Originally posted by iluvfish
How does this quote thing work??? 
Now I'm really confused! I have a wet/dry trickle filter with a built in skimmer. Is this a bad thing? I have a 55gal tank w/ 100lbs LR and a 4inch DBS. Should I have stayed with just my seaclone 100 and power heads in the tank to circulate the water?
IMEO, not necessarily bad, but definitely not a good thing
It is a rare case when I do reccomend filters, esp wet dry's
to answer your q about the seaclone, that depends on size of tank, amount of LR, substrate, stock and sump/fuge
scott, forget the filter
get the skimmer AND some LR, also do a DSB, you will be fine
Never! put macros in your main tank, unless you are ready to take care fo them or have the fish to help you control them. NEVER!
Cycle your tank with LR and dead shrimp, forget the damsel, UNLESS you intend to have them as permanent stock
IMO, the money spent on a skimmer is one of the BEST investments that you can make. If not the actual best, esp for a beginning reefer. Much better to spend 100 on a prizm for a 55 gallon then to spend 50 to 80 or more on a cheeap garbage box filter. and then keep putting the money into filters. ESPECIALLY since most of us(once we wake up), go out and remove them OR disable them and remove the filters only keeping it for circultaion.
and plants do nothing as far as consuming amonia or nitrate, or for cycling. What they do is use up the organics in the water, which in return helps to aleviate any ammonia, thus making the end result LESS nitrate even becoming in the tank. and a cycled tank, is the end result of your ammonia breaking down and naturally converting to nitrIte, then into nitrAte and then to nitrogen gas, THROUGH the use of bacteria, which lives in the rock and sand, and on the glass and everyting. They colonize all surfaces in the tank. INCLUDING filters, thus replacing filters IS a bad thing, by introducing uncolonized material into the tank. On the other hand, never changing them is probably worse yet. But changing them, well starts at least a mini cycle all over again. Sometimes this is so small it may go undetected, esp if you do not test every half hour. However it does happen, and if it reaches any kind of level, it can and does stress fish and inverts. AND you do want it to cycle, this will create stability .
I will avoid commmmenting on trickle filters for now, as this is not the question being posed. I will just say that My preference and experince is to NOT use them(esp with a built in skimmer). Unless we are looking at a very aggressive and messy tank. and it is rare that I will reccomend one. very rare, and based upon your plans for this tank, this would not be one of those rare instances.
Last, I will agree that skimmerless can be done, but would not reccomend it to anyone who is starting out, even with a little experience. Skimmerless is NOT easy and does take some understanding. Not just a little advice from a few people who have done this for a mere few weeks, or have not actually achieved a good stabel tank(for more than a few months). And definitely not based upon advice from those who reccomend a filter OVER a skimmer! The idea of skimmerless means, NO skimmer, NO filter, only movement and NATURAL nitrate reductiona nd NATURAL nutrient exprt AND NATURAL cleaning.
IMO, a skimmer and/or a good refugium are essential for any beginner and ANY experienced individual. 10 and 20 yr vets not using skimmers, well I can almost guarentee that any of them have a fuge and or a sump. and anyone with any type of experience(skimmerless or not, and long term or short) will always reccomend LR and NO macro in the main tank, substrate opinions vary but not in tank macro and LR debates.
sure, this is opinion, but it is experienced opinion, and GOOD advice. some othier things that I have heard are not so good advice,and this is NOT my opinion, but faact. Although nothing is written in stone, some things are jst flat out bad advice. AND/or obviously new trials with not merit to back or support them. As well I can assure you there will be none, bc these particular issues have not only been disproven, BUT never proven and most attempts have not only failed to proove but crashed severely. Where they have been lucky to even see survival, if at all. IN OTHER WORDS, pick and choose the advice you use wisely. Listen to experience and not so much to NEWLY attempted things that are disputed by many or all, there is normally a reason for people advising against one thing or anohter.
sorry if i rambled, i just get real tired of cleaning up trajedies after new reefers take bad advice and use it without knowing any better. And i would prefer one or 2 people be mad at me, then to see unknowing individuals fail and give up such a great hobby because someone did not open their mouth
