"New" SeaClear System 2...mods needed?

MbunaJohn · Mar 7, 2016

I'm in the process of setting up my first reef tank in the very early stages and i'd rather not regret my current decisions and wish i had handled the setup differently 3-4 months from now when i have a cycled tank.

I'm currently refurbishing the stand (replacing trim, sanding and restaining the wood), and cleaning up and polishing the acrylic.

My question is, does anyone that has experience with this aquarium have any recommended modifications to the built-in "plumbing" that i should do now before i get the aquarium into it's permanent home and start aqua-scaping? Will the current plumbing (in particular the holes that are in the L shape for returning water to the tank) be sufficient for a healthy reef tank? It shouldnt be too difficult to change that at this point while i have the aquarium in the garage, but would be awful to change if i realize i have flow issues once i get it in place in the house. I only ask because i've never seen anything like this on an established reef tank and am a bit skeptical...

The back is similar to this:

The black L has pinholes on the tank side for the water to return to the tank. My aquarium is actually the 75g version and is a lot newer than 1995, but it's very similar to this.

http://www.fishtanksdirect.com/seac...48lx18wx20h-rectangular-acrylic-aquarium.aspx

Once i get it cleaned up this evening i will take some pics of the actual tank.

DannyB · Mar 9, 2016

Welcome to Reef2Reef and the hobby.

Your flow for the DT doesn't usually come from the return so much as it does from wavemakers. If the filtration portion is a little slower it should clean the water better.

I would eliminate the bioball sections and run some macro or a scrubber or some type of chemical filtration there. Bioballs are high maintenance and if left uncleaned can create a detritus trap which would be counter productive.