Help! I am trying to plan out my filtration system for a 90 gal reef

[akwaaviagra]

I just obtained a used 90 gallon tank. It has been set up as saltwater before and came with a wet/dry filter that still has the bio-balls, an excalibur 200(?) skimmer, a corallife hood (2 flour 2halide) and all the various pumps & hoses.

I have had saltwater tanks before and have been successful keeping corals and fish alike. However, it has been a LONG time (my first saltwater aquarium had an undergravel filter) since I have set a system up. The last time I had a tank, bio-balls were wonderful things and I have noticed the drastic changes filtration systems have gone through.

I have been researching filtration systems a great deal and I have found many many methods that all offer wisdom and benefit. I would like to combine these methods to hopefully achieve the most natural environment possible. I have devised a plan (mwahahahaha) and I would love any input/suggestions/comments/criticisms anyone can provide. Here goes:

In-Tank: (tank has corner over flow section w/return)
- 3 powerheads to promote waterflow one with rotating spout for turbulence to move water to front of tank and down. One to move water across sand bed and one to move water back up to overflow.
- Plenum system using 2" each of coral sand and aragonite sand. Very thin layer of crushed coral on top for texture and to act as a removable deposit sponge. This should provide the majority of the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate cycle without sacrificing space to anaerobic matter as well as recycling essential nutrients within the tank to reduce the need for regular additives.
- Snails and such to move and aerate sand (e.g. narcissus).

Sump 1: (formerly a wet-dry filter)
- Bioballs stuck together in sheets (under a drip plate) for easy removal, portions of which to be rinsed regularly in chamber 1. This should slightly aid in biological filtration without creating more mess (regular rinsing). Can be removed if necessary.
- Protein skimmer and pump (to sump 2) in chamber 2. This will remove majority of remaining organic waste.

Sump 2: (small aquarium)
- Live rock - this will help to keep this portion of filtration system alive and running as well as helping the healthiness of the tank overall.
- Coleurpa (it has a good phosphate intake when compared to other macroalgae) under drip plate. This will remove excess organic phosphate (often missed by skimmers) from the system preventing cyanobacteria and promoting health for the tank all around by removing and delivering nutrients in a natural way. This will be harvested as growth continues.
- Lights for growth. These will be on a timer opposite the schedule of the tank itself to provide 24-7 consistency in filtration and biological contribution for the tank.
- Pump to move water back into tank. **Any suggestions on regulating the flow from one sump to the next and back into the tank would be HUGELY appreciated.

Step one would be to get the water in the tank and get the flow systems working well. I would then introduce the live rock to sump 2 and then the coleurpa. Then I would introduce the live sand while my live rock is curing. I was thinking of maybe having brine shrimp in the tank to help with biological load while the curing process went on? After adding the live rock I would begin to build the larger ecosystem starting with the cleaners (snails, hermits, etc). Next I would like to start macroalgae in the tank itself followed by scallops then corals and fish.

So am I crazy? I am going for a tank that can suffer as little disturbance by me and maintenance as possible. I am thinking that this way I would be washing a portion of the bio-balls, changing the protein skimmer, adding water for evaporation and harvesting coleurpa as maintenance.

While I will have a lot of time for trial and error during setup, any advice I can get now, during planning, will help me so much. Thanks for reading my incredibly lengthy post.

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF!!! Glad you can join us! As for your setup, one of the first things that stand out to me is the continued use of the bio-balls. If you really do plan to use them, be sure to keep them maintained as you don't want them to become a major source of nitrate production as they are very efficient at what they do...Converting ammonia into nitrite then into nitrate in a short amount of time which in a lot of cases happens at a much quicker rate than your system can work off the nitrates (via denitrification, nutrient export etc depending on waste production) which is why most people tend to ditch their bio-balls and allow their live rock to do the work for them (which it is capable of doing), but every system is different so go with what works best for you. The second thing that stood out is the use of caulerpa with lighting on an alternate photoperiod from the tank...From what I understand about caulerpa, it needs lighting 24/7 to prevent it from going "sexual" which if it does go "sexual", can cause major issues for you so I'd either think of running the lighting 24/7 if you want to use the caulerpa or switch to another macro algae like chaeto which seems to be very popular. I'd see if you can get more feed back on the caulerpa though as I have never used it, just heard about it going sexual without lighting 24/7

Any suggestions on regulating the flow from one sump to the next and back into the tank would be HUGELY appreciated

Do you have a diagram buy any chance of how everything will be set up? The reason I ask is typically when people use 2 seperate tanks/containers working as one "filtration system" (sump) they typically have one drain into the other rather than having a pump feed container two and then another feed back to the tank. If one stops working then you can imagine what would happen :shock:. Was your plan to have one pump pump from sump 1 to sump 2 and then another pump, pump back to the tank? If so, you may want to re-think it and see if you can work it another way to have sump 1 somehow just drain into sump 2 so you wouldn't need 2 pumps and risk the problems associated with it (that is if I'm understanding what it is you are planning to do).

Other than that, seems like you have a nice plan ahead. These are just a few personal thoughts of mine and not necessarily the correct or the right and only way to go about things, but just thought I'd throw out a few things. Good luck and let us know if you have anymore question

 

[akwaaviagra]

Thanks for the advice. I have decided to definetly have an overflow system for the 2 sumps.

Also with the coleurpa, I would rather have something different that won't pose so much risk to my system. Having the lights on an opposite photo period is so important to maintain a 24/7 co2/oxygen exchange in the tank, so a different macroalgae would be better.

I am totally willing to be rid of the bio balls as long as the rest of the system can handle the load. The one thing that appeals to me about them is that they are a removable, rinsable, reusable medium. What I don't like about them is that they are essentially an un-natural form of filtration (which explains why they aren't always the best choice). They came with the tank so I can always add them if I feel it is necessary at a later date.

 

[Krish]

Yeah, the thing with bio-balls in a wet/dry environment is they have no anaerobic regions for denitrification to take place which is why their end product is nitrates and nothing more. So people tend to allow their live rock to do most of the "biological" work for them as it provides tons of surface area for nitrifying bacteria to grow (those that convert ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate) as well as their are anaerobic zones within the rock where denitrifying bacteria grows (those that convert nitrates into nitorgen gas). In most cases, all you usually needed to aid the rock is good husbandry, good skimming and not overstocking and over feeding the tank. Macro algaes are great as well, where nutrient export is needed, but in some cases, like myself when I had my tank up and running, wasn't necessary as I was able to keep nitrates etc un-detectable without it. If I were to add some in there (macro), it probably wouldn't grow as their was basically no food source for it, but like I said, you have to go with what works best for you as every system is different

Here's a poll you may find interesting

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13647

 

[akwaaviagra]

That poll is great! I cannot say more how it outlines the reasons I would like to have a fuge in my system. I really love the idea of the mud being water fed from the bottom, that sort of makes me more enthusiastic about the plenum system as well.

 

[akwaaviagra]

With the anaerobic zones in the live rock, I think I agree with doing away with the balls completely. You answered exactly what I was worried about - the plenum system replaces anaerobic depths of sand with water that houses similar organizims with a similar effect. However, should that method not prove to be enough conversion to nitrogen gas, live rock in the sump would make up for anything not there. Bio balls don't complete the process and would be utterly useless in my system. Should I feel as enlightened and accomplished as I do?

 

[Krish]

LOL! I think you'll be well on your way without the bio-balls. The thing you will have to keep in mind though with having live rock in your sump is a bit of sump maintenance may be required and having live rock down there can sometimes work against you so you'll have to be careful. The reason why I say that is live rock sheds and if there isn't sufficient flow passing through the sump, detritus and so forth will settle in the bottom of the sump and if not removed, can degrade water quality (just like in your tank when there isn't sufficient flow). So either a good cleanup crew will be needed, sufficient flow to keep detritus from settling, or regular vaccuming will be needed to remove anything that settles in there. For this reason a lot of people will just leave the live rock for the main display as usually, what the main display can hold, is sufficient to support it's bio-load once you don't go overboard with livestock. I tried the live rock thing in my sump and here's what I vaccumed out that settled underneath just 3 rocks I had in there


Since then, I removed the rock from the sump and that was the beginning of my nitrates working it's way to zero. I had about 800gph of flow going through my sump which at the time was about 20 gal or so and it still wasn't enough to keep the detritus from settling. So just keep in mind that it may come to a point where you will need to do some sump maintenance with having live rock down there. Quite possibly though, it will not pose a problem for you as it doesn't for some and they have nothing but great success with live rock in their sumps, but I thought I'd just give you the "heads up" so you'll know what to keep an eye out for

 

[akwaaviagra]

Thanks again! I think I might just stick to the live rock in the fuge as it might be more manageable that way. In any case, I don't mind doing maintenance in the filter system, what I'm trying to avoid is disturbing the main tank itself. I want it to live happy and free without fear of human hands.

 

[akwaaviagra]

Just a couple of other questions as well, what is this co2 reactor, kalk reactor and calcium reactor stuff? Are these things I should even consider for a tank my size?

 

[Krish]

Just a couple of other questions as well, what is this co2 reactor, kalk reactor and calcium reactor stuff? Are these things I should even consider for a tank my size?

Depends...I've never used any of them when I had corals and just supplemented my calcium (and alk) with a 2 part supplement called B-Ionic. The doseages were so small for me, that I figured why invest in a reactor especially seeing I didn't mind adding it to the tank myself. Some people however, have high calcium demands and don't necessarily want to be bothered with measuring out calcium everyday and adding it to the tank so they setup up a calcium reactor that basically in a nut shell, doese the work for them. I've never got into too much detail on the different setups and so forth because I never really found a need for one, but if you need more info on them, I'm sure others will be happy to provide you with any info you will need

 

[spongebob lover]

Just a couple of other questions as well, what is this co2 reactor, kalk reactor and calcium reactor stuff? Are these things I should even consider for a tank my size?

if youre planning on keeping sps then yeah .
calcium reactor helps you to keep up with the consumption of calcium you'll need if you're going on the sps side .

a kalk reactor thingy helps keeping alk and cal at the level you desire many doods use it.
it all depends on what you'll want for corals