needmorecowbell
Aquarium Advice Addict
mfdrookie516 said:Thanks again. Looking at some corals in LA and a few other sites, I'm really liking a lot of the soft corals, mainly zoanthids. I'll also be planning a nem down the road, if that makes any difference on flow. I want to do something a bit different with the rock than what I usually see. I'm wanting the middle to be the highest point, sloping down to a single rock height on the ends. I'm also wanting the ends to be thicker front to back than in the middle... I want a kind of 'cove' look to it. It's hard to explain, and I'm not about to draw up a visual. I think I'll do the two at first, then move to 3 if needed. I've also considered a wavemaker... doing some research seems to show the same as most everything. For every person who swears by them, there's another who says they're useless. Thought?
I've also done some googling on sump designs. I've yet to find any recommendations for a cheapish skimmer that's still considered good quality. The cheapest one I've found so far is a reef octopus, but it's still really expensive for a piece of clear pipe with a pump on it. Not a $4,000 skimmer (I saw some of those... wow!), but thoughts on that brand? I was looking at their 6" model. Back on the topic of sumps, would a refugium in the middle with a light on top be a good idea for macro algae? I understand that chaeto and the like suck up the nitrate and phosphate, which corals don't like, but algae does? Also, bubble traps are a good idea at the last chamber before hitting the return pump?
Bubble traps are always a great idea, but you could just use a filter sock instead. They do the same thing. A macroalgae is a lot different than an algae. Its pretty much the same as a plant without roots for nutrients. They use their leaves. If your going to put middle in it, then it should probably be a refugium, closer to the output and it will get lots of bubbles,
closer to the input and it will get caught up in the filter. Heres some pics of decent sumps..