From the Edge to a 65

[stazitto25]

Hello All,

Over the summer I started a 6 gallon Fluval Edge Reef. Although it has only been a short time I have been loving making the switch to SW. So I decided that I want to go bigger.

I was going to get 57 deepblue rimless, but since one of my friends decided to tell my girlfriend that he finds fish and snails on the ground since he started that got vetoed.

The only other tank that seems to fit the dimensions I have been allotted for fish keeping seems to be the deepblue 65 gallon reef ready. I have not purchased the tank yet as I will be waiting till after Christmas. I have however purchased a few accessories that I will need for the tank. The first is an RO/DI unit. The second is a custom 29 gallon sump which I will be picking up tomorrow. Finally I have ordered and received a shipment of Pukani dry rock from bulk reef supply. This stuff is awesome. It looks great and they sent me plenty to work with. I did not however know that this stuff is a phosphate factory and have been researching the best way to cure it.

I would rather not take the chemical route, so I am going to put it in a tub with saltwater, a heater, and a powerhead after I thoroughly spray it with the hose. I will do water changes every two weeks, and if need be I found some great threads on Seaklear phosphate remover. If anyone has any experience with this please feel free to share.

I goofed on the sump because I don't have a protein skimmer as of yet and now I will have to try and fit a skimmer to the sump instead of vise versa.

For power heads I am going to go the koralia route to keep the cost down. I have an old T5HO that is 4 x 39W that should do the job until I decide to blow some hard earned money on LED's.

My only other question is regarding the return pump. Does anyone have any recommendations on a type or how many GPH I should look for or have. I have found little and varying information on this topic and would appreciate the advice.

Thanks!

 

[stazitto25]

Started Curing the rock, it stinks and leaches phosphates, so I guess I am headed in the right direction!

 

[thetman36]

I am having a similar problem with my marco rock leaching phosphate. I have a 210 gal reef and it has been up and running for about 5 months. I am using Rowa and 50 gal per week water changes to help get rid of the phosphate. It seems to be getting much better now and I am going to 50 gal every two weeks.

 

[thetman36]

that is 25 gal each week i should have been more specific.

 

[thetman36]

to calculate the return pump you need to know how much water will be going down your drains and how much head you have on your return lines. then you can calculate what pump you need

 

[stazitto25]

After many...many water changes, and using phos free, despite my previous declaration not to use chemicals, the tank phosphates have finally started to head in the right direction. My phosphate readings were 1.47 when i started, didn't realize that was even possible, they are now down to .17, so I'm almost there.

I also just ordered a kessil a350w, my brother is loving this light and since the price was right I decided to give it a shot. Next up is a protein skimmer, probably going to go with a reef octopus NWB 150, a return pump, and I am seriously considering a GFO and carbon reactor.

Any and all opinions are appreciated as always,

Greg

 

[Tonyscoots84]

If you have a 1" drain a eheim 1262 dialed back will be good depending on how you plumb it in. Great return pump

 

[stazitto25]

@Tonyscoots84 - Thanks for the advice, after looking into it I am going to go the Eheim route.

As for the rest, last phosphate check was .09ppm. I decided to take the rocks out and give them a good cleaning. LOTS of goo from the LC. Hopefully I got it all off as I imagine this is not good for the sea life.

I also decided that I am going to go for a 57 DB rimless instead of the 65 DB. The reason for this is that I really dislike the center brace on the tank and it is going to get in the way of my Kessil. The only other problem is the stands on these tanks look very inconvenient. With that HUGE center support it is going to be real hard to work on or even see my refugium. If anyone know a good substitute please let me know.

 

[thetman36]

I went to an iron works place and had a stand custom built out of inch and a half tubular steel then had it powder coated. Its sick. You could park a car on this stand it only cost $1 k

 

[stazitto25]

Finally got to setup my 57 rimless this past Sunday. Everything is going good, no sign of a cycle yet. I am hoping since I used live sand and cooked my rock in saltwater since October that I will have little to no cycle. I can't wait to get my clowns out of the edge, they have outgrown that tank and need a little more room to explore. I will keep everyone updated as I progress.