Okay, I'm setting up a 15g nano reef but I'm buying stuff bit by bit. So far I have aragonite sand and appropriate reef salt and this Thursday I'm picking up a filter; an Eheim 2215. What media should I use for a reef tank? Will I need additional flow? I'm only planning on keeping soft corals and other types of easy coral as this is my first venture into salt. I'll take any other advice I can get, too!
Filter Question
- Thread starter aussie pride
- Start date
Filter pad, carbon, GFO (Rowaphos/Phosban are typically what you can find at the LFS or big box stores). An alternative to GFO would be Purigen by Seachem. Another alternative is to use something like Chemi-pure blue along with a filter pad.
http://reefbuilders.com/2014/03/13/chemipure-blue/
You can also buy GFO from places like www.bulkreefsupply.com
You will want to change out the filter pad at least weekly and clean out the filter completely each month (at least).
GFO is a little pricey but once you get your PO4 levels down, each dose will last a couple of months (and you don;t need to use much).
Yes, you will need more flow, even for soft corals. Might consider the Jaebo WP-10.
http://reefbuilders.com/2014/03/13/chemipure-blue/
You can also buy GFO from places like www.bulkreefsupply.com
You will want to change out the filter pad at least weekly and clean out the filter completely each month (at least).
GFO is a little pricey but once you get your PO4 levels down, each dose will last a couple of months (and you don;t need to use much).
Yes, you will need more flow, even for soft corals. Might consider the Jaebo WP-10.
Awesome! Thanks for the info! I'll look into getting a powerhead to provide adequate flow for the coral then. How many GPH would you recommend?
The WP10 has adjustable flow well worth the money at about $70 in Aussie money. http://www.fish-street.com/jebao_wp-10_4000l_wave_maker
Not sure what your dimensions are, if its a standard 15g tank I would go with a pump with minimum 425gph, Tunze nanostream or Koralia nano would be my secondary choices after the WP.
Not sure what your dimensions are, if its a standard 15g tank I would go with a pump with minimum 425gph, Tunze nanostream or Koralia nano would be my secondary choices after the WP.
Could have swore I read this was a 29 gallon. WP10 might ge a bit much fir a 15. Well worgb the money but look around and see if its too much.
The low power mode on it would be fine at 500gph, would use caution on the settings that ramp it up, but might be ok in a standard 15g, if its a cube then low setting only.
I got 1lb of GFO from Amazon for 12.99 free shipping its the best deal I could find.
http://www.amazon.com/GFO-Phosphate...UTF8&qid=1395180887&sr=8-2&keywords=gfo+media
http://www.amazon.com/GFO-Phosphate...UTF8&qid=1395180887&sr=8-2&keywords=gfo+media
Okay, so I'll aim for somewhere between 350 and 500GPH in regards to the powerhead and make sure I quarantine anything new once its set up. I'm planning on getting live rock after I get lighting, filtration and powerheads sorted and I'm planning on getting about 2kg/week so once its set up I'll have around 6-7kg of LR and about 6kg of aragonite sand. Will that be enough? I'm also thinking of packing the filter with mostly a media called 'Marine Pure' with some sponge and leave some room for chemical filtration in between the 2. Yes? No?
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That's plenty of rock and sand. Depending on the dimensions of the tank, you may not need all of the sand.
Not familiar with Marine Pure but from their website, it appears to be a ceramic media for housing nitrifying bacteria. If that is the case, it probably won't provide much benefit over the live rock which does the same thing on a larger scale. What you need is something for phosphate and nitrate control. GFO water changes will help phosphate but nitrates are a different animal.
Nitrate's conversion to nitrogen gas is the last step in the nitrogen cycle and it requires a different type of bacteria than those that convert ammonia to nitrite. Denitifying versus nitrifying. Denitrifying bacteria that convert nitrate to gas grow in anerobic (no oxygen) conditions. If your live rock has deep enough pores, you may get some denitrifying bacteria from that. However, it is tyically not enough to eliminate nitrate altogether. Nitrate control is best handled by one or more of the following. The top 4 are key IMO:
-Avoid overstocking fish
-Avoid overfeeding. Also drain/rinse frozen foods.
-Regular water changes (I would definitely recommend weekly 10 to 20% changes without a skimmer)
-Using a good protein skimmer (won't remove nitrates altogether but will help greatly)
-Macro algaes (not really a viable option without a decent sized sump)
-Using a deep sand bed (minimum 6") (also not really a viable option without a sump)
Not familiar with Marine Pure but from their website, it appears to be a ceramic media for housing nitrifying bacteria. If that is the case, it probably won't provide much benefit over the live rock which does the same thing on a larger scale. What you need is something for phosphate and nitrate control. GFO water changes will help phosphate but nitrates are a different animal.
Nitrate's conversion to nitrogen gas is the last step in the nitrogen cycle and it requires a different type of bacteria than those that convert ammonia to nitrite. Denitifying versus nitrifying. Denitrifying bacteria that convert nitrate to gas grow in anerobic (no oxygen) conditions. If your live rock has deep enough pores, you may get some denitrifying bacteria from that. However, it is tyically not enough to eliminate nitrate altogether. Nitrate control is best handled by one or more of the following. The top 4 are key IMO:
-Avoid overstocking fish
-Avoid overfeeding. Also drain/rinse frozen foods.
-Regular water changes (I would definitely recommend weekly 10 to 20% changes without a skimmer)
-Using a good protein skimmer (won't remove nitrates altogether but will help greatly)
-Macro algaes (not really a viable option without a decent sized sump)
-Using a deep sand bed (minimum 6") (also not really a viable option without a sump)
