BB 90g setup - critique flow. Pictures intensive!

[Reefyone]

Need input on what can be improved in my setup (other than better skimmer - will change soon, thinking of Turboflotor T1000).

FOWLR 90g tank with large tassle filefish, small antennata lion, small valentini puffer, percula clown. Feeding 3 times daily, a lot is pulverized and spitted, high waste production.
Tank now , side view:
Clean-up crew: 10 zebra hermits, 2 maroon leg hermits, 5 blue leg hermits, serpent star (lazy), 4 1" Mexican turbo-snails, 1 1" Belize zebra turbo snail, 2 astea snails left, 2 small scooter blennies.
LR - around 110 lb.

Hardware and flow rates:
- Fluval 404 canister filter, 340 gph with Custom Flo spray bars and bottom bar intake;

- 5 gal sump with Eheim1250 return pump, 317 gph (black nozzle in right far corner), 2 1" intake U-tubes direct flow from the tank into micron sock (was 100 mk, now 50 mk or less, changed every 2 days);

- powerheads: Maxi-Jet 1200, 295 gph, at the top left, for disturbing surface and oxygenation (power back-up is only for it); and directed to the bottom Maxi-Jet 400, 110 gph - for a bottom flow;
- Large CC Lee's skimmer, here is daily skimmate:


Total - 1062 gph.

Flow is left to right by powerheads, directed to the micron sock intake, and from the spraybar on the back and sump return pump (right to left downward) to Fluval 404 bottom bar intake.

Sump has the same water level, as the main tank has - there are no room below the tank for a sump.

Below are pictures of usual debris on the bottom (size of kitchen board is too small, I know, misjudjed eyeballing).
Bottom at the left - highest bottom flow from MJ400. Dots are coraline, I think (not siphonable):

Right - lowest bottom flow:

In the middle, again - looks like coraline:

Weekly film on the glass:


How can I improve the system?
Where should be powerheads? I have more, MJ 1200 and MJ600.
Do I need more turbo-snails to clean the glass?
I still have small particles in the water - 100 mk sock didn't help, as well as 50 mk sock. Add powerhead into the sump as additional return, to increase flow through the filter sock?
Thank you.

P.S. Thanks for the help with making pictures visible!

[Fly Guy]

copy the LAST line under your pictures and simply paste it in the message like this

*IMG]http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h181/flyyyguy/90plumbing.jpg[/IMG]

if the * was a bracket all you would see would be a pic

[Little Luey]

I like your rock work.
I would add the powerheads to the main tank, get as much flow as possible to keep all the poop suspended.

[Leonardo's Reef]

Rockwork looks very nice. Please DON'T buy a turboflotor. Here in the netherlands it is the most used skimmer, and also almost the worst one...

Maybe add a Tunze Stream...

Keep up the good work,

Leonardo

[motorslave]

looking nice! I would comsider adding flow to the bottom of the water column. You could take a power head (the stronger the better) and hook it to a piece of PVC that would run along the back with holes drilled in a manner that would direct the flow under the rocks. This will keep the hard to reach places free of detritus and help to suspend the lighter waste. In a BB set up you want to add a lot of flow to keep junk up in the water. Especially with the critters you have as they are messy eaters. If you go with the spray bar as I described, get the bigest power head you can stand to look at.
I also wouldnt suggest a Turboflotr. Try an ASM, Euroreef or MRC.

Robert

[Reefyone]

Adding powerheads to keep a poop suspended - where would you put them? Will that affect movement of the hermits and scooter blennies?

I noticed that stream from MJ1200 is a zone, excluded from using by all fish - too strong flow for a my slow swimmers.

About the drilled bar at the bottom behind the rock - I already have there ~2 ft/60 cm long Lifeguard CustomFlo bar with intakes, leading into Fluval 404.
Again, how strong flow at the bottom could affect small scooter blennies? Does anybody have something small alive in the strong bottom flow?

Thanks for the info on Turboflotor, what are working good skimmers, in low range of prices? I'm in the low end of the hobby, ASM, Euroreef or MRS are out of my league, no matter how long I will save .

More options?

[Little Luey]

check this out

http://www.proteinskimmer.com/index.htm

as far as flow, you will just have to experiment with it, try different positions for your powerheads and see what the poop does, if it piles up on a place where you can easilly vacum it I say leave it. You will be surprised how much flow your fish can take, remember they can always get out of the flow by going in to the rockwork.

[Reefyone]

You know, all skimmers' descriptions are good, but after buying some of them people start posting " don't buy that!", like with Torboflotor here, that had positive evaluation on wetwebmedia (Thanks, people, for a timely information).

It will be my 3rd skimmer, hopefully, it would produce sufficient quantity and quality skimmate without disassembling it twice a week . My price range is below $250 with pump. BTW, checked E-Bay and had seen prices on ASM G3-4X less than $200 - who could know...

And another questions:
Nor micron sock, nor Fluval are able to handle small particles suspended in the water after the rock basting, what could be done - more flow through the sock?
Glass cleaning in less accessible places - how many turbo-snails for 90 g, or anything else?

Thanks again!

[Leonardo's Reef]

I didn't mean to bash the turboflotor or AM, but it's by far not compatible for the tank volume that they give. Even less for us BB-keepers

I think Cerithum and Astrea snails are better for BB-tanks (and better in general I think) I forgot the amount of snails/gallon. Anyone?

Leonardo

[gman0526]

A G3 is a good affordable option. As far as flow is concerned if budget is a concern you can add 2 SEIO's 1500, (2600 even better) facing each other blowing across the LR structure. Like i said before You don't want anything settling on your LR. IMO/IME this is more important than having anything settling at the bottom of the tank where you can easily syphon out.

[Reefyone]

What is AM? If ASM - what is wrong with them, underpoweded or something else?

My apologies, Leonardo, it was not about bashing, but about general information - it's quite expensive to buy next and next skimmer, just to find later that they don't perform well, and you have to buy next, and then cycle repeats . Any information, preventing from making costly mistakes, is greatly appreciated .

About snails - I have an impression, that hermits are killing astreas, even when they have more then enough empty shells of all sizes, only 2 astreas survived in this tank. Turbos are harder to kill, and I had read that they should do a good job for cleaning glass, I have no algae. And hermits seems to be useful in picking spitted small pieses of food from the bottom and stones.

Is ASM G4X with Sedra 9000 pump acceptable, any pitfalls?
Where should be 2 Seios located - by the height: at the top or close to the middle level of the tank, and in depth: behind, before rock or directed onto rock (will the flow be blocked by rock and reflected back on the side glass)?

Does anybody have a slow swimmers, how do they do?
Thanks again.

[Leonardo's Reef]

AM = Aqua Medic, the manifacturer of the Turboflotor

[90_berlin_joe]

ASM G-3 is a great skimmer for your 90gal. Price and quailty! They are rated at between 180 and 250gal. I bought one for my 90gal and get very good skimmate (Run it wet and you will be very happy with what you pull out every day.

As far as flow, you have to remember that these fish come from the Ocean and flow is what it is all about, This give your fish the exercise they need to be healthy. You should have about 4,500gph in tank flow. My suggestion on this one is to Mod the Maxi-jets with the stream mod Maxi-jet mod This will give you a great increase of flow(as mush as 4x the current gph) without having to add all these different pumps that will increase your water temp anyways. IMHO!

Good luck!

[King-Kong]

One of the best things I ever did to increase skimmer production in my 90g BB was to crank the flow up. I went from having aprox. 2600gph (two Seio 1100s and a mag7 return) to 6500gph (vortech, 2x 1500). Immediately skimmer production went through the roof and my little ASM G-2 did much better.

When I get a second prop. tank setup, I will probably be moving my G-2 over to it, and getting a new skimmer for myself. Right now I am eying the G4 Plus (good footprint, and sedra9000)

[Fly Guy]

I run a g4+ on one tank and a G3 on another. The best "set it and forget it" skimmer IMO. Sure, there are some becketts that can pull out more junk, but asms are workhorses, do a great job every day wilth VERY little maintenance