The transition to "au natural"

[Mental1]

Oh -- I did not see the previous post about the caulerpa versus the chaeto ... If you only have lights on the reverse of your display for 12 hours a day, does it reduce the risk of it going sexual? Also that guy recommended a filter of some sort to prevent bits from going into the display.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11762453#post11762453 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mental1
Oh -- I did not see the previous post about the caulerpa versus the chaeto ... If you only have lights on the reverse of your display for 12 hours a day, does it reduce the risk of it going sexual? Also that guy recommended a filter of some sort to prevent bits from going into the display.

probably--but that's the problem with chalerpa --you can't be 100 percent sure with it like cheato.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11762418#post11762418 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mental1
Capn -- there are absolutely no plans to eliminate the existing skimmer. What I was thinking is that because I am not really going to add bioload in the form of additional fish or corals, that I would not need to add an additional skimmer.

The water going through the first sump -- what I call the skimmer sump will be fast. The second sump, what I am calling the fuge sump, will have a slower flow through it. The pump I have, and using the head loss calculator, I think it said I would have over 600 GPH which I have been told is too much for a 65 gallon tank. But just 20 times the display tank size would put it at 1300 GPH which is double what others have said is already too much for my tank. So I am a bit confused about what to do ... I have read as low as 10 and as high as 30 depending upon what you are keeping.

At any rate, I am still trying to decide on what to grow and how to grow it soooo I must keep exploring -- maybe I need to be chatting in the microalgae forum ...

the water going through you sump should be anywhere from 5-10 times the total water column in gph and or match the gph of your skimmer--otherwise unskimmed water is returning to the tank --usually at lower levels because of loc line returns etc.
these organics have to make their way back up to the top of the tank again where the overflow is----this leaves phosphates and nitrates etc available for algae and cyano

In the tank it is a different optimum. Most reefers will agree that is desirable to have a flow rate of 20-40 times your tank volume in gph.
Considering placement and the fact that some lps corals just don't like that kind of flow.

 

[jnewman]

oooooo

oooooo

this is a great thread. and very helpfull.