To Fluval or Not To Fluval

[bubble eye Mike]

I'm very discouraged with my tank . . . but suprisingly encouraged by the responses I got from my first post ever on the reef tank.

I had a couple of people suggest that I remove my fluval from my system and just let my live rock and skimmer tank care of the tank . . . I was wondering if this is the general consensus. I've read that they can contribute to higher nitrate problems and I am fighting a cyano bacteria problem.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

My tank is a 72 gallon with about 60lbs of live rock. I have a remora pro skimmer, uv sterilizer and the fluval 404 right now.

Thanks for your thoughts

Mike

[xtopher]

the fluval is a good idea if you just run carbon in it, I would definately do a good cleaning of it on a regular basis to remove settled detritus from it. I personally hate fluvals as I have never owned one w/o it leaking. Maybe look into an overflow (as I am asuming your tank isn't drilled) and a sump.

[xtopher]

How old is your tank? is there any corals or fish in it yet?

[JennM]

Not to Fluval. That is the answer. You may want to add a couple of powerheads to boost your flow, but otherwise just leave the skimmer to do its thing.

You may want to run the Fluval once a month for 24-48 hours. Pack it with carbon and filter floss, and if necessary, phoshpate adsoroption resin and run it for a day or two. Then take it off, empty it, clean it and store it until next month.

Canisters of any sort are good for occasional polishing of the water, but are not a good choice for full-time use on a saltwater tank.

Jenn

[bubble eye Mike]

thanks for the input. My tank is about 12 weeks old . . . I haven't had any fish in it for about 3 weeks now. I took my fish out to treat for ich and lost them all. I'm getting ready to pick up a couple of chromis . . . I'll QT them for three weeks, so it will be at least that long before I add any fish. No corals . . . way down the road for that. I don't know if I'm going to be able to stick it out much longer.

I'm 12 weeks in . . . It's getting old looking at a tank full of rock. Not much reward to this point.

[JennM]

Heh, you're at the, "Hurry up and wait!" stage

Jenn

[xtopher]

If I may make a suggestion, I would tear the tank down take it to your local glass shop and have it drilled, this will save you tons of headache in the long run. JMO though

[Loverotties]

I use mine for polishing(polyfilter)in it once in a while and for flow with it empty with a spraybar atached to the return.If I were you .I'd get more LR.Norm is 1 1/2lbs to 2 lbs per gallon or for you 108lbs to 144lbs.

[JennM]

Respectfully - tearing the tank down and drilling is an extreme measure and it would involve buying a sump of some sort, return pump... translates into a couple to a few hundred dollars. While a sump system is definitely better, at this point it would be a huge undertaking and not really necessary. If he was starting from scratch I'd say it would be a good idea but at this point, I don't think I'd suggest it.

As for the 1 1/2- 2 lbs of rock per gallon - that literature was typically written when the most common type of live rock was dense Caribbean stuff. With lighter, more porous rock available now, many tanks would not have any swimming room for fish if there was 2 lbs per gallon.

Decorate it as is aesthetically pleasing to you and don't overstock - that should be fine.

Jenn

[bubble eye Mike]

If I may ask one other question . . . I have a black spiney urchin that is leaking a whitish milky substance . . .is it dieing ? could it poison my tank?

[JennM]

Hmmm, no it sounds like it's having a good time all by itself

Jenn

[bubble eye Mike]

nothing to worry about you think?

[Junkzoo]

FWIW, I run a Fluval on my reef tank, just for carbon use,,and whatever water movement i get out of it,,,,,,,no other reason to use one,,,,

[xtopher]

Originally Posted by JennM

Respectfully - tearing the tank down and drilling is an extreme measure and it would involve buying a sump of some sort, return pump... translates into a couple to a few hundred dollars. While a sump system is definitely better, at this point it would be a huge undertaking and not really necessary. If he was starting from scratch I'd say it would be a good idea but at this point, I don't think I'd suggest it.

Jenn

Yes it would be an undertaking, but no it wouldn't cost that much maybe for the pump but you could always look in your local classified magazine and find a good deal on a sump, I dunno I am just kind of one of those love the sump type of people

[bubble eye Mike]

carbon only? do you remove the sponges? I understand they may contribute to nitrate problems?