Malefactor
Membership Expired
Ok, so, basing this off a similar design i had that worked really well for a freshwater setup i had. I understand there's a few differences that were needed for salt, but... Here's my idea.
alt="">
Top ic is view from the top and bottom is view from the side:
How this would work -
Water enters small 4X4 in chamber to keep water level stable for input and keeping it quieter and allowing a small sock to be placed if needed. It'll overflow from there into the first chamber which will most of the time be a refugium / micro algae culture area. From there, i'll have holes drilled through a solid pane to allow water to pass into the second chamber which again is strictly and always a refugium. For now, the final chamber is an algae scrubber where the water will flow over egg crate / mesh to allow the algae to hold and culture before going to the bubble trap and return pump.
The reason i'm planning the first two chambers this way is so that when i have fry / attempt breeding, i can use poret foam between the drilled holes so fry can not pass through. Yes, i know this will require daily cleaning when it's in place. To me, this is a small price to pay to be able to breed fish attached to the main display for stability of water levels and natural cultures that would have been growing in there when they're not in there themselves... One thing i learned REAL quick with fresh water fish that i would assume is true of salt as well... Attaching your breeding setup to a larger setup and having NATURAL cultures available to your fry = success. So, this is my primary goal from the start...
Eventually, if i can find someone willing trade or end up able to save enough soon, i'll pull the algae scrubber and substitute a skimmer in it's place.
I've got the 55G tank and spare glass i can use for all of this. Just want to make sure my design is solid and not junk.
alt="">Top ic is view from the top and bottom is view from the side:
How this would work -
Water enters small 4X4 in chamber to keep water level stable for input and keeping it quieter and allowing a small sock to be placed if needed. It'll overflow from there into the first chamber which will most of the time be a refugium / micro algae culture area. From there, i'll have holes drilled through a solid pane to allow water to pass into the second chamber which again is strictly and always a refugium. For now, the final chamber is an algae scrubber where the water will flow over egg crate / mesh to allow the algae to hold and culture before going to the bubble trap and return pump.
The reason i'm planning the first two chambers this way is so that when i have fry / attempt breeding, i can use poret foam between the drilled holes so fry can not pass through. Yes, i know this will require daily cleaning when it's in place. To me, this is a small price to pay to be able to breed fish attached to the main display for stability of water levels and natural cultures that would have been growing in there when they're not in there themselves... One thing i learned REAL quick with fresh water fish that i would assume is true of salt as well... Attaching your breeding setup to a larger setup and having NATURAL cultures available to your fry = success. So, this is my primary goal from the start...
Eventually, if i can find someone willing trade or end up able to save enough soon, i'll pull the algae scrubber and substitute a skimmer in it's place.
I've got the 55G tank and spare glass i can use for all of this. Just want to make sure my design is solid and not junk.