New 90gal FO

[fishgeek]

Hello all, new to the forum and looking for some advise.

I just bought a 90gal to start a FO with a deep sand bed. Based off some research ive read about I may not need a filtration system with the DSB since it can convert nitrites to gas. Thoughts?

Also if you guys agree I need a filtration system, what do you recommend that is quite and little maintenance.

 

[geridoc]

Filtration in salt water systems is very different from what is used in fresh water. You can run a tank without the usual HOB filter, using just live rock and sand in the display. How much you go beyond that really depends on what kind of organisms you are keeping and the bioload. At the more intense end of the spectrum you will find people using sumps with skimmers, algae scrubbers, nitrate removal columns and more. In a FO such as yours I would recommend, at a minimum, 80-90 lb of rock, 25 lbs of it live, the remainder "base" rock that will become live over time. Cycle the tank properly, add fish slowly and provide for good circulation and you should be OK with the system you have now. Then over time, as your goals increase you can add whatever you need to keep up, probably beginning with a sump.

 

[snakeblitz33]

A 90g is a nice start. You don't want your deep sand bed to accumulate too much waste, so removing at least half of the waste from the system on a regular basis is a pretty good start.

I would recommend at minimum using one, if not two HOB filters for the time being - and do water changes. Since it is a fish only system, I would suggest using fish only LED lighting, which is really low watt lighting - to prevent algae growth over time.

good luck!

 

[bond300]

My low budget 90 Gallon Saltwater
Lighting Deep Blue T5 SolarMax HE 42148 28w, Replaced with Odyssea 54W
Filters Marineland (2) HOT MAGNUMS 250gph w/coral (1)C360 Canister 360gph..leaked changed to 350 HOB
Powerheads Aqueon (2) 950gph (1) 700GPH
Skimmer AQUAC REMORA PRO PRE-SKIMMER FOR MAG-DRIVE 3 AND MAG-DRIVE 5 PUMP AQUAC REMORA PRO HANG-ON PROTEIN SKIMMER W/ DRAIN FITTING & DANNER SUPREME 3 POWERHEAD/PUMP 350gph
Heaters (2) Aqueon Submersible Aquarium Heater 300w
UV Ster 24W
Tank Setup 3" sand
120lbs rock/corals
Fish
(1) Royal Gramma (5) Ocellaris Clown (1) Lawnmower Blenny (1) Black Clown (2) Hermit Crabs (4) Turbo Snails (17)Astrea Snail (1) Foxface Tang (1) Yellow Tang (1) Coral Beauty mushrooms, Polyps & Zoanthids