Planning ahead... (filtration change) (1 Viewer)

[Llama]

I'm moving from my apartment into a house end of next month and would like to take the oppertunity to get away from my wet/dry and into a refugium/sump setup.

I've done some research and have a general idea of what I'd like to do. I would like opinions, advice, and maybe to be pointed in the right direction of either a good used refugium that will fit in my stand or a good company/person to build me a custom. Also I need help with how to avoid a cycle when I change this sytem over.

Fuge planning:
1. I'd like to have a 3 chamber system flowing right to left with chambers for input from DT overflow/skimmer(Coralife 125 is the planned unit), then fuge (DSB, micro, LR rubble), then return to DT. Microbubbles are a slight issue in the DT currently and I'd like to solve that with the new setup.

2. I need to do final measurements but I'm 95% sure that a 20gal standard will fit in the stand. (Tried the 20 long.... no dice)

3. Who would ya'll recommend to get a custom unit from if I decide to go that route? (price is an issue $150 MAX, more like a bill though) OR does anyone have a used unit for sale that fits my needs?

The swap (avoiding cycle):
What's the best way to go about swapping so that I can avoid a cycle?

Will I need to somehow link the DT, wet/dry, and new fuge together?

Help help help.

Oh yeah! Specs would help.

Specs:
46gal Ocianic Bow Front tank and stand
mixed reef (softies, some LPS, two experimental SPS)
55lbs LR
SeaLife Aquatics Wet/Dry w/ prefilter & skimmer
quiet1 2200 return from wet/dry
1 - koralia 2 & 1 - koralia 1 for flow

Anything I'm missing?

I just want to start planning now to avoid any issues due to rushing at the last minute.

THANKS GUYS!

 

[flexrac]

ditch the coralife.

 

[Llama]

Hahahahaha Planning on it actually. Looking into a bubble mangus at the moment. However, money will be an issue with the move and such. Current plan is to run the coralife, but plan for a larger footprint area in the refugium to be able to upgrade in the future.

Any other input? 8)

 

[flexrac]

you can buy someones used 20 gal from the buy and sell section, then go to regal plastics to purchase some scrap plexi. then head on over to melevreef: http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

 

[FISHSTICK]

I agree with flexrac. Lose the coralife and any other coralife device you have. (coralife=junk+problems) If money is and issue just look in the buy/sell thread, I'm sure you'll find something under $50 that will work.

 

[Llama]

Ok, so on the list of things to do is:
1. Locate 20gal regular tank or buy sheet of acrylic and start designing

2. Look for a better used skimmer or just suck it up and throw down for the bubble mangus on ebay. (Think the euro version will creat any issues other than needing a converter?)

Now on to the real issue that has me worried.
What is the best way to switch from my current system over to this one without causing a cycle?

Should I install DSB and a few pieces of LR (from my DT) in advance? Perhaps throw in a powerhead for circulation as well, and just let that cycle on it's own before plumming it into my DT?

 

[chriskb3]

The big box pet stores usually have sales on their tanks for about $1 per gallon, so you could pick up a brand new 20 gallon for about $20. After you get the tank, head out to a local plastics supplier like flexrac suggested, and pick up some scrap acrylic to make the baffles with. Melevs reef is a great resource for building sumps/refugiums.

I dont think that you will have any cycle issues as long as you start with fresh/ clean sand. Personally, I just set my refugium up with a few small pieces of rock, and left the rest of the space for lots of macro algae. This way, it is easy to siphon all of the detrius that settles to the bottom.

 

[Llama]

Very good input. I'll take that into consideration. Thx!

 

[flexrac]

I placed the sand from my old DT and placed it in my sump, i then placed all new sand in my new DT.
waited a few days and then added everyone into the new tank. did a mini cycle, mostly diatoms now.
livestock doing well, no losses.
my dsb is 5inchs with oolite sand, not livesand.
do not use livesand as you will go through a cycle all over again. if you are not going to get sand sifters and buriers, i would get crushed coral, then add some good flow. keeping algae build up from your substrate. just my 2 cents.

 

[Llama]

Flexrac,
So you are suggesting using crushed coral in the DT rather than sand? Damn I just pulled all my crushed coral and replaced it with a sand/crushed coral mix a few month's ago. :x My only reason was because I thought it looked better with the combo.

Considering how small my refugium will be it will most likely only take about half my sand to get a nice 4" bed down below. Do you think I could pull half from the DT and then replace the missing half with sand or crushed coral depending on which way I go? I'll most likely end up going coral anyway. It's much easier to maintain. The fine sand is a PITA when I want to do some light siphoning.

 

[chriskb3]

My opinion here...but, unless you plan on vaccuming the crushed coral sand bed every water change, I would recomend against it. When you have any kind of open substrate like that, it tends to collect a lot detrius. With enough flow, a finer sand should rarely need vaccuming, maybe just a stir of the very top layer.