Water Quality/Clarity for newb

[sharuq1]

As many of you know I am in the process of setting up a 48g bow. I have not got lighting for it yet, but I am leaning to t5's. Unfortunately this tank has to be run sumpless due to lack of room and how the stand was built. I need some good suggestions for how to best maintain water clarity on a sumpless tank.

What is currently running:

Rena XP2 (going to have to get rid of soon I think due to the microbubbles it puts out--unless of course someone points out good reason to keep it--kind of a detritus trap--came with the tank)
Coralife Super Skimmer
Seio 820
LS on the bottom (still getting old sand taken out and gradually replacing with new)

What I will put on:
AC110 eventually modded into a fuge
more powerheads
lighting

I realise the system needs more flow as well, but not sure what to put in for that yet. Suggestions would be great.


Corals to go in will be frog/hammerspawn,acan ,mushrooms, rics, m. digitata and toadstool. Somewhere along the line would like more softies, possibly a few sps near the top and maybe a clam if I am brave.

It was suggested I run carbon. How often should that be replaced and how much should be run? Is there anything else I can do for water quality and clarity that won't break the bank?

I have heard some things about running phosphate removers through a gadget of some sort as well as a tiny bit about that zeolite stuff but I am still pretty much woefully ignorant as far as gadgets go. Are there some links anyone could point me to for hob versions of these or ones that can be run sumpless (with hose or something??)?

Edit:
To respond to the post below:

-I am using RO from a local place in town, but I am trying to save for my own ro/di unit so I know for sure the water is good.

-For this tank everything has decided to eat out of the "mandarin feeding stations" which are 2 spice jars. So I just stick food in there and the next day it is all gone. (pigs) All that is in the jars is tiny nls and sometimes decapsulated brine shrimp eggs. I was feeding up top for a bit but the fish are not too bright and I did not like the pellets floating on into the rock to waste there. I figure if they are all going to be pigs and eat from the jars anyway may as well let them, then the food is more or less contained. Frankly if it wasn't for the mandy there would not be food in that tank, as I like to feed sparingly. I figure as long as it is all gone the next day that it should hopefully be alright.

-the phos reactor I would really like to get, sounds great. Sounds like I won't need the zeo which is a relief as I know nothing about it.

-I don't have all the test kits yet, but I do have ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and 1 or 2 pH kits. I figured just starting that those were the most important due to the cycle and all.

-thanks for the advice! Some I already knew but others who read this will also benefit. Keep it coming.

Should I keep the XP2 or no? (If so what do I stick in there? mud? A big rock?? I would just as soon not run my carbon and media in there as I will forget about it for sure :P)
Should I run phosguard if I don't have a phos reactor? (yet--I mean to buy one soon as I am able)
Should I run purigen or some other resin based media?

[Myka]

Do you have test kits? If not, start buying them. :D

The ZEO products are targeted more for SPS dominant systems.

The phosphate gadget you're talking about is a PhosBan Reactor. Works like a fluidized bed filter excpet it's designed to run a phosphate media. I hugely recommend running a phosphate adsorbing material. Buy one that is reddish brown, not the white kind. I would run that on your tank as soon as your tank has water running in it. It will help to minimize the initial algae bloom stages you'll go through. J&L Aquatics sells a PhosBan Reactor 150 package which includes the reactor, a pump to run it, some tubing to hook it up, and the media for $87 I think it is. You want to run phosphate media very slowly...about 150 gph through it to maxmize adsorbtion.

I think most people recommend 1/2 cup of carbon per 10 gallons, but I could be wrong there. Someone chime in!! I run about 2 tbsp per 10 gallons, and I change it out twice a month. I use the Kent carbon. If you run a large amount you change it out less often, if you run a small amount you need to change it more often. It is not good to run old carbon. Carbon will adsorb good elements from the water in minimal amounts as well as the "bad" stuff. Once carbon gets filled to capacity it will still be able to adsorb some of the good elements (they have smaller particle size), so you're only doing hard by running old carbon. Many people only run carbon for a few days every couple of weeks. If I wasn't so lazy about cleaning my AquaClear (that's what I use to run my carbon and phosphate media) then that's what I would do. HAHA! You want to run water fast through carbon, but make sure that the carbon is packed tighly so it doesn't move around and rub together rubbing off carbon dust into your tank.

Waterchanges help with water quality as well. On a new tank I would suggest 10-15% once per week siphoning off detritus during the change. Once a tank gets older it doesn't need to be done as often. My tank is a year old, and I do 15% every 3 weeks or month.

Oh, and don't overfeed!!!!! :D Newbies always overfeed... :p If you feed frozen food, put the amount you want to feed into a little cup or something, add RO water to it, let it melt, drain the water, add some fresh RO, drain again, then feed. Lots of crap comes out of those frozen cubes.

Oh, and be sure you have a HIGH QUALITY water source!! Where do you plan on getting your water?

[sharuq1]

What brand name is the best for the phos reactor? I have seen only the "two little fishies" and "AquaC XP" so far.

[Myka]

I can't compare the two...I haven't even seen the AqaC XP one, but I have the TLF ones and they are great.