Saltwater Setup...Please help.

[solarbearusa]

Hello All, could someone please help me out on my setup? I am wanting to setup a reef tank but starting out slow. Looking to go ahead and purchase reef necessary equipment (ie. lighting)now so we can start adding corals, etc later when we are ready. We would like to start out by doing a few fish and live rock and build on that. I have purchased a 72g bowfront, 70 lbs of live sand, instant ocean mix. I'm having a real tough time knowing what to buy for filteration. I understand that the LR is the biggest part of my biological filteration, but am stumped on what to do besides that. Everyone tells me something different. I was originally thinking about a canister underneath and protein skimmer hanging off the back, but have since changed my mind since the theme seems to be "Canister Bad for saltwater" I do not have near enough room underneath for a sump. Can someone please guide me on what a good setup would be for a 72g reef setup please? About 10 years ago I had a 55g setup with a regular old emporer bio wheel hang off that worked fairly well. Thought maybe that would work, but it has been so long and things seemed to have advanced since then. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

 

[litoallie]

I have a 55g and a fluval fx5 underneath. It works pretty well though the canister is way to big for my shelf/ cabinet/ table...etc. If you don't have room for a sump, a canister isn't half bad.

 

[mr_x]

a cannister isn't bad if you clean it regularly. regularly to me would be weekly.
a protein skimmer is an excellent way to rid your tank of nutrients. if you can't fit a sump, then i'd suggest the best hang-on skimmer you can get. i would probably get a coralife super skimmer rated for 125 gallons and do a mesh wheel modification on the pump.

 

[solarbearusa]

Thanks much for the input. So, if I don't do a cannister, you are saying all I would need is the skimmer rated for 125g? Sorry for the ignorance, I have a lot to learn.

 

[mr_x]

live rock and an effective protein skimmer are all you need. more nutrient export and trace element replenishing can be done with waterchanges.
the manufacturers of protein skimmers seem to pull the efficiency ratings of their skimmers out of thin air. whatever skimmer you buy, always choose the model that is rated for a much larger tank.
coralife super skimmers come in 3 sizes i believe- 65-125-and 220. the 65 is way small for your system. the 220 is a pretty large skimmer. go to a store that carries them and take a look at it. if you don't mind that hanging on your tank, buy it. meanwhile, the design of these skimmers is a basic, tried and true, efficient design. the pumps, however, aren't super effective(i'm only going on my experience with the 65 model).
if you did a mesh wheel modification on the pump's needle wheel, which is a very easy upgrade, it will increase the skimmers efficiency 10 x.
another hang on skimmer i had a positive experience with is the aqua medic turbofloater. it took some time getting it dialed in, but once it was, it skimmed rather well.

 

[solarbearusa]

Thanks X, very helpful. Have you heard anything about the CPR products. I was looking at what they call the Dual Bak Pak, with two pumps (skimmers) and some bio-media in the middle of the two. I liked it because it only has a 4" tank to wall requirement that would be great for me. Any good?
Also, I was thinking about slapping an Emporer 400 in conjuction since I am having to go HOT anyway. Thought maybe it wouldnt hurt to get more volume turned per hour. Any problem with that or do you think it would be ok? For another $40, didnt think it could hurt.

 

[mr_x]

eh..i'm not a fan of the cpr, or aqua-c's remora line of skimmers. you don't need bio media, you have live rock. some say the octopus hang on skimmers aren't bad, but i haven't had any experience with them. check them out.
i guess a HOb filter would be ok. again, keep it clean. i've seen people retro it and make a little refugium out of a HOB filter.

 

[tdog7879]

Look into the TOM RAPIDS PRO..It is a canster/wet-dry very compact has a 700gph pump comes with an overflow box....bulit in skimmer (it is crap and does not work)...Overall a good filteration except the skimmer. Allso you can get an auto topoff to go with it. I think it is 250-300 dollars.

 

[steve24]

on my 55 reef i use 80-85 lbs of LR, the CPR skimmer and a Emporer 400 and they work for me. yes, there is better equipment out there though. those are all i have used, so i can`t really recommend some of the others.
hope that helped some

 

[solarbearusa]

Good stuff guys, thank you. This is buy far the hardest part of this setup because everyone obviously has their opinion when it comes to filtration. When you dont have room for the sump, it makes it a lot more difficult.
Good to hear that setup works Steve. I am seriously contemplating the emporer 400 with a skimmer setup now. Of course, that still leaves me with the skimmer decision. Everyone is saying that LR is your best bio-filter. I have ordered 70 lbs so hopefully that will be good enough to start.
The octopus BH300 looks like a pretty good route on the skimmer. Anyone have experience with it?

 

[steve24]

i have "heard" good things about CPR`s HOB refugiums as well. they have their skimmers attached to them. but i`m not sure if there big enough for a 72 ???

 

[grue]

Silly Q, If your stand won't allow for a sump. Why not replace the stand? I personally screwed up my setup. I purchaged a inexpensive Odyssea stand and bow front tank. I knew I wanted a sump/alge scrubber/refugium. So I gutted out the stand, and framed out the inside with 2x4 to replace the 2 dividers I removed. Well 8 months later, I am making a new stand cause the old one is just plain ole Detrius! If I could dial in the way back machine to when I bought this setup I would of passed. If is is possible, get a stand/tank setup that will allow you to accomplish what you need it to do. https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/319838/125-reef-tank-build/40 My 2 cents
(Stupid) Grue

 

[solarbearusa]

Grue-Yeah that makes sense, but really not an option. This tank is going in our forman dining room and there is no way my wife would allow a regular tank stand in there. We purchased a nice piece of furniture (buffet) for the tank to go on. I may just be limited on what I can do reef wise.