Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Hi there all! I am brand new to the forums and have been in the aquarium keeping game for about 10 years now. For the first time I will be delving into the nano reef side of things, and this will be my first time really getting into saltwater. I just ordered the majority of my equipment aside from a few things I am confused on. My list so far Current USA marine led 24-36" light 20lbs of caribsea reef sand 1 hydor koralia nano 425 Instant ocean reef crystals Refractometer Eheim jager 150w heater Bio-spira Chloram-x Yet to order 10-15lbs of live rock which I believe I will be getting from marine depot as dry rock And to my main point-to filter or not to filter I know for sure I don't wish to purchase a skimmer and I do not have space for a sump. Therefore I am stuck on wether or not to purchase a hob filter and what exactly to do with it. This is why I am reaching out to everyone to see what opinions there may be on this. My overall plan is to house a few fish and some corals as well. I have not set on what livestock I would like though. So I ask you, how should I go about extra filtration or do I not purchase a hob filter at all? I welcome any comments that are helpful to my particular situation. Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 There are various ways you can do filteration. Some do no filter and only have biological filteration via the liverock and their waterchanges Some do a skimmer or a skimmer and filter Some do sumps Some do a refugium or a refugium and filter. Some just run a filter Myself personally, i have an hob rated for 20-30g on my 15g simply for filter floss, carbon, and my other chosen media's. It offers extra water movement as well. The floss captures particles, carbon keeps the water polished and removes toxins, phosguard to lower phosphates. You don't have to have a sump or skimmer, the filter offers you the ability to run media that can help but some run their tanks without them as well. Link to comment
TheKahnasaur Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Check out the HOB refugiums. You can use them in several different ways if you don't want to grow macro. Link to comment
Sailfish Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Listen to clown I have also never run a skimmer, kalkwasser, or dosing pumps on a nano reef before, and I have been fine.Frequent LARGE water changes is the name of the game, then!I have usually been running a HOB Aquaclear filter, for similar reasons as clown. I was also planning to add a second HOB Aquaclear filter to my previous system, to run a refugium. The refugium would be primarily to provide a constant supply of copepods and plankton to the tank, not to remove nitrates and phosphates. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 Thank you all for the wonderful info so far! I am still torn if only for the reason that some have said that hobs are breeding grounds for bad things waiting to happen such as detritus build up. Surely that can be corrected with vigilance but I am just wondering if the pros outweigh the cons of it. I did just pick up my 20g long tank and and waiting for Wednesday to have my shipment arrive for the rest of my items! I do have a sidebar follow up as well. Dry rock, where to get it and what kind/how much? Link to comment
billdeluz Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 i will tell you from my experience i had a 20g long at my job i setup withe a hob ac70 with a intank basket i would run floss chemipure blue and purigen and once a week water change of 3 gallons i had great success i kept sps to softies and the funny thing is i used the same light people said you cant keep sps but you can just high up the tank did amazing i took it down because of a office move or else it still would be up just keep up with water changes and you will have no issues i really recommend the ac70 with the intank basket for media g.l Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 Billdeluz thank you very much for that input. I do believe my choice of light will suffice with anything I am strongly interested in. I am not so hot on sps but possibly lps, and other soft coral types. I am now leaning toward doing the hob with floss and chemipure blue with possibly some phosban. Link to comment
RIP Sebastian Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Billdeluz thank you very much for that input. I do believe my choice of light will suffice with anything I am strongly interested in. I am not so hot on sps but possibly lps, and other soft coral types. I am now leaning toward doing the hob with floss and chemipure blue with possibly some phosban. You say you don't want SPS now.....You will. Link to comment
smiz Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Honestly with running no skimmer I would get All In One kit from ocean box and just run floss and whatever in a media rack. Would keep the tank nice and clean. Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 Ppl who have issues with hobs and nutrients are ppl who aren't diligent. Change floss 1-2 times a week(even with sumps and aio's this should be done) Rinse media bags weekly and replace carbon every 3 weeks I syphon out my filter each week to remove the particles in there and fully clean it every 1-2 mnths. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 is the all in one a hob type creation or how does it work? Link to comment
billdeluz Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 You say you don't want SPS now.....You will. Haha this can't be more true!!! is the all in one a hob type creation or how does it work? Look up innovative marine fusion 10 or 20 I think those are great starter tanks and easier then hob filters this is my opinion but for the price of a fusion 20 it was worth every dollar to keep all the equipment out of sight good glass and room for upgrades down the line Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 It does add value to have everything hidden. It just sucks that it takes up usable DT space. I modeled my tank and equipment after the brs bundle for the fusion 20 actually. I see that everyone seems to get hooked on sps corals. What is the draw to them specifically? Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 13, 2017 Share Posted February 13, 2017 You say you don't want SPS now.....You will. ugh totally true. when I first entered: psh sps are boring. now? sps everything! I like the colors and the small polyp movement and the shape/growth patterns. I really love montis. For a filter, I started with an AC70 and a 20 long. the ac70 is the perfect size to hang on the end of the 20 so it can be like a peninsula style tank. I like running media on my tanks. the more failsafes the better. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 13, 2017 Author Share Posted February 13, 2017 So you would recommend putting it on the side over one side of the bank of the tank? Link to comment
lkoechle Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 So you would recommend putting it on the side over one side of the bank of the tank? I found the tank had the best flow with with the ac70 on the side and the power head at the opposite end. Link to comment
Clown79 Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 I have an im10 and standard 15 with hob. The 15g is easier to run, has had less issues, and i enjoy it better. The hob is faster and easier to clean than the back chambers of the IM. The chambers are a royal pain. If you want to hide equipment get a larger aquaclear hob and a heater that will fit in it. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 14, 2017 Author Share Posted February 14, 2017 Ikoechle do you notice what type of flow that causes in the tank? How did you position your corals in relation? What angle do you place your powerhead? I ordered one 425 koralia nano and was concerned it's not enough. If I do go with an ac70 I am interested to see if that will quell the need for a second 425 or if a second is still needed Link to comment
Sharbuckle Posted February 14, 2017 Share Posted February 14, 2017 In the past I always ran a HOB aquaclear with a surface skimming attachment and filter floss. If you change the floss regularily, it's worth it. The surface skimming alone makes for better oxygenation. Worth it. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Update! I have received all of my components. Here are a couple pictures of the tank in its current state two days old. The live rock was just put in. The sand was put in two days ago. Any recommendations or thoughts on adding bio-spira to help cycle the live rock? sidebar the live rock came from my home away from home Lancaster PA at the wonderful thatfishplace store. It is tukani/totoka rock which amounts to about 16lbs total. Also does anyone think this is too much for the tank? It is not positioned in its final location but I'm thinking it may be too much and will restrict swimming room for the livestock. Is this just me or does anyone have an opinion to share? Sandbed is about 2 inches deep and is aragalive Bahamas oolite which looks very nice. Link to comment
Dmann1985 Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 I like it! I just started a 20 long as well. Using aquaclear 70 with intank media basket filter floss and chemipure blue. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 Just did my daily test and my ammonia looks to be right around .25 with nitrites at 0 and nitrates around 10ppm. Ph is sitting around 8.0-8.2. I am wondering if my cycle may be coming to an end because of the live rock? Link to comment
TinyOcean Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 How long have you been cycling this tank? It could be that you haven't had die off yet to start the cycle. Start adding fish food or use a table shrimp to start it. Link to comment
Jrkrouse13 Posted February 20, 2017 Author Share Posted February 20, 2017 How much fish food should I add? The tank has been running just about a week. Link to comment
chipmunkofdoom2 Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 On 2/16/2017 at 10:09 PM, Jrkrouse13 said: the live rock came from my home away from home Lancaster PA at the wonderful thatfishplace store. It is tukani/totoka rock which amounts to about 16lbs total. Keep an eye on the rock from That Fish Place. I've been having major phosphate issues with it. StinkyBunny has some rock from there as well and has had some of the same issues. Link to comment
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