totally lost!?
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clevername
New member
Filters are great, but are alot of maintenance. I ran my for 2 years, had perfect clean water. Now i run a oversize skimmer, which does wonders. Also i just added a refugium.....
drummereef
Team RC
Re: totally lost!?
Not a problem at all. Just don't put any mechanical or bio media in it. Only use carbon or your choice of phosphate media. I think they work quite well at adding additional flow to the tank.
Not a problem at all. Just don't put any mechanical or bio media in it. Only use carbon or your choice of phosphate media. I think they work quite well at adding additional flow to the tank.
so: clean weekly, remove the filter foam? use carbon and kent phosphate sponge...is it better to not run a power filter and get a really good skimmer instead? i hate the salt that collects on my lights due to the power filter and i heard that power filters increase nitrates
GSMguy
New member
i big skimmer helps but without a sump there really are no good affordable hang on skimmers. the in tank Tunzes take up too much space for my taste.
so without a sump i run a decent HOB skimmer and a powerfilter full of Carbon and PURA pads
i do hate the microbubbles
a canister filter can be better with bubbles but is harder to maintain
plus i like to run carbon and you cant do that with only a skimmer
thanks so much for all the advice, i think i am going to upgrade from the prizm (ashamed) to the Tunze 9010 and use the power filter only for carbon and phosphate sponge....any more suggestions?? does that sound good? i would love to have a sump but i think i do not have enough room in my aquarium stand on the 55
GSMguy
New member
you will be amazied with the Tunze on a scale from one to ten the prizm is a 3 and the tunze is a solid 8 and totally silent i think that is my next purchase as well my buddy has a tunze nano skimmer on his 29g biocube and it is awsome and the 9010 is way better than that.
the powerfilter will work fine and you could upgrade to a canister if you get sick of the bubles
luckily i have HQI bubls so i just have to clean off the glass once or twice a week.
GSMguy
New member
their are dangers into adding a sump to a tank that is not drilled for it hang on back overflows have been known to fail leaving a poorly planned sump being emptied in the tank and subsequently onto the floor causing lots of problems.
but a wel designed sump with propper baffles set up could be relativly small 20h or a 10g works for lots of people.
as for building one the best way is to just use either a 20 or 10 g tank or a rubbermaid stock tank if you want to go bigger then all you have to do is design the baffles to make sure the pump would not drain the entire contents into the tank in the event of an HOB overflow failure.
but a wel designed sump with propper baffles set up could be relativly small 20h or a 10g works for lots of people.
as for building one the best way is to just use either a 20 or 10 g tank or a rubbermaid stock tank if you want to go bigger then all you have to do is design the baffles to make sure the pump would not drain the entire contents into the tank in the event of an HOB overflow failure.
I have a Deltec MCE600 and it is a great HOT skimmer, plus it has a chamber for carbon and ect., it is a bit pricey but worth the money in my oppinion. I have a Maroon Clown and a Dwarf Lion in a mixed reef 50 gallon, and with the light bio load it still pulls some dark nasty nog daily. Shortly after it was installed we had a medical emergency so it was running unattended for several days at a time, it was nice to not have to worry about it overflowing onto the floor.
i see...that makes sense..new house definitely do not want a mess on carpet wife would kill me. i have another questions guys
since i lack a sump i bought 2 koralia #3's and they are great, these were an addition to 2 penguin 1140 powe heads already in there, what's the best set up on the tank to maximize flow and circulation? i have a bunch on live rock and it leans against the back glass and covers the whole length of the glass, i do have caves and such so the whole middle is open water
thanks again
since i lack a sump i bought 2 koralia #3's and they are great, these were an addition to 2 penguin 1140 powe heads already in there, what's the best set up on the tank to maximize flow and circulation? i have a bunch on live rock and it leans against the back glass and covers the whole length of the glass, i do have caves and such so the whole middle is open water
thanks again
GSMguy
New member
i like my set up i have the skimmer and powerfilter along the back wall and my nano streams on the sides pointing at eachother to try and randomize the flow
i also keep them close to the top of the water so the surface get churned up i dont have an overflow and if i didnt stir up the surface my ph would swing too much
i also keep them close to the top of the water so the surface get churned up i dont have an overflow and if i didnt stir up the surface my ph would swing too much
power boat jim
Well-known member
If you run a canister or any other type filter it is ok to leave the filter/foam pads in. They should be cleaned often and you will be surprised how much crud you are removing from the tank that otherwise would be left behind. A skimmer is not a mechanical filter, the particles that a filter/foam pad removes are generally too heavy to be lifted by micro bubbles into the collection cup.
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