Re: Dane's 100 Gallon Marine Setup
as far as skimmers im glad you read the article and are on board now. i know you inquired about a hob skimmer. if you go this direction I will reccomed to you the deltec mce 600
Deltec External Protein Skimmer its a little bit on the expensive side but deltec makes wonderful product. some of the best especially when you start looking at non hob skimmers they almost become the best of the best. its rated at 100 if you heavily stock and larger with light stocking so it is a perfect fit for you.
as far as sumps go this is a area that you can kindof modify to fit your own needs for what you desire to accomplish in your aquarium. a no brainer to the addition of a sump is it increases your overall volume of your system thus increasing stability within your system. the bigger the better i think a 20 gallon would work great on your setup if you have one just laying around at your disposal.
space that is partitioned off for the use of a "refugium" is a very common use. a refugium is a space in your tank that pretty much means its literal definition. "a place of shelter or protection" for cultivating different animals plants or algae. this could be bare bottom or it could have a deep sand bed (5inches or more) which can be used to reduce nitrates by a process called NNR for natural nitrate reduction. this will help with the overall stability of your system.
to quote anthony calfo and robert fenner here this is a summary of some refugium benefits:
- refugiums will passively or actively facilitate the culture of desirable organisms as stable bio-mass, free living plankton and /or shed epiphyctic matter
- they can participate as living filters to limit the growth of undesirable organisms elsewhere in the system
~as a vegetable filter with easily harvested plants or algae for nutrient export
~as a settling chamber for the collection and handling of solid particles
~as parasite control (limited) with established communities of filter-feeding, predatory micro organisms
- refugiums can be used to contribute nutritive dissolved elements to filter feeders by shedding metabolites (priteins, vitamins, etc ) and other elements like c02 from a photosynthetic activity
- cultured micro-orgnaisms produced in the refugium can also be recycled whole as food to higher animals in the display (like algae to herbivores or zooplankton to organismal feeders like fishes and corals)
- the vessel at large supports r medicates the dynamics of the water quality in the system (like ph stability and from respiration/photosynthesis of organismson a reverse photoperiod from the illuminated display) ***what they are saying here is if you have a light growing algae in your refugium on the opposite cycle of your display tank you will maintain a more stable ph as it can drop and rise from lights on and lights off.***
- biotic faculties can specifically limit or consume undesirable elements like nitrate of phosphate
- a refugium increses the water volume and overall stability of the system
- it provides ornamentatio, entertainment, and education... a diverse microscopic world that is itself a microcasm of the home reef microcasm
- is an option for biotopes and specialized organisms that are not convenient or possible in the display proper (like a mangrove community, or a baby fish nursery amidst the spines of diadema urchins)
- a handy emergency space for sequestering plants or animals for observation or recovery
- a successful and aristic refugium illistration will make you look and feel younger. it can grow hair too (hair algae, that is)
some people choose not to do any of those things and simply keep the sump for hiding things that look unnatrural like skimmers and heaters and thermometers. and for the overall water stability and oxygenation of the water as there will be additional agitation to the water.
The choice is yours. At this point the only tanks i wouldnt set up without a sump would be anything 10g or smaller and maybe a nano cube. but like i said if you choose not to go with a sump i reccomend that deltec. and if you do go with a sump the options open up very large for you as far as skimmers that work well and that you can run on your setup.
hopefully this answered some further questions. It is nice to see someone seeking information so actively and not just impulsively jumping to major purchases without understanding the fundamentals of the new system. especially based on your background of freshwater which at this point im guessing your starting to see that there is a HUGE difference in the way these tnaks work.
