live rock/skimmers/sumps

[ldmason]

I have a few questions?
i'm thinking of order my LR online. I need approx 150# as I have a 140g tank. If I order it all at once can I put it all in at once? It is cured Marshall and cured Fiji. My tank has been up approx 3-4 weeks. I have no fish.
Also, any suggestions on a good skimmer?
What size sump would I need?

Thanks for all help!!

 

[michealprater]

As far as the live rock is concerned, ideally you would like to end up with 280 lbs. I know how expensive it can be, but 2lbs per gallon is worth the investment. However, 150 is a good start and will get you buy till you get the rest. When you purchase the rock online it will have to do some curing in your tank. When they say it is cured, they mean, when it leaves their facility. Even though it will be shipped overnight, their will still be some die off during its trip. This will cause your tank to go through the cycling period (again, if it has already). Then later on when you buy more rock you will want to buy it from a LFS(local fish store) that way you can assure it is cured and wont do any harm to your cycled tank. If you do want to order more online, you can, but you will have to cure it in a separate container. You can run a search on the home page, "curing live rock" to get more information.

As far as the skimmer goes , I will let someone else guide you on that because their is a lot of conflicting opinions on skimmers. All I can do is tell you I run a Seaclone on my 100 gallon and I'm very happy with the results, however a lot of people think that these skimmers are cheap and dont work well. I disagree, but thats just my opinion.

I dont know how to figure what the minimum size sump for a 140 is, if their is one at all. I can tell you bigger is better. It increases your total water volume, in saltwater this is always a good thing.

Is this you first saltwater setup? Let us know what you got so far and what you plan to keep, this way the users on this site can better help you.

Good Luck, if its you first time in saltwater, you've go a exciting and very rewarding hobby ahead of you.

 

[fishfreek]

As far as the skimmer goes , I will let someone else guide you on that because their is a lot of conflicting opinions on skimmers. All I can do is tell you I run a Seaclone on my 100 gallon and I'm very happy with the results, however a lot of people think that these skimmers are cheap and dont work well. I disagree, but thats just my opinion.

Is this the only skimmer you have used? What many people do is compare the seaclone or prizm skimmer (priced at $80 and under) to higher cost skimmers (priced as high as $250). Thats like comparing a VW Bug to a Lexis. Sure they both work but the higher cost units may work more effectively.

On the amount of rock in your tank. Depending on hour proris the rock is you may physically not be able to fit 2 lbs per gal into your tank. If you get real porus rock that much might come to fill your tank up. Of course if you get rock that is somewhat dense then the 2lbs per gal could do quite nice.

There really is no one method to calculate sump size as mp said. If your putting the sump under the tank i the stand then you would be limited in size by how big the openings are in the stand to get a sump in it. ALso figure out what you want in the sump in the way of equipment. Size your sump so it will fit in the tank and also hold what you need it to hold. A 30 gal tank would work if you could fit it in the stand.

 

[ldmason]

I ordered my rock yesterday and received it today as I ordered it from a local company. I got 100# of Marshall Island and 45# if premium Fiji. It all fit nicely. As far as what i want to keep , i'm still working on it.

 

[michealprater]

fishfreek, I will admit that seaclone is the only one I have ever used. However the collection cup fills up every 3 days or so. I would say it is working effectively because of that. Do those expensive skimmers fill the cup like every day or something. Also, I have heard that skimmers pull out benificial stuff too. Wouldnt it make sense to have a skimmer that doesnt pull out the most compared to all skimmers. That way, you would still be pulling waste which is the point, but not as much benifical stuff. This is kind of why I dont normally comment on skimmers. Because I have either heard people say, dont use them or get the best one possible. So I guess I am just trying to go middle of the road. Oh well, whats your thoughts on skimmers. There just plain confusing to me!

 

[fishfreek]

I ordered my rock yesterday and received it today as I ordered it from a local company. I got 100# of Marshall Island and 45# if premium Fiji. It all fit nicely. As far as what i want to keep , i'm still working on it.

Great. If its not cured then I would not add anything till the ammonia and nitrite levels are down to 0.

Oh well, whats your thoughts on skimmers.

I used to run skimmers but now I am running skimmerless. I feed very sparingly for the most part so it got to a point where the skimmers where basicly pulling a cup full every few weeks.

 

[ldmason]

One of the lfs is having a moving sale and they have a skimmer called an Aqua Clear ( that's all the box says) the lfs said it handles up to 150G. Anyone heard of it? If so is it any good?

Thanks

 

[reefrunner69]

they have a skimmer called an Aqua Clear ( that's all the box says) the lfs said it handles up to 150G.

I have heard of them, and I'd say the consensus is "fair". If the LFS or the manufacturer rate it fir a 150...for a reef, I would cut that to 1/3 or 1/4, it might be ok on a 150g FO tank, where water quality isn't as important....but you want more for your reef.

 

[aimeovaldi]

I have FOWLR and just run a SKILTER 400 in each of the salt tanks. They are a 46gallon BF and a 65 gallon show tank. I run the skimmer function once weekly and remove about a cup each runtime. I have a 5 gallon nano that is skimmerless. I utilize an abundance of LR and LS in a DSB and water quality is awesome. I don't completely buy into the "need" for skimmers if regular water changes and adequate filtration is used. This is just IMO.

 

[EMS503]

I use the Berlin Turbo in my 75 gal. reef I am happy with the Berlin style skimmers(except the Prism). But with the newer style skimmers coming out on the market I would suggest you research the skimmers, There is tons of information on the web.

As for the amount of live rock the theory use to be 2 pounds/gal. I will look for the new site that is suggesting half to one pound/gal.
Since I have set my new tank up I went with a 5" live sand bed and about 70 pounds of LR in the main tank and another 10 pounds in the sump and a pound or two in my refugium. My opinion is go with what looks good to you, If your happy with the looks at 150 pounds stay there thats plenty of LR. This hobby as you may already now is all about learning and trying new ideas. Research,ask opions and then decide what will work for you. Good Luck Im sure you will do fine.