Quote:
Originally Posted by
prosteveo http:///t/391753/need-help-with-90-gallon-start-up#post_3476150
You really think that a hob filter such as the emperor 400 is better than the fx5 fluval? I would need at least two of those hob filters wouldnt i ? just to be clear because iam a noob iam asking this the dry sand is not live correct but i can seed it with live sand? and do you have any links or suggestion on were i should buy my sand ,live rock,heater and filter and power heads any good web sites you could recommend? again i need some help this is my first saltwater tank. i need to keep it simple so i can get it started and learn along the way. point me in the right direction please lol thanks for all the help so far !!!!!
Steve
Not necessarily better, however, the canister filter will be a lot more maintenance. If you are going to have a reef in the future, a canister filter can become a burden more than an asset, unless you are running straight chemical medias such as purigen and chemipure elite and carbon in them and using a spray bar across the top of the water. I think an emperor 400 is a better choice - it offers double the filtration, it has two media baskets - and when you need to, one side of it can be modified into a refugium. Also, the filter replacements are relatively cheap compared to canister filter media replacements. A HOB filter in a large tank isn't there for water movement - it's simply to filter out particulate organic matter. Believe it or not - but filters are not absolutely necessary in saltwater aquariums. BUT, you do have to have other means of letting particulate matter and detritus settle out of the water column.
Live sand in bags is not necessarily alive. It has bacterial cysts in it and it is kept moist, however it adds more ammonia initially to your aquarium than anything else. Dry aragonite sand comes in all sizes, and I recommend getting a medium course sand - that way powerheads do not blow your sand around too much. When you buy live rock, that live rock is very porous inside - and it hosts tons of creatures - big and microscopic, which will populate your sandbed over time. At your initial cycling, it's not necessary to add a cup of live sand from another aquarists tank to yours. However, over time - lets say a year or two down the road, you may want to do that to replenish and renew the microfauna in the sandbed.
I can not recommend any sites for you to buy from on these forums - it's a forum rule that you do not post links to competitor sites. However, I do have an e-mail address at the top right of every one of my posts. I would be happy to help you there. However, I can tell you some good brands on here... I recommend Octopus skimmers - they are well built, very reliable and user friendly. I like Emperor for HOB filtration - however there are some really awesome HOB refugiums on the market - but they are quite expensive. If you have the space, I would suggest a HOB refugium instead of a mechanical filter. Phosphate reactors such as two little fishies brand are great - as well as phosban media, which is a GFO (Granular Ferric Oxide) or also known as a Phosphate reactor. Phosphate reactors are pretty common in the hobby within the last few years - and many people purchase them to combat green algae growth and promote good coralline algae growth. I really like Koralia powerheads because they are cheap - but they are bulky in a tank. I like low profile stuff, so I go for closed loops (which is a whole nother story) OR, ... I am quite fond of EcoTech Vortech MP40s right now for water flow. You can usually find them used for 1/2 to 3/4 the price on buy and sell forums on the internet. If you want to save some money on rock, purchase half base rock and half live rock - MarcoRocks has great deals on base rock and the rock they sell looks pretty good. Also, If you are just doing a FOWLR system, I suggest just getting your basic salt - such as Instant Ocean. If you are planning on doing a reef, I highly recommend getting a better quality salt such as "Reef Crystals," or Seachem Reef or something of that nature. Reef salt mixes have a little extra calcium and alkalinity and magnesium which makes your corals and coralline algae grow faster and remain in good health. Titanium heaters are always a good choice. I haven't run across a titanium heater yet that I didn't like.
I would purchase live rock from saltwaterfish.com. I think their customer service is pretty good and their prices are reasonable. If you want to purchase live sand, same thing. I would recommend purchasing it from saltwaterfish.com. Saltwaterfish.com also sells some equipment - so check them out and see what you can buy to support the forums!
Feel free to e-mail me or private message me anytime. I loose track of threads all of the time, so give me a nudge every now and then. Welcome to the forums!
