Carey's LAST Build- 125g Reef

[Gti_Leo]

no i don't have enough of a surface area to be able to run one effectively, but they do help suck out alot of nitrates from the water

 

[carey]

I'm hoping i can continue my 0 nitrates in the new tank too. I onlyh ave an inch and a half or so in the 55g and my water parameters have been excellent.

 

[Gti_Leo]

thats always a good thing, but i'd recommend a DSB, i plan on having one when i go with a large reef system.

you'll prob be able to stock a little more and keep everythign happy, as well you can do less waterchanges and just dose with essencial trace elements

 

[kurtyboh]

Lots of people have good results with a dsb in refigium

 

[Jason7894561230]

That looks amazing Carey!

 

[Gti_Leo]

her sump/fuge is to small for a DSB

 

[kenny69]

Excuse my ignorance but what's a DSB?

 

[kurtyboh]

Deep sand bed

 

[carey]

So how much sand would a dsb require in my DT? I just used a sandbed calculator app on my phone and it says 259lb for a 4 inch sandbed. Seems like a lot of sand. I was just gonna go with the 150lbs which I would guess would give me about 2". Is playsand (silicate free) and pool sand the same basically?

I was looking at cheap overflow boxes and found the two below. I'm not sure if I want a single or dual overflow, I'm guessing it depends on the sump or wet/dry?

Filtration - Overflow

Filtration - Overflow

I figure how bad could these be for the price? LOL I also like these as well, little more $$ but name brand.

Eshopps PF800 Overflow Box, 125 gal tank, Single - AquaCave
Eshopps PF1000 Overflow Box, 150 gal tank, Dual - AquaCave

Is it better to have a dual overflow or is it more hassle? I was figuring on 800gph using a 1000gph return pump to compensate for the head.

Am I even in the right ballpark on this?

Thanks D

 

[kurtyboh]

Gti ive never seen anything referring to amin size for a dsb. The help control nitrates it may not be big enough to bring it to zero but imo everything you can do to control will be beneficial

 

[kurtyboh]

Carey this is the site that got me looking at a dsb

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/deepsandbeds.htm

 

[carey]

Good article.

I think I will try the 4 inch sand bed. Is it okay to use the cheap sand though? Like from home depot or a pool supply place?

ALSO, I need to break down and move my current 55g in order to slide the 125g in place. I was thinking on taking some of the sand from there and putting it in the 125. I will be keeping the 55g up in it's new spot until I am happy with the 125 which could be a few days to a few weeks.

Will that impact the 55g? Will it help the 125 at all? My sand is quite live and has lots of good little things living in it. But it's aragonite and not the same texture and size as pool/filter sand...

I know alot of questions, but I'm trying to do this one right.

 

[hackteck]

I was thinking about that last night im gonna have the same problem the place the 55G is in now is the only spot i can have the 180G in so i dunno how im going to do it maybe take half of the water out of the 55G and move it all the way in the corner i wont be able to move it otherwise lol

 

[carey]

I'm gonna break down the 55g entirely to move it. I can't slide the stand with anything in it :-(. Will give me a chance to get out that darn male oscellaris though. lol He's headed for the cube.

Do you have room for the 55g anywhere else or is it gonna be a direct swap same day?

Oh and what do you guys think of this

Eshopps CS 200 Aquarium Wet/Dry Filter-Sump-Refugium - eBay (item 290566130982 end time May-22-11 15:28:59 PDT)

It's really cheap for now but it's over $200 new and it was one of the sumps I was looking at.

 

[hackteck]

yea i have some room if i empty some of the water out and slide it all the way down to the other side of the room that will give me some time to cycle the other tank before i move everything over i cant move the tank otherwise i tried pushing it last night not possible lol

 

[kurtyboh]

Hacktek If it were me id remove more that just 1/2 the water for fear of a weight shift crack

Carrie the pool sand should still be ok but if its not calcified you wont get the benefit of the sand adding it back in. It really isnt a big deal if your watching your parameters

 

[carey]

Well I went shopping and found no sumps or wet/drys. :-( I did however find one on cl but it looks VERY confusing lol
AQUARIUM wet/dry sump

I'm not sure what goes where in that setup.

I plan on using my hob skimmer for now but I want room in the sump for one when I get it. It looks like an external pump? Arggg.. so confused.

 

[carey]

Ok, another question. Is this the sand I'm looking for?

Shop QUIKRETE 50 Lb. Play Sand at Lowes.com

 

[Gti_Leo]

Gti ive never seen anything referring to amin size for a dsb. The help control nitrates it may not be big enough to bring it to zero but imo everything you can do to control will be beneficial

agreed anythign will help but you might not notice much of a difference if say you use a DSB in a fuge with a 14"x14" area on a 90g aquarium.

 

[carey]

So guys, is the sand above what I'm looking for? I'm getting paid next week so this build should take off. Just picking up the odds and ends I'll need.

Also, what about flow? Are 2 koralia 1400 and 2 loralia 750's gonna be good?