Hi All,Well after tons of reading I am finally posting a thread.
I was given a awesome looking Juwel 180 by my wife for my birthday and this was setup by the store before I came home.The bug has bitten and I am wanting to get it running smoothly.
Specs are:Juwel 180l, 2 X T5 highlights 44w Actinic and marine glow, Juwel built in filter and power head (600l/h), heater, Tetratec 700l/h cannister, Arrogonite gravel, 4kg live rock,5kg bio rock (from LFS tanks), 2 std clowns,1 maroon clown and 2 cleaner shrimp.
I want to run this smoothly but don't have a sump or skimmer.There is little if no space in the cabinet for a sump - unless I make a mini 20cm wide by 20cm deep and 40cm height one) - thats why I went with the Tetratec cannister.
Most forum talk seems to hinge around sumps, protein skimmers and deep sand beds for filtration. So I am leaning towards making a sump, and buying a skimmer.
I want to try do this as neatly as possible and avoid at ALL costs water spills in the cabinet (some clever person at Juwel made the cabinet out of chip board/Melamine) - so cannot afford spills.
I used to run a marine tank about 15 years ago and have gone through all the spills, thrills and waterchanges and know what it's mostly about. I am hoping that there is a cleaner easier way to run this without a: spending a fortune, b: making too much mess, c: turning it into a chore and packing it in again.
Advice for a re-starter?
Where to from here?
Can it be done?
Thoughts or comments?
I was given a awesome looking Juwel 180 by my wife for my birthday and this was setup by the store before I came home.The bug has bitten and I am wanting to get it running smoothly.
Specs are:Juwel 180l, 2 X T5 highlights 44w Actinic and marine glow, Juwel built in filter and power head (600l/h), heater, Tetratec 700l/h cannister, Arrogonite gravel, 4kg live rock,5kg bio rock (from LFS tanks), 2 std clowns,1 maroon clown and 2 cleaner shrimp.
I want to run this smoothly but don't have a sump or skimmer.There is little if no space in the cabinet for a sump - unless I make a mini 20cm wide by 20cm deep and 40cm height one) - thats why I went with the Tetratec cannister.
Most forum talk seems to hinge around sumps, protein skimmers and deep sand beds for filtration. So I am leaning towards making a sump, and buying a skimmer.
I want to try do this as neatly as possible and avoid at ALL costs water spills in the cabinet (some clever person at Juwel made the cabinet out of chip board/Melamine) - so cannot afford spills.
I used to run a marine tank about 15 years ago and have gone through all the spills, thrills and waterchanges and know what it's mostly about. I am hoping that there is a cleaner easier way to run this without a: spending a fortune, b: making too much mess, c: turning it into a chore and packing it in again.
Advice for a re-starter?
Where to from here?
Can it be done?
Thoughts or comments?