Hi all,
I’ve got a new Waterbox Marine X 35.1 aquarium that I’ve had set up for <1 month thus far. I have a few soft corals and two RBTA which are all doing well, and two clownfish. My plan for this aquarium is to do an SPS dominant reef with a few zoanthids and mushrooms. Currently in my sump, I’ve got the skimmer/refugium section filled with established live rock from my previous aquarium.
I use RedSea Coral Pro salt mixed at 1.026 SG and do a 5gal water change weekly on a system with ~21gal of actual water volume. NO3 is ~12ppm which is right where I like it, and my PO4 is 0.04ppm which is on the low side for me.
My question is: Because I can only run one, should I run a protein skimmer in my sump, or a refugium? I know both have a positive effect on pH and will increase it, which is good, but which will benefit my system most? I plan to continue weekly water changes and testing, and might push that to two weeks when I start dosing down the road. I’m leaning more towards a skimmer, due to its ability to oxygenate the water.
What should I do?
Also, if I skim, what skimmer should I buy? I was thinking about the Bubble Magus Curve 3.5. Thoughts?
I’ve got a new Waterbox Marine X 35.1 aquarium that I’ve had set up for <1 month thus far. I have a few soft corals and two RBTA which are all doing well, and two clownfish. My plan for this aquarium is to do an SPS dominant reef with a few zoanthids and mushrooms. Currently in my sump, I’ve got the skimmer/refugium section filled with established live rock from my previous aquarium.
I use RedSea Coral Pro salt mixed at 1.026 SG and do a 5gal water change weekly on a system with ~21gal of actual water volume. NO3 is ~12ppm which is right where I like it, and my PO4 is 0.04ppm which is on the low side for me.
My question is: Because I can only run one, should I run a protein skimmer in my sump, or a refugium? I know both have a positive effect on pH and will increase it, which is good, but which will benefit my system most? I plan to continue weekly water changes and testing, and might push that to two weeks when I start dosing down the road. I’m leaning more towards a skimmer, due to its ability to oxygenate the water.
What should I do?
Also, if I skim, what skimmer should I buy? I was thinking about the Bubble Magus Curve 3.5. Thoughts?
