Needing big help to start 55gal saltwater tank

[dlwn88]

Dlwn88- those are best used for fresh water and fish only tanks. i haven't seen too many LFS's that have super efficient systems. that fish place/that pet place, which boasts "the largest pet store in the world" actually uses giant bins of bio balls and fluidized bed filters for filtration, along with a giant skimmer of course.
what i would do with that wet dry is remove the eggcrate under the bio balls (and the bio balls) and try to glue in an 8-10" partition or two between that area and the return pump. then fill the old bio ball section up with your protein skimmer, and call it a day..

Even after all the research I did before I had no idea it's best used for freshwater. My current tank is just fish and live rock. I'm curious though, what's the reason behind it being only better for freshwater? I watched a video on youtube about bio balls working too well and basically working against corals, is this it? Yeah I've been wanting to add a skimmer and I realized if I added it next to the return pump I'd be sending micro bubbles into the tank. Where's a good place I can go to create the partition, home depot/lowes?

Thanks for your help again Mr. X. A lot of what I've learned about this hobby is thanks to you and your informative replies.

 

[mr_X]

yes, you can find pleixglass/lexan at HD or lowes. you may want to make a bubble trap, and use multiple partitions, say, two or three in a row and let the water go over, under, over....

regarding the bio balls, they do not process nitrate. they don't work against corals, but they will work against live rock. deep inside the rock are areas that are low or void of oxygen that hold denitrifying bacteria. bio balls don't have this available.
your welcome. actually, it's my pleasure.

 

[dlwn88]

yes, you can find pleixglass/lexan at HD or lowes. you may want to make a bubble trap, and use multiple partitions, say, two or three in a row and let the water go over, under, over....

regarding the bio balls, they do not process nitrate. they don't work against corals, but they will work against live rock. deep inside the rock are areas that are low or void of oxygen that hold denitrifying bacteria. bio balls don't have this available.
your welcome. actually, it's my pleasure.

Looks like I have a small project for this weekend! I've seen a lot of sump designs with the over, under, and back over. Is this to prevent bubbles? I thought a sponge could do the trick. Either way I'm about to go out and buy some plexiglass. Looking up some videos on how to cut it by hand. Apparently a table saw works pretty well...any suggestions?

 

[mr_X]

yes. that's a bubble trap. i wouldn't use a sponge because it will catch a lot of detritus and be a source of nitrates, plus it can clog. either way, it will be yet another regular maintenance item.
i actually used some standard cutting boards from walmart as partitions. they are strong, and cheap.
here is a 125 i used as a sump on my last system-

a 40 breeder frag tank sump next to it (it's cycling some rock in that pic. the return pump is simply looped to go back to the skimmer)