My first marine reef tank - The journey to the salty side
- Thread starter Criggy
- Start date
There's perky pets in diep river, sams in bergvliet & aquatic vision in brackenfell to name a few oh maybe reef aquatics too...Great ! Hope your mountain is as gorgeous as ever !!! Maybe you could point the fellow capetonian in the right direction to get live rock... Handing over to CPT ..lol
@MistaOrange I am in Tokai
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The guys in Cape town got a get together on the 1st Feb
See if you can join. Will learn a lot I promise you.
Next one... - Marine Aquariums South Africa
See if you can join. Will learn a lot I promise you.
Next one... - Marine Aquariums South Africa
Welcome criggy ! Come to the next meet it would be good to meet another reefer. The more the merrier
There's quite a few shops close to you @Perky pets sams & reef aquatics, a few more but not sponsors of this forum.
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Well at least you get to stay cool !!!! I bet ya that you were the coldest person around yesterday !!!! With the heat we had yesterday and today i am willing to help in ANY freezer !!! lol.
Tks Micheal - yes were around the corner as such , just off Kendel rd...
Pop in , we got all products and livestock that you might need to get going .
Good luck Criggy.
D
P.S
Dont for get the red sea meeting on the 24th @ 6:30 , everyone welcome , i just need you to let me know if your coming so we can make arrangements
Pop in , we got all products and livestock that you might need to get going .
Good luck Criggy.
D
P.S
Dont for get the red sea meeting on the 24th @ 6:30 , everyone welcome , i just need you to let me know if your coming so we can make arrangements
@Zandy I did get everything yesterday 
Now need to fit all the piping etc and set up the sump - I will upload some pics soon.
Is there any literature out there on the best way to rig the sump?
Sump has 4 compartments so:
c1 from top to bottom will be 3 x layers white sponge, 3 layers of black sponge and finallySeachem Matrix
- Question - Should the downpipe from the overflow from the tank sit deep in the sump or should it sit a distance above the sponge?
c2 From top to bottom black sponge and fluval
c3 Protein skimmer and thermostat
c4 Return pump
I am waiting for supply of the coal media still
Your thoughts?
Now need to fit all the piping etc and set up the sump - I will upload some pics soon.
Is there any literature out there on the best way to rig the sump?
Sump has 4 compartments so:
c1 from top to bottom will be 3 x layers white sponge, 3 layers of black sponge and finallySeachem Matrix
- Question - Should the downpipe from the overflow from the tank sit deep in the sump or should it sit a distance above the sponge?
c2 From top to bottom black sponge and fluval
c3 Protein skimmer and thermostat
c4 Return pump
I am waiting for supply of the coal media still
Your thoughts?
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Great to hear .... always exciting to unpack the new goodies. @RiaanP can probably shed more light on the technical side but here is my input... My opinion..
C1 i would have a filter sock - make sure you cut the downpipe coming from the overflow at an angle to prevent build up of some extra nutirents ect. How big is each chamber of the sump?
Would you be able to fit the skimmer in compartment 1...meaning it would then come from the overflow into the filtersock then through the skimmer?
I would not personally use the black sponge ect (just extra nutrient traps) rather run with Orco Biocubes which sits nice and neatly inside a mesh bag of which you have an airpump with stone inside the bag (The bomb method)
So C2 would contain perhaps some live rock and orca biocubes
C3 i would use as the return where your pump will return the water back into the tank. You can have some activated carbon (in mesh bags) sitting there. Carbon is great and needs to be changed often.
C4 i would utilise as a ATU (Automatic Top up of water....don't top up with seawater...RO Water)
But a photo tells a thousand words...so perhaps take a photo of your sump and post it here sure you will get plenty recommendations!
C1 i would have a filter sock - make sure you cut the downpipe coming from the overflow at an angle to prevent build up of some extra nutirents ect. How big is each chamber of the sump?
Would you be able to fit the skimmer in compartment 1...meaning it would then come from the overflow into the filtersock then through the skimmer?
I would not personally use the black sponge ect (just extra nutrient traps) rather run with Orco Biocubes which sits nice and neatly inside a mesh bag of which you have an airpump with stone inside the bag (The bomb method)
So C2 would contain perhaps some live rock and orca biocubes
C3 i would use as the return where your pump will return the water back into the tank. You can have some activated carbon (in mesh bags) sitting there. Carbon is great and needs to be changed often.
C4 i would utilise as a ATU (Automatic Top up of water....don't top up with seawater...RO Water)
But a photo tells a thousand words...so perhaps take a photo of your sump and post it here sure you will get plenty recommendations!
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best filtration sequence is mechanical, biological then chemical.
Detritus will be trapped so quickly in the first sponge filters. Better to have the skimmer first, so that it can remove the biggest baddest particles first. Then all the finer filter material. I will also try to place the bigger filters first, then the finer filters later. Or have filter socks first to catch most of the stuff. But does not matter, fine filter material or filter socks are both an extra maintenance that needs to be cleaned weekly.
Chemical should be last, else they become blocked with detritus way too quickly, reducing their effectiveness and lifespan.
Detritus will be trapped so quickly in the first sponge filters. Better to have the skimmer first, so that it can remove the biggest baddest particles first. Then all the finer filter material. I will also try to place the bigger filters first, then the finer filters later. Or have filter socks first to catch most of the stuff. But does not matter, fine filter material or filter socks are both an extra maintenance that needs to be cleaned weekly.
Chemical should be last, else they become blocked with detritus way too quickly, reducing their effectiveness and lifespan.
@RiaanP Thanks for the info - that definitely makes sense!
Problem now is the layout of my sump!! I have attached pics - Any recommendations
What I have to work with is matrix, fluval, carbon, white and black sponge skimmer thermostat - and I would like to add auto topup
Hope the pics work!!
Problem now is the layout of my sump!! I have attached pics - Any recommendations
What I have to work with is matrix, fluval, carbon, white and black sponge skimmer thermostat - and I would like to add auto topup
Hope the pics work!!
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to stop water flowing back to the sump when the power goes out.
Result is a flooded sump, wet floors and a lot of work to clean up.
The siphon hole sucks in air so that the siphon breaks