Now what????

thanx man. it will be mine.

 

You can start skimming now. No problem. The rule of thumb is to not skim during the cycle, then start when the cycle is up. My top three HOB skimmers are the following in my order of preference.

**Aqua Medic Turbo Flotor-1000 Multi SL
**AquaC Remora Pro (The AquaC Remora is not what we are looking for. It's the Pro)
**Octopus BH-300F

Now, to combat algae, you need to do two things. Limit their nutrients (Nitrates and phosphates) as well as increase flow. In your tank, you could use about 50x internal turnover. (55)(50)=2750GPH. How you get there, well, I would do maybe four powerheads, your skimmer and magnum.

Skimmer=~400GPH
Magnum=~220GPH
If you used only two MJ1200=~600GPH
Two Koralia-2s=1200GPH total

Combined with this scenario=44x turnover. That is good.

So you get the idea. You do need more flow to combat the algae. That will help immensely.

I would work on the nitrates and phosphates a little later. A nice HOB fuge would be nice. Or you could just do the sump/fuge thang with a 20g long. You are looking at a few hundred $$ for set up with the purchase of everything needed to make the S/F plus the overflow and accessories.

One thing at a time. We won't spend all your money at one sitting. We will spend it in a few sittings. Let's just take care of this much of your pocketbook today.:-X;D

Later dude. John.

Oh and lighting......Later......

 

BTW.....cool avatar.

 

+ on the skimmer. That should be priority number one.

 

Wel i guess that settles it then , I will more likley be going with the aqua remora pro only to decide between pumps now hmmm. . . mag 3 or rio 1400 ? I havnt heard very good things bout rio so i will probably go with the mag drive. thanx evreybody.

p.s. pharmrjohn

can you tell me more about what is to come.

 

also would it be a bad idea to change the mag 3 pump to a bigger one? like mag 5 or 7?

 

I have the aquac ev-180, and upgraded to a mag9.5. It seems to work out ok now, but took me a while to dial in. I can't be sure if it would have been this difficult to dial in with the recommended pump or not. So, going to a larger pump works, but may be more difficult to set up to begin with.

 

what size tank do you run it in? and where do you order online from?

 

It's on a 93 gallon tank, I order from various (whoever happens to have a sale, closeout or best price of the day). Also search craigslist and ebay for deals, with caution.

 

You don't need to do that. You will just have too much power and will need to dial it back anyway.

Are you thinking about putting in a sump? If you had a few hundred dollars to play with (above and beyond the problem at hand), you may want to think about it. And a few hundred dollars is if you DIY. There are skimmers (like the previously mentioned AquaC EV-180) that would work even better and would give you room to upgrade.

But if you are satisfied with (or unable to upgrade) your tank, then that is a fine choice. Here are some lighting ideas for you. Just a taste of what is yet to come.....the money leaving your wallet!!!!;D

One of the better fixtures out there. Kinda pricey though....

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...module_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_by_ATI

And a step down. A very good choice. Quality unit. I have the 8x54W over my 90g.

http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_Fluorescent/Sunlight_Supply/Tek_Light_Fixtures/48_inch__4x54W_Tek_Light_T5_High-Output_Fixture_w!_Bulbs_(Black)_by_Sunlight_Supply

More to come........