which filter media?

[calla969]

Hi everyone. I just began setting up a new 90 gal. saltwater tank. I have a built-in overflow with a Sealife Systems Premier 150 wet/dry filter. I just added 80 lbs of aragonite sand (not live) and salt water. As can be expected, my water is very cloudy and has been for about 36 hours now. I am running my protein skimmer, which has quit pulling anything out of the water, and I have a 3"x3" foam block and a cheap poly-type filter pad in the filter. My question is, what type of filter media is best to polish my water and should I always use it, or just until my water has cleared? I rinsed the sand before I added it and it has cleared up a lot but it is still cloudy. Any other suggestions about setting up a new tank would also be appreciated. Thanks.

[AndyB4784]

Do you have a HOB filter laying around? running one of these with some filter floss will really help to clear up the tank.

[calla969]

I don't. Would some filter floss be a good thing to replace my bio-balls with until the water clears? Is there something better?

[yote]

Your water will clear up on its own without the use of filter media.It just takes a little time.
I tryed running a HOB filter when I added the sand to 55,it did help pull some of the cloudyness out .But it made one heck of a mess when I took it off the tank.

[reeffreak]

Take some of the bioballs out and put floss on top.It will clear up just takes some time.You don' t really need to run your protein skimmer until your tank has cycled.I run floss all the time,I like my water looking crystal clear.If you use floss make sure you change it often(once a week)so it don't become a nitrate/phosphate sponge.Speaking of nitrates and phosphate I would relace those bioballs with live rock rubble at the least or convert your sump over to a refugium if possible.Nothing I mentioned is absolute,you can have successful reef/fo/FOWLR tank running just the way you have it,just saves on alot of headaches down the road.

Good luck

[calla969]

Reeffreak, I do plan on changing the bio-balls with live rock and eventually replacing the whole thing with a 20 gal. refugium, but just to get the tank started, I just used what came with it. I bought it used. Another question. Does dead coral make good base rock? I want to build a foundation of base rock and cover it with live rock. Also, what do I need to do to convert my wet/dry to a refugium? It doesnt seem like it has enough room in it to add much sand or macroalgae. Does the live rock need to be fully submerged or can it be in the trickle area of the filter?

[reeffreak]

Originally Posted by calla969

Reeffreak, I do plan on changing the bio-balls with live rock and eventually replacing the whole thing with a 20 gal. refugium, but just to get the tank started, I just used what came with it. I bought it used. Another question. Does dead coral make good base rock? I want to build a foundation of base rock and cover it with live rock. Also, what do I need to do to convert my wet/dry to a refugium? It doesnt seem like it has enough room in it to add much sand or macroalgae. Does the live rock need to be fully submerged or can it be in the trickle area of the filter?

You can use dead coral as if it was base rock.Its just not porous like live rock.Bacteria will colonize the coral just like any surface.Using dead coral,base rock and live rock will work fine.If your sump is like mine,your right it doesn't have enough room.If you still want to run your wet/dry you can make a separate refuge next to it.It can draw water from your sump and return to the sump/tank or maybe a hang on refuge.The rock rubble doesn't need to be submerge,water can just trickle on them just like the bioballs.

Hope this helps..good luck

[LConte17]

i dont know how ur tank is set up, but im removing the carbon, the bio balls and the ceramic media rings. replacing them with pouches of Chemi-pure, Sea Gel, and Purigen and some filterfloss, over some LR rubble. then hopefully doing a small refugium.

this is what has been suggest to me with someone with a near PERFECT tank imo, so ill repeat it and suggest it to you

[calla969]

Thanks everyone. For now, my tank is clear. I added a little live rock today, Maybe 10 lbs, just to get things started. I think there is a little hair algae on it though so I think my next purchase will be some GARF reef janitors. Sound good?

[seatrueblue]

No, it doesn't sound good at all! Maybe I am way off base, and correct me if I am wrong, but I didn't add anything but live sand and live rock for the first 3 weeks. I had to let the dust settle from the sand, and let the bacteria start to take hold on the rock. Yeah, there was a little algae on the rock, but it isn't a problem. If it bothers you that much, remove the rock, clean it with your hand or a soft brush in some saltwater, and add it back in. You should do that anyway to remove any die off (even with cured rock) to limit the ammonia spike. The only things that happen quickly in a marine aquarium are BAD. Let your tank cycle and stabilize, Brown algae will come and go...but don't rush things, you will end up wasting money trying to correct things that will correct themselves. Wait and see is the best way to go with a new aquarium. Inverts are really really sensitive to PH, nitrites, and Nitrates; all of which are way unstable right now.