New reef project

[MPA]

This is my 100gl flat back hex. After a catastrophic event in December (power outage) I have begun to rebuild it. Currently there is a 6 in panther grouper, 2 1/2 in tomato clown, 4 in bubble anemone, 3 in mushroom, coral banded shrimp, two sand sifting stars and half a dozen snails. The lighting is two 96w pwr compacts; I plan to add MH within a month. Probably two 250's. I have a Berlin skimmer in the wet/dry and that’s it.

I have been having a big problem with algae, the long green hairy kind. Also the tank is acrylic and the alga goes for the scratches. I have to clean it like every other day.

I really want the best for what I put in the tank and am unsure what I should start off with. I have thought of some zoo's or mushrooms. I also need a reliable timer for the lights. The timers I have tried from Wal-Mart just don't cut it.

Any suggestions on what steps or products I should go through/get first before I go and buy corals would be very much appreciated. I have five different stores around my house where I can get corals and these guys either seem like they have know clue or are just trying to sell me as much as they possibly can without regard for the livestock or corals.
(I am aware that good things happen slow bad things fast)

[Transam]

A couple of things. Did you totally tear it apart and take all the water and stuff out? If you did it is probably going through another cycle and algea will be part of that. And do you have a refugium? It is simply amazing what a fuge will do for a tank. Try doing water changes a little more fequently for a while. There must be a nutrient import some how.

T/A

[Rhianna McDougal]

Greetings, new here to SW tanks. I've seen posts about having a refugium. How is this important in maintaining a SW environment for my reef/fish combo. tank? Is it absolutely necessary? Thanks to all that reply.

[MPA]

no refugium & no I did not tear it down. I did a big water change and let it run for about a month with only a damsel and the shrimp. Could you tell me a little more about the refugium, do I run it along side the wet/dry?

[Transam]

You can do a search about them and get alot of info. I will tell you my personal experience. I have a 75 gal, at first no refugium on it. I had a huge problem with nitrate it would never go down and problem algae. Eventually my tank crashed. After adding a refugium I have not had a problem with nitrate or algae. As far as the wet dry I am sure others will chime in, that they are not all that great. They trap food and other particles, in turn they break down in the filter media and create nitrate and algae problems.
"I've seen posts about having a refugium. How is this important in maintaining a SW environment for my reef/fish combo " R. M. well I would have to say yes in my opinion. It serves as a biological filter and a means to export excess nutrients. I have 65 gal refugium and it is the best thing sice sliced bread. My nitrates are at 0 and my pod, bristleworm, and others I am not sure what they are population as increased dramtically which in turn feeds the main tank. Sorry it is so long hope it helps.

T/A

[Rhianna McDougal]

Thanks for the info. Transam. I'll do some research on establishing refugium's and see what comes up. I guess I'm still unclear as to how to go about establishing one, but after doing some looking around maybe it'll answer some additional questions.

Thanks again,

Rhianna

[MPA]

Sounds good, I am definitly going to look into establishing one. One question though, did you said that you had a 75 gallon tank and now have a 65 gallon refugium? I thought the refugium went under/away from the main tank. Does it have to be that big? and if so why?

[Transam]

I have a couple of seahorses in my refugium plus a ton of live rock and sand and a bunch of macros. It is bigger than it needs to be but it was a free tank so the price was right. I wish I had a pic for you Rhianna. I have an overflow set up from the fuge to the tank and a return pump in the main tank. If you do a search here on RC you should be able to find pics of peoples set ups. Some are complicated and some are real easy, just depends on how much you want to spend and how much space you have.

T/A

[Transam]

I forgot I have my refugium set up next to my main tank, so it is like an add on to my main tank.

T/A

[Im Lon 2]

MPA, and Rhianna McDougal

to Reef Central

Here is a link on Refugiums to help you out a little.
Refugium Info .

And on the size of the Refugium. No it does not have to be that big. Note: the Bigger the better. However I have seen on here that a lot of people have 20-30 gal Refugiums on their 120gal tank.

And what Transam said about the Wet/Dry system is correct.

[MPA]

This must be what it feels like to be a crack addict.

I can not stop thinking about what I can do next, even though I have had the tank for a year and a half There is so much.

Any Ideas on how I could convert the wet/dry into a refugium? Do you think the water flow that is being created by the overflow from the tank and my rio 2100 is slow enough?

[Im Lon 2]

Originally posted by MPA
Any Ideas on how I could convert the wet/dry into a refugium?

How is it divided now. Should not be that hard just remove the BIO-Balls Slowly not all at once. And then make it a refugium.

Originally posted by MPA
Do you think the water flow that is being created by the overflow from the tank and my rio 2100 is slow enough?

A lot of people hear have different views on water moving slow or Fast.

I will probably run mine a little faster than that. (With a mag 12 or 18 not quite sure yet.)

FWIW - while you are doing a searh on what to do next, Search for RIO pumps. They have a bad rap here on RC and alot of other boards as well. I have one that mixes my salt water and it was a year old when I got it and have had no problems with it at all.

[MPA]

this rio makes a rattling noise but I can live with it. I just got an azoo 2500 that I am gonna hook to my berlin protein skimmer.

As far as the wet dry goes, it has a bio ball section that lets the water run through to the bottom it flow through a 8 by 3 hole into a section that has a sponge and poly pad and then a section with a return pump.

Thanks for the link.

[jvetter]

Hair Algae is the worst! I feel your pain. Let me ask you a couple of questions.

Are you trying to achieve a reef aquarium with live corals as primary focus, or are you going for a tank that is more concerned with fish? Some people prefer a tank filled with fish and the others want a coral tank. What do you want? The approach to solve your problem depends on where your tank is going.

A panther grouper may not be the best inhabitant for your tank. First, that cute little polka dotted fish gets really big and kinda ugly. Second, the shrimp may one day be a snack.

[MPA]

corals. I have a grouper & clown currently with plans for a purple tang.

[jvetter]

Here are some pointers for algae control. This is the standard methodology for reef aquaria which focus on keeping corals today.

If you are already doing some of these things, that is great. We just need to be sure that all bases are covered.

You should use a RO/DI filter for all water coming from the tap that will enter your reef tank. This will limit the inputs of nitrates and phosphates that will contribute to algae growth in your tank.

In my opinion, all evaporated water should be replaced with kalkwasser. This is a saturated solution of calcium hydroxide which is dripped into the tank slowly over the course of the day. This will maintain the calcium concentration in your tank for stony coral growth and coralline algae. Kalkwasser has also been proven to precipitate significant amounts of phosphate from water which further prevents algae growth. Do a search in reef central on kalkwasser if you need more help. You should diligently add kalkwasser every day. Attention to details like this make for the most successful aquaria. I use a dosing pump for my tank.

You should maintain a live sand bottom that you do not disturb. This is a 3-5" layer of aragonite sand. Live sand is a living substrate complete with worms, bacteria, and all sorts of critters. This creates a more natural environment in your tank. Certain types of bacteria in low oxygen areas of the sand bed convert nitrate into other byproducts. Here again another algae nutrient is removed which then prevents algae growth. You can purchase live sand (substrate collected from a reef or aquacultured). Or you can buy "dead" aragonite sand in bags from your local fish store. Or you can mix these two. Again search Reef Central keyword live sand for more info.

Being an old fresh water tank keeper, I always wanted to vacuum the bottom in my tank. Do not do this. Just leave it alone.

Another algae control secret is the small red leg and blue leg hermit crabs. Use one per gallon for a tank with algae problems.

As I mentioned before a grouper is not a good coral tank inhabitant for the reasons I mentioned previously. Another reason is that a large fish like this requires a lot of feeding. Given the volume of your tank IMO you will never be able to get the the nutrient inputs (phosphates and nitogen compounds) under control and limit algae growth if you are feeding heavily. I would trade the grouper for the purple tang. The tang is a better choice.

Sorry for talking your ear off. Send me some info about your filtration system and we can tweak that out as well.

Well I have to run, maybe we can pick this up later.

Good luck.

[MPA]

Thank you, I really appreciate the time you spent writing back.

I have had the live sand in the tank for about 4 months. I have some big mexican snails for the algae and two sand sifting starfish to kinda move it around.

My filter is a wet/dry overflow with a berlin classic skimmer. I just installed the skimmer about 3-4 days ago and am waiting to see how well it works (any tips). I also am planning on converting the wet/dry into a refugium. I hopefully can do it in May. I noticed that on the higher end of the wet dry (Bio ball area) there are 8 small holes about an inch from the top. I figured I could get a piece of acrylic from home depot and block the water flow on the bottom from the larger section to the smaller. remove the bio-balls and now the larger section would retain water to the top, the water would overflow through the holes into the section with the return pump and the skimmer pump. I thought I could put live sand & rock in this closed off section now, some critters and a damsel or something (did I miss anything). I would run the skimmer return to the larger section as well. I am a little unsure on lighting for the fuge, and I am a little unsure of how or what it might do to the chemestry of the water at first. I would really welcome any tips & suggestions.

Thanks again.

[jvetter]

It sounds like you are really on the right path.

I am a little uncertain of your plans with the sump-- it is hard to visualize without a picture, but what I could follow sounds good. Definitely remove the bioballs.

Skimmers generally require periodic tuning to keep them going optimally. You want somewhat dry foam to spill over into your collection cup. A more detailed explanation is that you do not want to see clear water in the collection cup it should be brownish green and slightly less dark than a cup of tea. If you have it working properly, you should develop a greenish brownish film on the surfaces directly above the top of the water in the reaction shamber. You want to maximize the input of air but not so much so that you are pushing clear water into the collection cup.

It may take a few weeks for your skimmer to kick in. There seems to be a seasoning process with many new skimmers. Don't be afraid to monkey with the settings, just make sure you come back and check on it. I know my wife does'nt like the floor getting wet.

Fuge sounds like another good idea. If you put lights on it, I would run the lights opposite the lighting schedule of the main tank. Run the fuge lights at night to stabilize your water chemistry. This way photosynthesis is always occuring which keeps your oxygen and carbon dioxide levels more stable.

I would not put any inverts or fish in your fuge. One of the ideas behind the fuge is to allow for a place for little critters to grow (worms, amphipods, copepods and other tiny crustaceans) where they are free from predation.

If the fuge thing seems to complicated don't worry about it. IMO they are nice but not necessary. Whenever in doubt keep it simple.

Give things time. A good reef tank really takes a lot of time (years) to mature. Enjoy the process. Too many people try to do to much too fast and they end up getting frustrated and quit. There is a balance here somewhere. Let time and experience steer you to that balance.

I hope I answered all your questions.

Feel free to contact me a jvetter@uark.edu if you have any questions down the road.

[JB_In_Fla]

I am in the process of converting my wet/dry (SeaLife 150) into a sump/refugium. I took out all the bio-balls and where the egg-crate is on the bottom of that chamber I put plexiglass and siliconed it in. Then I put a bulkhead in the bottom of this and created a stand-pipe that will be at the water level I want in this 'compartment'.

Water will come from the tank into the sump area (NOT the refugium which is where it was going into the bio-balls), then a powerhead (maxijet 1200) will pump some water to the refugium and it will gravity feed down the stand-pipe. Also, about 1" above the stand-pipe there are five 1/2" holes in the vertical bulkhead between the refugium and sump areas so if something should clog the stand-pipe it'll still overflow into the sump area and not on my floor.

I'm currently finishing mine up and when done I'll post pictures on here.

- Joe