SOOOO... My first marine tank (Had a FW Discus for years). I read books (which were outdated) watched videos and did a little research. Decided to go with a JBJ 29G W/Intermediate LEDs. Walked into my LFS and walked out with a Coralife 29G BC, that garbage protein skimmer, live sand, a couple jugs of Nuri-Seawater and over 30Lbs of live rock. On the one hand I love the open layout of the rear chambers in the Coralife but I gave up the integrated LEDs and the build in wave timer of the JBJ. Oh well.
After everything was cycled added my CUC and my first Damsel. Fist thing I got rid of was the BioBalls and tried a refugium. I ripped off the filter floss of the stock filter tray threw out the carbon and just put some filter floss on top of the empty tray and threw in a bag of chemipure. Got a JBJ Nano-Glo suctioned on the back, some Cheato, Dragons breath and other misc macro algae. Failed miserably! Within 2 weeks this big ball of cheato was gone. The rest of the macro that I had out in the display shortly followed.
Next got rid of that garbage skimmer and after much research went with the Aquaticlife 115. Did the Airline mod before I even installed it, but this thing is almost impossible to tune with it in. The knob is so **** tight and still skims wet. I ended up attaching a valve on the end of the airline to fine tune it. EHHHH its ok now.
Which brings me to my Chem and Bio Filtration. Aside from the rock and sand I had nothing at this point. I decided to go with a pair of CPR Nano Tumblers after considering the price and the fact that the Minimax was out of stock. I set up one tumbler with Chemipure (Emptied media No bag) and the other with Biopellets. These are easy to tune as long as u are Hercules and can move the tank away from the wall and have fingers of steel and turn that tiny, hard to turn valve while its sitting in the rear of the tank! UGHHHHH!!! One time I looked at the tank and thought something didnt seem right. I Looked in the back with my iPhone flashlight and saw nothing was tumbling. what the heck!!!
So now that I'm done with my rant. What is everyone else out there using in their 29G BC? Filters, Equipment and how often do you perform preventative maintenance on it?
My list
Aquaticlife 115 skimmer
2 CPR Nano tumblers one with Chemipure (Needed the fine media kit) the other with Two Little Fishies Bioplastics.
Tunze Osmolator Nano ATO (Water filled with Kalk)
Vortech MP10wes. I said I'd never spend 300 on a powerhead but I did and I love it.
I remove everything once a month for a good scrub down and a Vinegar bath every 2 months. Thinking maybe I should do this less often. I get "Utterly frustrated" when I have to re-tune everything. :frusty: Many times even threatened with having my fish flushed down the toilet. :drama: I know its all talk. She loves the way it looks when im not messing with it!
After everything was cycled added my CUC and my first Damsel. Fist thing I got rid of was the BioBalls and tried a refugium. I ripped off the filter floss of the stock filter tray threw out the carbon and just put some filter floss on top of the empty tray and threw in a bag of chemipure. Got a JBJ Nano-Glo suctioned on the back, some Cheato, Dragons breath and other misc macro algae. Failed miserably! Within 2 weeks this big ball of cheato was gone. The rest of the macro that I had out in the display shortly followed.
Next got rid of that garbage skimmer and after much research went with the Aquaticlife 115. Did the Airline mod before I even installed it, but this thing is almost impossible to tune with it in. The knob is so **** tight and still skims wet. I ended up attaching a valve on the end of the airline to fine tune it. EHHHH its ok now.
Which brings me to my Chem and Bio Filtration. Aside from the rock and sand I had nothing at this point. I decided to go with a pair of CPR Nano Tumblers after considering the price and the fact that the Minimax was out of stock. I set up one tumbler with Chemipure (Emptied media No bag) and the other with Biopellets. These are easy to tune as long as u are Hercules and can move the tank away from the wall and have fingers of steel and turn that tiny, hard to turn valve while its sitting in the rear of the tank! UGHHHHH!!! One time I looked at the tank and thought something didnt seem right. I Looked in the back with my iPhone flashlight and saw nothing was tumbling. what the heck!!!
So now that I'm done with my rant. What is everyone else out there using in their 29G BC? Filters, Equipment and how often do you perform preventative maintenance on it?
My list
Aquaticlife 115 skimmer
2 CPR Nano tumblers one with Chemipure (Needed the fine media kit) the other with Two Little Fishies Bioplastics.
Tunze Osmolator Nano ATO (Water filled with Kalk)
Vortech MP10wes. I said I'd never spend 300 on a powerhead but I did and I love it.
I remove everything once a month for a good scrub down and a Vinegar bath every 2 months. Thinking maybe I should do this less often. I get "Utterly frustrated" when I have to re-tune everything. :frusty: Many times even threatened with having my fish flushed down the toilet. :drama: I know its all talk. She loves the way it looks when im not messing with it!
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