILTRATION
The logical next step after MAKING clean saltwater is to KEEP it clean. The key element of my filtration was that I wanted it to be pretty simple and "œtunable""¦ meaning, I wanted to be able to increase or decrease the extraction of excess nutrients (phosphates/nitrates) in concert with each other (rather than just one or the other) by adjusting any one or a number of the filtration components. For example, if my nitrates/phosphates are running high/low, I can adjust how long/intensely I run the refugium light, and/or how wet/dry I run my skimmer. I also intentionally had the skimmer come before the refugium for a few reasons, but the main one is I feel the more you can remove particulates from the water before it hits the refugium, the less detritus will collect in the refugium section, the cleaner overall your sump will be. So, here's an overview of my approach.
Mechanical Filtration:
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Auto Fleece Filter Roller: This was one of the automated components I felt I could not go without for the low-maintenance factor. I thought to myself, "œDo I want to change out my filter socks every couple of days, or once a week, AT BEST; go without socks and have a filthy sump that collects detritus; or find an automated option?" The answer to this led to me to incorporating an Auto Fleece Filter Roller as part of my filtration. Ultimately, I landed on the AquaMaxx AF-1 Auto Filter Roller, but it was not an easy decision. I went back and forth between this and the Bubble Magus ARF-1 and the ClariSea SK-5000 (all rated for about 1,300 to 1,500 gph) but found that none of them are perfect"¦ some commented that the ClariSea went through the fleece too quickly (likely due to the smaller micron fleece used), while others didn't seem to like the Bubble Magus and/or AquaMaxx for various other reasons. So, in my eyes, the more economical one seemed to be the safest bet and I decided to go with the AquaMaxx AF-1. Time will tell.
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Skimmer: The decision here all came down to "œtunability""¦ I was again looking for a good quality skimmer that was cost effective and was deciding between the Red Sea (RSK 900) and the Reef Octopus Regal 250INT, but it all came down to the fact that the Regal 250 INT ran on a DC pump (VarioS-4) that allows you to increase or decrease the pump speed and, in turn, the volume of air and water that flows through the skimmer, which essentially equates to the ability to "œtune" your skimmer even more precisely than a skimmer run on an AC pump. Also, I was able to get the Regal 250 INT on an "œOpen Box" sale, so the price difference did not end up that significant in the end.
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Carbon Reactor: Again, trying to keep this relatively simple, and carbon seems to be a pretty cheap and easy monthly chore to change in and out (especially since I purchased a 2nd Reactor that I can pre-fill with Carbon or use for other purposes if needed), while keeping the water as clear I can. The last thing I want is a yellow haze when I look through the peninsula.
Biological Filtration:
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Refugium: this came down to how "œtunable" and low maintenance I could make my filtration system, so I landed on lighting my refugium with a "œtunable" light"¦ the Kessil A360X Refugium light. Overkill? For now, yes. But I plan to only place this online after I have several fish that can provide some nutrients to the chaeto but before I turn on the main display lights. Also, since you can turn the intensity up and down or modify the lighting schedule, I'll plan to start off lighting the refugium at 50% or so for an hour per day for the first week, then slowly (increase 1 hour per week) ramp it up while keeping an eye on the phosphates/nitrates until my phosphates are somewhere between .03 and .1, and my nitrates are between 1 and 10. Not to mention the added benefit of more easily maintaining pH that running a refugium opposite the DT lights provides.
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Live Rock: starting from scratch here and went with all dry rock"¦ I like the look of Marco Rocks and went with mostly shelf rock; sprinkled in some Marco reef saver rock and then a dash of Stax rocks to finish it all off. In all, I think I have about 150 or so lbs. in rock. More than I planned for to be honest, but I wanted to create a good amount of real estate to place the corals and add visual depth, while still allowing water flow through and around the rockwork. Also, to kickstart the cycling process before the tank was even built and delivered, I started cycling the rock by seeding it with bacteria (Brightwell's MicroBacter7) and adding a source of ammonia (table shrimp) for about 3 months before it even went into the tank. My wife loved me for taking up this space in the garage [insert sarcasm here].
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Live Sand: I personally can't have a reef tank without sand. And, given the high flow I was planning for the tank (being that this will be an SPS dominant mixed reef), I went with the larger grain size sand so it hopefully won't get blown all over the place. Specifically, I went with a mixture of CaribSea Florida Crushed Coral (2.0-5.0 mm diameter grain) placed mostly at the far end where I suspect the flow bouncing off of the glass would blow around smaller grains of sand, and a mixture of CaribSea Special Grade and Tropic Eden Reefflakes Grand Select (4.5 mm diameter grain) throughout the rest of the tank to see if it would stay put. I expect that they will mix over time, but time will tell with this one.
Why I Decided Not to Go With Other Forms of Filtration/Nutrient Removal:
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GFO: I've found from past experience that, if not careful, this can quickly strip the tank of phosphates, but does little to nothing for nitrates, which could result in an imbalance in nutrient levels and potentially the bacterial (Dyno/Cyano) blooms that are speculated to come from these imbalances. My goal was to bring both nutrients down in a relatively "œsoft" and natural way rather than stripping the water of them. I might utilize my second reactor for GFO if my phosphates get out of control down the line, but I plan to keep a close eye on these levels (especially at the beginning) to avoid this.
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Zeovit or other variation of carbon dosing: Although this is clearly a proven method of getting some awesome looking tanks, I also don't want to rely on a handful of bottles that need to be dosed daily along with a reactor that requires management daily (shaking up the media) as my form of filtration/nutrient removal. Maybe this changes as my life changes, but for now, I'm trying to keep my daily maintenance time as low as possible. Having said that, I'm still not closing the door on using some of the KZ products offered as supplements.
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Triton: It was a little tempting to build a reef tank where water changes were only done on an as-needed basis, but, honestly, I know myself and I won't send in my water samples in on a regular basis. I would rather just stay on top of my water changes, track the levels I can test for, and know that my levels are within an acceptable range, rather than waiting for my water to fall out of the acceptable range. Lastly, see above on adding multiple supplements on a regular basis.
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Algae Turf Scrubber/Algae Reactor: The decision between these options and the Refugium came down to maintenance. With a Refugium, you really just need to take out some chaeto every now and then and maybe clean out any built-up detritus on the bottom from time to time, but there's no assembly/disassembly required when doing this and not a ton of monitoring (other than making sure it is taking out enough or not too much phosphates/nitrates). It's also one less reactor/piece of equipment that can break/leak/clog/etc.
