New here and likely in over my head
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gt44ever
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So here's the basic instructions we were given before we bought the house:
Daily- Feed Fish
7-10 days- top off water with 5-10 gallons
6-8 weeks-change filter pad (remove old, slide in new)
2-3 months- change water
For "change water" we were never given an amount to change. When we toured the house, the were using a 45g brute trash barrel for clean water and aside from that, I don't recall any other large container for water. It's possible they had someone coming in to do that. Since that's all we knew about, that was my measure
I started doing the change approximately monthly, just a single barrel (~44g per since I leave myself some room and originally was moving them from the back room out to the main tank). After the first big cyano bloom, which hit hard and fast and led to me ditching a lot of the existing macro because I couldn't separate it from the cyano, I went weekly for about a month to try to get things back under control. I had missed a change or two over the first few months (wasn't in the habit yet and water changes were a major undertaking early on) and chalked it up to that. Saw the cyano recede and things were good for a bit and I scaled back to about monthly again (was assuming it was just due to missing some changes). After a few more hard blooms (still getting in the habit and likely just not doing enough) ended up pulling all of the macro out and had to go a few weeks without as the LFS didn't have any macro in stock for a bit.
After those early adventures, started doing 2 barrels a month (~88g) and I'd try to let the water level drop a bit in the sump to basically "concentrate" the water a little so I was hopefully pulling as much out as possible and then once I put the fresh saltwater in, I'd top off with fresh like normal and double check my salinity the next day so it had time to mix.
Short answer: 44 or 88g per change. Mostly been about once a month occasionally more frequently as I noticed issues.
As for the chemiclean, I have some but haven't used it yet. I'd heard about the low O2 issue and didn't want to stress the fish more than they already were.
That's actually where the 650g comes from. Used the calculator from Marine Depot
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water quality. . .. tell us about your filtration. What type?
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gt44ever
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Ok, gonna try to summarize and hopefully hit on some other points since a lot came through overnight:
Seems general consensus right now is ditch the undergravel setup or at the very least pull everything and start fresh.
I now it's been clogged before and it's a real chore to clean out, mostly because its big and since it's on the floor, I'm either using a powered setup or dumping the water every few minutes because my head has equalized. Powered, I've been trying to run it through a filter pad so I'm not just draining the tank cleaning a corner of the undergravel.
I'll likely look to ditch it in favor of something more efficient and maybe see about using a super high surface area porous media to offset the lost bio filter. Maybe something like these and sub out some of the bio balls in the sump inlet area:
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/xport-bio-1-2-cubes-biological-filtration-media-500-ml-brightwell/
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/nano-tech-bio-spheres-1kg-2-2lbs-maxspect/
I'm wide open to recommendations here
As for what to do with the area the filter is in, I've seen live rock mentioned, a skimmer (seems a big area for this to me), refugium (what it's supposed to be now).
I've also seen a algae scrubber mentioned, which would replace my refugium. This is appealing for the space since I'm not actually sure there's technically enough space for a refugium to be highly effective (I've seen some rough volume per gallon of main and pretty sure it's higher than what I have) but it does look like I'd be in for a big up front cost to do something off the shelf(~$1k for 2 large units). It'd be a very big pill to swallow. I would also consider phasing it in as the budget allows with several smaller units if it comes out close to cost parity for the total system if that would work.
Fighting the algae:
-More flow
-I've seen more and less light. Might go dark while I'm doing the heavy water changes and then look into better lighting.
Gonna hit a few more replies here too:
I've also tried media bags of purigen with minimal success. Some of the issue there is finding a good place to put them. I've mostly tried on the mechanical filter where they cause the filter to compact and choke flow to the return zone and upstream of the undergravel/refugium where I can't get them to stay spread across bulkhead upwelling. They tend to spill out of there and just end up floating in the refugium area.
Also tried a phophate reactor (seen in the downstream end of the sump, hanging off the tank) with phosguard. Had a devil trying to dial it in and then it also grew cyano and now needs to be cleaned out. Was going to try phosbond to see if that works any better
The skimmer is fairly similar to the lifereef skimmers in design. That's what i based it off of anyway pulling some design features from both the larger and smaller series depending mostly on what I could build. I get a moderate amount of skimmate but have trouble telling if I'm in the right range of wet vs dry. I've had times where it seems I'm not pulling much off and other times when I'm seeing mostly water in the drain bucket. I'll see if I can pull together a bit of a diagram since the opaque design makes pictures less than useful.
Also tbh, while I really enjoy the sharks, and I mean what's cooler than being to tell someone you have sharks in your basement, I doubt I would want to keep sharks again. Mostly because their aggressive nature doesn't mesh well with a lot of fish and has made keeping the tank more challenging. I'd love to get a new puffer as he was one of my favorite fish, but I know they are major waste factories. For now, I'd really like to at least get the tank healthy as it stands because I enjoy everyone living in it, even if it's not something I would keep again. Right now, I'm not sure what my dream tank would look like aside from better than it looks now.
If I plan on keeping the fuge, I'll likely look into different lighting, but I'd like to keep it to higher efficiency systems so I'm not stressing our breakers or my wallet when the electric bill comes around. Those return pumps already put quite the load on, so something like a comparable LED setup would be preferable.
The fuge originally had a single 150w metal halide in a hood centered over it, which put it over a glass center support. I've tried switching to a Current freshwater LED (that died on me a few weeks ago) and a couple of generic grow lights on clamp fixtures (roughly 65w equivalents).
Filtration consists of a couple zones of bio balls (little spikey plastic balls for bacteria to grow on) followed by large undergravel filter (very roughly 24"x48") and then a mechanical filter (dual layer pad)
Seems general consensus right now is ditch the undergravel setup or at the very least pull everything and start fresh.
I now it's been clogged before and it's a real chore to clean out, mostly because its big and since it's on the floor, I'm either using a powered setup or dumping the water every few minutes because my head has equalized. Powered, I've been trying to run it through a filter pad so I'm not just draining the tank cleaning a corner of the undergravel.
I'll likely look to ditch it in favor of something more efficient and maybe see about using a super high surface area porous media to offset the lost bio filter. Maybe something like these and sub out some of the bio balls in the sump inlet area:
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/xport-bio-1-2-cubes-biological-filtration-media-500-ml-brightwell/
https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/nano-tech-bio-spheres-1kg-2-2lbs-maxspect/
I'm wide open to recommendations here
As for what to do with the area the filter is in, I've seen live rock mentioned, a skimmer (seems a big area for this to me), refugium (what it's supposed to be now).
I've also seen a algae scrubber mentioned, which would replace my refugium. This is appealing for the space since I'm not actually sure there's technically enough space for a refugium to be highly effective (I've seen some rough volume per gallon of main and pretty sure it's higher than what I have) but it does look like I'd be in for a big up front cost to do something off the shelf(~$1k for 2 large units). It'd be a very big pill to swallow. I would also consider phasing it in as the budget allows with several smaller units if it comes out close to cost parity for the total system if that would work.
Fighting the algae:
-More flow
-I've seen more and less light. Might go dark while I'm doing the heavy water changes and then look into better lighting.
Gonna hit a few more replies here too:
I've been feeding less to try to keep the nutrients from going too crazy. I'm at about 3-4 times a week right now.
I've also tried media bags of purigen with minimal success. Some of the issue there is finding a good place to put them. I've mostly tried on the mechanical filter where they cause the filter to compact and choke flow to the return zone and upstream of the undergravel/refugium where I can't get them to stay spread across bulkhead upwelling. They tend to spill out of there and just end up floating in the refugium area.
Also tried a phophate reactor (seen in the downstream end of the sump, hanging off the tank) with phosguard. Had a devil trying to dial it in and then it also grew cyano and now needs to be cleaned out. Was going to try phosbond to see if that works any better
The skimmer is fairly similar to the lifereef skimmers in design. That's what i based it off of anyway pulling some design features from both the larger and smaller series depending mostly on what I could build. I get a moderate amount of skimmate but have trouble telling if I'm in the right range of wet vs dry. I've had times where it seems I'm not pulling much off and other times when I'm seeing mostly water in the drain bucket. I'll see if I can pull together a bit of a diagram since the opaque design makes pictures less than useful.
TBH I think its largely they were used to being fed more. The previous owners seemed to mostly feed squid rings for the larger fish, which I've had described to me as "popcorn for fish" by a zoo aquarist. We've been trying to provide a more rounded diet, but the nutrient levels have led me to feed less often. They're mostly pretty chill except when they think food is coming. I've also been told by the same folks that the central "island" of rocks is really bad for them as it encourages lap swimming, which isn't really the kind of behaviors they should be exhibiting. I'm hoping a rework of the aquascaping will maybe help destress them a bit along with getting a little more frequent but smaller feedings once I have the nutrient levels sorted.
Also tbh, while I really enjoy the sharks, and I mean what's cooler than being to tell someone you have sharks in your basement, I doubt I would want to keep sharks again. Mostly because their aggressive nature doesn't mesh well with a lot of fish and has made keeping the tank more challenging. I'd love to get a new puffer as he was one of my favorite fish, but I know they are major waste factories. For now, I'd really like to at least get the tank healthy as it stands because I enjoy everyone living in it, even if it's not something I would keep again. Right now, I'm not sure what my dream tank would look like aside from better than it looks now.
If I plan on keeping the fuge, I'll likely look into different lighting, but I'd like to keep it to higher efficiency systems so I'm not stressing our breakers or my wallet when the electric bill comes around. Those return pumps already put quite the load on, so something like a comparable LED setup would be preferable.
The fuge originally had a single 150w metal halide in a hood centered over it, which put it over a glass center support. I've tried switching to a Current freshwater LED (that died on me a few weeks ago) and a couple of generic grow lights on clamp fixtures (roughly 65w equivalents).
water quality. . .. tell us about your filtration. What type?
Filtration consists of a couple zones of bio balls (little spikey plastic balls for bacteria to grow on) followed by large undergravel filter (very roughly 24"x48") and then a mechanical filter (dual layer pad)
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gt44ever
Active Member
Quick skimmer diagram:
Skimmer body is 6" diameter PVC and is 5' tall. (I think I incorrectly had 8" earlier)
Lines into and out of the skimmer are all 1" PVC
skimmer neck is 4" PVC
collection cup is a 5 gallon bucket
Venturi is a Mazzei 784 PVDF (I think I put Mazzuri before, which is who makes a supplement for sharks, not venturis)
Air line is simply matched to the venturi and pulls from the collection cup
Skimate is free to drain to the bucket on the floor as it collects
Pump is a Jebao DCP-8000 running full power
Venturi is about 4.5-5' from the bottom of the skimmer
Skimmer in is turned 90degrees as it enters the skimmer body to encourage upward flow instead of slamming against the bottom. This was inspired by the larger lifereefs since I couldn't easily add a separator like the smaller ones. It should roughly swirl around the skimmer body as it exits this pipe.
Skimmer out has a PVC gate valve to tune the skimmer
Right now there's also a piece of glass acting as a deflector on the skimmer out as I was getting a lot of spray out of the sump. I'm planning on adding a short extension to drop the outlet to it's below the top of the sump tank
I'll also note the whole thing leaks a bit but has stayed at the pace of evaporation for months now.
Skimmer body is 6" diameter PVC and is 5' tall. (I think I incorrectly had 8" earlier)
Lines into and out of the skimmer are all 1" PVC
skimmer neck is 4" PVC
collection cup is a 5 gallon bucket
Venturi is a Mazzei 784 PVDF (I think I put Mazzuri before, which is who makes a supplement for sharks, not venturis)
Air line is simply matched to the venturi and pulls from the collection cup
Skimate is free to drain to the bucket on the floor as it collects
Pump is a Jebao DCP-8000 running full power
Venturi is about 4.5-5' from the bottom of the skimmer
Skimmer in is turned 90degrees as it enters the skimmer body to encourage upward flow instead of slamming against the bottom. This was inspired by the larger lifereefs since I couldn't easily add a separator like the smaller ones. It should roughly swirl around the skimmer body as it exits this pipe.
Skimmer out has a PVC gate valve to tune the skimmer
Right now there's also a piece of glass acting as a deflector on the skimmer out as I was getting a lot of spray out of the sump. I'm planning on adding a short extension to drop the outlet to it's below the top of the sump tank
I'll also note the whole thing leaks a bit but has stayed at the pace of evaporation for months now.
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Undergravels hold nitrates in time as does canister units. Bio balls years ago was the way to go with bacteria retention. So much has changed and I would consider in the future an upgrade to a sump filter and a reactor and protein skimmer for maximum effectiveness in breaking down waste
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
The old diet explains part of your problem.
You're feeding with foods that provide more nutrition. Any uneaten food is more polluting than the old diet was, as well as their waste being more concentrated in nutrients.
A quality Skimmer is going to be your best friend for pulling out waste before it breaks down into nutrients for algae and cyano and reduced nutrients will help ease stress on the fish which improves their immune systems.
Big skimmers are considerably easier to build than compact ones. I haven't looked at the design yours is based off but just make sure it's adequate volumne and contact time. An adequate Skimmer is going to be your best option for gas exchange to keep O2 levels up. Having the Skimmer air intake line pulling from outside air will help and you can use a CO2 scrubber if it is still a problem.
A proper refugium light is going to help, something with red and blue spectrum is optimal. You just have to keep any slime algae from blocking light to the macro algae.
Live rock rubble and crushed coral beds are great bacteria growth beds but detritus is an issue. Using filter socks or a sand filter (like a swimming pool) will keep detritus out of the sump but is another piece of equipment to maintain on its own.
You're feeding with foods that provide more nutrition. Any uneaten food is more polluting than the old diet was, as well as their waste being more concentrated in nutrients.
A quality Skimmer is going to be your best friend for pulling out waste before it breaks down into nutrients for algae and cyano and reduced nutrients will help ease stress on the fish which improves their immune systems.
Big skimmers are considerably easier to build than compact ones. I haven't looked at the design yours is based off but just make sure it's adequate volumne and contact time. An adequate Skimmer is going to be your best option for gas exchange to keep O2 levels up. Having the Skimmer air intake line pulling from outside air will help and you can use a CO2 scrubber if it is still a problem.
A proper refugium light is going to help, something with red and blue spectrum is optimal. You just have to keep any slime algae from blocking light to the macro algae.
Live rock rubble and crushed coral beds are great bacteria growth beds but detritus is an issue. Using filter socks or a sand filter (like a swimming pool) will keep detritus out of the sump but is another piece of equipment to maintain on its own.
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gt44ever
Active Member
Ya I've been thinking along those lines, but don't really know the direction to go. Once I realized I had an undergravel and started looking up filter media for various things, it seemed like the system might be running on old ideas and tech based on what I was seeing/reading.
I'll also note that the sump needs some repair or to be replaced down the road. The bulkheads are all bowing pretty bad and some of the sealant along the edges has pulled away.
I'd love to reduce the footprint a bit so I don't feel like I need a personal gantry to clean across the whole thing since it's a bit tight in the back room, but not sure I'm quite up for a full rebuild like that and I have my doubts the some of the fish would make it through cycling a brand new filter
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
Your Skimmer works but could be more efficient. If your venturi is at the Skimmer pump intake and you install a neddlewheel impeller, it "chops" the air into smaller bubbles, increasing surface are and contact time. You would probably still need to run the jebao at full power.
Another option is to convert the Skimmer to a "recirculating" Skimmer. Remove the venturi and the jebao (or smaller replacement) pump is just a feed pump (you would not need full flow from the jebao, just whatever you need to match optimal flow through the Skimmer). A second pump pulls water from inside the Skimmer body, past a venturi, into a needlewheel to chop the air and back into the Skimmer. This would be best pulling from the bottom of the Skimmer and returning mid body, just make sure the air intake line ends above the water level of the Skimmer so it doesn't drain if the pump is shut off.
Another option is to convert the Skimmer to a "recirculating" Skimmer. Remove the venturi and the jebao (or smaller replacement) pump is just a feed pump (you would not need full flow from the jebao, just whatever you need to match optimal flow through the Skimmer). A second pump pulls water from inside the Skimmer body, past a venturi, into a needlewheel to chop the air and back into the Skimmer. This would be best pulling from the bottom of the Skimmer and returning mid body, just make sure the air intake line ends above the water level of the Skimmer so it doesn't drain if the pump is shut off.
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gt44ever
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That... that makes sense and I really hadn't thought of it. I've also had a little trouble figuring out how much to feed since the puffer died and he was a big eater so I know there's been more uneaten food. Problem is I can't really get most of it out due to the tank size
Here's what I based the design off of:
https://www.lifereef.com/venturi.html
Its the diameter of the smaller ones (<36" tall) but the height of the 2nd largest one (5ft). This was mostly due to not being able to easily acquire PVC larger than 6" diameter. Also used the specs from the pump recommendations to match up to the Jebao I bought.
Contact is down most of the height of the body and then back up again as the bubbles build to the neck at the top
Let me see if I follow. So my setup would change to something along these lines:
Noting the secondary pump then through the venturi. Ideally (in my head at least) I'd put the pump in a bucket and let it gravity feed in so I can capture any waste heat in the water. In this case though I would need to control on the feed pump as well as my outlet valve to tune the skimmer correct?
I guess my follow up is would I be further ahead doing something like this or adding a second copy of my current skimmer to increase capacity?
And on the needlewheel impeller, I wasn't sure how well those worked with tall skimmers like mine. Seems every design I've seen is fairly short and squat, which would make sense to me since that style impeller isn't going to be very good at actually moving water and is really just trying to chop the water. I also may have bought in a bit to the talk about them from lifereef (more maintenance due to impeller issues/clogging/breakage, proprietary designs, etc.), which lead me to the straight venturi since it would be lower active maintenance (mostly just need to clean the neck periodically from build up).
Edit: The venturi is downstream of the pump so the pump is only moving water. It then goes up a few feet turns to pass through the venturi and then into the skimmer body and down.
I've done a dissolved O2 test (Salifert) and was at about 7ppm (not sure about the units there) which I believe is maybe a hair low but still reasonable. I think I saw target was 8 or so. I may be short a littel surface gas exchange as well as I may need to do something about the surface oils the fattier fish food leave behind
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
If you're using needlewheel impeller, venturi needs to be at recirc pump intake.
If you're not using a needlewheel impeller, then there is no reason to change your current setup. Fine bubbles work much better than higher flow with big bubbles. A recirculating pump (no head pressure) won't have any issues moving desired water. The recirc pump should be plumbed as a closed loop. The only opening in the system is the air intake and as long as the open end is mounted higher than Skimmer water level, there are no issues.
Here is a picture of a recirc Skimmer I have used in the past. The top port on the right is where the feed pump puts water into the tank. Recirc pump pull from bottom right, mixes air in at venturi and pushes back into Skimmer at middle right. Drain is bottom elbow exiting to the left. I fed this pump (8" diameter and 30" total height) with a 600gph pump. Less flow = more contact time but your flow also needs to account for how much of the system volumne you want processed over x amount of time.
I'm on my phone in the car so I can't do any graphics to help.
If you're not using a needlewheel impeller, then there is no reason to change your current setup. Fine bubbles work much better than higher flow with big bubbles. A recirculating pump (no head pressure) won't have any issues moving desired water. The recirc pump should be plumbed as a closed loop. The only opening in the system is the air intake and as long as the open end is mounted higher than Skimmer water level, there are no issues.
Here is a picture of a recirc Skimmer I have used in the past. The top port on the right is where the feed pump puts water into the tank. Recirc pump pull from bottom right, mixes air in at venturi and pushes back into Skimmer at middle right. Drain is bottom elbow exiting to the left. I fed this pump (8" diameter and 30" total height) with a 600gph pump. Less flow = more contact time but your flow also needs to account for how much of the system volumne you want processed over x amount of time.
I'm on my phone in the car so I can't do any graphics to help.
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gt44ever
Active Member
First things first, drive safe. No need to keep up with this and get in an accident on my account.If you're using needlewheel impeller, venturi needs to be at recirc pump intake.
If you're not using a needlewheel impeller, then there is no reason to change your current setup. Fine bubbles work much better than higher flow with big bubbles. A recirculating pump (no head pressure) won't have any issues moving desired water. The recirc pump should be plumbed as a closed loop. The only opening in the system is the air intake and as long as the open end is mounted higher than Skimmer water level, there are no issues.
Here is a picture of a recirc Skimmer I have used in the past. The top port on the right is where the feed pump puts water into the tank. Recirc pump pull from bottom right, mixes air in at venturi and pushes back into Skimmer at middle right. Drain is bottom elbow exiting to the left. I fed this pump (8" diameter and 30" total height) with a 600gph pump. Less flow = more contact time but your flow also needs to account for how much of the system volumne you want processed over x amount of time.
I'm on my phone in the car so I can't do any graphics to help.
Ok got it. I knew the venturi goes ahead of a needlewheel my brain just flipped it back to a standard impeller format with downstream venturi like my current setup.
Corrected setup would be more like this:
hardest part of modifying to input the feeder line high in the body would be removing the existing line since it's largely glued into place so I could have a simpler inlet
Doing the math for my current setup, Based on the flow curves for the pump, I should be around 1300gph through the skimmer. Maybe a bit more or less due to unaccounted for head loss and how high things sit in the skimmer body. I can decrease flow with the pump controller easily enough or add a valve somewhere
Contact would occur from venturi height down to about 6" or so off the bottom at higher flow (1" pipe here) and then would slow down in the
I'm using about 1.3m for head height which is close to the height of the venturi from the pump. I can't accurately determine the water height in the skimmer body so i'm mostly tuning on how wet the foam is. I've considered adding some sort of sight tube so I have some sort of visual aid, but not sure if that would even work.
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
I'm a passenger at the moment but thanks for the concern.First things first, drive safe. No need to keep up with this and get in an accident on my account.
Ok got it. I knew the venturi goes ahead of a needlewheel my brain just flipped it back to a standard impeller format with downstream venturi like my current setup.
Corrected setup would be more like this:
hardest part of modifying to input the feeder line high in the body would be removing the existing line since it's largely glued into place so I could have a simpler inlet
Doing the math for my current setup, Based on the flow curves for the pump, I should be around 1300gph through the skimmer. Maybe a bit more or less due to unaccounted for head loss and how high things sit in the skimmer body. I can decrease flow with the pump controller easily enough or add a valve somewhere
Contact would occur from venturi height down to about 6" or so off the bottom at higher flow (1" pipe here) and then would slow down in the
I'm using about 1.3m for head height which is close to the height of the venturi from the pump. I can't accurately determine the water height in the skimmer body so i'm mostly tuning on how wet the foam is. I've considered adding some sort of sight tube so I have some sort of visual aid, but not sure if that would even work.
Water height isn't a big deal, just make sure the air line is up to the collection cup. Really, as long as it's higher than the highest point in the drain line, it will be fine since water will follow the path of least resistance if the pump is shut off.
You should be able to keep the original plumbing for the feed line. Only mods you would need to make to tour Skimmer is plumb an intake and outlet for the recirc pump and move your venturi. Really, your recirc pump can live inside the Skimmer, it's just easier to maintain if it's outside the Skimmer body.
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
BTW. Welcome to R2R.
Your system as a reef tank is my life goal so I'm definitely following along.
Your system as a reef tank is my life goal so I'm definitely following along.
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gt44ever
Active Member
The line pulls from the very top of the collection cup, which is really more of a diverter running to the bucket on the floor. I was going to put a little valve on the cup outlet but skipped that step when I was building. Not sure how necessary it really is anyway.
Ok, that would probably be doable... I'd need to either move to a bigger bucket or do the inlet for the recirc more like my first sketch with a drop to the bottom since the skimmer body sits in a bucket. It leaks a little and this way I just have to pull the water out instead of mopping the floor. Fortunately it's slowed down to about the rate of evaporation after it broke in for a while so I haven't had to empty the bucket for months (skimmer has been running for about 10 months)
Other option might be take the other "skimmer body" I have (the rest of the 10' length of 6" PVC) and build that one as a recirc so I don't have to take the current one down for modifications.
FWIW, I'm perfectly happy being the "don't be that guy" guy for now. It's been a steep learning curve and I'm unfortunately not the quickest to ask for help even when it's needed
Chiefmaster30
Valuable Member
Are there any aquarium shops around there? I know around here there are several shops with systems this size. Maybe ask them to look at there setups and ideas. Massive setup though! Good luck!
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gt44ever
Active Member
There's a couple, both are called The Fish doctors, but are technically independent even though they seem to share a lot.
They have a lot of tanks, but nothing huge and I'm guessing mostly work with people with "normal" size tanks. I'd have to ask about what they do with their setups. Hoping to maybe get some help from a couple of zoo aquarists too who would be working with tanks much larger than mine to see if there's anything that might scale down instead of up.
GrizFyrFyter
Well-Known Member
You can always build a shelf for the recirc pump and the Skimmer can stay in the body.
Or put the Skimmer in a storage bin instead of a bucket, depending on room.
Or put the Skimmer in a storage bin instead of a bucket, depending on room.
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gt44ever
Active Member
Storage bin would work fine there's plenty of room. If I went dual tower I was planning on putting them both into the same bin so I could manage any leaks easier
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gt44ever
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Got the undergravel running again for the time being. Came across a spare powerhead I forgot I had that might be higher flowing than the old one and did a fairly aggressive gravel vac of about a third of the fuge zone. Will try to get another third done once things clear back up a bit. Trying not to pull too much crud out of there at once so i hopefully don't inadvertently release a bunch that'll get through and make things worse (just filtering out detritus and returning the water for the moment)
I'm going to plan on pulling out the undergravel setup and go in a different dorection. Good options for bio filter media to compensate for removing all that gravel? I'm not sure the couple sections of bio balls and the limited stuff in the main are going to cut it
I'm going to plan on pulling out the undergravel setup and go in a different dorection. Good options for bio filter media to compensate for removing all that gravel? I'm not sure the couple sections of bio balls and the limited stuff in the main are going to cut it
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