500G Reef Tank in Puerto Rico - Page 7

cougaran · 07/14/2011, 06:41 PM

I've gotten away from the whole wet/dry filter, which has worked for me over the years. I seem to remember other reefers also doing the same as they became a nutrient sink, which I can not speak from experience on. On the 90, I have a mountain of liverock and a DSB. My sump is more a refugium w/ a light where I grow my cheato. I have played around with filter socks and sometimes have it on and sometimes just let the gunk collect in the sump. I have kept my unwanted inverts in there like the conchs that started dining on my snails and hitchhiker crabs. My tank nitrates have spiked recently but that was from not replacing the sump's lightbulb in a timely fashion more than anything else. I still like to run the old style whisper filter for better water purity with charcoal. I've seen inline setups but aside from anything else, I've found it easier to use these filters when setting up an instant QT tank as I just take the cleanest filter bag, rinse it in a pail with tank water and put the bag in a small dedicated qt filter and qt tank. No ammonia issues.

When I finally setup the 300 I'm going to do something similiar to the 90 with the rubbermaid sump and get a large protein skimmer, most likely a Reef Octopus....

ruidos99 · 07/17/2011, 05:37 PM

Hey Bud!!

Saludes desde Colombia!!!

I have a 300G right now and planing a 500g display setup also!

I plan to use a closed loop with a reeflow dart or bigger because I have 6 mp40 and they just dont cut it! my tank is an sps dominant with lots of fish! but i still need more flow!

What skimmer do you have in mind? I just got a orca proII for my 300 and works great, but the 500 is going to need a bigger one.... i am thinking of using a MRC MR-C4848 Commercial Skimmer... i dont know if its too big... but i feed a LOT and i have 40 plus fish mostly tangs so... losts of SHI@$#&%^@* jajajajaj.

Nice to see more pics!!

Juan

JanVelazquez · 07/18/2011, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cougaran

I've gotten away from the whole wet/dry filter, which has worked for me over the years. I seem to remember other reefers also doing the same as they became a nutrient sink, which I can not speak from experience on. On the 90, I have a mountain of liverock and a DSB. My sump is more a refugium w/ a light where I grow my cheato. I have played around with filter socks and sometimes have it on and sometimes just let the gunk collect in the sump. I have kept my unwanted inverts in there like the conchs that started dining on my snails and hitchhiker crabs. My tank nitrates have spiked recently but that was from not replacing the sump's lightbulb in a timely fashion more than anything else. I still like to run the old style whisper filter for better water purity with charcoal. I've seen inline setups but aside from anything else, I've found it easier to use these filters when setting up an instant QT tank as I just take the cleanest filter bag, rinse it in a pail with tank water and put the bag in a small dedicated qt filter and qt tank. No ammonia issues.

When I finally setup the 300 I'm going to do something similiar to the 90 with the rubbermaid sump and get a large protein skimmer, most likely a Reef Octopus....

cougaran

I have ot used wet/dry myself either in the past as the largest tank before this one was around 70 Gal. It was a "Dutch Aquarium System DAS", it had the filtration system inside the tank itself complete with protein skimmer. This was a few years back and I have been away from the hobby for several years.

From what I've read from Wet/Dry systems they work more for FOWLR systems and not for reef settings.

What I plan to do is to get an Ecosystem sump/fuge and use Miracle Mud with it. ~100lbs

It will have a couple of filter socks and I was thinking of using a metal halide lamp for the caulerpa.

I've used canister filters before but for this amount of water I dont think there's one big enough.

When do you set yours up? I want to see some pics!!!

Jan

Mangodude · 07/18/2011, 09:26 AM

Looking good!!

I would get a bigger sump though.. never can hurt to have too much filtration.. and use socks too.. JMO..

JanVelazquez · 07/18/2011, 09:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mangodude

Looking good!!

I would get a bigger sump though.. never can hurt to have too much filtration.. and use socks too.. JMO..

Mangodude

This is the sump that I have at the moment. I will not be using it. It is too small for what I want to do.

Rather I will be upgrading to this one:

Ecosystem 7222 Sump

Regards

Jan

JanVelazquez · 07/18/2011, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruidos99

Hey Bud!!

Saludes desde Colombia!!!

I have a 300G right now and planing a 500g display setup also!

I plan to use a closed loop with a reeflow dart or bigger because I have 6 mp40 and they just dont cut it! my tank is an sps dominant with lots of fish! but i still need more flow!

What skimmer do you have in mind? I just got a orca proII for my 300 and works great, but the 500 is going to need a bigger one.... i am thinking of using a MRC MR-C4848 Commercial Skimmer... i dont know if its too big... but i feed a LOT and i have 40 plus fish mostly tangs so... losts of SHI@$#&%^@* jajajajaj.

Nice to see more pics!!

Juan

ruidos99

Saludos desde el Caribe

I was thinking of getting a couple of MP-60's and some Tunze Wave Boxes. Why don't they work for you? Hmmm Interesting, you are the only one that has said anything negative about them.

As far as the pump, I'm getting a 1HP but not for a closed loop. I still need to figure out how to do the returns since I can't drill my tank.

For the skimmer... It will definatelly be an external one. I'm trying to get one for ~1500/2000 gal capacity.

For your application.. I would either go with the largest your budget can handle. I like the Bubble Kings but they are extremely expensive. If I had the budget I would go with something like this:

Do you have a thread open here? If not.. post a picture to see it.

Regards

Jan

eniram78 · 07/18/2011, 10:27 AM

Try this brand of skimmer.

http://www.skimz.sg/

cougaran · 07/18/2011, 12:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JanVelazquez

cougaran

I From what I've read from Wet/Dry systems they work more for FOWLR systems and not for reef settings.

What I plan to do is to get an Ecosystem sump/fuge and use Miracle Mud with it. ~100lbs

Good luck with the wet/dry it looks nice, I try to save some money when I can.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JanVelazquez

When do you set yours up? I want to see some pics!!!

Mine is still in storage..Unfortunately..fortunately??? I'm going to have to set it up as I'm going to be losing storage, but where i'm setting it up temporarily is in the living room. I'm going to have modify the floor a little bit as I have rugs. Originally I was planing a sunroom/fish room off the living room. I still want to do that, but only lately have had more time to spend on my hobby and house.The plans were only partially drawn and building right now will take too long before i lose storage...When I do setup ill have to run a thread, but its going to be on the cheap..lol...

That protein skimmer is a monster. I was following the reef octopus threads
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1727974
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1659495

You have to keep in mind that they are sponsered forums, but this thread which is not sponsored rates them as very good for a budget, but not the best skimmers out there which are generally ALOT more expensive.http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...+5000&page=142 Mojo runs the thread, I would probably give him a shout as a recommendation for your tank. It seems that if you get too big a skimmer you wont get the most out of it and can waste money, and if you get too small of one then well you get the picture...lol

Good luck!

cougaran · 07/18/2011, 01:05 PM

forgot to include the reef oct 8000--- this may work for you--- http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-s...V-XP8000E.html

luisgo · 07/18/2011, 05:10 PM

That brand of skimmers Skims looks very nice. I was looking at prices in AquaCave and appears reasonable. The Reef Octopus line is my favorite, excelent skimmers and very reasonable prices.

ruidos99 · 07/18/2011, 08:48 PM

hi

dont get me wrong the mp40 are nice! but i think i need more flow! or i dont have the on the correct places! i will keep them on my new tank! but plan to do a closed loop for flow!

i did a lot of looking online and called lots of real exprert sps reefers and the injector skimmer is the most powerfull ( as far as i can tell!)

i had an octopus 300 and it was ok, but the MRC orca proII blows it away! i plan to have more corals but no more fish so i hope that with 2X more water And lots of live rock in the sumps ill have more natural filtration to keep the water perfect.

the problem with injector skimmers is the sound it generates! but in a closed room at the back its not a problem, so i think ill go that way!

i still have a full 14 months to get my new place and start the build, but these things take time!

cougaran · 07/19/2011, 09:56 AM

Well i hope the MRC orca proII blows away a octopus 300(3000?), the thing is rated for 400-1,000 gallons..lol.. Did you have an int or ext one? I'm thinking of going ext. For the 300 im setting up it looks like im going to be buying a Super Reef Octopus XP 5000 EXTERNAL
Cone rated up to 450 gal..

JanVelazquez · 07/19/2011, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eniram78

Try this brand of skimmer.

http://www.skimz.sg/

Thanks for the recomendation. Actually.. for less than $2k it looks very good.

They hit the US in September.

cougaran · 07/19/2011, 11:29 PM

or sooner..http://www.aquacave.com/skimz-sm-302...mmer-3329.html ...got me wondering on this brand as well..hopefully you will be the guinea pig before me...

ruidos99 · 07/21/2011, 01:53 PM

i had the TDNW300.... when i got it it wa rated for 700 gallons! its a good skimmer, but the MRC is better IMHO

JanVelazquez · 07/26/2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cougaran

Good luck with the wet/dry it looks nice, I try to save some money when I can.

Mine is still in storage..Unfortunately..fortunately??? I'm going to have to set it up as I'm going to be losing storage, but where i'm setting it up temporarily is in the living room. I'm going to have modify the floor a little bit as I have rugs. Originally I was planing a sunroom/fish room off the living room. I still want to do that, but only lately have had more time to spend on my hobby and house.The plans were only partially drawn and building right now will take too long before i lose storage...When I do setup ill have to run a thread, but its going to be on the cheap..lol...

That protein skimmer is a monster. I was following the reef octopus threads
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1727974
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1659495

You have to keep in mind that they are sponsered forums, but this thread which is not sponsored rates them as very good for a budget, but not the best skimmers out there which are generally ALOT more expensive.http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...+5000&page=142 Mojo runs the thread, I would probably give him a shout as a recommendation for your tank. It seems that if you get too big a skimmer you wont get the most out of it and can waste money, and if you get too small of one then well you get the picture...lol

Good luck!

cougaran

Thanks for your recomendations. The only Reef Octopus I would consider is:

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus...umps-1136.html

The SKIMZ SM 302 MONZTER E SERIES - EXTERNAL PROTEIN SKIMMER looks really good. It comes out in September and it's only $1,200 USD

I'll post a thread in the forum you recommended as this has been the most difficult choise of all.

Thanks again... Jan

JanVelazquez · 07/26/2011, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luisgo

That brand of skimmers Skims looks very nice. I was looking at prices in AquaCave and appears reasonable. The Reef Octopus line is my favorite, excelent skimmers and very reasonable prices.

Thanks for the recomedation Luis

It is a candidate as well.

Lots of options to choose from.

It's hard to decide

Saludos

Jan

JanVelazquez · 07/26/2011, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruidos99

hi

dont get me wrong the mp40 are nice! but i think i need more flow! or i dont have the on the correct places! i will keep them on my new tank! but plan to do a closed loop for flow!

i did a lot of looking online and called lots of real exprert sps reefers and the injector skimmer is the most powerfull ( as far as i can tell!)

i had an octopus 300 and it was ok, but the MRC orca proII blows it away! i plan to have more corals but no more fish so i hope that with 2X more water And lots of live rock in the sumps ill have more natural filtration to keep the water perfect.

the problem with injector skimmers is the sound it generates! but in a closed room at the back its not a problem, so i think ill go that way!

i still have a full 14 months to get my new place and start the build, but these things take time!

Hey ruidos99

Thanks again for your comments.

I found some reviews on youtube regarding the MRC orca proII and it looks really good. I'm leaning towards injection myself.

In terms of the size... well ... I want to be able to handle both tanks and if not I expect to have a lot of bio load so a larger skimmer should help out with that.

Regards

Jan

ruidos99 · 07/26/2011, 08:16 PM

nice skimmer! i did concider it once for my 450 system!

i just got my new skimmer from champion lighting... a MRC orca III
ill run the 2 skimmers, the orca II skimmes ALL the water from the biopellets
the orca III skims the rest.

i dont know if this is overkill but i can just turn one off if i need to.

how much water will be in the hole system? is it going to ve an SPS system?

Ram Jr · 07/27/2011, 02:20 PM

Sweet build so far. I have a 185 diy tank and have been running Miracle Mud from day one. Dont let people tell you its a waist of money because its not. You can run your skimmer as long as you want and it wont kill the cheato. I currently have mine on 24/7 but might scale it back to 20hrs. What have you decided about lighting???? I have LED's and they work great. reefledlights.com is who sponsored me and I get lots of comments on them. If you get a chance take a look at my forum and see all the you tube videos I have of my build. Hope this helps.

ruidos99 · 07/28/2011, 07:40 AM

hey Ram!!

i have lights from reefledlights too!!! they rock!!! i will get 3 or 4 more 24 inch moduels for my 600g display. right now i have 4, and Bill from reefledlights tells me that I have all the light i need for the 600g display ( with 4 moduels ) but i prefer to run a bit more light.

but if leds are on the plans reefledlights.com is the way to go!!!

nanonubey · 07/28/2011, 08:57 PM

Yeah Bills kits a re great if tou go the l.e.d. Route.

cougaran · 07/29/2011, 11:30 PM

Have you decided reef or FOWLR? If reef then LEDS all the way! For FOWLR I wouldnt spend the money on LEDS unless you plan on some corals. I was going mainly FOWLR and a few corals but im finding butterfly's really cool and the two dont mix well together, especially with the threadfin i have right now....I'm sticking with T5's for my setup.

Ram Jr · 08/01/2011, 06:26 AM

Good point cougaran. you sure dont need to spend the money on LED's if you dont want a reef.

JanVelazquez · 08/04/2011, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ruidos99

nice skimmer! i did concider it once for my 450 system!

i just got my new skimmer from champion lighting... a MRC orca III
ill run the 2 skimmers, the orca II skimmes ALL the water from the biopellets
the orca III skims the rest.

i dont know if this is overkill but i can just turn one off if i need to.

how much water will be in the hole system? is it going to ve an SPS system?

Hey ruidos99

About your two skimmers, you can never overkill when it coomes to backup systems. If one fails you have the other ready to go.

Are the two skimmers the same?

I expect to have between 700 and 800 total volume. Depending on the other filtration and fuge.

As far as the SPS/LPS, I would like to have both but I like movement so I'll probably have more LPS but I'll try to have a mix.

How about your tank?

07/14/2011, 06:41 PM	#151
cougaran Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 666	I've gotten away from the whole wet/dry filter, which has worked for me over the years. I seem to remember other reefers also doing the same as they became a nutrient sink, which I can not speak from experience on. On the 90, I have a mountain of liverock and a DSB. My sump is more a refugium w/ a light where I grow my cheato. I have played around with filter socks and sometimes have it on and sometimes just let the gunk collect in the sump. I have kept my unwanted inverts in there like the conchs that started dining on my snails and hitchhiker crabs. My tank nitrates have spiked recently but that was from not replacing the sump's lightbulb in a timely fashion more than anything else. I still like to run the old style whisper filter for better water purity with charcoal. I've seen inline setups but aside from anything else, I've found it easier to use these filters when setting up an instant QT tank as I just take the cleanest filter bag, rinse it in a pail with tank water and put the bag in a small dedicated qt filter and qt tank. No ammonia issues. When I finally setup the 300 I'm going to do something similiar to the 90 with the rubbermaid sump and get a large protein skimmer, most likely a Reef Octopus.... __________________ Countless years exp SW & FW(in other words I've given up a few times over 30 years, but always come back for more punishment) Current Tank Info: 90 Gal w/ 20 Gal Refugium(setup since 2005), 38 & 29 QT. 300 Gal marineland setup in progress.

07/18/2011, 09:26 AM	#154
Mangodude The Clown Tang Keeper! Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Fort Collins CO Posts: 1,962	Looking good!! I would get a bigger sump though.. never can hurt to have too much filtration.. and use socks too.. JMO.. __________________ Eric Current Tank Info: Too many

07/18/2011, 01:05 PM	#159
cougaran Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 666	forgot to include the reef oct 8000--- this may work for you--- http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-s...V-XP8000E.html __________________ Countless years exp SW & FW(in other words I've given up a few times over 30 years, but always come back for more punishment) Current Tank Info: 90 Gal w/ 20 Gal Refugium(setup since 2005), 38 & 29 QT. 300 Gal marineland setup in progress.

07/18/2011, 05:10 PM	#160
luisgo Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Puerto Rico Posts: 628	That brand of skimmers Skims looks very nice. I was looking at prices in AquaCave and appears reasonable. The Reef Octopus line is my favorite, excelent skimmers and very reasonable prices. __________________ Tank of the Month Reefkeeping Magazine 11/2008 Current Tank Info: Reef 125 gal, Aquapod 12gal, 55 planted

07/19/2011, 09:56 AM	#162
cougaran Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 666	Well i hope the MRC orca proII blows away a octopus 300(3000?), the thing is rated for 400-1,000 gallons..lol.. Did you have an int or ext one? I'm thinking of going ext. For the 300 im setting up it looks like im going to be buying a Super Reef Octopus XP 5000 EXTERNAL Cone rated up to 450 gal.. __________________ Countless years exp SW & FW(in other words I've given up a few times over 30 years, but always come back for more punishment) Current Tank Info: 90 Gal w/ 20 Gal Refugium(setup since 2005), 38 & 29 QT. 300 Gal marineland setup in progress.

07/17/2011, 05:37 PM	#152
ruidos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 73	Hey Bud!! Saludes desde Colombia!!! I have a 300G right now and planing a 500g display setup also! I plan to use a closed loop with a reeflow dart or bigger because I have 6 mp40 and they just dont cut it! my tank is an sps dominant with lots of fish! but i still need more flow! What skimmer do you have in mind? I just got a orca proII for my 300 and works great, but the 500 is going to need a bigger one.... i am thinking of using a MRC MR-C4848 Commercial Skimmer... i dont know if its too big... but i feed a LOT and i have 40 plus fish mostly tangs so... losts of SHI@$#&%^@* jajajajaj. Nice to see more pics!! Juan

07/18/2011, 10:27 AM	#157
eniram78 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Posts: 69	Try this brand of skimmer. http://www.skimz.sg/

07/18/2011, 08:48 PM	#161
ruidos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 73	hi dont get me wrong the mp40 are nice! but i think i need more flow! or i dont have the on the correct places! i will keep them on my new tank! but plan to do a closed loop for flow! i did a lot of looking online and called lots of real exprert sps reefers and the injector skimmer is the most powerfull ( as far as i can tell!) i had an octopus 300 and it was ok, but the MRC orca proII blows it away! i plan to have more corals but no more fish so i hope that with 2X more water And lots of live rock in the sumps ill have more natural filtration to keep the water perfect. the problem with injector skimmers is the sound it generates! but in a closed room at the back its not a problem, so i think ill go that way! i still have a full 14 months to get my new place and start the build, but these things take time!

07/19/2011, 11:29 PM	#164
cougaran Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 666	or sooner..http://www.aquacave.com/skimz-sm-302...mmer-3329.html ...got me wondering on this brand as well..hopefully you will be the guinea pig before me... __________________ Countless years exp SW & FW(in other words I've given up a few times over 30 years, but always come back for more punishment) Current Tank Info: 90 Gal w/ 20 Gal Refugium(setup since 2005), 38 & 29 QT. 300 Gal marineland setup in progress.

07/21/2011, 01:53 PM	#165
ruidos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 73	i had the TDNW300.... when i got it it wa rated for 700 gallons! its a good skimmer, but the MRC is better IMHO

07/26/2011, 08:16 PM	#169
ruidos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 73	nice skimmer! i did concider it once for my 450 system! i just got my new skimmer from champion lighting... a MRC orca III ill run the 2 skimmers, the orca II skimmes ALL the water from the biopellets the orca III skims the rest. i dont know if this is overkill but i can just turn one off if i need to. how much water will be in the hole system? is it going to ve an SPS system?

07/27/2011, 02:20 PM	#170
Ram Jr Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Illinois Posts: 184	Sweet build so far. I have a 185 diy tank and have been running Miracle Mud from day one. Dont let people tell you its a waist of money because its not. You can run your skimmer as long as you want and it wont kill the cheato. I currently have mine on 24/7 but might scale it back to 20hrs. What have you decided about lighting???? I have LED's and they work great. reefledlights.com is who sponsored me and I get lots of comments on them. If you get a chance take a look at my forum and see all the you tube videos I have of my build. Hope this helps.

07/28/2011, 07:40 AM	#171
ruidos99 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 73	hey Ram!! i have lights from reefledlights too!!! they rock!!! i will get 3 or 4 more 24 inch moduels for my 600g display. right now i have 4, and Bill from reefledlights tells me that I have all the light i need for the 600g display ( with 4 moduels ) but i prefer to run a bit more light. but if leds are on the plans reefledlights.com is the way to go!!!

07/28/2011, 08:57 PM	#172
nanonubey Shogun Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Illinois, Montgomery Posts: 2,048	Yeah Bills kits a re great if tou go the l.e.d. Route. __________________ 250 DD, Nanoseascreations custom sump and reactor with Seaslug bio pellets , (2) 400w MH Lumen max2 (20k Radium) and (2) 80w ATI aqua blue plus t-5's ,(2) Tunze 6105's w Tunze 7095, (2) Vortech mp40w es,ReefKeeper Elite, JBJ ATO, Reef octopus extreme 200, and Arctica 1/5 chiller. RR 20l frag tank, Nova Extreme light with ATI bulbs, (12) bulb d.i.y. reefledlights.com , (1)Vortech MP10es. " My girlfriend hates when I use the F word in any of it's various forms, fish, fish tank, fish store...." " Ninja fish trips weekly"

07/29/2011, 11:30 PM	#173
cougaran Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Western Mass Posts: 666	Have you decided reef or FOWLR? If reef then LEDS all the way! For FOWLR I wouldnt spend the money on LEDS unless you plan on some corals. I was going mainly FOWLR and a few corals but im finding butterfly's really cool and the two dont mix well together, especially with the threadfin i have right now....I'm sticking with T5's for my setup. __________________ Countless years exp SW & FW(in other words I've given up a few times over 30 years, but always come back for more punishment) Current Tank Info: 90 Gal w/ 20 Gal Refugium(setup since 2005), 38 & 29 QT. 300 Gal marineland setup in progress.

08/01/2011, 06:26 AM	#174
Ram Jr Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Illinois Posts: 184	Good point cougaran. you sure dont need to spend the money on LED's if you dont want a reef.

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