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- Jun 14, 2015
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Hi All,
I randomly inherited an established tank a few weeks ago. It was a fish only setup. Now that I've relocated and stabilized it, I'd like to convert it to a coral tank. I've had a couple weird things going on so I'm giving the digest below and if you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
My current setup:
- 65 gal main tank
- 30 gal sump tank, wet-dry refugium using bio-balls and cloth filter
- crushed coral 1" sand bed
- fake rock and 10 lbs live rock
Critters:
- 1 fox face
- 1 brown tang
- 2 clowns
- 4 hermit crabs
Copper Issue:
When I got it, the original owner mentioned he used copper to heal the fish. I've heard this is toxic to crustaceons, coral, and live rock so I'm working to remove it. I've had activated carbon in there for 2 weeks, I later added the hermit crabs. I added the live rock a few days after the hermit crabs. The copper is below 0.1 and I've replaced the activated carbon with CupriSorb. The tank has had at least 2 50% water changes since I've had it and the copper was used a few changes before I took over.
Other Chemicals:
My salinity (1.029), nitrate (40), and phosphate (5.0) have been a bit high. The main assumption is due to using tap water so I'm start to cycle in LFS water.
So... on to my questions...
The bio-balls are gnarly and slimey so I'd like to get rid of them. It sounds like a protein skimmer is the way to go. I've started bundling the bio-balls in stockings so I can phase them out as I add in live rock. But to add the skimmer, I would like to reposition the 'dummy' walls in the sump.
- Does anyone have any tips on how to glue in plexi-glass to make waters for the filters and what not?
- Is one type more fish-friendly than another?
- How do i tear out the current walls?
- Is it safe to put coral in a DSB in the sump, after the protein skimmer, before the reflow pump? I figured this would provide high-flow but I'm not sure if planton would be caught by the skimmer or if I would have to directly feed the coral and somehow defeat the purpose of the skimmer...
I randomly inherited an established tank a few weeks ago. It was a fish only setup. Now that I've relocated and stabilized it, I'd like to convert it to a coral tank. I've had a couple weird things going on so I'm giving the digest below and if you have any thoughts, I'd love to hear them.
My current setup:
- 65 gal main tank
- 30 gal sump tank, wet-dry refugium using bio-balls and cloth filter
- crushed coral 1" sand bed
- fake rock and 10 lbs live rock
Critters:
- 1 fox face
- 1 brown tang
- 2 clowns
- 4 hermit crabs
Copper Issue:
When I got it, the original owner mentioned he used copper to heal the fish. I've heard this is toxic to crustaceons, coral, and live rock so I'm working to remove it. I've had activated carbon in there for 2 weeks, I later added the hermit crabs. I added the live rock a few days after the hermit crabs. The copper is below 0.1 and I've replaced the activated carbon with CupriSorb. The tank has had at least 2 50% water changes since I've had it and the copper was used a few changes before I took over.
Other Chemicals:
My salinity (1.029), nitrate (40), and phosphate (5.0) have been a bit high. The main assumption is due to using tap water so I'm start to cycle in LFS water.
So... on to my questions...
The bio-balls are gnarly and slimey so I'd like to get rid of them. It sounds like a protein skimmer is the way to go. I've started bundling the bio-balls in stockings so I can phase them out as I add in live rock. But to add the skimmer, I would like to reposition the 'dummy' walls in the sump.
- Does anyone have any tips on how to glue in plexi-glass to make waters for the filters and what not?
- Is one type more fish-friendly than another?
- How do i tear out the current walls?
- Is it safe to put coral in a DSB in the sump, after the protein skimmer, before the reflow pump? I figured this would provide high-flow but I'm not sure if planton would be caught by the skimmer or if I would have to directly feed the coral and somehow defeat the purpose of the skimmer...