-canister filter out to sump in?-

[pneumaticbetta]

i am just starting a 55 gal saltwater tank. i just purchased a fluval 505 canister filter. i also have room for a sump. are they beneficial to the tank when used together? would it be wise to direct the canister filter out to the sump? also...what filter media should i focus on when using the canister filter until i get a protein skimmer?

 

[pneumaticbetta]

btw...i am not ready to start my reef tank and i apologize for not posting this in the newby section.

 

[framerguy]

If you have the room for a sump definitely put one in. You may want to use the canister as a carbon reactor after that. That answers your other question about media, ...carbon. Putting the carbon in a canister will give it better contact and it will be more effective. The live rock will provide the biological filtration, you will need between one and two pounds per gallon. If you want to use a sponge to filter out the large particles then that's OK, most folks just use a sock to catch the big stuff instead.

 

[framerguy]

I can't believe I forgot to say Welcome to Reef Sanctuary!!

 

[pneumaticbetta]

If you have the room for a sump definitely put one in. You may want to use the canister as a carbon reactor after that.

would each run independent of themselves, or would i have one in connected to the out of the other? such as the tank out to the sump in, the sump out to the canister in, and the canister out to the tank. or is it better to connect the tank to the canister and have the canisters out to the sump in and from the sump out to the tank.

 

[framerguy]

since the flow going through the carbon needs to be a bit slower I would have them independent of each other. I would set up the system so that the canister takes water from the return (cleaner) area of the sump and return it either to the tank or the sump. Taking cleaner water keeps junk from clogging the carbon. I have mine going back into the sump. If the canister has different compartments you could have different media in there such as floss, or nitrate or phosphate media, but carbon may be all you need.

 

[pneumaticbetta]

how would u set the sump up from overflowing if the power goes out? the sump is fed from a siphon correct? also. wouldnt the sump need to be above the canister filter? what would happen if i had the output of the canister go the sump? would the sump be less effective?

 

[tbittner]

You have to use something like this. This siphon/skimmer box will siphon the water out of the tank and into a box on the outside of the tank. The outside box has a compartment in it so if the water level in the tank drops below the teeth of the skimmer box, which is inside the tank, then the siphon stops. When the electric comes back on, the pump starts pumping water back up into the tank, the water level rises, starts flowing into the skimmer box, and the siphon picks up where it left off.

The only thing you need to make sure of is to have enough room in your sump to hold the water that will drain out down to the bottom of the teeth in the skimmer box.

As for the canister filter, don't hook them together in any way, shape, or form. If you decide that the canister filter needs to go, you just remove it. You won't need to change anything, sump wise.

 

[pneumaticbetta]

how do u know what size return pump to use? would a 10 gallon sump be a good size for a 55 gal tank? what would happen if i use the canister filter (since the flow is regulated if the power fails) to the sump and from the sump to the tank? its just not as effective or what is the reasoning behind using them seperate?

 

[framerguy]

The reason for having them separate is because you don't want the flow through the media to be that fast or it will be less effective. The water (and the stuff the media filters) will just pass right through the carbon and back into the tank.

The overflow box will stop draining when water stops. The siphon won't be lost because of the design and will start again when water is restarted.

Use a pump that will give you about 5X turnover rate. 55 gallons= 550GPH pump for turnover. Get one a little larger and throttle it back slightly if you need to with a valve. I like the Mag Drive pumps, Eheim are also good.

A 10 gallon sump would be OK. The bigger the better though. I'd rather use a 20g if it will fit.

 

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS!
A sump is a great addition to a tank. You can run a canister filter or not, it is your decision. When we ran ours we had it completely separate from the sump. We just had the input and output directly in the tank. It made it really easy to remove when we stopped using it ( ) The sump you want to be as big as you have room for. If 10g is what you can fit then do 10g if you can fit 20g then do that. The sump serves several purposes. It is a place to keep equipment such as your skimmer and heaters and such as well as a place to increase your water volume. You want to leave enough room in the sump to take all of the water in case of a power outage. I would start with the sump empty and let the overflow drain into it. Get a rough estimate of how much room you need for the overflow. Then fill everything up and do a test again. Just shut everything off and let it drain into the sump. You want to leave that much room plus some in case of a power outage. This has saved me more than once.
When using the Fluval you need to keep it very clean. If you don't the detrius gets trapped there and breaks down causing amonia. This is why we quit using ours. It was just more of a pain than assistance. Now we just have 2 Phosban reactors once for carbon and one for phosban. You can use the Fluval for the same purpose quite easily.
Take things slow and ask lots of questions and you will have a fabulous reef.

 

[pneumaticbetta]

the return pump will control the amount of water being siphoned correct?

does the brand of salt play a big role in the quality of the water?

what are good ways to establish biological balance?

anyone have any ideas to refinish the trim around the tank. the wood vinyl looking stuff that borders the top and bottom of the tank

 

[tbittner]

Yes, the return pump will control the amount of water being siphoned but it's also possible for the pump to pump more than the siphon can remove. Therefore, you want a ball valve on the pipe going from the pump so you can adjust it accordingly.

Brand of salt is a trick question. Everyone has their preference. The thing the different salts help with is the calcium, magnesium, chemical levels. Some are higher than others. A reef should be kept in the 400-450 calcium level range. There are lots of thread here at RS that explain the basics of reef keeping.

I don't understand "establish biological balance". When you cycle rock, and get the bacteria established for the nitrogen cycle, that doesn't mean you can throw in a bunch of fish all at once. The way to do it is slowly introduce fish. Give the bacteria levels a chance to grow enough to handle the bioload. So plan on at least 3 weeks between each fish added. Corals really don't add to the bioload. Neither do the clean up crew (CUC).

A lot of people build canopies that hide the lights and keep those bright lights out of your eyes when you're looking at the tank. The canopy can cover that part of the aquarium. Just an idea...

 

[pneumaticbetta]

what i mean by biological balance...can i start getting the water ready even before i start adding fish? also how does one check the salinity using the specific gravity meter ? i have one but dont have any directions on how to use it. do u have any other info i should know or links to great websites?

 

[pneumaticbetta]

i have my tank full of water and i just added crushed sea shell gravel, dechlorinators, biological bacteria for saltwater, and some pieces of freeze dried shrimp...i have not yet added any salt only what was left behind in the gravel from the previous tank it was in. would doing this help me get close to establishing the correct conditions for the fish, even without adding the fish

 

[tbittner]

What is your salinity monitor? Is it a hydrometer, refractometer or something else. If you describe it we will know what it is and can teach you how to use it.

Yes, you want to add salt immediately. Everything you do will be in water that is at 1.025 SG. Do you have powerheads in the tank circulating the water? That will mix the salt with the water and stabilize the SG. Follow the directions for the salt, but add a little bit less than the directions. Give that 4 hours or so to mix, then test it, and adjust by adding either more salt or more fresh water to get the salinity at 1.025.

 

[framerguy]

As Terry said put salt in it now. For water changes in the future, mix your salt in a seperate container and let it age for a week before using it. Also test the make-up saltwater (for water changes) and balance the salinity, ph, calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium to your tank water parameters before adding it to the tank.

Remind us what you are using to measure you salinity.

 

[pneumaticbetta]

it is a hydrometer. by setting up the water before i add fish is benificial in what ways? how can i start getting the required amount of bacteria? just with the biological bacteria boost?

 

[tbittner]

The LR will have some things on it that will die off. The die off will rot and the bacteria will grow to be able to handle it, since it's food for it. I always throw in a grocery store shrimp and let it rot in the tank too. That really builds up the bacteria levels. Then when a fish is added, it's not much of a shock to the system.

For a hydrometer, you just dip it into the water and fill it up. Then tap it lightly to make sure there aren't any bubbles attached to the swing arm. Then sit it on a flat surface and you get your reading. Adjust the water accordingly. If it's reading below 1.025, add more salt. If it's reading higher than 1.025, add some fresh water. If you need to add fresh, you can remove some saltwater and dump it down the sink to make room for the fresh water.

 

[pneumaticbetta]

LR= live rock correct? now live rock can either be substrate or in a form as a big porous rock right? will freeze dried shrimp do the same?