my sump, could i improve it

[mossman604]

this is it

[Myka]

Slowly remove the bioballs 1/4 per week. They are a nitrate factory in the long run, and aren't beneficial to a reef. Otherwise it looks good. I'm happy to see you are smart and use two heaters instead of one. Of course I am assuming that have a combined wattage of 200-250w?

[mossman604]

in between 17 and 34 there is also miracle mud i think, i just bought the tank and im rather new, thanks for the help

[Madreefer]

Looks good.:smile: But I personsally I would not use the bioballs at all. What Myka said. Try live rock rubble instead. You should'nt have to use any type of sponge or filter media either unless you plan on cleaning it often, nitrate trap as well. Once it is up and running than you will know if you need that if there is microbubbles. So no skimmer?

[mossman604]

i was wondering do people with skimmers have trouble with aptasia and mojanos

[banditpowdercoat]

Why would a skimmer lead to Aptasia troubles? No correlation. Skimmers just take the extra Proteins out of the water.

[parkinsn]

i was wondering do people with skimmers have trouble with aptasia and mojanos

Skimming has nothing to do with aptasia or mojano's, its a natural part of reefing. They really dont do anything bad they are just a pest and hard to get rid of. I run an ER RS180 on my tank and i still have aptasia's although my pepermint shrimp are slowly getting rid of them.

[mossman604]

the tank i bought was infested with mojanos i have the rock in a bucket about 100 lbs of rock, anyway he wasnt using a skimmer. just wondering if i got a skimmer would it help to get rid of them

[Myka]

No it won't. You have to use something like Joe's Juice or mix up some Kalk paste and use that directly on each one. They are a pain in the butt to get rid of. Some Peppermint shrimp will eat the smaller aiptasia, but won't touch the Majanos.

You don't NEED a skimmer, but I would highly recommend one for a novice reef keeper. It tends to buffer the mistakes you will make, by lowering the disolved wastes. :D

[wickedfrags]

A nice looking design, 7 baffles is always good.

I would also recommend losing the bio-balls. As noted above not required or recommended. In the chamber beside this (5") I would leave this clean/free of macro algae. Lastly, I see you have the return intake angled down - don't do this (as noted in the manufacturer instructions), pumps are not desgned to operate as vacuum cleaners. The design should work well for you.

[Madreefer]

No it won't. You have to use something like Joe's Juice or mix up some Kalk paste and use that directly on each one. They are a pain in the butt to get rid of. Some Peppermint shrimp will eat the smaller aiptasia, but won't touch the Majanos.

You don't NEED a skimmer, but I would highly recommend one for a novice reef keeper. It tends to buffer the mistakes you will make, by lowering the disolved wastes. :D

I agree, good posting. Joes Juice is kind of a waste of money. To save Alot of Cash just buy some Kalk powder and make a paste than get a syringe and coat the Majanos with it. I have injected them with it but in my case it seems to work better if you coat them. For the aptasia you can do the same. Some of the bigger aiptasia the peppermint shrimp don't touch but you should'nt see any new ones pop up.

You don't need a skimmer but it sure makes life a hell of alot easier. But seriously get a skimmer. Lots of people upgrade and there is usually alot of good used skimmers on this site for sale.

[TrailFish]

I agree with the skimmer comment. Get one. Based on your diagram you don't really have room for a skimmer in your sump layout (you could always get a hang on, or one that operates outside the sump $$!). If you did want a skimmer for your sump, most operate best at a specified fixed waterdepth, so you might want to get rid of the last couple of baffles and set on overflow before the return to the appropriate depth.

Also, as far as the turned down intake, I agree that the pump shouldn't be a vacuum but but I don't thing it will make a huge difference (alot of people put in a strainer to protect the pump which is even more restrictive to the intake). In any event, if the water depth is sufficient, you don't really need it. However, it can be useful to prevent air being sucked into the pump if the intake is not sufficiently below the water surface.

Just my 2 cents. Good luck with your project. Have fun.