Feelers Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Hey all, I'm looking for some suggestions for setting up my octopus tank, and I want a sump but have questions about bio filtration. Basicially, so far I have a 300 litre tank, getting a weipro 2014 skimmer, and I have a large cannister filter.I will be using the cannister but probably filled with activated carbon and sponge for chemical and mechanical filtration. Im also gonna drill the tank because I dont want an overflow. So I still need a sump, I was thinking maybe a 90L?, but I am not sure if I want a w/d trickle filter or just the live rock method. I think I read that wet/dry increases nitrates, which would make sense but not sure on this. What would you guys suggest? And a possible small refugium like 40L just ot keep crabs in ect for live food. Since this is for a NZ octo I can get all the live rock I want at the beach and I also dont need any lighting. Im probably gonna rig up some LED's for effect tho. I was thinking I'll make a 2 inch sand bed from sand at the beach(from under the water so its "live") What will happen if I go chuck loads of live rock and sand straight into my tank with FSW? I'm geussing this will result in an explosion of phosphate and nitrate, but I wont have any inhabitants so would the situation clear itself up over a moth or so? There wont be any light so algae wont be a problem. Anything I've missed or any suggestions would be appreciated, cheers (appart from suggesting a new skimer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted September 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Oh yeah, will I need circulation and will I need more pumps than the 4000LPH one with that goes with the skimmer? I dont really have a clue about plumbing so if someone cold give a breif outline that would be great. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 You can not get live rock from the beach. You can get rocks with some stuff on it, but it's not liverock. Live rock is coral rock, calcium based and is pretty porous. The rock you'd be getting from NZ because is not coral rock, is not calcium based and is not porous. It may have a bit of coraline and some life on it which could be used to seed dead baserock, but it is not a substitute for live rock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted September 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 So you can buy dead base rock? How much per kg? I would try to get relatively porous rocks (ie not boulders) but are you saying that no beach rocks have enough surface area? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Yeah, you can buy dead base rock. If you're up in Auckland there are also people that can sell you live rock. Base rock from a fish store is going to be around $10/kg. No, I don't think there will be any rocks with enough surface area at the beach. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted September 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 Hah thats quite expensive, I figure with .5kg per gallon thats like $350, which is a long way outa reach. So that means I'll have to go with W/D filtering im geussing? and I'll just use beach rocks for aquascaping. What effect does W/D have on nitrates? Nitrates arent particulary dangerous for an octo but I'd rather have none at all obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted September 18, 2005 Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 A DSB would be an efficient method for this sort of tank. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Feelers Posted September 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2005 so 4 inches? I want to use the sand from round here as its the natural habitat the the octo. I know you guys generally want white sand, and this would be the golden/browny colour, would this stuff cause any problems? Would it be "live" sand if I dredged it off the bottom? does 50L of sand sound about right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.