J
jbelian
Guest
After nearly a year of looking around, reading, asking questions, and thinking, we recently (about a month ago) purchases a 75g SW setup, lock stock and barrel. Oceanic tank, drilled with overflow box, lots of rock (at least some of which is clearly "live") (hard to guess weight, but I'd say about 60 to 70 pounds?), a substrate that appears to be a mix of aragonite sand and crushed coral, good lighting -- actinic, sun, and white light, 4 tubes, all VHO, 440w total -- and sump with mechanical filter, trickle filter (rocks) and Berlin protein skimmer (RedSea's basic 250 version). Pumps include one to skimmer, one back to tank, and two powerheads situated at the back of the tank, creating cross-currents. Seller had had it for about 5 years, and another aquarist for about five years before that.
Fish include purple tang, yellow-tail damsel, three chromises, two maroon clowns. Inverts include six anemones (five bubble-tip and one probably LT), expansive patches of mushroom anemone, yellow zooanthids, and green polyps. Also there are a few tree coral, a red-legged hermit crab we almost never see, a brittle star we never see, about five feather-duster type worms, and probably other things we don't know about yet.
No coralline when we got it, but has a decent growth now. All the water values are exactly where they should be.
We intend to leave well-enough alone when possible, but one pump has already bit the dust and another is starting to stutter, so we think we should probably replace them one at a time. No idea of age of lighting, so we'll replace those gradually, too. LFS suggested we might want to gradually replace substrate with live sand while doing water changes.
So, looking forward: Should we change the substrate? Just add (it's 2-3" now) live sand to reach the depth of a DSB? The sump is small -- RH side barely holds the skimmer, and the pump to the skimmer has to be slid under the trickle filter on the LH side because it's so cramped. Should we replace the sump set-up with a larger one? If so, should we consider trying to put in a refugium? Can sand be placed under the trickle filter to function as a kinda sorta DSB? (We'd have to work around the skimmer pump to do that, so a new sump would be needed). When replacing powerheads in tank, anything in particular to bear in mind? Wave machines really all that great? When replacing tubes, should we look at replacing the ballast (old) with one that can do the dimming thing?
Or should we basically just shut up and be happy it's doing well right now and quit thinking so far ahead?
Thanks in advance for any response you may have!
Fish include purple tang, yellow-tail damsel, three chromises, two maroon clowns. Inverts include six anemones (five bubble-tip and one probably LT), expansive patches of mushroom anemone, yellow zooanthids, and green polyps. Also there are a few tree coral, a red-legged hermit crab we almost never see, a brittle star we never see, about five feather-duster type worms, and probably other things we don't know about yet.
No coralline when we got it, but has a decent growth now. All the water values are exactly where they should be.
We intend to leave well-enough alone when possible, but one pump has already bit the dust and another is starting to stutter, so we think we should probably replace them one at a time. No idea of age of lighting, so we'll replace those gradually, too. LFS suggested we might want to gradually replace substrate with live sand while doing water changes.
So, looking forward: Should we change the substrate? Just add (it's 2-3" now) live sand to reach the depth of a DSB? The sump is small -- RH side barely holds the skimmer, and the pump to the skimmer has to be slid under the trickle filter on the LH side because it's so cramped. Should we replace the sump set-up with a larger one? If so, should we consider trying to put in a refugium? Can sand be placed under the trickle filter to function as a kinda sorta DSB? (We'd have to work around the skimmer pump to do that, so a new sump would be needed). When replacing powerheads in tank, anything in particular to bear in mind? Wave machines really all that great? When replacing tubes, should we look at replacing the ballast (old) with one that can do the dimming thing?
Or should we basically just shut up and be happy it's doing well right now and quit thinking so far ahead?
Thanks in advance for any response you may have!
