75 gallon keeping it simple

[saltwater addict420]

my 75 gallon
empurer 450 hang on
sea colon skimmer
one 950 power head and on 1050
sump in construction 11" wide 18 high 36 long makes the tank like 105 gallon fully running.
sea colon beefed up with two 100 gallon air pumps with micro stones, pound pump 800 ghr
just waiting on over flow box to come in mail, CPR Deluxe Overflow CS100 800 GPH

i started the tank in high school so its ben running for about six years never had a fish just die unless it was eating by somthing lol. but never worryed bout the nitrates and phos, cuz just had fish in the tank now im trying to turn it into a reef, and taking any tips i can git along the way

[Sir Patrick]

You have an RO filter? Have you looked into bacteria/carbon dosing or Granular ferric oxide? All of these will help alot w/ nitrate/phosphate, and the algea that goes along with it.

1 powerhead isnt going to be adaquate for this tank. More flow can only help. If the flow doesnt keep nutrients suspended in the water column, they will not get removed w/ the protein skimmer, and will settle to break down in the tank, causing more NO3 and PO4.

Old, used light bulbs will also grow algea pretty well. Is your light fixture new or used?

So far though, looks like you are on the right track for info to getting this tank into shape! I too like the keep it simple aproach.

[saltwater addict420]

I never tryed anything to keep to get rid of all that, just water change once month with r/o water, so ill check that out asap and get another powerhead in there this weekend. besides that the lights are bran new light bulbs and fix, but i want to change the light bulbs to a diffrent brand. I was trying to find uv international bulbs but i cant find anyware that sells them. got any tips on wats a good brand of bulbs? bacteria/carbon dosing or Granular ferric oxide? wats that i never heard of it ?

[Chris]

Biggest thing for nitrates and phosphate.... you have a shark in a 75g with a hang on back skimmer and emporer 400... not exactly keeping the water clean there im sure. Once you get the shark out, and get a sump with decent skimmer going i would bet you will see those numbers decline Also, more flow keeping things moving will definitely help also as it will keep the junk in the water column longer for the filtration to pick it up!

[saltwater addict420]

yea i talked to the guy its just i work 2nd **** and live downriver so warren in kinda a drive on a work day, but hopefully this guy really wants this shark cuz im gona try to build a sump this week end got any tips on wat to build it out of? or pics i should look at to get a idea?

---------- Post added at 10:18 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:16 AM ----------

and ur right that shark stirs all the stuff on the bottum up into the tank so ur right not clean water was good for just fish but nothing else.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by saltwater addict420

yea i talked to the guy its just i work 2nd **** and live downriver so warren in kinda a drive on a work day, but hopefully this guy really wants this shark cuz im gona try to build a sump this week end got any tips on wat to build it out of? or pics i should look at to get a idea?

if ur just givin it to em make them drive..

Sumps can go from simple and mild to crazy and extreme..... all u need is a tank that will fit in your stand (or fish room if you can do that then u can go alot bigger which is good also), that has a few baffles siliconed in place that will house your macro algaes, and skimmer in separate compartments. I know there are a few different designs, pretty sure u can find a few in the DIY section of the forum.

Personally I have a 4th bedroom behind my tank that was converted into a full on fish room.... I have a 100g rubbermaid thats super simple design, I just sectioned off an area for my macros with egg crate, and dropped my skimmer and return pump in the rest of it and plumbed it up, nothing fancy. But there are others who have mutiple tanks separating everything and a dedicated fuge, deep sand bed etc..... Alot of it is really determined by the amount of space you have, and how difficult you want to make it IMO lol

[saltwater addict420]

def dont have lot of pace old school stand, heavy duty but no room under got 11 inchs wide to work with so im gona have to crate somthin so im thinking 11" wide 14high and 30 long, think im gona have a night mare cuz tanks got braces in the inside that have to stay so im gona build down the middle of it so i guess my next ? is ware do i get material to do this, i have a idea how to make it just dont know wat to use any hints

---------- Post added at 11:11 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:09 AM ----------

i dont get it cuz the tank is 18" wide but there is no room under there. its built out of 2x3, 2x4s but it wat free thats the catch lol

[Sir Patrick]

Be sure to click the "short demo" on the bottom left of the page-

1 Pound (453 Grams) Bulk GFO Granular Ferric Oxide - English

[Sir Patrick]

And here is one of the many dactria/carbon dosing products available out there-

Brightwell Aquatics - Microbacter7


Brightwell Aquatics - Reef BioFuel


There is also this-

io Pellet Reactor and Biopellets | Bulk Reef Supply - English


You will want to research the bacteria/carbon dosing very well before starting. There are a few important pieces of information that go along with this process that you will want/need to be familiar with before you start.

[Sir Patrick]

And- if you decide to keep it simple, and are not ready to jump into a sump right away, there are a few HOB protein skimmers out there these days that will be far superior to what you are running right now-

Reef Octopus Extreme HOB Skimmer OCT-BH800SBS - English


Reef Octopus Hang-on-the-Back 2000 OCT-BH2000 - English


BUBBLE-MAGUS - Aquarium Internal skimmer|external skimmer|Dosing pump|Calcium reactor|Nitrate reductor/NO3 reductor|Filters|Turtle shell lampshade|Water monitor and controller|Additives|moonlight LED

And there are a few others out there too.