basser9

I think the single most important thing to keep in mine is a loose 1inch frag is way better then a encrusted frag. I have gotten to the point were i will clip any new frag off of its encrusted base dip the fresh clipping and throw away the base. Even with a quarantine for my SPS i feel this is the smart thing to do.

You should run both with the rox on the bottom. Gfo removes alot of the same compounds that carbon will so your gfo will be used up faster if you dont run carbon before it. I run both in my reactor with a nice sponge between them it works great.

Problem is if you are talking about a SPS tank and alot of fish then you need to times 5 the ratings from any NEEDLEWHEEL. If you are going to have a lps/chalice tank then any skimmer will do.

I prefer a single large reactor with carbon on bottom nice large sponge then GFO then a big sponge. Never clogs and way easyer to deal with to me.

I always put a high quality sponge on my pump and rarely clean my becketts. Get a pick up as MTC has alot of different designs over the years.

Still have that Dual beckett copy........always looking to add to my collection.

A simple 10micron and 1 micron bag setup is a easy thing to do. Never have i ever rinsed carbon or gfo, Never so much as a hint of any fines in my system.

A simple cabinet built along the side will allow you a area to do what you need to do. A pantry type build works great. Large reactor filled with GAC/PHOS and a high flow skimmer with a deep sandbed on a large tank is my recipe for yearly water changes on my 150.

Carbon dosing is always a tricky thing and in my experience once you get white tips on sps or Bacterial infections on fish you are very close to a potential tank wipe out. Red slime outbreaks usually follow and can be real bad. A high DOC level is always a concern and i would run alot of carbon and turn off the lights for a day. There is know such thing as 0 po levels you need to have someone with a HANNA phos tester see what your levels are as they may of dropped to low......

http://aqua-tecture....ck-centerpieces Check out these also.... There are alot of these type of rocks around if you look hard enough. bonsai ...good stuff..http://aqua-tecture....-vidarock-at308

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/ceramic-rock/aquaroche There are alot of ceramic type rock that fits your needs......

Hungry tangs.....large turbos.....red mitrax crabs. People overfeed there tangs if you only feed 1 time a day you will find your tangs stripping your rocks clean of any algae but feed alot and they will tend to avoid it. You still need very low nutrients levels or no amount of cleaners can keep up.

First get a seachem low range nitrate kit ......about 20 bucks. Any other kit is useless for a reef tank. Even with nitrates levels lower then any reef tank a natural reef has massive algea growth of all types. Thats what feeds the billions of fish/inverts/etc that inhabit a reef. A study was done on a covered patch of reef they put a screen on a area that stopped fish and inverts from getting to the area in a matter of no time it was covered with slime/hair algae. Even with very low levels of phos/nitrates you still need a large pop of tangs and inverts to mow algea down.

Just as with sps every generation of a RBTA that is cut or fragged seems to become easyer to cut/frag the next time. A wild RBTA does not cut as easy as a 30th generation cut rbta. The 2 BTA that i got in NY were as easy to cut up as any RBTA and i believe that is because they were 5 or 6 generation cutups. Lemondrops and flames are horrible shippers just as a RBTA is thats wild in my opinion the only difference with the rare ones is that they are wild or 2nd gen and prone to the same problems you have with any wild bubbletip. So its very important to wait for a rare BTA to get big and fat and make the first cut only in half..... be patient and once you have cut a few a few times i am sure anyone will find they are really easy to cut up.

They sell a nice air cleaner thats great for your dual beckett. It will keep things quit and if you smoke or kitchen is close to your tank it is a nice thing to have. Its in there accessory dept. You can leave your skimmer alone for months at a time with the 5gallon overflow if you run the water low for a dry skimmate......good luck

The avast model is great for a Needlewheel but i would never use anything that can fail [pressure sensor can]on a ETSS/DOWNDRAFT BECKETT because those skimmer are so strong that if there is a failure you can be looking at a major flood or tank crash. For a DOWNDRAFT SKIMMER a pingpong type works all the time for me. Now you can add a ato switch or AVAST pressure switch into a standard pingpong overtflow if you want and extra layer but the classic ppball design works very well.

You can get away without a AUTO SHUTOFF container only if you have the overflow in your sump. Water level for that skimmer is always around base of box if using a small pump you may have to run it half way up the neck. 2 weeks minimum for any beckett to break in .....old/new makes no difference. The problem i have with a auto shutoff that uses a ato cutoff is the overflow cup is a nasty place and hard on any electronic gizmo just dont trust them there.

Water level needs to be way lower always start at 2 inches below the box and wait at least 2 weeks before raising it up. When it breaks in you could have a massive flood . ....http://www.superskim... Containers.htm You must have a auto shutoff waste collector with any beckett skimmer any type with a pingpong ball in them works. Someone on wamas usually has a waste collector laying around. A 5 gallon bucket is a bad idea it will overflow 20 gallons in a heart beat. On that etss site you see they have a 90.00 one that fits over any 5gal bucket thats the kind i use.

Get a DFS hob filter it has a surface skimmer and why have any type of headach with starting and stoping a tank. Run it full time just keep a BLACK MOLLIE in it to keep it ready, On a small tank a skimmer helps as fish stress easy. 40 breeder/dfs hob/mollie.........pretty easy and no fuss.

Heres a great vid of a 2 tower beckett run with 1 tower that should help.

http://waterwallandgarden.blogspot.com/2009/10/sunterra-305314-foam-jet-nozzle.html Heres a beckett nozzle thats twice the size of a standard one. I modded one into my skimmer and they are something to behold. Less backpressure twice the air ......really are nice. Will post a build on my mod in the future.

You cant have it all either you get low par high spread or high par low spread. Put 2 of the Lumenmaxs on a light mover and run a T5/LED OR SOME KIND OF STRIP OF LIGHT ALONG THE WHOLE TANK a great option for a 300dd.

A simple foam prefilter on any beckett makes them a no hassle skimmer. I dont even touch a thing on mine for months at a time.

I would get the 75gal quick crew for 50 from reefcleaners. From any lfs pick up 5 LARGE MEXICAN TURBOS and 2 Tiger counches that should be perfect. Adding 2 very small red mitrax crabs for any bubble algea that may pop up is wise also.

If you live in GONZOS neck of the woods a sunburst is everywere. A really nice LEMondrop is twice as bright as a SUNBURST but i would still like to have one.