rich_one

Thanks, guys! -Rich

Thanks! I've ordered the eshopps wet/dry and decided to go that way. I think I'm going to use marine pure instead of plastic bio balls. In a month or so, I'll be adding a large HOB fuge. Fingers crossed... appreciate all the great insight! -Rich

Really appreciate that, Reefer_Madness. For better or for worse, going with the wet/dry... tonight. Will add an Aquamaxx ConeS HOB skimmer and a 24" HOB fuge over the next month or two. I hope this comes together, because it's my plan for now... appreciate the input! -Rich

Man, its kind of a long story, and probably the most embarrassing part of it is my fear of trying to do much of anything diy from a plumbing standpoint. Basically, I'd really like to buy an out-of-the box system with all of the hoses and connections I need, connect everything together, and turn it on... plug and play. I'm not very handy, so to speak, so doing things like designing and building my own custom sump and plumbing is for, a bit over my head. So that leaves me with nice box systems like, for instance, Eshopps series of sumps and filters. As it is, I have a brand new, dual output eshopps hang on overflow. Looking at the eshopps systems, the ones that seem to fit the best with my tank size are the WD-150CS... a wet/dry filter with 2 chambers that is 24" long, or the one I'd really like to have, the R-200... a refugium with 3 chambers that is 30" long. Problem is, tank is setup and running, and I'm not tearing it down to install a refugium. However, the R-200 is to long to fit into the stand. I can remove the front beam of the stand to fit it in, but I fear doing that due to the weight of the tank. Meanwhile, the WD-150CS is 24" long, instead of 30"... and I can fit that nice and neat, right through the door. Whichever one I choose... I want it to match my dual output overflow box. So as you can see... this is part "newbie inexperience", part "I suck at diy, and am afraid to do it with plumbing because I don't want to flood my basement" and part "I really like the eshopps products, that come with almost everything in the box I need, and simple to understand connections". Currently, I only have power jets circulating water through and around about 200 lbs. or so (maybe a bit more) of live rock in the tank. I want to add something else... be it sump/refugium, wet/dry, skimmer, or some combination of the three. This is basically what I am trying to figure out. What's easiest and best for me, that will still give me a nice system long term. I'm sure this probably seems crazy. But here I am. Two systems that match my dual output overflow, but one too long to get into the stand without having to remove part of the stand, and the other that does fit, only having 2 chambers instead of 3, prompting me to consider using an HOB skimmer instead of an in sump unit. That's my long embarrassing story. LOL... -Rich

Whoa... okay, so here's the deal. Let's say I go wet/dry, Aquamaxx ConeS hang on skimmer, and large hang on refugium... that'd about cover it, no? Not including all of the various reactors and such, right? I could add these things over the next two months... if that would all work, which should I add first? Wet/dry? Hang on refugium? Skimmer? Assuming I cannot add all 3 at once. FYI... I eventually want the hang on refugium for pod propogation, if nothing else. Thanks! -Rich

Okay, guys... thanks. Can I get away with running a tank with only jets moving the water through and around the rocks inside the tank and a good HOB protein skimmer like a Aquamaxx ConeS for a month or two and a light fish load? It's a 125 gallon tank with about 200 lbs. of live rock (if not more) and again, a very light fish load. I want to take a little more time to consider how I am going to approach my sump situation, but want more than just the jets pushing water around in the meantime. Thanks. -Rich

Ah... got it. hmm.... thanks. Didn't realize how tough a decision this was going to be. LOL... thanks for the info! -Rich

But would it hurt? One aspect I like is that the water trickling through the pad onto the bio balls would be pretty quiet. So would it hurt if I did it that way? And if not, can I put the protein skimmer in the same chamber as the return pump? Thanks! -Rich

Are wet/dry fitlers for FOWLR tanks bad? What if I add something like a HOB fuge? I know a sump system with fuge in it is an option, but I am wondering if a wet/dry, with filter pad above the bio balls, and a separate hob fuge would be a bad thing? Thanks! -Rich

Thanks, all! And no, no plans to drill. Will use a hang on overflow. -Rich

Yeah, after asking many question across two forums, it seems clear to me it is time to stop thinking about a hob skimmer and start thinking about installing the sump and putting the skimmer in there. -Rich

I don't have any plans to drill the tank, but I will add a sump w/ hang on back overflow, and an in-sump skimmer. Hope to have all of that installed over the next few weeks. -Rich

My serpent star looks black, and so far has been extremely harmless. -Rich

Cool! -Rich

Thanks for the heads up. In regards to the sump, wet/dry, refugium situation... I fully plan to go in that direction. Just taking things step by step at the moment, and asking questions as I go along. I will definitely be joining this club, and am in fact, currently a member of the CCA, for what it's worth. -Rich

I eventually plan to have soft corals... easiest to keep that I can find. -Rich

Thanks, everyone... will check out live aquaria, and start figuring out which way I want to go in regards to sump. -Rich

Hello, all... My name is Rich. I've been keeping freshwater aquariums for about 25 years, and finally made the leap to salt. I have a 6 ft. 125 gallon running right now with approx. 150 lbs. live rock. Not running any filters. Just a wavemaker and a power head to move the water around the tank. Basically just transferred someone else's established system into one of my empty setups. The fish I currently have are: 2 clown fish (don't know the specific variety, but can post pics) 2 blue damsels 1 striped damsel 1 banggai cardinalfish 1 serpent starfish The tank has been up and running for two weeks now, everyone seems happy... so far. This tank is a work-in-progress. I plan to add more live rock, and more sand as well (I think). I am also running a 48" Deep Blue Solarmax T5 HE light fixture running a 10,000k white light and a blue actinic light. Not sufficient for where I want to eventually be, but will do for the short term. Well, those are the basics of my tank. On to the questions: 1. I want to add a protein skimmer. Eventually I plan to add a sump or wet/dry of some sort, but that is a bit down the road. For now, I'd like an affordable hang on back skimmer that gets the job done. Any recommendations? 2. After I add more live rock, and perhaps upgrade my lights, I plan to add more fish. Suggestions on fish that are compatible with what I have so far? I want activity all over the tank, I want fish that are reef safe, as I hope to have plenty of interesting critters and eventually easy to care for, non-demanding soft corals. So, fish that won't harm these things. Those are my specific questions for now, but please feel free to comment further in any way that could help me be successful. Thanks in advance, everyone... and looking forward to learning a lot on this forum as I continue on this new venture in my fishkeeping hobby! -Rich