Hello. I bought my 75 gallon tank today. I'm going to be making my own stand and top in the coming months. I also picked up a used RO unit with new filters today for $50 at my LFS. So I have a few initial questions.
My filter is going to be a fluval 404 with a HOB skimmer and I was giving some thought to using macroalgaes as a means of cutting down the nitrates. From searching the forums here, I found that some have used red macroalgae (dragon's breath?) and it seems less invasive. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it possible to do a neat planted sort of tank and not have massive overgrowth? What about something like mangroves? On a side note, I know that most people prefer sugar grained type sands over crushed coral here, but does the color or consistency matter? Could I do a darker looking sand instead of the typical white used for most reef displays?
One final question: How effective are most R.O. units at copper removal? I have copper piping in my house and I'm wondering if it's going to be an issue. Thank you
--Ethan
My filter is going to be a fluval 404 with a HOB skimmer and I was giving some thought to using macroalgaes as a means of cutting down the nitrates. From searching the forums here, I found that some have used red macroalgae (dragon's breath?) and it seems less invasive. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it possible to do a neat planted sort of tank and not have massive overgrowth? What about something like mangroves? On a side note, I know that most people prefer sugar grained type sands over crushed coral here, but does the color or consistency matter? Could I do a darker looking sand instead of the typical white used for most reef displays?
One final question: How effective are most R.O. units at copper removal? I have copper piping in my house and I'm wondering if it's going to be an issue. Thank you
--Ethan