New reefer

[yesjenks]

Hello all,
I'm new to reefing and this site. Wanted to say hello to you all. I've learnt alot from reading through some of your advice to other people.
I've had freshwater tanks for about 10 years and recently decided to set up a saltwater tank. I bought (what I thought) was am all inclusive old reef setup from someone on craigslist a few months ago but waited till now to set it up because my wife and I were blessed with a baby girls 4 months ago.
Once I started to set it up I realized most of the equipment is outdated or missing pieces. Here is a short list of my setup,
75 gallon acrylic tank
20 gallon 3 stage sump (I've been told that this system is outdate)
Old coral life skimmer (really need to replace but don't have the money for it now)
I'll provide pictures later this evening when I get home from work. Over time I want to replace the skimmer and return pump. I would also like to buy a RO/DI water purifier as I've read from other posts that this is a necessity when keeping coral.
Feel free to ask any questions or leave feedback.
Thank you,
Jay

 

[roc5288]

Welcome to MR. Congrats with the new baby. You will find a lot of people selling equipment here also, when you are ready to upgrade. Take your time and have fun with the hobby. We also have vendors here that will be more than happy to help. I myself like to deal with saltwatercritters Russ is a great guy.

 

[Arati]

Hi Jay welcome to MR.

you didn't mention if your setup running or not yet.

I have a 3 section sump i wasn't aware it was outdated.

Old coralife skimmers, depending on the model can be easily modified to get much effectiveness. post a pic and maybe we can give you some suggestions that will help until you can upgrade.

ro/di is a must my advice would be to buy it a good local fish store. im sure the NJ people can direct you on that one. you wouldn't wan t to put tap in it even for setup.

best of luck with everything. ask a lot of questions

nothing good happens fast in this hobby

 

[rkaragozler]

Welcome to MR, and congrads on your 4 month old daughter, take your time and ask questions, their is never a dumb question. Good luck. I will be looking to your pics, and hopefully a tank thread.

 

[yesjenks]

Thank you all for the warm welcome.

My setup is up and running. Been up for about 2 months. I started with 30 lbs live rock and 50 lbs base rock. For the first few weeks I was putting PurplePlus in to help cure the rock. About a month ago I bought 10 assorted damsels and just bought 4 small frags (1 frogspawn 1 detro 1 brain coral and 1 branch of polyps) Sunday.

Arati "ro/di is a must my advice would be to buy it a good local fish store. im sure the NJ people can direct you on that one. you wouldn't wan t to put tap in it even for setup." I did use regular tap water to fill up my tank. How bad is this?

As far as the 3 stage sump goes, I have a box with filter media which is where the water first enters the sump. After going through the media it drain's onto bio balls and then onto the chamber with my skimmer and return pump. I went to a relatively local reef store Sunday (first time there) and the owner told me to get rid of my media chamber and have my tank drain into a sock in the sump; and get rid of the bio balls. Thoughts on this?

The skimmer I have is an old style super 4 by Coralife. I have it in my sump and it doesn't seem to be doing much. My thoughts are either the air pump I have isn't strong enough or, its to tall for my sump. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tonight I had my first problem. My wife's nieces came over for dinner. While I was outside by the grill they saw my magfloats in the tank and wrecked havoc on the front of the tank. Looks like a few pieces of sand got stuck in the mags while they were pulling them around. I ran my finger over the scratches inside the tank and they don't seem to deep but are very noticeable! Anything I can that won't harm my livestock?

Last, I want to post pictures but can't figure out how to add them. How do I do this?

Thank you!

Jay

 

[Arati]

O ya I would take out the bio balls and filter media. Im not a big fan of filter sock, but of your skimmers not working well id just go with a filter sock for now. maybe look at the bubble magus skimmers to find one with the right size footprint for your sump. something like an nac5 or 7 maybe.

Ill let someone with more experience get on about the tap water you have so far, but
i wouldn't use it going forward.


sorry I don't know about acrylic repair.

as for pictures. i use photobucket.com and just put up links its much easier.

 

[rkaragozler]

photo bucket. when you get a chance post pics of your equipment. as far as scratches, you have to drain, and buff out.

 

[xxxAngeloxxx]

Or u can try www.lunapic.com


Additected To MR =D Lol

 

[mbg75]

Definitely lose the filter media and bio-balls. A filter sock is fine, but the need to be changed every couple days. If u get a few socks, u can just wash them out (no soap).

Without RO/Di water you may run into algae problems.

Let the tank establish before u add too many corals. What are u using for lighting?

A skimmer and RO/Di unit should be on your lists of future purchases

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[yesjenks]

Ok, I'm going to pick up a few socks and swap out the bio balls and filter media tonight.

RO/Di and new skimmer are on top of my list.

I am done adding livestock to the tank for the next little while. I was overcome with excitement and wanted to put a few corals in. In hindsight I should have waited a little longer.

My light is a 48" wavepoint with 2x12,000k 54w and 2x460nm Actinic 54 W

Here are some pictures of my tank. I tried to get some of the rounder corners. Let me know what you think.

http://s1225.photobucket.com/albums...s1225.photobucket.com/albums/ee393/jenks6528/

 

[yesjenks]

Why is the link to my picts sending me back to this page?

 

[mbg75]

Is your current skimmer in the same section of sump that the return pump is in?

Skimmer should be in a section that has a consistent water level.

Can u post a pic of the sump?

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[yesjenks]

Sorry about the delayed response.

Not sure what happened with posting pictures so, here is a short video I took of my tank.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuLJ5yGVcnM

A little hard to see the sump. There are only to chambers. 1 where the bio balls were (which I took out.) also where the water comes in, and another where the skimmer and return pump sit. Should I move the skimmer to the section where the bio balls were?

Yesterday I bought a used Coralife 125 skimmer. Set it up and had a problem with the water flow being to strong. The person I bought it from made some moderations which resulted in them removing the part that controls how much water flows into the skimmer. I ewnt to home depot knowing what I need to fix the problem and they are out of 1 of the parts I need. Hope to go to a different 1 tomorrow.

I have a few questions. I want to buy a RO/DI filter but the wife would kill me if i spent anther $200 or so on one now. If I found a unit that was made for human consumption too that would work. Haven't found anything yet. But, if anyone knows of something I would greatly appreciate your input.

Algae. Seems to be taking over my tank. My Phosphate's are between .5 and 1. hard to differentiate the color. Nitrate is .5. What can I do to lower them?

I think I need to beef up my cleaning crew. I have 5 turbo snails. What else can I put in that will help clean up?

Thank you all for your input!

 

[kenconnect]

1st off welcome and congrats on ur new bany girl.
The algae problem u are having I would say it's from using tap water.
Look in the marKetplace to see if any other members is selling 1 or just put a post in want to buy and Another member or most vendors will point you in the right direction on how to purchase 1 for a good price.
Water changes is the best way to reduce ur levels.
Good luck, like others members said any ? Don't b afraid to ask. U will find that most of the people on here is willing to help a new or old member out with out a problem

 

[yesjenks]

Thank you kenconnect!

Anyone know if I can use brass for part of my plumbing? Or, is it a bad idea?

 

[mbg75]

No metal for plumbing..

put skimmer in bio ball section.

I paid $140 for my RO/Di. Check with some vendors here. Put a wanted add up in the want to buy section.

That skimmer will work, but needs some mods to even be 1/2 way decent.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

 

[yesjenks]

mbg75 what sort or mods would you recomend for the skimmer?

putting up an add now.

 

[yesjenks]

I have a UV sterilizer. I was told not to run it on a reef aquarium becase it takes out some of the good bacteria. Is this true? If so, being that I don't have a RO/DI filter yet can I run the UV on the water I'm going to add to add to the tank?

 

[yesjenks]

I?m trying to add a ball valve to control the water input to my skimmer. I'm looking for a 1/2 inch threaded. I've been to 2 home depot's and 1 plumbing supply store and no one has one that?s threaded. Can I just glue the ends of my piping to the insides of the ball valve? I'm using (I think) its acrylic flexible hosing.

 

[yesjenks]

Picture update

Tanks been coming along real nicely. Let me know what you think.