Additional Filter Besides UGF?

[tarhull87]

Hey,
I'm kind of a beginner at this saltwater deal. I have a 38 gallon, tank. Some live rock, base rock, 2- 301 Powerheads, and an UGF with dolomite base gravel. I currently have 3 damselfish(Blue, Yellow-tail, and striped) and 1 false percula clownfish. I am hoping to get another 1 or 2 invertebrates and a few more fish. Do I need another source of filtration and if so, what do you recommend. Please Respond A.S.A.P.
Thanks,

 

[sebae0]

most people would recommend getting rid of the under gravel filter and just using a deep sand bed and liverock to filter the tank. with this and your powerheads you could elimanate the ug filter, also the dolomite would have to go.
if this is not a option just make sure you do water changes pretty regular to clean the dolomite of detritus and you could have a pretty succesful tank.
also welcome to the board and ask alot of questions because there is a wealth of knowledge here.

 

[jlem]

If you vacumm your substrate when you do your water change( 5gal every 2 weeks would work great ) then your UGF will be a very good biological filter. Granted it is not the prefered and eventually you will have to tear it down and clean it, but it could easily be over a year. Vacumming that often though will remove lots of gunk before it breaks down and that much water being changed will take care of your trace elements without the need for suppliments excluding calcium if you have a reef. Eventually you will probably want to go with a bigger tank anyways and then you can scratch the UGF and do a more up to the times approach. I would invest in a skimmer as soon as you can. For your size tank the seaclone is a good economical skimmer.

 

[tarhull87]

Thanks for the good info guys! I'll probably order that SeaClone skimmer pretty soon. What exactly does a protein skimmer do anyways? Also, what things are a must have in general for me to operate a saltwater tank? I've got buffer, dechlorinator, and a siphon with the gravel vacuum. What else should I have(maintenance-wise)?

 

[goobernif]

you'll need books, lots of books. and remember everything anyone tells you on this site is advice. there are a thousand different ways to do anything especially if you like to do-it-yourself (DIY) and about 200 of them will work. all the books should be about keeping and maintaining a marine aquarium. make sure you actually read them. i've found this site insightful and comical, took a long time to decide to actually share my feelings however.... welcome to the wonderful, exciting and very addictive world that comes with being a marine aquarist. good luck.

 

[tarhull87]

What exactly does a protein skimmer do anyways? Also, what things are a must have in general for me to operate a saltwater tank? I've got buffer, dechlorinator, and a siphon with the gravel vacuum. What else should I have(maintenance-wise)?

 

[goobernif]

a protein skimmer removes organics from your tank. you know that slimmy layer of stuff that builds up on the top of your water? a protein skimmer will remove it making gas exchange that takes place on the surface of the water easier.

 

[tarhull87]

I just bought a SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer. It's on the way to my house. Was that a good choice to go along with my UGF and 15 pounds of live rock?

 

[jlem]

I think it was. For the first couple days let the skimmer run with the air valve all the wat open and then after a couple days close the valve to just short of bubbles entering your tank.