Newbie tank build????'s lagoon type I believe

[Harold Green]

Lol I'm confused Harold Green? From what I just read I think we gave very similar advise?

Did we? I reread the posts and now I'm confused as to what we both suggested that was so similar. At any rate I think it was all good advice from everyone. And we all know most beginners can use all the advice they can get. Putting all the good advice together in one system can often be the real issue.

 

[jasonandsarah]

 

[Harold Green]

Very informative video. They missed mentioning the most important element of sumps. Being able to use equipment you already have. When I set up my 210 I tore down two 75g tanks and I used one for my sump. Draw back is if you're using an existing stand some tanks can be too tall to work well. I had to build a stand anyway so that wasn't an issue. I'm in the camp of using acrylic for baffles in a glass tank. Wash glass and acrylic with alcohol before caulking. Set baffle in place, square up and apply masking tape to several areas on one side. Heavy bead of caulking on the other side. Next day remove tape and caulk that side. I have one sump I put baffles in over 25 years ago that are still solidly attached in place. You can certainly have a successful tank without a sump but I wouldn't consider a large tank without one. Side note when acrylic fails in being siliconed in the sump it's generally because the acrylic was too thin and flexed. Quarter inch minimum. 75g sump construction with refusium on end of sump.

 

[jasonandsarah]

Very informative video. They missed mentioning the most important element of sumps. Being able to use equipment you already have. When I set up my 210 I tore down two 75g tanks and I used one for my sump. Draw back is if you're using an existing stand some tanks can be too tall to work well. I had to build a stand anyway so that wasn't an issue. I'm in the camp of using acrylic for baffles in a glass tank. Wash glass and acrylic with alcohol before caulking. Set baffle in place, square up and apply masking tape to several areas on one side. Heavy bead of caulking on the other side. Next day remove tape and caulk that side. I have one sump I put baffles in over 25 years ago that are still solidly attached in place. You can certainly have a successful tank without a sump but I wouldn't consider a large tank without one. Side note when acrylic fails in being siliconed in the sump it's generally because the acrylic was too thin and flexed. Quarter inch minimum. 75g sump construction with refusium on end of sump.

Nice sump and that's a beastly Bubble Magnus skimmer!

 

[Harold Green]

It works better than any skimmer I've had before. It also has a drain hose to empty the cup without having to remove it. About once a week I take a narrow kitchen brush and run it around the inside of the cup and throat, pour in a little ro water and drain the skimate out. It's a bm220A model rated for tanks up to 396g. Does a great job on my 210. After running this sump for a year I don't believe there's anything about it that I would change. Twin filter socks with an overflow ledge so if they stop up flow bypasses them with ease and I can see they need changing. Normally every two to three days. Refusium is full of pods and a couple of large wild Florida clams that came in on live rock. Algae grows very slowly in refusium since it's fed from my gfo/carbon reactor. This way the slow flow of water from the refusium is about as low in nutrients as I can get it when it returns to the tank.

 

[CableGuy86]

Off subject a little bit but I am in the process of adding rock to my tank. Is there a correct way to do this?

Should I buy all live rock, 50% live 50%dry, or 25% live? Etc.....

Lastly I have some bristle worms in my other tank I hear good and bad about them but I haven't had any problems. Anyway, When I get live rock can I rinse it in fresh water 1st to make sure I get them out? Any suggestions?

 

[Harold Green]

All those methods are right and will all work. The advantage of live rock is it's ready to filter the water immediately if there's no die off on the rock. Dry rock will take some time to become active, weeks or more. Dry rock is cheaper and will not have any life on it. That's very important to those who raise high end corals and don't want to risk introducing something alive to the tank. Live rock has a variety of life some of which may become established in the tank. I have live rock with corals, clams, urchins, etc. that are still alive a year after starting the tank. It's personal preference along with cost. There are lots of article on dips and curing but if the rock is truly fresh nothing more than a dip may be necessary and I don't even do that although most do. It really depends on what your goal for the tank is.