sad day...

Sounds like a sad day and a time for opportunities to me....sometimes fixing things and starting new is the funnest part of the hobby. I used to have a cascade 1000 for running media but had non-stop problems with it after about 6 months. Went with a double chamber media reactor from tbaquatics and never looked back.....

 

I think you will be happier without the canister filter even id you DON'T add the turf scrubber. I don't reember, do you have a skimmer on this thing? Anyway, best of luck. Let's see pics of the turf scrubber in action if you can! /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif

 

The vast majority of people go with a skimmer (if anything) and leave it at that. The skimmer is going to do a lot of the work for you by removing organics before they decay and become available to the algaes we try and avoid. Most people don't have an ATS. That's not to say they aren't beneficial; from what I can tell they are, but only a small fraction of those into saltwater aquariums actually use an ATS.

 

are you going to drill the tank this time around?

 

I suggest saving till you get the good stuff. Going cheap actually costs more... i'll bet if you asked real nice someone might give you a sump or a small pump if you really cant afford it... That said, this is an expensive hobby and if youre broke it will frustrate you because it makes you poorer and you'll feel lousy if you cant get the gear you need. Maybe wait till you have more money? if you plan carefully and understand what youre doing you can have a cheap tank esp softies. Its just best to go slow and save up for good stuff from the start!

My other thought is that it might be good to go without sand till you get a feel for nutrient levels/dynamics. Sand beds can act like your canister-trapping debris and converting it to ammonia. They can be ok, but it sounds like your having issues so i'd wait... Do you use tap water? How much do you feed per day? i think the scrubber will be a godsend. You might not need the skimmer!

Matt

 

hey travis, i would give the bare bottom idea some thought. i just added a DSB to my 75 @ a cost of about $200. if i knew how much of a pain it was going to be i never would have done it.
my next tank will absolutely be BB.

 

for what it is worth my first tank 3 years ago was a 55. All I ran was a HoB octopus skimmer along with a bio wheel 400 and K2 power heads. Now with the Bio wheel I mostly used this run run carbon and removed the wheels for it. While I couldnt keep sps in this tank erything else was successful. When I had cyano I found by cutting my feeding down to less then half cured it. Another thing to check is your RO water. It was a cause for my most recent cyano outbreak

 

ive got a rough 20g long converted into a sump. i actually just drug it home from CR and realised i dont need it what so ever. and im sure someone can help you drill the tank its easy. barebottom doesnt look so bad if you paint the backside of the bottom the same color as the back. black always looks good in my book. and as far as the pump goes just save up for a few weeks and before you know it you have enough for a pump.
you cant rush art