Hi Everyone,
This will be my first post so be gentle please,I kept reef tanks for yrs but not for a good few yrs now,so times have moved on and the equipment has moved on to.Ive decided to start the hobby again after several house moves and havin not much room i've bought an RSM 130D which arrives on Wednesday with any luck,I've bought the start up kit which comes with a single bag of reef base.I was wondering if there was a better substrate I could use or similar I could mix with it?
The other question is about the media in the filter,I've read that you get better results if it is replaced with an alternative,(why?)Do you have any other info that could help me along.
Cheers all Rob
Full Version: Substrate
I recommend a mix of substrate sizes. I use predominantly finer grained stuff (< 0.5 mm), with about 25-35% larger grained stuff added in. This ranges from CaribSea Seaflor special grade (larger grains ~2 mm) all the way up to big chunks of rubble (several cm in diameter). I also try to use this to zone the areas in my tank. That is, in areas with much higher flow, I make sure to include the larger grains there. There are a few spots in my tank where only rubble will stay put. So that's one advantage. The other is a wide variety of habitats--certain organisms prefer certain sand grades, so a mix is more idea for optimum diversity.
Edit: What media in the filter are you referring to? Things like carbon are good to keep, whereas much of the mechanical filtration may not be as ideal in all situations.
Edit: What media in the filter are you referring to? Things like carbon are good to keep, whereas much of the mechanical filtration may not be as ideal in all situations.
QUOTE (Amphiprion1 @ Mar 8 2010, 07:42 PM) 
I recommend a mix of substrate sizes. I use predominantly finer grained stuff (< 0.5 mm), with about 25-35% larger grained stuff added in. This ranges from CaribSea Seaflor special grade (larger grains ~2 mm) all the way up to big chunks of rubble (several cm in diameter). I also try to use this to zone the areas in my tank. That is, in areas with much higher flow, I make sure to include the larger grains there. There are a few spots in my tank where only rubble will stay put. So that's one advantage. The other is a wide variety of habitats--certain organisms prefer certain sand grades, so a mix is more idea for optimum diversity.
Edit: What media in the filter are you referring to? Things like carbon are good to keep, whereas much of the mechanical filtration may not be as ideal in all situations.
Edit: What media in the filter are you referring to? Things like carbon are good to keep, whereas much of the mechanical filtration may not be as ideal in all situations.
Hi,Thanks for the advice,yes I've read that the ceramics or and balls if they are included are to be removed.I think that it was replaced with a gauze bag filled with nylon just to removed the big stuff.As I hav'nt recieved the tank yet I'm going on what I've read in the forum.
Rob
The bio balls can trap detritus and increase your nitrates when the release it back into the water. Most people just remove them becasue of this. Live rock/sand will be your best filtration.
As far as sand goes, I think most people run aragonite based sand. The sugar grain size tends to be the most popular. However, having a good mix of sizes is good too.
As far as sand goes, I think most people run aragonite based sand. The sugar grain size tends to be the most popular. However, having a good mix of sizes is good too.
QUOTE (mmelnick @ Mar 8 2010, 08:08 PM)
The bio balls can trap detritus and increase your nitrates when the release it back into the water. Most people just remove them becasue of this. Live rock/sand will be your best filtration.
As far as sand goes, I think most people run aragonite based sand. The sugar grain size tends to be the most popular. However, having a good mix of sizes is good too.
As far as sand goes, I think most people run aragonite based sand. The sugar grain size tends to be the most popular. However, having a good mix of sizes is good too.
Cheers 4 That, the Base that comes with the tank has Aragonite in it,so i'll get some Carib seafloor as it's very similar,I'll post some pic's to show how it's coming on in time and thanks again.
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