New To Marines And Need Setup Help Please :)

[tigerlinny]

hi all i am new to marines 
 i have just got a second hand Sera biotop 130 (boyu/orca550) 
 
so far i have just filled it with ro water and salt and all i have running is my heater and pump! i am getting my live rock and sand later this week.
what filter media  am i best using in which compartments? at the moment there is
 
compartment 1 protein skimmer with small blue foam block below it
compartment 2 empty
compartment 3 heater and bioballs
compartment 4 pump and uv filter
 
my temp is slowly coming back down from 32c after a major heater failure overnight (now replaced with more reliable heater)
my sg is 1.021 but am guessing its going to drop more as the temp drops? (will add more salt as needed)
any advice would be really welcome because i want to get it right first time cheers x

 

[sputnick]

hi all i am new to marines 
 i have just got a second hand Sera biotop 130 (boyu/orca550) 
 
so far i have just filled it with ro water and salt and all i have running is my heater and pump! i am getting my live rock and sand later this week.
what filter media  am i best using in which compartments? at the moment there is

 
compartment 1 protein skimmer with small blue foam block below it
compartment 2 empty
compartment 3 heater and bioballs
compartment 4 pump and uv filter
 
my temp is slowly coming back down from 32c after a major heater failure overnight (now replaced with more reliable heater)
my sg is 1.021 but am guessing its going to drop more as the temp drops? (will add more salt as needed)
any advice would be really welcome because i want to get it right first time cheers x

 
Hello and 

to TTF! My name is Sputnick and I'll be your host for this... lol  

 
From the info given I'm guessing you have a sump on your tank correct? Or what kind of filter do you have? 
 
If you have a sump, depending on the size of the empty compartment you can turn it into a refugium. I just purchased a new tank and am dipping my toes into the salty side as well and I plan on having a refugium with Live rock rubble in mine. I highly recommend this as it is a natural form of filtration. Other than that it seems like your filter is set up correctly. 
 
For the salt, I don't think salinity changes with the temperature. Although I could be wrong on that but its not something I've heard before. Get to the right temperature and test it again. Your goal for salinity should be around 1.025. IMO 1.021 is a little on the low side. 
 
If you have anymore questions ask away! we are here to help! 

 

[tigerlinny]

This is the tank

http/cdn.sera.de/fileadmin/gbi/31100_sera_marin_Cube_130_38-05_US.pdf

 

[sputnick]

ohh ok, I would just put some live rock rubble in the empty compartment for the extra filtration. You shouldn't need anything else in there

 

[tigerlinny]

Awesome thanks my temp has settled now to 25.5 and my sg is 1.022 so I am just going to leave it now until I get my substrate and lr
Although the night light leds are not working so I may have a faff with them lol x

 

[Reeferbro]

I would get rid of the bioballs because they are nitrate factories and will cause unwanted problems in the future.