Some comments about the above photos. First, the sump. Water enters and first flows through two filter socks, then to a reservoir housing the protein skimmer. From there, there is a weir plate and the flow falls first through a Chaeto bed, then a nylon bag with GAC and finally a foam filter to prevent migration of algae, carbon, or anything else into the pump chamber. Lighting is on at night, opposite the display tank photoperiod. There, two Danner Mag Drive 12 pumps are alternated by timers and propels water through eductors (flow accelerators.) Flow reversal does a good job of stirring up any detritus in the tank.
The 120-gallon tank houses 50 pounds of Florida live rock. It was cured for 5 months in a 100-gallon Rubbermaid tub. This was done in darkness until the ammonia and nitrite fell to zero. Once cycled, an old BuildMyLED lighted the tub. Amazingly, stony corals survived in almost total darkness for the month. The long cure time allowed the rock to be examined for any undesirables, such as Valonia algae and Aiptasia anemones. Partial water changes were performed during this time. 50 pounds of dead rock was cured in a similar manner (water was spiked with ammonia to kick cycling off.)
