New Tank setup Help!!!

[jle2003]

I finally setup my new 90 gal tank with a 15 gal sump. The tank has 2 1" return and 1 1/2" out from the overflow. I have put 100 pounds of Fiji rocks and 80 gal LS from LFS at the same time. I was told to use the sink water with the some kind of conditioners and salts (I forgot the name) to run water cycling for the new setup. BTW, the Quiet One pump is working very quite!!!

1. What tests should I have done and when?
2. When can I add the skimmer into the sump?
3. Can I put the heater into the sump instead of the tank?
4. Can I add the SCWD after the water cycling done and how do I connect it?
5. When can I start adding livestocks into the tank?

Thank you so much !

 

[hdtran]

Answers:
(1)
http://www.reefs.org/library/newbieguide.htm
(2)
now
(3)
yes
(4)
Anytime you want. Now is better; you want circulation while cycling.
(5)
See (1). Ask again if more details needed.

 

[jle2003]

Do you have any suggestion what kind of skimmer should I use and how to attach into the sump?

 

[Dubge]

Buy the biggest one you can fit or afford!

Ray

 

[Anonymous]

In my case, I should have just bought the biggest one I CAN'T afford the first time..

Now that the sting in the pocketbook is over, I like my Euroreef.... (Actually it wasn't that bad.. I got the lowest end model they make for my 30g.. - A CS5-2.)

 

[Anonymous]

In my case, I should have just bought the biggest one I CAN'T afford the first time..

Now that the sting in the pocketbook is over, I like my Euroreef.... (Actually it wasn't that bad.. I got the lowest end model they make for my 30g.. - A CS5-2.)

I agrre on the skimmer decision. Purchase the one that will put you in financial trouble. You will need credit counseling but you will be happy with your skimmer.

 

[hdtran]

I happen to have (& am happy with) the AquaC Remora Pro HOB skimmer.

For a sump skimmer, I believe AquaC makes an insump (Urchin?), which should also be very nice.

No attachment necessary. The in-sump skimmers just sit in your sump. Make sure your cabinet isn't so small that you can't fit your skimmer inside your sump 8O

That said, see above comments about $$ & skimmers.

 

[jle2003]

The tank has been running for 3 days. I noticed that water has lot of bubbles. What should I do? Also, Can you place a heater into the sump? Will it help the water cycling faster? Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

The "bubbles" are (I'm guessing) an off-gassing process of the tap water. - Which I doubt very highly is going to be all that good that all you need is "some kind of conditioners and salts". The vast majority of folks need their tap water to be run through an RO/DI to remove all the nasties..

A heater in the sump is ok but it will no nothing to speed or slow the cycling process.

 

[jle2003]

Can I add Astrea snails and Blue-Legged hermit crabs into my tank now since it has been cycling water for 1 week. If so, how many can I have for 90 gal tanks?

 

[hdtran]

What are the answers to your question (1) at the beginning of the thread?

(Not trying to give you a hard time; trying to empower you 8) )

 

[jle2003]

I got it now, thanks. BTW, I have another question about the skimmer. I have a sump 24x9x16 and I would like to get a EuroReef ES5-3 Protein Skimmer with footprint 9x9". Should it fix into the sump? If not, any other skimmer suggestion?

 

[Anonymous]

I have an ES5-2 crammed into a 10g glass tank that I use for my current sump. - It's tight, but it fits...

 

[jle2003]

Oh well! I have decided to get a euro skimmer SR6-1 at LFS for $299.00. Is this price reasonable? Also, can I just put it in the sump while my tank is running water cycling for almost 1 week?

 

[ChrisRD]

That's a good skimmer and a fair price. You can just put it right in the sump and plug it in.

 

[jle2003]

Since I have a small sump, I have to stand the pump up for the Euroreef skimmer in order to fit it inside the sump. The venturi of the sump was raised up higher than the water level. Therefore, I have to add more tap water into the sump, so that it can suck the water into the skimmer body. The foam bubble post filter is about 1/2 way above the water level, even I have already raised up the pipe. Right now, the tank has full of bubbles. Are they from the skimmer? Will the bubbles go away after running for a long period of time? Please comments on my skimmer setup. Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

All I can say is raising the water level that the skimmer sits in is going to affect it's performance.

You'll need to find out what level works best for your skimmer and research your options from there.

In my case, I'm considering an increase in the size of my sump to accomodate a 'fuge section.. - In order to make the 'fuge work I will need a significantly ioncreased water depth.. - Enough that my skimmer would be almost totally under water unless I put it after the fuge (not ideal)... - Therefore I will need to build a "shelf" for it to sit on. - You may need to step up to a larger sump in order to accomodate this skimmer, but without knowing it's full specs it's hard to tell...

 

[hdtran]

Have you checked the tank and sump water levels to make sure you cannot flood (barring snail in tube)? That is, if you dump all the sump water into the main tank (or at least, all the water to the pump intake level), will you flood the main tank? And if you dump all the main tank water to the overflow or return level (whichever is lower), will your sump flood? You need to mark those on the tank & sump, as the 'maximum water levels ever'.

Then, you can fiddle with the skimmer.

What it sounds like is that your water intake is too high. You can probably (big probably here!) just put a large U-tube or elbow on the water intake fitting, so it sucks water from closer to the bottom of your sump, rather than sucking water from close to the surface. Then, use airline for the pump venturi to put it at the correct level.

Maybe if you throw the sponge on the intake of the return pump, rather than the outlet of the skimmer? The sponge will (hopefully) trap the bubbles.

A picture of your sump, pump, return pump, etc. would be useful.

 

[jle2003]

I have fixed the skimmer. The sump now has 7" water level. It has lot of foam, but the water fill up the collection cup so quickly after I turn on the skimmer. Also, the tank has lot of bubbles ????

 

[jle2003]

I have just measure the tank water cycling:

SG: 1.025. is it a little high? how do I bring it down?
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
PH: 8.4
Alkalinity: normal
Amonia: 0
Is it time to put some inverts in?
Water cycling has been running for 1 week with 100 pounds LR and 40 pounds LS. Should I bring some water to LFS for testing to make sure?