joshuapd Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello, I have been building new setup and it's finally finished. I have a few questions. My current 55g tank has no sump or refugium so I'm new to the sump thing. New system has 40 breeder diy sump with refugium. Any thoughts on best refugium substrate? Should I reuse all the tank substrate or just a small "seeding" and replace the rest? I've been working on this for at least 6 months and now that the time has arrived I'm a little freaked out [emoji51] Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuapd Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello, I have been building new setup and it's finally finished. I have a few questions. My current 55g tank has no sump or refugium so I'm new to the sump thing. New system has 40 breeder diy sump with refugium. Any thoughts on best refugium substrate? Should I reuse all the tank substrate or just a small "seeding" and replace the rest? I've been working on this for at least 6 months and now that the time has arrived I'm a little freaked out [emoji51] Thanks Forgot to post photos! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuapd Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Forgot to post photos! Not sure why the topic line says "Skimmer performance" ?? I suck at technology... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles902 Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Hello, I have been building new setup and it's finally finished. I have a few questions. My current 55g tank has no sump or refugium so I'm new to the sump thing. New system has 40 breeder diy sump with refugium. Any thoughts on best refugium substrate? Should I reuse all the tank substrate or just a small "seeding" and replace the rest? I've been working on this for at least 6 months and now that the time has arrived I'm a little freaked out [emoji51] Thanks Wow! That's pretty cool. I can't wait to upgrade. I don't know what fish owner isn't. :P As for re-using the old subtrate, I would steer away from using all of the sand, unless you wash it. A lot of crud can build up in the sand (poisonous crud) and cause harm to other life. I think the ultimate way to seed the new tank would be live rock, with a good amount of old sand. With the new tank size, I imagine that you will be getting new sand anyway, unless it is bare-bottom....because who doesn't like a bare bottom. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuapd Posted December 1, 2016 Author Share Posted December 1, 2016 Wow! That's pretty cool. I can't wait to upgrade. I don't know what fish owner isn't. :P As for re-using the old subtrate, I would steer away from using all of the sand, unless you wash it. A lot of crud can build up in the sand (poisonous crud) and cause harm to other life. I think the ultimate way to seed the new tank would be live rock, with a good amount of old sand. With the new tank size, I imagine that you will be getting new sand anyway, unless it is bare-bottom....because who doesn't like a bare bottom. Yes, planning on getting new sand and a few new coral rock. I have 70lbs of live rock from the 55 I'll transfer over. I'm now making RODI and trying to design the aquascape. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunpeal Posted December 2, 2016 Share Posted December 2, 2016 I would use new sand in the tank. Make sure and rinse the hell out of it before adding to your tank. I've had good luck putting new sand in a wire strainer and rinsing. Gets rid of the fines and dust. If you are doing a refugium I would use rubble rock over sand. If not, no sand in sump. If you are using enough rock the sand is just for pretties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshuapd Posted December 4, 2016 Author Share Posted December 4, 2016 I would use new sand in the tank. Make sure and rinse the hell out of it before adding to your tank. I've had good luck putting new sand in a wire strainer and rinsing. Gets rid of the fines and dust. If you are doing a refugium I would use rubble rock over sand. If not, no sand in sump. If you are using enough rock the sand is just for pretties. What do you rinse sand with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunpeal Posted December 4, 2016 Share Posted December 4, 2016 A garden hose works pretty good. Afterwards put a few drops of a dechlorinator in your new tank for safe measure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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