Bioload 75 - Reef Aquarium

[bioload]

Okay enough of the square skimmer......new build started.

It's been about 4 months now since I first added saltwater to my 75 gallon tank and I'm still far from my final goal of a successful mixed reef. There are several obstacles at the moment but let's deal with them one at a time.

Ammonia and nitrite made their appearance and left, leaving behind their garbage in the form of nitrate. The last part of the nitrogen cycle that has been a thorn in my side. That house guest that has overstayed their welcome. That pimple on the end of your nose that won't go away. That ex-....well you get the idea, I'm quite frustrated!......don't even get me started on Phosphates.

My first weapon of choice in this fight was macro algae. However, I now have have enough macro to fill a 5 gal pail and there has been no noticeable drop in nitrates over the past 2 weeks. I guessing that nitrate is being created faster than the macro can consume.

I just received my acrylic tubing for my skimmer this week and I'm hoping that this will have an impact. Not necessarily removing any nitrate, but removing waste before it has a chance to add to the nitrate problem.

Here are some rough details

Pump: SWC Askoll (Laguna) 1500 needle wheel
Diameter: 8"
Height: 23" to fit under my tank

Here is a shot of what I have so far. A 3" tall 6"OD 1/8" wall extruded acrylic tube which was welded to a 1/4" sheet of white acrylic and cleaned up with the router

Not much but a start