mechanical to natural filtration

[beagleton]

hello all,
i'm sort of a newbie to all this. i've had a 100 gal reef tank for a little over a year now. when i started i new very little about what i was doing and naturaly went with mechanical filtration, a fluval 404 and an emperor bio wheel system. eventualy i purchased a protein skimmer and uv scanner but i have read about the benefits of using natural filtration incorperated with a refugeum. i would very much like to switch to this type of system but i dont know what the proper way to go about it is. any help will be apreaciated.

[alexwolf]

are you in SA? There are many of us with natural fiultration, and I am sure noone minds you dropping by to see a system running.

[::pete::]

Wouldnt natural filtration be live rock with the added benefit of the refugium and macro algae?

[Crab Rangoon]

Hopefully this gets expanded upon, because this is a question I was going to ask about, and do research on. Does the tankkeeper that is hosting the meeting have a fuge? I figured I'd just ask basic questions about it in person, on Sunday.

[beagleton]

Thanks for the input. im in austin not sa. by natural filtration i was mor refering to a seperate tank with vegitation in it so i could completly remove all carbon filtration. this may just be a stupid idea but iv seen similar setups at stores and on the net. i was more curious about how to establish such a system and how to go about making the switch between the carbon filters and a plant based method of filtration.

[::pete::]

It still helps to run carbon to keep the water clear.

This (http://jjgeisler.com/reeftank/55g_sump-refugium2.htm) might help to give you an idea.

[Tim Marvin]

I can show you a refugium set up that is small. RobertG is in the process of setting up a larger scale refugium and frag tank, and Eric or greg have good filter set-ups also. I'm sure if you give any of us a call we can arrange for you to take a look.
At any rate you will still need to run carbon from time to time. A refugium is basically a separate tank from your main system that houses sand, rock, and plants. It is not a good idea to put stars, cucumbers, crabs, or things like that in there because they will feed on things you are trying to protect. Don't pay much attention to store set-up's they are not built for long term care. When putting together store tanks the main concerns are holding capacity, ease of access, and viewing area. Stores also use UV sterilizers and bio balls/ bio wheels. Although these are excellent methods for filtering in stores they also produce phosphates in long term use. This doesn't effect store tanks because they are changing soooo much water when acclimating and selling fish it is never a concern. Long term care on the other hand it becomes a problem. Plants will clean a lot from the water, but not everything. I use carbon for about 5 days a month. Carbon is only good for about 3-7 days before it becomes exhausted and needs to be changed or re-charged. Most people don't want to bake carbon in the oven and it is so inexpensive you can just buy new a couple times per month. Carbon is most effective when placed in a heavy flow, such as your returns to the sump. A mesh bag can be purchased and tired to the end of the pipe or you can use pantyhose also. If you change this every two or three weeks you will be changing the carbon as well as removing old debri from your tanks system.
I hope this helps, if you need more let me know and I'll give you a more indepth understanding of a specific part of the sytem you are interested in building.

[CD]

beagleton -
If you are in N. Austin, and want to view several set ups of this type (fuge, sump w/carbon, etc) I would also be happy for you to come by and see the set up & ask questions to your heart's content. BTW, Tim is a GREAT teacher, and always has valued input in pretty much any situation. I'm just offering a looksie in case you want to view several different types of set ups to determine what you are most comfortable with. My hubby and I are in Wells Branch. Just PM us if you wish to swing by.

CDs wife, Wendy