Would you do it?

[maddmaxx]

i have a 125g mixed reef. about 5 months ago my tanks "was" at an all time best. looked great..then i redid the interior of my house and my ballast blew out for my MHs. so we'll say that 6 out of 8 weeks my tank was without Mhs. so i decided to upgrade from 3x175w Mhs to 3x250 Mhs...well the coral didnt like that to much, had some, die some shrivel, some thrive....well soon as i got screen above my tank so the coral can light acclimate, i find that my skimmer was not working properly during the same time. got that fixed. so basically im in recovery mode after a semi crash. been doing water changes, skimmer work, corals somewhat responding to the screen acclimating....soooo im thinkin santa mite bring me some goodies for xmas.....

since my tank is in recovery mode, and i have some quipment that i can upgrade and just help the overall system. im thinking about tearing the tank down to do these upgrades. throw it back together and watch nature take its course....

ill give you the things that i have now and the things i wanna upgrade too!!!


I HAVE:

2x 1" inch drain lines to sump
mag18 returned pump(turned way back)
ETSS reef devil skimmer

UPGRADES:

2x 1.5" drain lines to sump
mag18 return pump running wide open
octo extrme 200 skimmer wit the PPW upgrade

If ur tank is in recovery mode like mine and you have the chance to do these very helpful upgrades and then let it recover in a better, healthier system, wud u take the time to do the upgrades????

 

[jflick345]

I would do the skimmer upgrade. I like to have a return pump that's throttled down a little though and add powerheads to increase movement in the tank. The size of your sump and how much flow you want through it should be taken into account too.

 

[kgk]

I would do the skimmer upgrade. I like to have a return pump that's throttled down a little though and add powerheads to increase movement in the tank. The size of your sump and how much flow you want through it should be taken into account too.

Agreed. I don't think you'll see much return just from more flow through your sump... you'll get more noise for sure, and the dwell time in your 'fuge (if you have one) will be less. You can get flow in the tank with powerheads. Out of the choices above, I'd do the skimmer in a heartbeat.

 

[aleonn]

Upgrade the skimmer for sure. Do you run any Phosban, Bio-Pellet, or any type of reactors? You can plumb a manifold off of your return pump to make use of some of that unused flow.

 

[maddmaxx]

im not redoing the drains just to add more flow. i have 2 hydor 4s in there also. but instead of having the pump throttled back, i figured if i was doing the other things that i cud do this while the system is apart. as far as my sump goes i use a 55 the the water level is just above half way of the tank. a large part of the sump tank is taken up by a fuge. i currently have my ETSS on egg crate to elevate it above the water line....my return pump isnt throttled back per say, i might have jumped the gun wit that. but its split, one line goes as the return to the tank, and the other line goes back into the other side of sump!....honesty i just figured that i cud upgrade the drain lines and maximize the return pump....

 

[jflick345]

Upgrade the skimmer for sure. Do you run any Phosban, Bio-Pellet, or any type of reactors? You can plumb a manifold off of your return pump to make use of some of that unused flow.

This sounds like a much better use of the extra flow to be honest. A carbon and phosban reactor should only help.

 

[maddmaxx]

i have been lookin lately at a Phosban reactor. and recently started asking questions on pumps for it.

 

[maddmaxx]

and just so its clear. even for me to get the skimmer in there. i have to break down the tank cuz i can not swing it over the 55g sump. so while the tank was down i was gunna redo the plumbing lines. but makes much more sense about the sump, which is why i originally split the return to go back threw the sump instead of throttling back the return straight to the tank...

again i have the ETSS now, and also have the Octo Xtrme 200 sitting in my shed. i was looking at a Bubble Magus NAC77 CONE Protein Skimmer rated for 315g or so tank, but i dont want to spend another $300 on a skimmer...i think by adding either the PPW or the red PW to the Xtrme200 that should be ok and work fine wit my tank. obviously a bigger skimmer wud be better. but i wud have to sell the Octo first which isnt a thought right now...hahhahaa

 

[maddmaxx]

sorry this was a double post..............