Complete n00b here!

[GGR77]

Ok well let me tell you quickly about my situation. Back in January I decided to jump in feet first into the real of reef'n. I got myself a 120g Corner Flo reef ready tank. Without researching and just trusting my LFS I bought the Marineland Acrylic Sump Model 2, Marineland Skimmer Model 300, 3 Koralia Evolution 1050 Powerheads, and an Ehiem 1263 hobby pump. SO now that I am now reading the boards more and doing more research I think I got had by my LFS and got a very inferier sump, skimmer, and pump should have been stronger. My question to you is what would you change and with what.? I know I want to build a return manifold and need a strong pump to run some reactors, but from there... I dunno what to do... If you can help I would greatly appriciate it and offer you some free beer.. :givebeer:

 

[batt600]

First what are you try to keep in this tank ? . What type of light are you using ? Are you going reef are you going to keep softys ,LPS or SPS or Fish with live rock .

 

[masterswimmer]

How far along is your tank now? We see you bought all that equipment, did you set it up? What livestock is in the tank, if any? You have any pictures you can post?

BTW, welcome to MR. A day late and a dollar short is better than a year late and a few thousand short. Don't worry about lack of good advice you received back then, focus on moving forward. It's healthier

Russ

 

[jrobbins]

FWIW, i dont think you got "taken" exactly. the marineland skimmers and sumps aren't the best out there but are totally usable, and I tend to think Marineland offers great bang for the buck in most of their products (heaters, tanks, skimmers, utility pumps, etc). and as for the return, an eheim 1262 is a great pump and should be fine as the return on your 120.

 

[GGR77]

The light I have a is a Current USA Nova Extreme Pro 48" T5 6x54 10K/460.. once again I was a n00b when I got most of my live stock so you can say I am a little over stocked... Here is the list..
1 Clown Tang
1 Blue Hippo Tang
1 Sailfin Tang
1 1 Yellow Tang
1 6 Line Wrasse
1 Purple Firefish
3 PJ Cardinals
7 Blue/Green Chromis
2 Zebra Gobies
1 Diamond Watchman Goby
3 Cleaner Shrimp
1 Sally LightFoot
Countless Hermit Crabs
Countless Snails
1 Torch Coral
1 Frog Spawn
1 Hammer Coral
1 Chalice

There ya go....

 

[TonyHNY]

In this hobby, there's always something better than what you bought. You could have the state of the art filtration system and then comes a model that will beat it... The fun part of this is to use what you have and try to get it to work. And if it keeps failing, you learned something from it and you move on and do it again in other ways. It is hard to get this right the first time perfectly....

 

[Imbarrie]

Welcome to the sane place of this hobby. It's a great soundboard for advice and ideas.
Don't worry about what you have. It's not crap. I have the same light and I like it. Though a tek would be quieter. Hmmmmm


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[dj ze]

that looks like a lot of fish in a short period of time when was the last fish aded

 

[GGR77]

Last fish that was added was the blue hippo a month ago.... I am saying I think a sump with a sock would be more effective and easier to maintain....Easier to change 1 sock than 3 different trays of pads... And the skimmer is just driving me nuts because I either have to much comming out or none at all... UUGH!

 

[dj ze]

the problem with most in sump skimmers is that the water level inside the sump has to be consistent or else the skimmer will act up .so try to set the skimmer at your preference and make sure your evaporation is topped off daily

 

[GGR77]

the problem with most in sump skimmers is that the water level inside the sump has to be consistent or else the skimmer will act up .so try to set the skimmer at your preference and make sure your evaporation is topped off daily

True the problem is also I am not sure what exactly a proper Skimmer should look like when it's working properly... Like should foam be constantly coming out? Anyway.... I'll figure it out...

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[Keith P]

There should be a constant "head" of fine bubbles. This is the height you are setting. On most skimmers, it's just below where the "body" meed the "neck".

The dirt (DOC) will collect on top of the foam head as courser, darker bubbles. These will eventually collect in quantities large enough to overflow out of the neck, into the collection cup. As the dirty bubbles pop, they will also spit out some dirt. This will stick to the walls and top of the skimmer.

You may notice that after feeding, dosing, or maybe even just putting your hands in the tank may kill the skimmer's head of foam.

 

[Dre]

I don't think you got taken it depends on the initial use and so far not bad at all.Water circulation within the tank and lighting is key.Try not to over stock the tank with fish and you can up grade the sump by using a regular fish tank if needed later on.Post pics.

 

[GGR77]

I will post pictures ones I get everything looking semi presentable... ANYWAY.. New problem.... My new Hydor Koraila Evolution 1050 is now running in reverse... How do I get it to run the proper direction? Or am I just screwed and buy a new one?

 

[masterswimmer]

Unplug it and then plug it in again. The polarity should switch with the on/off process.

Russ

 

[GGR77]

Well I knew I should have google'd the question first to see if anyone else had this problem. Well it turns out there is a brushing on the propeller that slips down the shaft a bit and just needs to be slid back foward. Ok so I went out today and got an ADHI berlin sump. My thinking was being that I have a denitrifier and no need for a refugium. What do you guys think? Now I am on a quest for a cone skimmer snd figure out powerhead position because I now have pretty big sand dunes in my tank.. lol... below is a pic of the sump