New to the hobby

jaxteller007 · May 31, 2018

I really want to switch to mesh tops but not sure if our reef edge LED is viable for open top like that. I could just upgrade the lighting at the same time but I'm not sure what to look for other than those super high end ones and we aren't ready to spend that kind of money after dropping money on the sump setup.

MikeyTN · May 31, 2018

On the filter department you don't really need it but to run carbon. If you buy live sand and live rocks that's your main filter. If it had a fuge area thats what I would of gone with to use natural remedy to remove nitrates. But if you do your weekly water changes that would suffice. If no fuge no problem as you just need to have plenty of space to built your own algae scrubber. I have algae scrubber on one of my tanks and the other one is just a fuge with algae.

MikeyTN · May 31, 2018

If your tank doesn't have a canopy then a mesh top works great. The light goes through the mesh top pretty good. Are you thinking about getting corals anytime soon?

MikeyTN · May 31, 2018

https://m.ebay.com/itm/VIPARSPECTRA...rentrq:b6ea72261630a9c092cc4bccfffe6299|iid:1

Cheap black box lights that would suffice for corals too as many people have used this with good results. This is price of two lights which is all you need.

jaxteller007 · May 31, 2018

MikeyTN said:
If your tank doesn't have a canopy then a mesh top works great. The light goes through the mesh top pretty good. Are you thinking about getting corals anytime soon?

Yea we have that one now and would like to go with more down the road. Nothing crazy but a few of the hardier, easier to care for ones. Only thing that worries me about the mesh top right now is salt creep and water hitting the light. It sits low on the tank. It does have that plastic like shield over the leds but not sure that's enough protection.

MikeyTN · May 31, 2018

Is it one of those current light bars? It'll be fine with the protection it has. I have one over the aggressive for the time being.

jaxteller007 · May 31, 2018

MikeyTN said:
Is it one of those current light bars? It'll be fine with the protection it has. I have one over the aggressive for the time being.

No it's one of these.

MikeyTN · May 31, 2018

If your intention to go coral the black box lights I posted above would work. I'm thinking about getting them soon for the aggressive tank as I just prefer brighter lights to bring out the colors of the fish. But at the same time I'm not too happy with the AI Hydra 26 HD that I got with the reefer. Thinking about upgrading those to Radion. But they're super spendy.

jaxteller007 · Jun 1, 2018

Well everything was delivered yesterday. Looks like I know what I'l be doing this weekend.

jaxteller007 · Jun 3, 2018

So do I need anything in the sump for like mechanical filtration or anything? The sump has the big sock for catching the big material, and I'll have the protein skimmer in there. I got something today that's like active carbon but reusable. LFS recommended it. Was just wondering if I need anything else in there like bio balls or something?

MikeyTN · Jun 3, 2018

You can use bioballs yes. What you want in there would be a personal preference.

sandalscout · Jun 4, 2018

Your skimmer and sock are likely enough for mechanical, if the skimmer is sized correctly. Bio balls, or one of the new more modern ceramic-based balls/blocks would be a good addition for more biological filtration.

jaxteller007 · Jun 4, 2018

MikeyTN said:
You can use bioballs yes. What you want in there would be a personal preference.

sandalscout said:
Your skimmer and sock are likely enough for mechanical, if the skimmer is sized correctly. Bio balls, or one of the new more modern ceramic-based balls/blocks would be a good addition for more biological filtration.

So I have some of the purigen stuff to use as well as my protein skimmer. Would something like these be good to use?
http://brightwellaquatics.com/products/xport_bio.php

sandalscout · Jun 4, 2018

Purigen is good to help reduce nitrates. I personally run Purigen and either carbon or GFO to help "polish" my water and lower phosphates as well as nitrates.

Yep, those seem to be pretty popular. I've not used them myself, but I they look similar to the MarinePure spheres that I've have really good luck with.

jaxteller007 · Jun 4, 2018

sandalscout said:
Purigen is good to help reduce nitrates. I personally run Purigen and either carbon or GFO to help "polish" my water and lower phosphates as well as nitrates.

Yep, those seem to be pretty popular. I've not used them myself, but I they look similar to the MarinePure spheres that I've have really good luck with.

So where would I put the carbon if I wanted to run some of that to help? Here's the intake and protein skimmer section of the sump. I'm assuming the Purigen will go in a bag after the protein skimmer by the opening into the return reservoir?

sandalscout · Jun 4, 2018

Ideally, you want as much flow going THROUGH the carbon and the Purigen as possible, as opposed to the water taking the easier route around the bags. After mechanical filtration is also ideal. Many people swear by reactors that force the water to go through the media, but that can be size and cost prohibitive.

If I were you, I'd probably run a fairly large bag of carbon in chamber 1. Try to "block" the exit path with it. Either there, or in chamber through with the Purigen.

Keep in mind that Purigen requires a special bag. SeaChem sells one called simply "The Bag." It's finer mesh to keep it contained.

jaxteller007 · Jun 4, 2018

sandalscout said:
Ideally, you want as much flow going THROUGH the carbon and the Purigen as possible, as opposed to the water taking the easier route around the bags. After mechanical filtration is also ideal. Many people swear by reactors that force the water to go through the media, but that can be size and cost prohibitive.

If I were you, I'd probably run a fairly large bag of carbon in chamber 1. Try to "block" the exit path with it. Either there, or in chamber through with the Purigen.

Keep in mind that Purigen requires a special bag. SeaChem sells one called simply "The Bag." It's finer mesh to keep it contained.

Yea I picked up a bag when i got the Purigen. I like the idea of having a bag of carbon at the exit after the mechanical sock. I'll try it out and see how the flow is. Once i get it all plumbed together of course.

MikeyTN · Jun 4, 2018

I run carbon in the filter sock. Since all water come through from there it's the perfect place to run it.

jaxteller007 · Jun 4, 2018

I dry fit all the plumbing tonight. Tested from overflow to sump. Water went to sump with no leaks.

I'm not confident about how the return pump is set up. I could not find very much information on this sicca pump so I had to piece together what I could find with what the home depot people were telling me.