BasementwallReef Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 I just changed out a 30 gallon refugium with a four chamber, 120 gallon one that may have changed my reef for the better I believe. The added water capacity has changed b-monthly water changes into a quarterly affair. 1st stage (30 gallons) is bioBalls, second stage (30 gallons is mud and plants, third stage is coral pieces (30 gallon section of 1/4" to 3" ) and final stage is return (30) and protein skimmer which is almost not even needed anymore. I have a mesh filter at the very end sandwiched between an inch gap of acrylics. If you have room and can afford to have one made this is a panacea of the tank world. I bought mine from a good friend who has three tanks and no room for this currently. I am using a Iwaki external pump around 1100 gallons a hour with a tank skimmer. Really needs three flexible outputs since there is a good degree of back pressure. I just got tired of wasting money on toy heaters, skimmers, UV lights, etc and stepped up to what is really overkill, but we go out of town a lot and I needed a sump that would hold the overflow if the electricity went out. I am told you can get by around 6 hours on powerbeads alone so this is an Ok safety measure in my opinion. Enough time to get someone over and save the day. I hope. Still need to clean up some piping and wires, but its running good. The protein skimmer is a Precision Marine , 900 gallon an hour pump which is a semi-commercial looking gadget. Well built in Texas by skilled craftsmen. I like the skimmer is has a huge cup and drain and creates a massive amount of bubbles with good controls. I added a quart of bio bugs just to charge the coral pieces back up they were in storage for a while. I put about 35 pounds of mud and about 20 lbs of that was running in my other refugium. I had some left over plants I threw in as well. I am using BuildMyLED lights (3) 24" , 30 degree lights on the tank and a 30" florescent light with a BuildMYLED 12" growth light as well. The plants should go nuts in this section there is a lot of space for them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 very nice. welcome. although, your tank looks familiar. surely there are not two people in the austin area with a stone basement and built in tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsalt Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 Very nice welcome to the club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo59 Posted March 27, 2014 Share Posted March 27, 2014 MORE PICS OF THE FUGE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nathan.titulaer Posted March 29, 2014 Share Posted March 29, 2014 That is super cool congrats on the upgrade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BasementwallReef Posted April 3, 2014 Author Share Posted April 3, 2014 I just changed out a 30 gallon refugium with a four chamber, 120 gallon one that may have changed my reef for the better I believe. The added water capacity has changed b-monthly water changes into a quarterly affair. 1st stage (30 gallons) is bioBalls, second stage (30 gallons is mud and plants, third stage is coral pieces (30 gallon section of 1/4" to 3" ) and final stage is return (30) and protein skimmer which is almost not even needed anymore. I have a mesh filter at the very end sandwiched between an inch gap of acrylics. If you have room and can afford to have one made this is a panacea of the tank world. I bought mine from a good friend who has three tanks and no room for this currently. I am using a Iwaki external pump around 1100 gallons a hour with a tank skimmer. Really needs three flexible outputs since there is a good degree of back pressure. I just got tired of wasting money on toy heaters, skimmers, UV lights, etc and stepped up to what is really overkill, but we go out of town a lot and I needed a sump that would hold the overflow if the electricity went out. I am told you can get by around 6 hours on powerbeads alone so this is an Ok safety measure in my opinion. Enough time to get someone over and save the day. I hope. Still need to clean up some piping and wires, but its running good. The protein skimmer is a Precision Marine , 900 gallon an hour pump which is a semi-commercial looking gadget. Well built in Texas by skilled craftsmen. I like the skimmer is has a huge cup and drain and creates a massive amount of bubbles with good controls. I added a quart of bio bugs just to charge the coral pieces back up they were in storage for a while. I put about 35 pounds of mud and about 20 lbs of that was running in my other refugium. I had some left over plants I threw in as well. I am using BuildMyLED lights (3) 24" , 30 degree lights on the tank and a 30" florescent light with a BuildMYLED 12" growth light as well. The plants should go nuts in this section there is a lot of space for them I just signed up as a member. I joined as a non-member 8 months ago, but my tank had issues and I had to resolve them. I'm back! same tank new FUG!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted April 3, 2014 Share Posted April 3, 2014 Welcome back. Glad the tank is coming back to life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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