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View Full Version : My new tank build..thoughts and tips please.


Dreamer13
07/19/2013, 09:15 AM
G'Day, I'm Paul, and I'm about to embark on my new build, nothing big, but hopefully a nice looking, nicely operating system.

First of all, my current & somewhat embarrassing tank is 36Lx14Wx18H, with some corals, 2 clowns, 3 blue/green Chromis, the alpha hermit crab (he killed the others) a couple of tiny snails, an AquaOne CF-1000 canister filter, and a recently added AquaOne G220 protein skimmer (hanging off the side for now), and the main feature being a HEAP of algae!

My interest in marine aquatica sparked after watching "Finding Nemo"...Na just kidding..although I wouldn't mind a dollar for every poor fish that was bought and died thanks to that movie.

Seriously though, I've always had an interest in the underwater world, and I've finally bought my own house, so I can now have a marine tank that I won't have to pack up and move to another rental.

Now, onto the forthcoming build, it will be similar dimensions, 36Lx24Wx18H (can't even be bothered doing it in my native metric) and my current tank will become my sump, with all my current stock being housed in another (3ft) tank till its completed.
Sump; drain/intake into single 200 micron filter sock, AquaOne G220 protein skimmer. 2nd chamber; live rock, chaeto algae. 3rd chamber; phosban reactor with both activated carbon, and gfo or something similar (two little fishies 150), return pump with uv steriliser in-line (maybe?).

So a couple of questions..
1, is it worth using a uv steriliser in this setup, or is it overkill?

2, would there be any benefit in using my existing water and live rock in the new setup, to reduce cycling time?

Any tips/thoughts are welcome.

Cheers, Paul.

thegrun
07/19/2013, 09:29 AM
I'm not a big fan of UV sterilizers; there are lengthy threads you can search for here on RC debating the pros and cons. I would skip it.
You could transfer one rock over from your existing tank to the new tank to speed up the cycle a little. There is virtually no benefit to transferring the water from your current tank to the new one as far as the cycle goes. Once the new tank is cycled and you are ready to move over your livestock and any live rock you plan on keeping in the new tank, then transferring as much of the water from your current tank to the new tank is a good idea to reduce the shock to your livestock from the change in water chemistry. If your nitrates and phosphates are high in your current tank I would not try to reuse the water but you will need to acclimate the livestock to the new tank if you do not transfer most of the water.

Dreamer13
07/21/2013, 07:31 AM
Ok, I got most of the wood cut to size for new stand, it's so wet, so cold here at the moment... :-(

Cheers, Paul.