blueheaven

Just a suggestion, use a SCWD to alternate the currents and if you are only facing strategic spots and not as a main circulation i do not see any problems

more to come tomorrow so stay tuned.....

This big anemone houses some baby Baggai Cardinals

This is their "Living Reef" display Here you can see few of the many sea apples thay have

Hi guys, some pics of the biggest aquarium in Korea. P.S. Pics not very clear as I scanned it from the film This is their tetra tank with the most number of tetras i've seen

u can always use an external pump.....

hi visor, i have not done it on my tank yet (its not even here yet) but i have done exactly the same for my friends tank. Actually IMO it depends on the type of chiller you have as different chillers need different flowrates. For my friends setup, i tee off the return to a 1/2 HP chiller and FR and the chiller output goes back into the sump so chilling happens only in the sump. And just some extra info, I did an external thermostat connecting into the main tank to be accurate. Now to your question, the final return flowrate is quite moderate at about 1000lph but i advise that it is not sensible to have the return generate currents in your tank unless it is small. So for big tanks its better to use other means of generating currents. Or you can put the return to good use like using a SCWD to alternate the water to blow at different areas of LR to keep the detritus from accumulating. In the end its all in your personal preference and I hope this is of some help to you

in short, if you have a counter current skimmer or overflow, that surface skimming a protein skimmer is a term for the standalone unit

looks like stress

good point there

if its just a sump then there's no difference but if you have a refugium, its better to place the skimmer before the refugium as it skims out the pods or the pump shreddes them. Info taken from www.melevsreef.com

I think you should post it in the equipments forum

Here's Davies after a morning walk

as for me, i will be using an MD40 tee off to chiller and FR

wow cool!

yeah spiders are sweet but has anyone tried to make one?

seen b4 those vlamingi become monsters....

don't think so....

*New Updates* For those who asked me about my sump, here is the picture (went through so many transformation) Basically, the water enters to the inner chamber and goes through my Beckett and then flows in a "river format" into the outer chamber whereby it will be pumped by my MD40 as return (Tee to chiller and FR) This design uses two different grades of sand for a good reason: grade 0 sand grows more bacteria and grade 1 sand grows more pods. Futhermore, there is no need for a big sump as the total length of the flowing water is 6ft (3ftx2). As for my Beckett skimmer, I will be collecting the tubes tomorrow and I can start work immediately. Good news is that I finally found a way to plug in the nozzle into a coupling but problems is that I have difficulty getting the fitting that will allow me to plug it into a flexible hose. I have also finally received my Gardena valve from CalciumReef to control the intake of air in the housing. Do you guys think that 1 valve is enough? Hope to get all these done before the main tank comes...

Yes, I agree that 8mm for a 4ft is kind of thin. Might want to be careful. Its not that Grade 2 sand cannot be used but I just recommend that you switch the grades with the ones in the main tank

Ok this is for ben.... Those that infect organisms are viruses and not bacteria so do not get mixed up. Anyway, regarding DSB, all i can say is that it is not as simple as it seems. There are many types of setups, plenums and all but the final design and method of use is all up to you to decide. That's why I got up with the idea of doing a fuge with different grain sizes to optimize the usage. In a DSB, there are many factors to consider and not just dumping sand in and expect it to run smoothly. From what I know, a DSB if properly maintained, is a key to success in a confined reef.

yah but this does not apply to those having big tanks with lots of fishes. IMO there is no such thing about bioload but more of space and territories

In my sump, i actually split it into 2 parts and the sand are separated my a glass partition 4" high. So the sand does not have any physical mixing :lol: Yes, I will love to setup a cryptic refugium where all the sponges, tunicates and filter feeders thrive!!! IMO smaller grain sizes are more suitable to be placed in the sump as: 1) There is more surface area for a DSB 2) It will not be visually appleasing for a display tank 3) Sandstorms are more serious

WRONG!!!!! 1)Not the Thicker the happier the bacteria is. You have to understand that as you go deeper into the sandbed, different levels of oxygen is present and different types of bacteria exists. At the top, there are aerobic bacteria and these convert nitrites to nitrates. The middle portion will contain anaerobic bacteria and these convert the nitrates to nitrogen gas and is released as gas bubbles. But at a level where oxygen is the least or not present at all, there will be anoxic bacteria with will convert the substances to ammonium which is a fuel for algae. This layer is usually seen as black as there will be a build up of hydrogen sulfate which is toxic (stinks too!). Yes, more sand = more space for bacteria but there must be a limit too. And NEVER put a sand shifter into the sand bed as this will cause pandemonium int the sump. Actually, a mature DSB not only contains bacteria but an array of interesting creatures like pods, worms, flatworms etc. If you mange to keep a good and functioning sandbed, the pods can even be food for corals and fishes too! 2)I strongly recommend using Grade 0 sand as it contains the largest surface area you can provide. A person called Leng Sy founded the way of using mud in the fuge and you know that the grain size of mud is way small. So if you cannot make a decision, just use Grade 0 and Grade 1 (like me). Basically, grade 0 grows more bacteria and grade 1 grows more pods 3)The flowrate actually constitutes to how much oxygen is diffused into the sandbed itself as the higher the flowrate, the amount of oxygen diffusion is lesser. The bacteria do not care what flowrate you give it, but only on how much oxygen it has. 4)I am an assistant in a Life Sciences Research Lab and i deal with bacteria all the time and i can proudly say that humans have already understood bacteria and even has the ability to control them. Just to let you know!

Just some pointers: 1) Try to use the smallest grain size for the sand in the sump if you want it to be a DSB 2)Coral chips in the sump does not really constitute to anything but rather trap detritus... 3)For wool, I advice you use polyfilter instead and place it in the sump rather than in the overflow 4)Place Durso standpipes to reduce the splashing of water in the overflow Hope these will be of good help!!!