- Joined
- Oct 16, 2019
- Messages
- 45
- Reaction score
- 19
Hello all,
For a few years I've had terrariums, paludariums and aquariums but never before have I had a reef or salt water tank. I still own a small planted aquarium. The reef tanks I see on the internet or at public aquariums have always amazed and intrigued me. So, after some thinking and reading I've decided to just try and start.
I still have a lot of reading to do, but for now I have a small setup for which I will not buy fish for (now and probably ever, since I think fish need a bit more space), I would like to have at least some corals though. I have a small 14 gallon tank, I have bought reel reef rock and have a small skimmer and a pump. I actually want a sump under it though. I have read a lot on sumps for fresh and salt water, and they seem to be a tad bit different. I also would like to DIY my own sump. So here's some questions.
My excuses if I made any spelling or other mistakes in my language, since English is not my native language.
Thank you for your time reading my questions. I hope you guys can help me a bit further in starting and understanding this new hobby.
For a few years I've had terrariums, paludariums and aquariums but never before have I had a reef or salt water tank. I still own a small planted aquarium. The reef tanks I see on the internet or at public aquariums have always amazed and intrigued me. So, after some thinking and reading I've decided to just try and start.
I still have a lot of reading to do, but for now I have a small setup for which I will not buy fish for (now and probably ever, since I think fish need a bit more space), I would like to have at least some corals though. I have a small 14 gallon tank, I have bought reel reef rock and have a small skimmer and a pump. I actually want a sump under it though. I have read a lot on sumps for fresh and salt water, and they seem to be a tad bit different. I also would like to DIY my own sump. So here's some questions.
- For fresh there's always a ton of mechanical filtering, I do not see that get used much in salt water sumps, but I can't really seem to find a lot of reasons why, except people saying that it is not needed because of bacteria. Is this true? Fresh water tanks also have bacteria which helps keeping unwanted chemicals down, but they still use a lot of mechanical, also because this gives the bacteria a place to grow.
- A refugium is something I see in most sumps, I understand they are to keep nitrates down and grow macro algae which you can in turn give to fish that eat it, or grow small live foods. Is a refuge also a smart idea for a fish-less tank? And a sump as a whole, is it neccessary?
- Is it really important to keep nitrates as low as possible? I see some conflicting opinions on this, some people say corals etc also need nitrates, so why keep it at a minimum? (I do understand it should never be too high, but what exactly is too high).
- I see a lot of sumps with baffles that have water going over it instead of under. For fresh I see a lot of under - over - under instead of just over. I do understand that the last baffles should be under - over - under for bubbles, but why not the others?
- And do you guys have any tips for top ups if there's no sump or ATO, since the water won't mix immediately? I think it would not be good for much of the fresh water to touch corals before it mixes?
My excuses if I made any spelling or other mistakes in my language, since English is not my native language.
Thank you for your time reading my questions. I hope you guys can help me a bit further in starting and understanding this new hobby.