Couple of Questions...Flow, Substrate...

[lunchie]

Okay, I have successfully hit my sixth month anniversary and I am extremely happy so far. There are still many things I want to add/change about my tank but I am doing it slowly due to money and I don't want to stress out my fish by making to many changes...

So I have a few questions....

Question 1:
Flow-- Currently I have 2 MJ 400 and I want to add more to the tank. I have a 75 gal tank. I have 1 MJ 400 in each back corner of the tank about a 1/4 of the way down the tank and aiming across the tank to the opposite front corner to provide flow across...I am looking to add 2 MJ 1200 and put them where the MJ 400 are and then move the MJ 400 further in the tank and aim them more towards the rock to help with detris build-up. I also am considering adding a 3rd MJ 400 and putting it in the middle of the tank about half way down and aiming it straight across... ANY INPUT on this is appreciate...

Question 2:
We have a pink spotted Watchman Goby. He is such a character...Anyhow, I want to add a sand bed to the tank. Currently we have a CC bottom. Some areas of the CC is really thin compared to others so I was going to clear an area (in the front) and spread the CC to others areas. Then I was going to Add in AgraLive Sand in that area to provide a "play" area for the Goby. WILL THIS WORK? The goby, currently "plays" with the CC and you will find him picking up pieces of it and moving it around...but I feel he will like the Sand much better. My concern is shocking the system by adding the sand, and I don't want to do that...My plan is to use a piece of small PVC piping to pour the sand in and down into the tank so I can control where it goes...

Thanks for all input...See Below for my setup.

 

[reedman]

If you are going to keep saft corals or LPS then adding 2 MJ 1200s would probably be fine. If you plan to move to SPS then you will neeed a lot more flow. If everything is looking happy and you aren't getting a bunch of detritus build up on the sand or rocks I'd say you're doing fine.

On the sand: You can do what you are talking about, but keep in mind that fine grain sands will mingle with the CC. At some point you won't be able to tell where the sand is and where the CC is...it will all blend, especially if there is flow in the area. You could use some acrylic to create a pen for the sand and that would work out better long term for keeping the sand in the sand area and the CC out. Also keep in mind that it is more difficult to keep sand clean and free of detritus. Can be done though and for the fish you are keeping I think it is worth the effort.

 

[lunchie]

Reedman,
I have no plan to keep any corals right now. In the future maybe but right now I am just sticking to fish. I am getting some detritus on the rocks so I will go ahead and add the MJ 1200's.

I love your idea of making a pen for the sand. How would I do that?

Thanks
Deb

 

[reedman]

Deb,

All you need to do for the pen is to cut a strip of acrylic the width of the sand height you want and the length of the perimeter for the pen. In other words, if you want the height of your sand to be 2" and the pen to be a circle that is 12" in diameter then you would need a 2" x 38". The easiest way to determine what you need is to create a template out of cardboard, then just transfer that to the acrylic for the cut. Then you just heat the acrylic and bend it into whatever shape pen you want. let it cool, rinse it off really good and add it to the aquarium. Planted tank folks have done this for years with glass and acrylic and it works really well.

 

[lunchie]

Looking for Someone to make An Acrylic Plate for me

Reedman,
Thank you for the information. It definitely sounds like the way to go. I don't have the tools or the know how to do this so I am going to see if you anyone is interested in helping me out...If you are let me know.

Anyone interested in making an acrylic plate for me please PM or post here. I will be more than happy to pay for materials, your time, and shipping.

Thanks
Deb