Refugium Questions

[MyR6Rocks]

Long story short. 90 gal. Reef not drilled

Have had a nitrate problem which is due to the under cabinet filter I have, so went to lfs & they have a gravity fed overflow box for the back of the tank that runs down to the 3 chamber box. I was told to put my protein skimmer & heater in there, sand & lr in the middle chamber,& return pump in the third.
So...
1) if its gravity fed, what happens during a power outage a flood if I'm not there?
2)the box is total 20 gal. How deep should the sand bed be?
3) what other maintenance is there besides cleaning the "sock"? Do you have to scrub the rock after so long?
4) the tank is 6 months old. Would the ref have to "cycle" since it would be new sand & rock?
Thanks in advance

 

[ezy33]

1. If the overflow box is setup properly it wont flood.
2. I would go with at least 1 inch.
3. Empty the skimmer, vacuum the sand bed and clean sock. I clean mine by turning it inside out and spraying inside with a high pressure nozzle then rinse in RO/DI water. I only clean it one time then replace it. I only clean the rock if it gets too much algae on it.
4. It will most likely cause a small cycle.

 

[MyR6Rocks]

1. If the overflow box is setup properly it wont flood.
2. I would go with at least 1 inch.
3. Empty the skimmer, vacuum the sand bed and clean sock. I clean mine by turning it inside out and spraying inside with a high pressure nozzle then rinse in RO/DI water. I only clean it one time then replace it. I only clean the rock if it gets too much algae on it.
4. It will most likely cause a small cycle.

Thanks!

 

[danbstrong]

Long story short. 90 gal. Reef not drilled

Have had a nitrate problem which is due to the under cabinet filter I have, so went to lfs & they have a gravity fed overflow box for the back of the tank that runs down to the 3 chamber box. I was told to put my protein skimmer & heater in there, sand & lr in the middle chamber,& return pump in the third.
So...
1) if its gravity fed, what happens during a power outage a flood if I'm not there?
2)the box is total 20 gal. How deep should the sand bed be?
3) what other maintenance is there besides cleaning the "sock"? Do you have to scrub the rock after so long?
4) the tank is 6 months old. Would the ref have to "cycle" since it would be new sand & rock?
Thanks in advance

Only thing id put in the middle sump is chaeto and a small light for it no need for sand or rock if you have sand and rock in display youd benefit much more from growing macro in there

 

[danbstrong]

Only thing id put in the middle sump is chaeto and a small light for it no need for sand or rock if you have sand and rock in display youd benefit much more from growing macro in there

Dont fill sump to high with water turn off return pump and watch how high waterlevel reaches in sump to get an idea of how much water you need in it mark the ideal level and keep it at that level by topping off with ro water you shouldn have any cycle

 

[MyR6Rocks]

Only thing id put in the middle sump is chaeto and a small light for it no need for sand or rock if you have sand and rock in display youd benefit much more from growing macro in there

Display tank does have a 2" sand bed and roughly 100lb. Of lr. Would a marineland hidden led be sufficient for the chaeto, & macro?

 

[Reeffanman]

I have a 65k compact fluorescent screw in type I picked up from lowes for like 12$

 

[danbstrong]

I have a 65k compact fluorescent screw in type I picked up from lowes for like 12$

I just have a cheap lowes 6500k flourescent bulb chaeto dont meed much light