Hi All,
Looking for some advice for my 75 gallon marine setup. I am relatively new to the saltwater world. Have kept freshwater and planted tanks for years and figured I was ready for a new challenge.
Long story short, I switched from freshwater to saltwater essentially on the fly and 2 years later I realize that I need a sump. There was never a good time to break my tank down and have it drilled and all I have read on overflow boxes scared me.
As it stands....in the 75 I have around 65 Lbs of live rock and an Aquamedic Turboflotor Multi SL protein skimmer hanging on now, but will end up in my sump. It is mainly fish only right now knowing that my water quality could not support many corals. I know my filtration is a nightmare and need to make a move. I am running an Eheim 2213 and an Eheim 2217. Both canister filters. After some research, it is clear why my nitrates can never get below 25 ppm. Sounds like my canister filters are nitrate farms or traps. I don't have the time to clean the 2 filters weekly. I was thinking I may be better off just replacing the media in the canisters with bio balls or something. Or perhaps taking them right out of the equation. I am using a little aquaclear hang on filter with no media to simply agitate the surface to try to avoid the protein layer.
So many questions, here are a few for now:
Am I better off without the canister filters?
What size hole is standard for drilling?
How many holes and where should I put them?
Is drilling something I should attempt myself?
Is a 29 gallon sump a good choice? I think I am looking at moving about 900 gph when the sump is functioning.
Sorry this was so long. So many questions. Looking forward to hearing some advice.
[FONT="]Thanks[/FONT]
Looking for some advice for my 75 gallon marine setup. I am relatively new to the saltwater world. Have kept freshwater and planted tanks for years and figured I was ready for a new challenge.
Long story short, I switched from freshwater to saltwater essentially on the fly and 2 years later I realize that I need a sump. There was never a good time to break my tank down and have it drilled and all I have read on overflow boxes scared me.
As it stands....in the 75 I have around 65 Lbs of live rock and an Aquamedic Turboflotor Multi SL protein skimmer hanging on now, but will end up in my sump. It is mainly fish only right now knowing that my water quality could not support many corals. I know my filtration is a nightmare and need to make a move. I am running an Eheim 2213 and an Eheim 2217. Both canister filters. After some research, it is clear why my nitrates can never get below 25 ppm. Sounds like my canister filters are nitrate farms or traps. I don't have the time to clean the 2 filters weekly. I was thinking I may be better off just replacing the media in the canisters with bio balls or something. Or perhaps taking them right out of the equation. I am using a little aquaclear hang on filter with no media to simply agitate the surface to try to avoid the protein layer.
So many questions, here are a few for now:
Am I better off without the canister filters?
What size hole is standard for drilling?
How many holes and where should I put them?
Is drilling something I should attempt myself?
Is a 29 gallon sump a good choice? I think I am looking at moving about 900 gph when the sump is functioning.
Sorry this was so long. So many questions. Looking forward to hearing some advice.
[FONT="]Thanks[/FONT]