150 FOWLR setting up please help

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
chrisdef15;773865; said:
Duh did you idiots (since thats what your calling people) ever think it helps because it adds more water to the system. As you like to tell people the bigger the tank the better. Ille agree ide rather chuck some lr in the rather then have it empty but its def not stupid to have a SW setup with an empty sump as its still alot better then not having one.
Plus the fact you can hide everything in it.
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easy there tiger.... I don't think you go what we were saying. We didn't call them idiots for having empty sumps. We called them idiots for saying a tank can't work with bio balls, it MUST be empty sump with 2lbs per gallon of live rock and the sump and fuge are the size of the show tank. What we ment by idiots is that they overexagerate the requirements of a saltwater tank and then tell newbies like myself to do that... then I get discouraged because I need to sell both kidneys and half a lung to afford that. Then I find people who have been running there tanks successfully for years without all that crap those guys said... and then I wonder what in the hell I listened to him for. Then I run out and get my kidnies and lung back and just set up a saltwater tank normally and not high tech enough to house a beluga whale.
 
It`s true many people run great fish only systems useing only bioballs foam etc.I think it`s more the sps guys who benifit from all the live rock.
 
Chago09;774176; said:
easy there tiger.... I don't think you go what we were saying. We didn't call them idiots for having empty sumps. We called them idiots for saying a tank can't work with bio balls, it MUST be empty sump with 2lbs per gallon of live rock and the sump and fuge are the size of the show tank. What we ment by idiots is that they overexagerate the requirements of a saltwater tank and then tell newbies like myself to do that... then I get discouraged because I need to sell both kidneys and half a lung to afford that. Then I find people who have been running there tanks successfully for years without all that crap those guys said... and then I wonder what in the hell I listened to him for. Then I run out and get my kidnies and lung back and just set up a saltwater tank normally and not high tech enough to house a beluga whale.
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Well yes i guess i agree there. But as you said it works ok for fish only but once you get more into it bioballs are just a place to develop nitrates which corals hate.
 
bio balls are a place to develop nitrate fixing bateria. you know the kind that BREAK DOWN nitrates. i don't know why people would run a huge, empty sump. a small LR sump is way better and is more cost and space effective than an empty one.
 
Yes i would have thought that too but go ask someone with a good OLD (not someone who has had it running for a year or so) reef tank. I think SW needs it to be anaerobic to develop the right bacteria.
 
well an empty sump would exactly be anaerobic, especially with all that tank water flowing around i hope it's not. refugium mud would be the best place for that to happen. if you want to set up a nice large refuguim, thats different from a sump.
 
Yeah i know an empty sump isnt going to filter but thats what you LR in your tank is for. Supposedly its just better empty then with bioballs which can end up making it dirtier (supposedly).
In mine i just have more LR instead.
And yeah a refugium is best.
 
the reason the say to remove the bioballs, is that because over time the nitrifying bacteria build up so much the start to die and contribute to an increase in nitrates, imo it is better to remove the bioballs and replace them with live rock, there are a 100x more surface area for the bacteria in the live rock

if you do keep the bioballs it is recommended to remove them every 6-12 months and rinse them to remove excess bacteria

i have actually noticed a difference in my nitrate and phosphate levels by removing the bioballs and replacing them with live rock,

you could also use base rock or rock rubble too


to clarify, i am not suggesting to remove the media totally, if you remove the bioballs from the trickle section, you need to replace it with something, live or base rock being the best choice


bob
 
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