• Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.

general advise

R

reeferwanabe

I live in ocean twp. and was wondering if anyone close would be interested in coming over an giving me some advise on my new tank? I thought it would be easier to see it than to try to explain.
Mabe not I have a 150 RR with live rock (probably not enough) runing a pro clear filter with bioballs and an external filter dolphin 3600 gph. also refugium above tank cause I like to look at it. a couple of power heads aqualight pro w/ 3 150 metal halide and 4 96 true atinic w/moon light. what do you think?
 
reefsandrotts

reefsandrotts

NJRC Member
Sounded good till you said bio-balls.
I'd loose them and let the rock and refugium control your water before you have the big crash down the road from the bio-balls.
 
S

sinkingbeach

If this is a FO system bio-balls are ok if a reef take them out slowly, replace with lr ;) Next time I'm up in that area I'd be happy to stop. :)
 
1

120gallons

No, live rock provides the best filtration and will keep your nitrates low. Find someone else to talk to at the store, seems like advice to sell you more stuff rather than good advice.
 
1

120gallons

Let me qualify my statement...will keep your nitrates low or lower assuming you do not overstock your tank and perform routine maintenance.
 
C

Carlo

Tropiquarium is correct. Live rock and sand can be a "nitrate factory" just as easily or sometimes more easily then bio-balls can. Any place in the tank where organics are allowed to build up will do this. If you're flow is strong and the rocks/sand stay clean then it's usually not a problem however.

The whole nitrate factory thing has been blown way out of proportion anyway. If you clean your equipment and tank properly then you shouldn't have a problem. If you don't and allow organics to buildup then of course you could have a problem. This goes for sponges, filter socks, reactors filled with carbon where you see the organics trapped inside, protein skimmers, rock, sand, etc...

The advantage of biological "equipment" (IE live rock and sand) is that you can reduce this cleaning by having good circulation in the tank and by having critters who keep the rock and sand clean for you.

Carlo
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

...speaking of protein skimmers - is there one in your tank? Maybe you mentioned it in another post but I don't see it mentioned in this thread. Nitrates can be controlled somewhat with water changes and a good skimmer. The refugium (assuming you regularly prune the macro) will also help. Some folks will forgo the skimmer or refug but have a more rigorous schedule on the water. Others find that the amount of food they fed the tank was way too much (generating nutrient-rich water and subsequently algae and nitrates). Or you may unfortunately just find the tank to be overstocked and there's just too much poo in there...
 
C

Carlo

He didn't specifically say it but the Pro Clear 200 model usually comes with a built in protein skimmer in the first chamber before the water hits the sponges and bio-balls.

It's not a bad skimmer at all once you get it tuned correctly.

Carlo
 
Phyl

Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
OMG, I've never hated anything worse than I hated that skimmer. We didn't do well together.
 
C

Carlo

Hehe, that's why I choose my wording carefully on that one.

"once you get it tuned correctly"

I went round and round with it for quite a while myself until I figured out the best way to tune it air/water wise was backwards from most because of the open bottom to the skimmer section. Once I started thinking backward in the tuning approach it got easier.

Don't get me wrong it's no ASM/ESV, but it's no SeaClone either! I'd put it on par with a Coralife type skimmer ONCE you get it skimming well. Honestly it's not enough for most systems but it's nice to have on board. Regardless of how well you actually get it to work it's good for ozone injection or just to help oxygenate the water. :)

Carlo
 
R

reeferwanabe

sorry I went to bed early missed the question
The skimmer was a pain at first but I got it humming pretty good.
you dont think thats enough for this tank? I know skimming is a major deal and I want to have the right one.
 
C

Carlo

Skimming in only one part of a system. A lot of people design their systems so the skimmer is the main source of export. You still have your sponges which also allow you to export DOCs and crap in the water (as long as your cleaning them).

As long as your nitrates are staying low, your skimmer is doing good enough. If on the other hand your nitrates rise and you can't keep them down then a 2nd skimmer will probably be needed.

Let the tank (nitrate test) tell you when/if another is needed.

If your nitrates start to rise then it could also be your bio-balls are dirty and need either cleaning or removal too but cross that bridge when it happens.

Carlo
 
arvin

arvin

NJRC Member
reeferwanabe said:
what skimmer would you recommnend for this tank?
Click to expand...

Since you have a 150 gallon, you should look for a protein skimmer that is rated for 200 or more gallons. I use a ASM G3 which is rated for 250 gallons and am quite happy about the build, quality and ease of use at a price point that I liked. However that is an in-sump model. Do you have a sump or planning to add a sump anytime soon?
 
C

Carlo

A larger in sump based one won't fit unless you pull out the stuff in the middle section and use that. I myself wouldn't do it or spend the money unless you have to. If what you have now works why change?

If on the other hand you needed to add another skimmer I'd probably go with a T1000 which is small and you can hang it on the outside of the pro clear with the pump in the first section with the other protein skimmer. Anything like an ASM is going to use a lot of space and will end up recirculating the same water over and over while missing "new" water because of the way you would have to install it. With the T1000 you can pull from one compartment and feed a second compartment so you don't miss as much water.

If when the time comes if you wanted to stop by I could show you. I've got a few skimmers and a few pro clears sumps, so I could rig it up and show you the differences. It usually easier to grasp when you can see the difference in how much more water some skimmers can process in certain environments. On the other hand a large open type sump would benefit more from an ASM G3/4 then a T1000. It's just a matter of fitting the "proper" style skimmer to the job.

Carlo
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top