A bunch of questions

[morrisgsu]

I am somewhat new to the hobby of saltwater fish keeping. I have a ton of questions. I have a 55 gallon up and running now. Im using a marineland magnum 350 filter. I have two powerheads in the tank. A tidepool S.O.S connecting to a sump underneath the tank with a little macroalgae. My tank has around 15lbs. of LR now, and around an 1-1 1/2 of live sand on the bottom. I have blue actinic lighting along with led lights and 50/50. My tank has only been running for a month or so. I was wondering......
1. It doesnt seem like my tank is getting filtered well enough? Does it sound like I have good enough filtration.
2. What is Kwall or whatever its called (promotes coraline algae i think)? Where do I get it, and should I worry about using it at all?
3. I want a protein skimmer. Anyone have any hang on DIY plans? Is a hang on good enough? It just seems like it wouldn't do much to put it in the sump.
4. My sump has macroalgae with a pump but the enitre left side of the sump has hardly any water movement is this ok?



These are just someof the questions I have so far.

[Fly Guy]

1. You could add a little rock. 15-20 pounds or so. Make sure it is stacked openly and that you are getting good flow through it. Lifiting yourr ock would be a bonus as well. Lose the magnum

2. kalkwasser. (pickling lime) it sustains alkalintiy and calcium levels. at this point It sounds as though regular water changes should be able to handle your needs, although without knowing what your alkalinity and calcium levels are its hard to say whether dosing kalk or even a two part alk and caclium additive is something you need to look into

3. In sump is the best place, or at least feeding off the sump. By surface skimming water from the tank and sending it to the skimmer that is the dirtiest water and what should be skimmed. There are some decent hang on options for a tank your size but if you have a sump, that is where it should go. Yes you need a skimmer unless you want to not be able to feed adequately or intend on doing massive wter changes often

4. it should be ok...but hard to say without a pic of your set up. If it is truly stagnant in spots then that isnt ok. If we deal with #3 appropriately(by adding a skimmer to your sump) this issue will go away anyway

hth

[morrisgsu]

Thankyou for your response. What kind of filter do you suggest? I have a marineland 3000 as well. Should I use that instead?

[paulg]

Dont get a filter...use a protein skimmer(must be a good one if getting a little rock)

[Fly Guy]

Originally Posted by morrisgsu

Thankyou for your response. What kind of filter do you suggest? I have a marineland 3000 as well. Should I use that instead?

healthy live rock with good flow through it and your skimmer IS your filtration. Anything else is not only unecessary, but can contribute to nitrate and phosphate issues if not maintained religiously

That magnum can be used for effectively running carbon if the need ever arises that you need to polsih your water or remove any smell or other toxins

[Fat Tony]

if you can wait a little while, i will have an Octopus Dual HOB (hang on) Skimmer for sale for cheap... it worked great on my tank when i didn't have it in the sump. now that it's in the sump, the water level (sump level) is too low to get a good amout of foam... see the link in my sig and you can see what it looks like

[morrisgsu]

A fish store near my house has good used protein skimmers for $79.00 but they are placed in the sump. Anyway I took the magnum out and put a marineland 3000 in there until I can pick up the protein skimmer tomorrow.

[morrisgsu]

What kind of skimmer is recommended for a 55 gallon?

[Fly Guy]

Dont buy that skimmer until you find out exactly what it is and post here.

You WANT the skimmer in your sump and not a HOB.

[morrisgsu]

ok will do

[Geoff]

have you been doing water changes? how often? do you siphon out detritus during water changes?

G~