Few questions from a beginner.

[allie_san]

Hi everyone.
I'm just getting into saltwater and I'm looking for some suggestions for a beginner as i have been doing a lot of reading and I've seen a lot of conflicting advice for people new to saltwater.
I will be buying a 75 gal tank off a friend within the next couple of weeks, i plan on doing FOWLR and then eventually corals after i get the hang of it.
I was speaking to and employee at the LFS today and he suggested for a protein skimmer i buy a red sea Berlin. Is this a good choice for a beginner? He didn't get specific about which model as they had none in stock but in general is this brand know to be good or crap? I'd rather go for quality over price.
He also said that i could just use biological filtration and forgo any mechanical filtration as long as i keep up water changes. Is this too a good idea for a beginner or should i use both mechanical and bio?
Can anyone recommend a good ro/di filter?
What should i do about lighting for now? (taking into consideration I eventually want corals)
Thanks!

 

[subie41ife]

Originally Posted by allie_san
http:///forum/post/3254934
Hi everyone.
I'm just getting into saltwater and I'm looking for some suggestions for a beginner as i have been doing a lot of reading and I've seen a lot of conflicting advice for people new to saltwater.
I will be buying a 75 gal tank off a friend within the next couple of weeks, i plan on doing FOWLR and then eventually corals after i get the hang of it.
I was speaking to and employee at the LFS today and he suggested for a protein skimmer i buy a red sea Berlin. Is this a good choice for a beginner? He didn't get specific about which model as they had none in stock but in general is this brand know to be good or crap? I'd rather go for quality over price.
I have never used one of the red sea berlin skimmers but from everything i have read the are really good. IMO there is no such thing as a good skimmer for a beginner.
He also said that i could just use biological filtration and forgo any mechanical filtration as long as i keep up water changes. Is this too a good idea for a beginner or should i use both mechanical and bio?
Yes, he is correct. Yes this is a good idea, like he said you have to make sure you keep up with your water changes. To make it work this way you will want at least 75lbs of live rock and a sand/crushed coral bed.
Can anyone recommend a good ro/di filter?
This im not too sure about. I have been using this one for for over two years now and i never had a problem.
***Please do not link to competing websites.***
What should i do about lighting for now? (taking into consideration I eventually want corals)
If you are going to eventually do corals you should but the lighting for it now instead of buying twice. good light would be something like a T5HO
Thanks!
Good luck with everything and welcome to SWF!!!

 

[florida joe]

The only skimmer I have ever used is a Berlin. If you look at my post in the vodka dosing thread you will see how much it pulls out during dosing. IMO mechanical filtration is a must. Oh and for the record ask your LFS person how can they recommend a protein skimmer and then tell you not to go with mechanical filtration. Protein skimming IS mechanical filtration. For a ro unit go with a ro/di unit

 

[flower]

Welcome to the site.
I am going to disagree…Hang On The Back ...Red Sea Berlin is garbage, most everything from Red Sea is. I use their test kits but they are hard to read, the color chart changes with each kit of the same brand…so it all depends on how much ink was in their printer or something. You will need a skimmer later, like 6 months down the road.
Keeping up on water changes is a very good idea, but I disagree to forego a filter system. Use a sump or canister, no hang on the back types for a 75g. If you can swing a refugium too, even better. Using a quarantine tank when adding new fish is very much needed in a reef, because you can’t treat the critters of ich for example in a reef. Keeping all your fish in a separate tank for 6 to 8 weeks just isn’t doable…so an ounce of prevention is truly worth a pound of cure.
As for lights get the very best you can afford, it will be your biggest and most expensive purchase but by buying the right light first will save you lots of money. T5s are affordable and work at keeping coral alive, but Metal Halides are the best for bringing out the colors of the coral and fish. Nothing beats the look of MH lights dancing in the water. JMO.
Live sand and lots of rock with purple on it will get things moving along. For beauty, I handpicked each piece of live rock for my tank…Oh and make some caves or large overhangs. Not all corals want or need bright lights, and by having a cave or overhang you can keep a nice variety. Make sure all the rock is stable and put it in first before the sand. Some saltwater critters like to dig and sand under the rock will get moved and topple everything, which could kill your critter or break the tank.
Above all, buy your own test kits. It is too hard to run back and forth to the LFS and you need to know what is happening to your water as you go, get a refractometor too.
As for RO/Di filters I rent from Culligan, so I am no use for opinions on buying your own.
Hope this helps.

 

[speg]

Do some research of your own for protein skimmers. I personally have nothing bad to say about the Aqua C Remora skimmer. It's absolutely simple and does a great job; 4+ years of having it and it's still like brand new. Although, do some digging for yourself. 'Google' the brand you're interested in and see what others say about it.
I personally like protein skimmers and feel it's a good thing to include with a tank.
As for lights.. it depends on what you want to keep.. I'd suggest staying simple for a while until you've researched the hobby more to understand it better...there is certainly a lot to learn... I've always had good results with power compacts, others have pretty amazing results with T5's.. and of course metal halides are as good as it gets but they're pretty expensive and may be overkill depending on what you're into.
Oh... and one of the greatest pieces of advice I can give you... don't trust your LFS

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Speg
http:///forum/post/3255009
Do some research of your own for protein skimmers. I personally have nothing bad to say about the Aqua C Remora skimmer. It's absolutely simple and does a great job; 4+ years of having it and it's still like brand new. Although, do some digging for yourself. 'Google' the brand you're interested in and see what others say about it.
I personally like protein skimmers and feel it's a good thing to include with a tank.
As for lights.. it depends on what you want to keep.. I'd suggest staying simple for a while until you've researched the hobby more to understand it better...there is certainly a lot to learn... I've always had good results with power compacts, others have pretty amazing results with T5's.. and of course metal halides are as good as it gets but they're pretty expensive and may be overkill depending on what you're into.
Oh... and one of the greatest pieces of advice I can give you... don't trust your LFS

I agree about the skimmer…The lights however..
Here is a perfect example: This is my true story.
First purchase: Regular Fish lights…I wanted coral later. $100.00
Next purchase less than 6 mo later: Power Compacts 4 bulbs. $350.00
Next purchase 1 year later: Power compacts 8 bulbs (4 bulbs just weren’t strong enough) $450.00 Oh and lets not forget the small T5s I tried to up the 4 bulb PCs with $150.00 before I decided to get the 8 bulb PCs.
Next purchase 2 years later: MH lights …retrofit, $1000.00 Prices have dropped much since those days.
Next purchase: retrofit got damp and began to short out because of no glass. So I purchased Coralife Elite for on sale $450.00…became $600.00 with shipping. These I use at the present. The lights have a nice glass between the water and lights and look great. I am finally happy with my lights.
If I had bought the good MH lights to start with, I would have spent $1000.00 but instead I spent…$2650.00

 

[florida joe]

You will need a skimmer later, like 6 months down the road.
why wait and how did you come up with this time frame ?

 

[mrdc]

I would like to know how you came up with this time frame also.
I also agree with buying what you can afford with the lights. I bought several units because there were more and more coral that I wanted but needed better lights.
I only have experience with my remora pro. It seems to do a good job but I have not compared it to another skimmer. Opinions on skimmers vary greatly.

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by florida joe
http:///forum/post/3255020
why wait and how did you come up with this time frame ?
I never used one until 6 months later....As long as the OP keeps up on water changes and has good filtration and lots of live rock and sand this purchase can be put off for a short time. Some folks never get one.

 

[speg]

It's important to determine what kind of coral they'll be planning on keeping before you have them jump overboard with a lighting system costing a grand.

 

[florida joe]

Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3255027
I never used one until 6 months later....As long as the OP keeps up on water changes and has good filtration and lots of live rock and sand this purchase can be put off for a short time. Some folks never get one.
So why after six months did you decide to get a skimmer
Actually I believe if you have live rock you definitely need a skimmer sooner than later, the main purpose for doing water changes for most people is to remove nitrates, but this will only take out so much. The hobbyist should try to eliminate as much waste material as possible to reduce the amount of material being turned into nitrates. Mechanical filtration media such as filter pads take out large partials but for smaller microscopic particles we need skimming.
The live rock you have will have more creatures and algae’s living and dying in the nooks and crannies. This means more proteins in your water which means more nitrates
BTW look into the Red Sea C-Skim 1800 Advanced Protein Skimmer I think you may be impressed