37 ViaAqua set up

[Julie V]

Been absorbing everyone's advice and humor here since January. On Feb 13 I set up a 37 gal. ViaAqua w/ Cascade internal canister filter at 175gph, and a Rio pump w/120gph facing each other in the back corners. Also a Remora skimmer w/ a Maxijet 1200. Lots of fine bubbles in upper part of tank and the skimmer is 3 weeks old now. The sand is stable but circulation is pretty strong. One clown , one cleaner shrimp, 7 assorted snails, and 8 hermits. Anyone's opinion concerning circulation and bubbles will be greatly apppreciated.

 

Julie V

[pico1]

get rid of the internal filter asap and replace it with a maxi-jet 1200 powerhead. The internal filter will be bulky and take up valuable tank space and be a nitrate producer. Also you have plenty of filtration from the remora skimmer. You don't need so much mechanical filtration with small fish often used in a reef tank. What kind of lighting are you running? Also post some pics when you get a chance.

[Julie V]

I change the internal w/ filter floss about every 3 days and am using algone in the top chamber until my ro/di unit gets here, just been using di unit which is not good enough obviously. Lights are 2-18watt pc 7,100 k daylights and 2-18 watt pc blue bulbs. But I will take your advice and get the maxi-jet. Just been a little paranoid until I'm further down the road.

Thanks for you reply

[pico1]

4x18 watt pc lights are not going to allow for much more than softies and shrooms. You may want to think about getting a 150 or 200 or 250 watt metal halide soon. When you post pics we will be able to better help you by looking at the tank and seeing what its options are.

[Julie V]

Pico 1, yes lighting is pretty weak and I'll upgrade in a few months when these start to lose their efficiency. Thanks again