Loaded question !'s

[JoshsReef]

I have a couple questions as I plan to make a few modifications to my current 75 gallon set up.

First I am geting ready to order 30 pounds of lr rubble from liveaquaria. My goal is to slowly eliminate the need for chemical media other than phosban for the most part. I have a fluval cannister and plan on using lr rubble in the place of biomax and prefilter in the 1rst and 3rd filter chambers. I will leave the second chamber open for phosban and carbon when needed. I also was considering taking all the foam out of the cannister. should I do this ? It gets prett dirty so I think it serves a good purpose and am not sure whether to take it out or not. I also want to use my hob emperor 400 as a fuge. I have already recently removed one biowheel and plan on removing the other in a week (didnt want to disrupt to much bio media at once) I am also going to put some lr rubble in this filter along with possible some sand. should I add the sand ? I also am going to put some chaeoto in the HOB as well to help control nitrates. is there enough room in there you think to sucesfully keep chaeoto? will it need alot or will the room light be enough ? any suggestions on which type of light to look into purchasing for my HOB?

I currently have 90 pounds of LR and 50 pounds of Base rock
a yellow tang, a hippo tang, 2 nemos, and 4 chromis, 2 mexican turbo snails

 

[Ziggy953]

That is a good goal to have! I have found that the more natural your system is the more things stay balanced. I'm not a fan of canister filters for the simple reason they tend to collect gunk. Sponges are a nitrate factory! With the amount of LR you have in the tank I think you have enough surface area for bacteria to do its work. The emperor 400 probably isn't going to do much in the way of a fuge for you. With a 75g tank you are going to need a decent sized fuge to really have an impact on your nutrients. Cheato likes light but it doesn't have to be a MH or anything. I have a 20g tall that is a dedicated fuge on my system. Along with a ton of LR and a large skimmer is all the filtration I use. I have a total of 175g in my sytem between my main (72g bow) and my frag tank (55g).

Nature knows best and the closer we can mimic nature in our tanks the better our tanks will look.

 

[roka64]

I took out the foam pads in my fluvial 304 and my FX5.

 

[melosu58]

I agree that you have plenty of surface area on your current LR and will have even more once you get the rubble. Natural bio filtration is the way to go.

 

[cmor1701d]

Sounds like a good plan. Chaeoto needs more than room light, but not more than a grow light. It (and sand) would be best in a sump if you have the room underneath to add one.