Nano Questions

[oscnz]

Hay guys im still designing up my 60l nano but I have gone for a external canister with 2 trays full of carbon and one of phos-zorb and one of bio balls sound right?

Im having two overflow holes drilled in the top of the tank for a sump and having the canister pump it back from the sump just wondering what size should the over flow holes be? Im goind to partition the sump into 3 parts one for the skimmer, one for some live rock rubble, and the last for the return and the heater, would i be safe to run another heater in the tank its self? Bearing in mind the sump is about 30ish L, also if I made a cabinet to house both the sump and external would the external overheat the sump? any advice one what else to do

[oscnz]

also Im going to run a light inside the cabinet on a alternate cycle to the main lights

[spoon]

cannister filters dont run so well connected like that and are difficult to prime when connected like that, perhaps use it in a closed-loop system if you want to use it and it can double as your tank circulation(if you dont know what i mean by closed-loop google it ) then buy a cheap pump with a ceramic shaft for your return pump. What type of cannister filter do you plan on using? reason i ask is a large one say a cf 1200 you would likely fit all the chemical media in one tray and have a mostly empty filter as you wont need two trays of carbon in a filter that big for a tank that small

for your heaters i would buy two 50w heater and run both in the sump , there is a tiny 50w heater made by elite so you wont have any difficult fitting two and a return in , like you would with a single 100w heater

depending on how much live rock you plan to have in the display you could possibly leave out the live rock rubble in the sump and as for your lighting in there , i find some form of lighting helps to see what your doing etc but reverse lighting would only be necessary if you were running the middle section as a refugium and growing macro algae(seaweed) to help with nutrient export, however its my thinking than in a 30l sump(and i may be wrong ) you arent going to be able to have enough macro algae to have any noticable effect on nitrates or phosphates in my opinion you are better off having a skimmer section then a bubble trap as a divider and the second half as heaters/return will also give you more room to work with trust me you dont want no room when you are playing round with a skimmer

[oscnz]

Wow thanks I was going to use a 404 so the flow is 1200lph and use it as a pump/return system insted of a power head drawing the water up back into the tank and have the inside of the filter full of carbon, etc and also run a powerhead in the tank aswell

[spoon]

lol i doubt you would use that much carbon on a 5ft reef tank!

i you have the filter 404 not doing anything test it out how you intend to set it up and you will see what i mean . i tried the same thing with a 104 on my nano setup. other thing was i got sick of opening it up to change media (mine just sits in sump now) IMO sell the 404 and get a HOB style (large one) and run your chemical media in that nice any easy and provides good aeration too.

while we are on topic of carbon just thought i check that you know to only buy good quality carbon , not the cheap stuff for freshwater as the cheap stuff can leach phosphates id reccomend seachem seagel its a mix of high quality carbon and phophate remover 250ml treats 60 gallons and is around $30

[oscnz]

Ok so best to run a simple sump with a powerhead to push it back into the tank but here is some info http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... setup.html

[spoon]

that pic is using a canister filter normally ie no head which will work great ! but you will need to drill the holes for pipes at the same level in the main tank , even though it may appear the same pumping up with a cannister filter from a sump is a lot different as your intake and return are at different levels this makes it hard to prime and not run very well. in effect that picture at the top is basically using the cannister in a closed loop set up. the sump set up in the next picture down would be more practical and easier for a small sump than using a refugium as well

[oscnz]

so which design would be best to use?

[spoon]

depends really wether you want a sump or not

[oscnz]

or i can run the sump where the uv is on that pic and have it sitting higher than the canister so it helps with the syphion to the filter

[spoon]

personally i would try a mock up of what you just suggested to see how well it works it may however be more hassle than what its worth with building the stand to fit and access to the sump

[oscnz]

it seems quite common to use a external and fill it with live rock and carbon i might give that a go and see how it goes

[oscnz]

Can you run Nitrazorb in a marine tank?

[Zev]

Compatibility: Nitra-Zorb can be used in freshwater aquariums containing aquarium salt and in Rift lake cichlid aquariums. Nitra-Zorb will not work in saltwater aquariums. The high level of salt prevents the ion-exchange process from working properly. Do not use Nitra-Zorb while medicating the aquarium.

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