Question for Beth

[radioactive]

Beth
In one of your posts I noticed that on your tank you have natural filtration . I am setting up a 35g reef tank right now and was wondering what you think of the set-up I currently have , this is what I will be going with :
35 g hex
emperor 400 bio/wheel filter
3 - maxi jet 600s powerheads
seaclone skimmer
5" DSB
45lbs lr
another member said I should run the emperor 400 during the cycle and then remove completely , or should I just not run the emperor at all and go completely natural ? I wanted this tank mainly for Coral and a couple small fish . Thanks

 

[beth]

Well, I'm doing fine with complete natural, except I do have a HOT skimmer.
I started out with cured LR and mostly LS, but a few bags of dry sand. I have a 6" DSB. Go for smaller size grain particles. My feeling is that the less dependent your system is on mechanical filters, the better, and easier to take care of.
Id leave off the Emperor, you can always add it later if you want to. Hex's are very nice, but because of their shape [tall instead of wide] you will need to really get the water moving in the tank, particularly at water surface. Sounds like you have the right PH's. Maxijets are great pumps.
Detritivore are just as important to a natural system as are the LR and LS, partically sandbed cirtters, so make these a priority. [no hermit crabs, as they tend to prey on snails].

 

[radioactive]

I was going to use aragonite sand , is this sufficiant ? also what is a HOT skimmer ? also if i use uncured lr will that make a difference ? will this go through a cycle or should it be ok after the lr is added ? Thanks again

 

[beth]

Aragonite is fine. Just stick to the smaller grain sizes. You can use uncured LR. The uncured will basically help cycle your tank. Definately it will cycle, even with LS. My tank never cycled, but, as I said, I had cured LR and mostly LS.
HOT is just an acronym for Hang On Skimmer [hang on the back of the tank]. I have a RemoraPro with the addition of a preskimmer which really makes surface water crystal clear.

 

[radioactive]

Thanks for the help !!!! I am also going to use a HOT skimmer , a seaclone , hope this is a good skimmer .. anyway , i am going to try a natural filtration without the emperor 400 ....

 

[radioactive]

Thanks for the help !!!! I am also going to use a HOT skimmer , a seaclone , hope this is a good skimmer .. anyway , i am going to try a natural filtration without the emperor 400 ....