Tweaking! (Minor System Adjustments)
Well thank you again my friends.
<Scott F. here to help today!>
Without you, I would be up s*it creek w/out a paddle.......As it goes I feel I am anyway!
<Been up that creek, and it stinks! LOL>
I think I have made a major mistake. As explained, I have two refugiums or sumps and at the moment they are running and cycled as follows:-
Sump or bottom tank at the moment, just has bioballs in it. These were to be replaced with live rock as soon as I can afford to do this. 4ft above this sump I have another tank with a 5" DSB of CaribSea Sugar fine sand (which is now very live indeed) and this is where I feel I have made my mistake. This upper tank is lit 24/7 with 120 watts of lighting and the macroalgae (yes I know) Caulerpa racemosa is growing like wild-fire.
<Not a "mistake"; it's just that Caulerpa have some potential downfalls that must be recognized and accepted if you intend to use them for nutrient export>
I have two other very quickly growing algae in this upper tank. One is red, like pipe coral and one is one of the Halimeda species. Can I just tear out the Caulerpa Racemosa?......or even should I ?
<"Tearing" out of Caulerpa species is potentially problematic, as the ripped-up fronds can leach some noxious materials into the water that could be detrimental to some corals. Best to carefully remove as much as you can. If you are determined not to use Caulerpa, then the other macroalgae that you describe are very nice. Gracilaria and Chaetomorpha are my two favorites, but there are many others. Halimeda is less effective as a nutrient export mechanism, but this algae is a great indicator of your calcium level in the system.>
.....I have heard, that to put it mildly this is not maybe the best Algae to have in a refugium designed
for NNR. (with a DSB) (and maybe I should stick with just one species of macroalgae?)
<Nothing wrong with diversity. Just do consider that some species are more prolific than others.>
If I have don't have to take out the Racemosa should I move it (or can I move it to the bottom sump tank, where at the moment there is no sand?)
<Might be easier to remove that way, but it's really your call. The macroalgae will not interrupt denitrification, FYI. If it does "go sexual", releasing its gametes into the water, then it could put a burden on biological filtration, but that's entirely controllable with effective protein skimming and water changes.>
To cut a long story short. I had to move my main display tank (to have a carpet fitted due to a flood....Ahhhh, anyway.)  I took this opportunity to do away with all the mechanical filters, power filters etc, so I did away with my Aqua Medic Reef 500, with Turboflotor skimmer, my big Eheim power filter and my rainbow lifeguard fluidized bed filter, filled with Rowa-Phos.
<An excellent product, and "fluidizing" it is the best way to utilize it.>
I moved all the fish, the BTA Anemone (yup I know) , the mushrooms and the pulsing Xenia which is all I have in the 6X2X2 main display into a 40 gallon with just one trickle filter and I know they cannot stay there for very long.
The main tank is empty and although I have saved the seawater, it is now three days old (should I use this old water or mix up new?)
<If the parameters test out okay, I see no reason why you couldn't>
I hope you can help..... Cheers for now I need to go and cut some more bits of pipe...........
Many, Many thanks. Simon.
<Simon- really sounds like you're doing okay. You are taking great steps by removing mechanical filtration media, implementing a refugium, etc. Keep up the good work! These are just minor adjustments and "tweaks" to your system-and we never seem to stop this process! All part of the learning curve (and the FUN!) of the hobby! Keep smiling! Regards, Scott F>

Filtration Methods, reef     1/14/07
Hey guys currently I have a 30 gallon reef aquarium which I admit is overstocked, and I am in the process of making home for a couple of my fish. <fishes>  and my Nitrates are extremely high about 160ppm, then after a 25% water change dropped to about 80ppm.  
<Still unacceptably high.. More water changes, please! *grin*>
I have started feeding them less, as I was over feeding them no doubt.  However this question mostly refers to filtration.  
<Ok>
I have currently a Penguin (bio wheel removed) so carbon filter only, and a CPR wet dry with poly pad, and ROWAphos.  
<How often are you thoroughly rinsing (in throwaway tank water after a water change!) the Poly Pad? You should make this a regular part of maintenance if it is not, it will help with your nitrate issue.>
I plan on getting super activated carbon and throwing it in my wet-dry, along with Purigen, would I still need to keep on the mechanical filter or what would you recommend I do?  
<? ...I'm not completely clear what you're asking here.. Are you asking that after adding carbon and Purigen to your wet/dry, if you can remove your hang-on-back filter? If so, you certainly could.>
I also have a CPR protein skimmer.  Every filtration device on the tank is rated to 55gal or 60gal max, so I am getting a lot of filtration right now, I am just not sure if it is hurting me.  
<? Why would it be hurting you? The only possible problem I see is the utilization of the wet/dry in a reef setting. This is typically not done, for the reason of the possibility of higher nitrate accumulation. One option here could be to remove the wet/dry portion in your sump and replace with submersed live rock rubble, which will likewise act as a biological filter.>
Also, my protein skimmer, after I clean it will up to 2 cups overnight, but after that I keep the collection cup clean and it just fills maybe a 1/4" per day... any ideas?
<Perhaps just needs to be fine tuned.>
Thanks for all of your help,
Jason
<Hope my responses serve you well! -JustinN>

Re: Filtration Methods, reef     1/14/07
Hello Again,
So if I understand correctly, I should remove the "BioBale" currently in my wet/dry and replace it with live rock particulate?... Also, would I then need a light over my wet/dry?  Also, do you know of anyone that might happen to sell live rock particulate that is large enough not to slip through egg crate? or is my LFS a best option?
Thanks Again,
Jason
<Mmm, not particulate, then you'd just have a crushed coral-like substrate. Live rock rubble is the term usually used to describe a collection of smaller broken bits of live rock, often found at the bottom of shipping boxes from overseas shippers. A LFS would likely be your best bet, unless you have enough live rock that you can spare to break some up into smaller pieces with a chisel and hammer. The idea here is to keep the live rock submersed, and the biota on and in the rock will act as your nitrifying filtration. Cheers! -JustinN>

Re: Filtration Methods, reef     1/14/07
Hello Again,
So if I understand correctly, I should remove the "BioBale" currently in my wet/dry and replace it with live rock particulate?... Also, would I then need a light over my wet/dry?  Also, do you know of anyone that might happen to sell live rock particulate that is large enough not to slip through egg crate? or is my LFS a best option?
Thanks Again,
Jason
<Sorry for the second follow-up here, Jason, but I realized that I missed your question about lighting. No, lighting is not necessary for live rock rubble alone. Lighting over your sump would only become necessary if you were to add macroalgae into the mix. Cheers! -JustinN>

Re: Filtration Methods, reef     1/14/07
Hello again,
Would this be a suitable wet/dry to refugium conversion for my 30 gal reef tank?,  Only problem is the entire refugium area would only be aprox. 1.4 gallons, as my wet dry is only 8" wide.  
<It would not necessarily be a refugium conversion, if all you add is the live rock rubble. The submersed live rock alone will work as your nitrifying biological filtration, and likely be more effective than the wet/dry was at this job. Running volume is not as much a concern here.>
I also have a 10 gal aquarium that I could convert, do you know of anywhere I could get a dimensioned sketch of such thing?
<This may be a better solution, as it will provide more water stability to the system. Baffling information is posted, available here on WWM, see here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav3i1/Baffles/baffles.htm and http://www.wetwebmedia.com/refugium.htm for more information on refugium utilization and baffling.>
Thanks,
Jason
PS: I currently have a hang on back CPR skimmer, so I don't plan on relocating it.
<No problems here, Jason. Most people only move such things for preference to see less equipment and more nature. All in personal preference! -JustinN>

Two Questions... re... reef set-up... can. filtr., top-off water prep.     1/27/07
Hello,
<Hey Joe, JustinN with you today.>
First and foremost I would like to thank you for all the resources you provide.
<Thank you for this.>
I bought and read Bob's book and am constantly looking through these pages while I slowly put together my 65g FOWLR.
<Ah, yes, is quite an excellent book... hard to put down!>
I have a couple of questions that are a little confusing to me and would like to have your point of view or answer:
<Alright, I'll give it a go>
1)    I will be using roughly 75 pounds of LR, a Remora Pro with Mag 3 skimmer (which I gather from many sources is excellent), and I also bought a canister filter (Eheim Classic 2215). The last point is where I am a little confused. My LFS tells me that I could either use a few blue coarse filter pads, with the white fine pad, and the carbon pad, or the second option would be to run it on empty just for the extra movement (Please note that I will be using a Maxi-Jet 1200 for extra movement as well). Based on your understanding and the setting that I have, would it make sense to run it on empty instead of using the media? If I use the media are there types I should not be putting? If I run it on empty, what potential problems could arise and should I be looking for?
<I don't think you'll see any detrimental effects from running this canister filter empty, but I don't think the biological media is really necessary. I would utilize this for chemical media, such as a bag of ChemiPure or activated carbon, whatever your choice here may be. When the chemical filtrant is not needed, you could run the canister empty with no deleterious effects.>
2)    I will follow the books advice and do weekly water changes and at the same time, prepare the water in a trash can to age in my garage for a week with a heater and a pump to use the following week. I am a little uncertain about how the freshwater top-offs should work. I think I understand that the best way is to use our judgment and replace the water as we see necessary (a couple of times a week), but how to do it is the question mark for me. Does top-off water need to be aged? If so, how long and how (airstone, small powerhead...)? If you could just briefly explain how I could prepare the top-off water or point me to the right link I would greatly appreciate it.
<You've pretty much got it, dead on already. The freshwater should be aerated beforehand, to help drive out excess CO2 levels and stabilize the water's pH readings. As you suspect, the top off is simply to refill the excess that has evaporated; that is, wherever your running level of water was to begin with, will be where you refill to. This is to help keep the salinity stable, without fluctuations. Either an airstone or powerhead will be more than sufficient here.>
I'm a very enthusiastic newbie and want to make sure that I get it right, so forgive me if these seem like "easy" or "obvious" questions.
<Not at all, my friend. They are refinements of specific situations, which shows signs of you reading and investigating answers on your own. The 'easy' questions that that could be considered troublesome, for lack of a better term, are those that come to us with absolutely no research behind them, and furthermore, that respond back to us asking the same question again, without really reading our responses.>
Thank you very much and please keep up the good work!!
Joe
<Thank you for the kind words, Joe. Hope I've helped you here! -JustinN>

Filtration question, SW... Reef maint.  12/30/07
Howdy, Crew!
<Hello!!>
I have my 125 display tank in the living room, and 100 stock tank sump in the basement. I currently run an Iwaki MD-100 from the basement to pump +/- 2000 gph upstairs. The tank upstairs has about 150 lbs of live rock, a heater, and my livestock. There was no filtration physically in the tank until I started this project. The sump downstairs has one of the two system heaters in it, about 40 lbs of live rock, and the protein skimmer.
I am now turning off my MD-100 at 9pm at night, from the sump to the display, turning on a Rio 2500 in the tank, and the skimmer in the sump. I go from about 2000 gph to about 800 gph. Would the lighter circulation be all right for the fish at night?
<Should be.>
I have a 1"-2" crushed coral bed. Flow is still decent with the small pump running. I aimed it at the front glass, so the flow splits and goes both ways. Even my anemone still has movement.
Candy canes have feeding tentacles out further than I've ever seen them before. When the MD-100 is off, the sump in the basement catches all the overflow water (as during a power outage.) That being said, since the water level rises in the sump at night, I turn on the skimmer at night. If I left it on during the day, the water level is low enough, it doesn't skim at all anyway. I turn the main pump back on at 9am, and the skimmer back off.
What I have considered so far:
-Water temperatures being different, so I have heaters in tank and sump.
<Good.>
-Aeration, so I have the display tank pump aimed toward the surface to facilitate good gas exchange, and the sump has the protein skimmer to move water and aerate.
<This will help.>
I haven't checked the pH upstairs and downstairs to see if it differs much.
<I bet it will.>
Can you foresee see any ill effects of me doing this? I don't see any problem so far. It's been 3 days, and everyone appears happy. Even my hippo tang shows no signs of stress or ich. Some guys from my club said I would lose filtration, but I know some people don't even use a sump The water still moves, just not up-down.
<The real downside hear is stability. You are creating two systems every twelve hours, then recombining them. I have personally seen systems that do exactly this with good success, mainly for the power savings. I personally wouldn’t, just for stability sake.>
Any insight would be appreciated!
<I would at least try to get the skimmer running during the day. You may need to add a little sump next to your big sump (such as a 20 gal tank) to get the water height to run your skimmer in. Skimming with the setup now is only skimming less than half the water half the time.>
Thanks and have a safe and happy New Year!
Eric Z.
<Sure will Eric, same to you and yours. Good luck and happy reefing, Scott V.>