First let me say this is an awesome forum, you people do an excellent job informing others about this "hobby" (way of life).
I am considering getting back into marine aquariums.
History...
I had 55g in college 10 years ago. Maintained for about 2 years. Used a under gravel type filter under a bed of crushed coral. Also used a large bio / mechanical "hang on filter". Primarily a fish only, had a couple of anemone. Have a bit of knowledge on the amount of work it takes to maintain.
Currently...
Have been researching the latest tech. for about 2 months. I have a 90 gallon and would like to set it up "right" to begin with. Planning on slowly developing into reef tank ~ 1 year. I am CONSIDERING the following.
Filtration...
Plenum base / screen / gravel / screen / live sand and ~ 90 lbs live rock / protein skimmer / circulation.
Questions...
All the books I have read don't really seem to recommend a good system, just explain the differences.
What is the majority of the enthusiasts (sp) using????????
Should I look at investing in a custom sump right away??
Should I have a mechanical filter (canister) in line prior to skimmer. This seems like a good idea but I have not seen it mentioned. This could provide return flow.
I understand it is a large initial $$$ and reoccurring $$$
Both the plenum method(seems to be losing popularity) and the Deep Sand Bed method(new darling of the hobby) Work. Plenums use a larger sized particle substrate than DSB which use much finer oolitic(sugar sized)sand as a major component. The finer stuff tend to keep detritus on the sand surface where it can be picked at by a wider variety of scavenging organisms. I know people who use a plenum successfully, on the other hand I started using finer grained sand beds and find them easy to set up and fairly self maintaining without having to construct the plenum screen or worry about digging animals breaching the integrety of the plenum and disprupting the anoxic bottom layers. Occasioanl digging in a DSB produces a much more localized effect.
The key which ever method you adopt is construction and substrate choices, introducing the myriad detrivores and other creatures who will do the bulk of the waste reduction process.
A good quality skimmer is a great tool when first setting up a new tank, it will save you a lot of grief while you are getting the bio processes established. Some people are having good luck running without the skimmer after a while and using additional refugiums with massive algae to reduce the free nutrient levels and provide a safe place for copepods, amphiposa and other small food critters to reproduce and increase the plankton levels in the system.
A sump is just another container below or etc that gives you a place to hide the skimmer and other ugly hardware. You can use anything from rubbermaid tubs to old beater aquariums to spendy custom sumps, depending on what you want to do with it. I use my old 55 as a combo equipment sump and algae refugium.
Other considerations are water flow and direction, you want about 10x the tank volume in flow, either by the return pump or internal power heads, again the amount will depend on the types of corals you choose to keep, as will your lighting choice. A 90 will require 4 VHO at least(PC will work, but costlier) for easy so called "low light corals". A pair of 175 metal halides would also be a good choice and if you even remotely think you may want to do SPS corals or Tridacnid clams a pair of 400 watt MH would be cheaper in the long run.
Plan you tank out thouroughly, look at as many tanks as you can and decide where you wanna go with it then build the tank to suit the animals. Its hard to build a one size fits all reef, the needs of different animals available are diverse and nothing good ever happens quick, HTH
I just received a great article on DSB from cqreen@livinglava.com that you may find quite interesting to read. I am in the process of sitting up a 80gal reef tank and just put in a Deep Sand Bed which averages about 5" deep and in a couple of places 6" deep. I used a thin layer of crushed coral on the bottom, followed by 65lbs of Aragonite sand, followed by 120lbs of Aragamax sand, followed by 8lbs of Pink Flamigo sand, followed by l2lbs of live sand.
I agree with everything Doug has said. I've got two tanks; a 55 reef and 38 FOWLR. I set up the 38 this past fall with a DSB of approx. 5", Live Rock, Skimmer and powerheads. This approach makes a very sound biosystem, it just takes time and patience for it to mature properly.
What books do you have? Natural Reef Aquariums by John Tullock and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist are two of the best for beginning reefs and make good references for all reefers.
A good plan for lighting is to build a hood that is capable of holding 4x110w VHO's with room to add MH lighting if you decide to go to sps or clams after the tank matures.
IMHO, it is unnecessary to have supplemental mechanical filtration. With sufficient live rock and sand bed, the tank will handle the bioload without extra filters. It is important ot let the tank age a bit before putting fish or corals in so that the bacteria and live rock critter population can multiply to do the job. The tank will cycle with just the live rock and it is unnecessary to use fish for that purpose.
Read a lot; go slow; get the best equipment your budget can stand and ask the board before buying any specific items. It is expensive but it is axiomatic that it's cheaper to do it right the first time!!
Dick
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