tank set up please help

[joshdav]

hi everyone my brother recently bought a new tank and since were both rookies he wants to know...is a 72 bowl front tank...he bought a protein skimmer and also a mini reef but the tank has another fillter he wants to know if is it good to have 2 fillter on the tank????he is going to add some hard and soft corals in it with those corals which are the perfect fish he can put on the tank that dosent eat the corals??thanks so much...

 

[jim672]

joshdav,
If I understand correctly, your brother's new tank has a protein skimmer and a filter. Right? The protein skimmer is not a filter and will not duplicate what the filter does, so he will need both.
You said he bought "a mini reef". What does that mean? Did he get some live rock?
My first advice to you and your brother would be to slow down. He'll want to set up all his equipment and start his tank's cycle with a cocktail shrimp or two. He'll need to moniter his water parameters every few days for weeks, until the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all measure "0".
Then he'll be able to begin adding a fish or two. After his tank has matured and all water parameters are stabilized (months from now!!) he'll be able to start looking at corals.
Have fun!
Jim