Filter Advice

[michelle2360]

Hello my name is Michelle. I'm new to the board. I have a question and needed a bit of advice. I have 55gal saltwater aquarium. I have had it set up for over two years now. Right now i only have a bit of live rock and a few fish but I am planning to try to start a mini-reef. I have crushed coral as my substrate now but I want to switch to sand. And right now I have an undergravel filter and two over the back filters and a protein skimmer. We want to get rid of all of those filters and just get one filter where no tubes can be seen. So after all that my question is, what is the best route for me to go? A wet/dry filter or what? Any suggestions would be good.
Thanks,
Michelle

 

[gnelson]

Welcome to the board. Let me try to answer your question. If I were you I would set up a small hospital tank for a day, so that you can lift up the crushed coral and remove the under gravel filter, which has to go if you are setting up a reef. The fish would be stressed if you leave them in the tank throughout this process. You can seed your tank with a small amount of live sand and the rest can be normal sand.
I would go with the wet/Dry set up for your tank. You can either buy one or make one yourself. What you put in your sump is up to you. You might want to move your heater and skimmer down there, so that your tank is more open. This board has lots of post on this topic for more details search the board for filters.
Good Luck
Graham

 

[03]

hi michelle:i would go with a wet dry with a sump,you can put your heater in there and also your pro skimmer can be adapted to fit,it is going to be messy getting tha ugf out i would have a vac.ready there is going to be alot of gunk,also with a reef you will have to upgrade your lighting to at least 4-5 watts per gallon and also use 50/50 bulbs they are a mixture of actinic and white light that inverts need to survive if you
have a flour.fixture.if not make adjustments as necessary let us know what you decide.also if you change filters to a wetdry leave your existing filter on the tank for a month to make sure you don't cycle again.

 

[tdp]

Hello Michelle and welcome to the board. I think everyone has given you some excellent advice but I would like to add, have you checked into an ecosystem filter? You can go to their website null for more information. They say you don't need a protein skimmer. I have one on my 125 gal but I haven't finished the plumbing yet. Definitely get rid of UGF though. Good Luck.
Tom

 

[total]

Hay Tom, that ecosystem, is that the new mircale mud filtration system that uses the alge to filter the water. If so please let us know how it works. Thanks
TTFN

 

[tdp]

Yea that's the one. The LFS that I got it from has a 180 using nothing but that and a chiller and it looks so awesome. In fact he's changing all his tanks to that system. I don't have to put any substrate in but I'm going to put about 60 lbs live sand in a 125. I'll keep you posted on haw it does. Thanks.
Tom

 

[cactus jack]

the ecosystem is a joke,i don't think that is the best way to go. first of all you can place live sand on top of the substrate and either stir it up or leave it on the top. as for a filter the wet dry is the standard in the hobby right now as it serves as a holding area for bacteria to help turn your ammonia into nitrite into nitrate etc. the bacteria on live rock serves the same purpose. but the wet dry will also help with circulation in your tank which helps gas exchange which can also be accomplished with powerheads which are a must in your tank. if you have the dough you may want to consider upgrading to a larger used tank since you now have some experience under your belt. but if you are gonna stick with the 55 you shouldn't listen to whoever told you to put in that undergravel. that is amateur hour at the lfs probably. i think spending money on a new wet dry and skimmer for a 55 gallon is kinda pointless. you can probably up grade up to 100 gallons with a wetdry skimmer lights etc for the same price as a new wet dry and skimmer would cost you at the lfs. definately load up on live rock and keep the fish load to a minimum. good luck

 

[michelle2360]

Well the hubby and I decided on a wet/dry. We are kind of new to this so i'll have plenty of future questions. Thanks for all the tips.
Michelle

 

[tonka]

Why have a wet/dry? Just use LR. Wet/Drys are Nitrate factorys. Use the Berlin method. Everyone should have a protein skimmer for any s/w tank.IMO. I would suggest reading "The Reef Aquarium" by Sprung and Delbeek.

 

[total]

I use a w/d hang on. Not impressed with it. If you're going to have the right amount of live rock and a deep sand bed then the bio-balls are a waist. They will just cause problems. In my 55 I have 90lbs of live rock and 60lbs of live sand. I removed the bio-balls from the w/d and just use it as a mechanical filter and sump. Berlin is the way to go. But this ecosystem is the way of the future. So they say.
TTFN

 

[skipm]

Go with good quality live rock and a deep sand bed (4 1/2 inches), instead of a wet/dry use an old tank or a rubbermaid type contaier for a sump where you can put your heater and skimmer. Another trend in reef tanks is to add a reugium in your sump, this is a place where you use macroalgaes to export nitrates and other things from your tank, as they grow and you prune the macros you are removing the stuuf that they have taken up. Make sure that you have a good amount of current in your tank and try not to have any dead spots (no current). Good lighting is also a must for a reef tank. As previously mentioned The Reef Aquarium by Delbeek & Sprung is an excellent book, another good book is by John Tullock the title is Natural Reef Aquariums. Read as many books as you can and don't be afraid to ask questions, they can prevent you from making the same mistakes that those before you made. Good Luck, Skip