Help Me Decide on Filtration for 850 Gallon System

[Feet4Fish]

I am preparing to embark on the set up of my dream team. It will be a 650 gallon display with about 200 gallons of water down in the basement fish room. I've had to tank now for over six months and I've been bouncing around many filtration ideas in my head. It will be primarily a large fish only tank. Will include large angels, triggers, large tangs, likely a large school of heniochus or similar and perhaps a bamboo or epaulette shark.

My biggest question is how best to do biological filtration. I will have a robust mechanical pre-filter as well as I have a very large ETSS downdraft skimmer for the system. The idea that I'm kick around most now is making a fluidized biological filter of a 50 gallon drum with something similar to K-1 media. I know Steve Bashi does a biofukyer with similar media and I was going to DIY one. The features I like about it is that it should be more than adequate to handle the bio load and it's a self cleaning system. Downline from it I would have likely have a hundred gallon refugium to further handle nitrate reduction.

Another idea would be a fluidized sand filter but I'm not sure how to make one of an appropriate size for the system. I know That the sand would provide superior surface area even compared to the K-1.

I value anyone's input. Please let me know your thoughts, any tips or tricks. I would love to hear them. My current system which is 125 gallon I run off some marine pure in the sump combined with the protein skimmer and bio pellets. It runs flawlessly but the bio load is nothing like it's going to be on the big system.

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[luke33]

Large skimmer, large refugium with lots of macro. Stick to what works : ) Sounds like a fun build.

 

[TonapahNorth]

yeah, this is gonna be a good one

 

[Greaps]

Phosphate Rx might work well for phosphate reduction on the cheap and easy.

 

[Feet4Fish]

Large skimmer, large refugium with lots of macro. Stick to what works : ) Sounds like a fun build.

Luke in Indy? Premium? Just a guess. Anyway, so in thinking about your suggestion. i would want to make my major investment in a high quality skimmer. I know many would shout out Bubble King, but I can't bring myself to open up my wallet quite that much. My lean is to an AquaC EV1000 or 2000.... also have thought about a Tunze 9430.001. I currently have an ETSS Gemini 1400 that came along with the system, but I don't think i want to use it. What doe you guys recommend as a high quality skimmer for 650 gallon heavy bioload?

 

[luke33]

Luke in Indy? Premium? Just a guess. Anyway, so in thinking about your suggestion. i would want to make my major investment in a high quality skimmer. I know many would shout out Bubble King, but I can't bring myself to open up my wallet quite that much. My lean is to an AquaC EV1000 or 2000.... also have thought about a Tunze 9430.001. I currently have an ETSS Gemini 1400 that came along with the system, but I don't think i want to use it. What doe you guys recommend as a high quality skimmer for 650 gallon heavy bioload?

Different Luke, but in the same city : ) I don't believe you need to buy a bubble king to get the job done. Most skimmers these days are designed similar and are even using the same jebao dc pump's, just branded under different names. I have never cared for the Aquac's myself as they are one of my least favorite skimmers of all time. They have not changed the design in 15+ yrs and the only one's that really work ok are the large one's you mention. I would probably get something that is in the 2400-3000lph air range using a dc pump, the regal 12" octo, simplicity 800, skimz sm253, you could even look at a high seas with the similar pump and save a hundo or two. These are all pretty much the same skimmer. Now if you want to go with a proven skimmer that I would be considered a premium I would look at the atb's. Will it skim much better than the others? Maybe slightly, even ATB is moving over to jebao dc's.