Getting Tanked And Have Questions

[wingnut247]

HUGE background... with a couple questions at the end.

I got a call thursday morning at 8AM... a friend of mine was going to leave his 150 acrylic with sump stand and gear next to the dumpster behind his apartment complex at noon. He had to be out that day and did not have room/time for it where he was going. He has other tanks and this was the tank too far.

With the help of my brother and his truck I rescued it.

The system a little less then 10 years old

-150g Acrylic with overflow (couple small scratches and 10 years of reasonable care/wear and tear)
-A DIY stand that is so/so
-50-75g wet/dry filter/sump with mud and couple lbs of Live Rock (that fills a 5 gallon bucket 3/4 full ...cause that it were it is now)
-External pump
-Tetra UV Sterilizer
-Media filter? (never used one... dont even know how! looks like a clear cylinder)
-400w Comp Flor. (with 1/2 burnt out... bad transformer)
-1 inch of black sand

The main tank had the fish and LR removed a month ago.... but the sand was kept wet(but not moving). Found 1 snail alive with very little water today when I was moving it around. (dropped him into sump from another tank until i can ID him.)


I am about to set up this thing as a planted tank (macros and mangroves) with maybe a couple low light corals once the lighting is up and going..

Question #1: Should I pull/switch the substrate?
My concern: Will black sand keep my PH high enough? (I usually use Live sand or crushed coral)

Question #2: Should I pull/switch the wet/dry?
My concern: Will the wet/dry plastic bioball type filter take out too much of the nutrients or with this type of filter be good for Macro Algae. (I read somewhere that wet/drys take out too much of the nutrients that plants need to be happy)


Answers, thoughts and opions welcome.

 

[Krish]

Congrats on the tank!!

Question #1: Should I pull/switch the substrate?
My concern: Will black sand keep my PH high enough? (I usually use Live sand or crushed coral)

If the sand is something like Aragalive's Indio_Pacific's black sand, it will buffer the water for you http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merc...uct_Code=C-ARAG-L-IB&Category_Code=Substrates However, from what I understand, the black tahitian moon sand by Caribsea, won't do anything for ph.

Question #2: Should I pull/switch the wet/dry?
My concern: Will the wet/dry plastic bioball type filter take out too much of the nutrients or with this type of filter be good for Macro Algae. (I read somewhere that wet/drys take out too much of the nutrients that plants need to be happy

I would figure the wet/dry would be good for the macro as the end product of a wet dry is nitrates and macros bind them up to grow along with phosphates. Just a thought...

 

[Reefdaddy1]

Pull the Bio balls, Throw the sand away. Keep the wetdry and use it for all your Mechanical filtration, then get another aquarium like a 40 long or 55 gallon and make it your fuge. tie them together and you have a awsome filtration system.

 

[wingnut247]

Thanks

Congrats on the tank!!

,,, However, from what I understand, the black tahitian moon sand by Caribsea, won't do anything for ph.

I would figure the wet/dry would be good for the macro .... Just a thought...

Thanks for the response... love this forum.

Reguarding #1
Ok... I think it is the tahition moon sand... what is going to buffer my PH? Will live rock do it? How much whould I need?


and #2
Looks like I should keep the Wet/Dry... what maintenance will i have to worry about with the wet/Dry?

 

[wingnut247]

balls

Pull the Bio balls, Throw the sand away. Keep the wetdry and use it for all your Mechanical filtration, then get another aquarium like a 40 long or 55 gallon and make it your fuge. tie them together and you have a awsome filtration system.

That was the other option... I do have a extra empty 55 (I was saving for a project that is on hold 'till spring/summer)... but I'd need to buy a pump. And I have no skimmer or other filtration system. Since my goal is to make more of a "planted" tank... keep going back and forth on this one. Maybe I will keep the 55 to be a custom sump for the 160 that I will be setting up later.


I do want to keep the black sand if i can... but if I can't buffer it "naturally" then I'd rather swap it out for a thin coat of white that will buffer.


I'm torn.. guess that is why I have posted here for suggestions.

 

[Slickdonkey]

Personally I wouldn't consider any sand a useful buffer. You'll probably want to use something like kalkwasser or a calcium reactor.

My advice: go ahead and use the sand if you like it. The black sand is cool!

 

[Herefishyfishy]

I agree with the honorable Mr Hasselhof. Sand will not functionally buffer your saltwater unless the PH drops drastically too low and by then most of your livestock will have perished. Fresh saltwater and live rock is the way to go and keeping the water oxygenated and free of CO2 buildup handles the buffering. Worry more about denitrification and protein removal. In other words, good current with good filtration/skimming handles it all and use whatever substrate you prefer for aesthetics.
OMHO