Am I on the right path? - Noobie

[pheyo]

So I've been in the hobby for around 8 months now, started off with a cannister filter after seeing others having success on UTube
However my journey have been a struggle even with proper husbandry I'm sitting around 50ppm nitrate.
I've done large weekly water change 20-30% to using Nitrate minus to using zeolites and were still seeing numbers trend up.

All other parameters are in check with the exception of nitrate.
I've got 3 tangs, Stripey, Long Fin Goby, Lyretail, Filefish and a CBB on a 100 gallon setup.
Feed wise my fish and corals get 2 cubes of mysis daily - one in the morning and one late afternoon.

After some frustrations of not seeing any success, I've just upgraded to a sump setup.
I've repurposed the "Reservoir" section of the sump and made it into a refugium.

Now I'm just running filter sock, small amount of carbon & biofilter, Protein skimmer and the fuge.
Spray bar installed in the fuge to keep things turning.
Water is also pumped in and out of the reservoir overflow section to keep the water churning
Dosing ChaetoGro ~25mls weekly as per recommended dosage.

Anything else I need to be thinking of?
For now I'm keeping the fuge lights on 24/7, not sure if it's sensible....but just finish setting this up this week.
Im eagerly testing daily to see what effects the fuge will have

 

[Dan_P]

So I've been in the hobby for around 8 months now, started off with a cannister filter after seeing others having success on UTube
However my journey have been a struggle even with proper husbandry I'm sitting around 50ppm nitrate.
I've done large weekly water change 20-30% to using Nitrate minus to using zeolites and were still seeing numbers trend up.

All other parameters are in check with the exception of nitrate.
I've got 3 tangs, Stripey, Long Fin Goby, Lyretail, Filefish and a CBB on a 100 gallon setup.
Feed wise my fish and corals get 2 cubes of mysis daily - one in the morning and one late afternoon.

After some frustrations of not seeing any success, I've just upgraded to a sump setup.
I've repurposed the "Reservoir" section of the sump and made it into a refugium.

Now I'm just running filter sock, small amount of carbon & biofilter, Protein skimmer and the fuge.
Spray bar installed in the fuge to keep things turning.
Water is also pumped in and out of the reservoir overflow section to keep the water churning
Dosing ChaetoGro ~25mls weekly as per recommended dosage.

Anything else I need to be thinking of?
For now I'm keeping the fuge lights on 24/7, not sure if it's sensible....but just finish setting this up this week.
Im eagerly testing daily to see what effects the fuge will have

Just an observation.

I have a 100 gal system and the recommended dose of Cheato grow sicken my Mexican turbos (stopped feeding, sat in the corner). I went to 1/7 dose and snails recovered while Ulva and Caulerpa grew very well (no Cheato grow meant slow growth and limp plants).

 

[unclejed]

Yor set up looks real professional, nice! Nitrates are sometimes stubborn. You may want to let water changes go two weeks instead of one week. Sometimes the Aquarium just needs to find its' balance.