Boyu Tl-550 Set Up Help

[Welsh_Reef]

HI All

Purchased the Tl-550 from a local stockist 10 days ago. Was told it was a good tank but crap instructions, which I fully agree with.

I took it all out & washed the tank & parts in cold water, put everything back where it was found originally & then set the pipes etc in. Filled the tank adding the stress coat which we were given by the shop, & then added the salt. Switched the whole thing on & the water cleared.

The only trouble I have got is the skimmer, the cup at the top of the skimmer is empty but the section inside of it is half full of water because I have turned the air valve but when I open the vale which has the white stuff coming up it bubbles all over- is this normal? If not how can I rectify the problem. If I turn the valve down then the bubbles go away & all I am left with is the water as before. Im worried that I havent set this up right so would be so grateful for any help.

Finally should the sponge filter be put under the skimmer (where it was in the box) or shoudl it go under the bioballs?

Many Thanks

Welsh Reef

 

[rabbut]

OK, this post would be better in the Marine section if you are setting up for marine, as this is the freshwater section. No problem, just you'll get more relevant replies in marine. Drop a moderator a PM and they'll move the thread across for you

The Boyu skimmers are a bit rubbish IMO. They are very hard to set-up correctly, and if I had a pound for every time I had to walk a confused customer at work through their set-up, I've have been able to retire already

Basically, open the air valve fully, then adjust the skimmers height in the water such that the white foam just reaches the neck. After this, you need to tweak the air valve and the height to get the right skimmate quality. You are looking for a freshly brewed black tea colour Move the skimmer up for dryer (darker) skimmate, and down for lighter This will take lots of fiddling

What type of set-up do you want? Fish only, or a full Reef? For the latter, you'll need to ditch the water you have already in there and re-set with RO I'd also recommend, even if going FO, that you convert to Fish Only With Live Rock, as it makes for far easier maintenance, and opens up far more stocking options. Many fish will not be happy without LR, so running without it will seriously limit what fish you can keep

What test kits do you have ATM, and how do you plan of finishing the set-up (fish planned, cycling, equipment modifications e.t.c)?

All the best
Rabbut