AQUATOP Recife ECO 40 Gallon Tank

[ThatFishman]

This is my first Reef tank. I have an AquaReady HOB-1.5 protien skimmer, 2- Nero 3 powerheads, an AI Prime 16 HD, a 200W Titanium Aquarium Heater System - WiFi and the intank chamber two media basket. I am also using filter floss.

I am about 2 weeks into cycling and have what I believe to be diatoms. I was also wondering if I should upgrade my filter media. I am using what came with the tank to get it started. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Following along!

 

[Reefer Brent]

How's the tank coming along. I have the in tank floss holder and overflow skimmer. How do you like the media basket?

I use the ceramic rings it came with in 2 mesh bags. I imagine there is better media but some people run without any and just trust the rockwork.

I ditched the media sponges for a chemipure bag.

If you upgrade your return pump it will blow off the nozzle. I got a rainbird female threaded fitting from home depot and screwed in a VCA RFG to it and it works fine.

 

[ThatFishman]

How's the tank coming along. I have the in tank floss holder and overflow skimmer. How do you like the media basket?

I use the ceramic rings it came with in 2 mesh bags. I imagine there is better media but some people run without any and just trust the rockwork.

I ditched the media sponges for a chemipure bag.

If you upgrade your return pump it will blow off the nozzle. I got a rainbird female threaded fitting from home depot and screwed in a VCA RFG to it and it works fine.

Tank is coming along. I checked my levels and salinity was a little high so I removed a gallon or two out and replaced it with RO to try and bring it down. I ditched the baskets completely and have the ceramic rings in mesh bags. I cut the sponge it came with down to about a quarter of the size just to have it in there. I was torn about removing it completely. I will look into the chemipure bag. I did want to replace the return pump, so thank you for letting me know about that. I ended up moving the Nero 3 that I had mounted on the back of the tank facing forward. I was having issues with sand being blown away in the right corner of the tank. I moved it to the right hand side aiming left. It is working much better. As soon as I have my salinity taken care of and all my other parameters are good I was going to put in a hermit crab and a snail or two. See how they go for a few weeks then add either a coral or two clowns.

 

[Reefer Brent]

Yeah wavemaker placement in a cube is difficult. Just make sure to have surface agitation. The surface film these tanks get is gross. I'm still fighting with the best way to get rid of it.

 

[ThatFishman]

Yeah wavemaker placement in a cube is difficult. Just make sure to have surface agitation. The surface film these tanks get is gross. I'm still fighting with the best way to get rid of it.

Thank you. Yeah I have the return aimed up towards the waters surface now and the wavewmakers on the left is also closer to the top as well now. I was thinking of adding a nero orbit 2 later on to add a little more aggitation anmd move the wave maker down some. But I want to see how it goes with what I have now and get a better understanding of how this all works before I start adding more.

 

[kingranch2003]

Tank is coming along. I checked my levels and salinity was a little high so I removed a gallon or two out and replaced it with RO to try and bring it down. I ditched the baskets completely and have the ceramic rings in mesh bags. I cut the sponge it came with down to about a quarter of the size just to have it in there. I was torn about removing it completely. I will look into the chemipure bag. I did want to replace the return pump, so thank you for letting me know about that. I ended up moving the Nero 3 that I had mounted on the back of the tank facing forward. I was having issues with sand being blown away in the right corner of the tank. I moved it to the right hand side aiming left. It is working much better. As soon as I have my salinity taken care of and all my other parameters are good I was going to put in a hermit crab and a snail or two. See how they go for a few weeks then add either a coral or two clowns.

If you want to ditch the sponge all together, you can use this for filter floss or filter pads. I'd change it frequently. Also the vivid creative aquatics random flow generator has been reported to work very well to help with flow and surface agitation. I ordered one and it's supposed to be here today. I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Reefer Brent]

If you want to ditch the sponge all together, you can use this for filter floss or filter pads. I'd change it frequently. Also the vivid creative aquatics random flow generator has been reported to work very well to help with flow and surface agitation. I ordered one and it's supposed to be here today. I'll let you know how it goes.

I have the rfg installed on mine now. It's nice but in no way a replacement for a powerhead for surface flow.

A power head at the top aimed from right to left toward the overflow has kept my surface film at bay the best.

 

[kingranch2003]

I have the rfg installed on mine now. It's nice but in no way a replacement for a powerhead for surface flow.

A power head at the top aimed from right to left toward the overflow has kept my surface film at bay the best.

Nah definitely don't REPLACE the power head, just supplement it for more sporadic flow and surface agitation.