So, after about 2-3 years of struggling with my 46G DT I am breaking it down. I'm not able to keep the algae at bay and now it's completely overrun by dinoflagonates (spelling?) or something like it. Anyway, it's primary on the glass and some rocks, but even the nuisance macro is out of control. The point is, i'm building out my small 15G nano that has been running for 2 years and I wanted some advice.
I have an acrylic refug that I picked up years ago and I wanted to put it to use before I add all of my two fish and my corals to this 15g. The refugia and 15G tank will sit side-by-side as the self-built stand was not designed to maximize space. However, a 5gal bucket will sit in the stand as an ATO system.
Ideas:
1. upstream RDSB with about 6-8" of LS + plants and macro and the usual stuff like cuc and snails.
I would use a small maxi 1200, behind some rocks, to pump the water into the front of the refugia and from the back it would spill down with a very slight angle. The hope is to have a very very slight angle - does this matter?
The problem with this design is that my 36" 4xT5 light fixture would have to sit quite far from the water surface to account for the upstream design.
#2. downstream RDSB with 6-8" of LS + plants etc
This would again would the same small maxi 1200, but I would use another pump attached to the refugia to pump the water back into the DT. I could use another maxi 1200 type pump or my Eheim 1260 (very loud though..) external to feed back into the DT.
This design is better for lighting as the 36" 4xT5 will go over the entire setup at any height; however, heat is a concern here given that the room gets hot and we have another pump in the mix.
#3. downstream RDSB with 6-8" of LS + plants etc
This method would use the overflow I used on the 46G tank (single U tube) to drop the water to the refugia and then use the maxi 1200 or Eheim 1260 as a return to the DT.
I'm open to other suggestion as well. Thanks guys!
Below is a shot of how it might look doing an upstream design - lighting is currently from a single costco 7-8 LED flood bulb.
I have an acrylic refug that I picked up years ago and I wanted to put it to use before I add all of my two fish and my corals to this 15g. The refugia and 15G tank will sit side-by-side as the self-built stand was not designed to maximize space. However, a 5gal bucket will sit in the stand as an ATO system.
Ideas:
1. upstream RDSB with about 6-8" of LS + plants and macro and the usual stuff like cuc and snails.
I would use a small maxi 1200, behind some rocks, to pump the water into the front of the refugia and from the back it would spill down with a very slight angle. The hope is to have a very very slight angle - does this matter?
The problem with this design is that my 36" 4xT5 light fixture would have to sit quite far from the water surface to account for the upstream design.
#2. downstream RDSB with 6-8" of LS + plants etc
This would again would the same small maxi 1200, but I would use another pump attached to the refugia to pump the water back into the DT. I could use another maxi 1200 type pump or my Eheim 1260 (very loud though..) external to feed back into the DT.
This design is better for lighting as the 36" 4xT5 will go over the entire setup at any height; however, heat is a concern here given that the room gets hot and we have another pump in the mix.
#3. downstream RDSB with 6-8" of LS + plants etc
This method would use the overflow I used on the 46G tank (single U tube) to drop the water to the refugia and then use the maxi 1200 or Eheim 1260 as a return to the DT.
I'm open to other suggestion as well. Thanks guys!
Below is a shot of how it might look doing an upstream design - lighting is currently from a single costco 7-8 LED flood bulb.