quinny Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 i feel i am now just about ready to start setting up my 36g, (didnt go smaller because i want plenty of room to work with and i feel that a bigger tank would look better in my room. tell me what u like. i still see this as my first nano tank.). Back to the point i have a fluval biolife wet/dry filter. I have no concerns as to whether this is going to effect my nitrate levels as i would deal with that fence as it arrived. even though i dont think it would ever arrive. My concern is that with the lr competing with the filter. Does this mean that my rock would support less visible life. Would it look plainner and would this effect my fish and inverts diet. Do u think its even worth adding the filter. Could i Put lr inside the wet/dry chamber as filtration. if so how does this work as their is no light in the unit. Link to comment
jc51373 Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 I am in the process of setting up a 20g high reef tank...Just got my lights (150wHQI and 2 55w PC) and fuge (Cpr 12") and only need only my skimmer (aquac remora) and an RO'DI machine (Oceanus) and live rock (40lbs)....The theory is (and seems to be well received among reefers) is that the proper amount of quality live rock should be plenty of filtration. I would try the LR first and let it cycle/stabilise and then a skimmer if thats unsuccessful..If you really want filtration use a hang on or something as a last resort or for an occasional water polish with some carbon. I may eventually get the HOT Magnum and run it once a month for a day or two when I have lots of corals creating warfare. I would scrap anything that is wet dry when creating a reef, they have a limited life span in relation the nitrate cycle. In other words they are trash pits! Consider a fuge too! Link to comment
quinny Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 if i was to leave the filter in does this mean my tank would be able to carry a higher fish load. Link to comment
jc51373 Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Not necessarily...If creating a reef I would choose the fish wisely and minimise biolaod of fish. Link to comment
quinny Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 what do u mean as not necessarily. if i wasnt to add a filter what would u recommend in fish in inchs. if i was would i be able to add as many as a fish only setup or maybe even a little more. Link to comment
jc51373 Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Sounds like you need to decide whether you want a reef or fish tank...Your priority should not be fish and filtration for fish...It should be the parameters of a reef set up. Make a decision, fish or reef, unfortunately both together will not work...If you plan on testing the limits of a bioload on a reef with fish you will doom your tank to a very COSTLY crash.... Remember this is Nano-REEF, not Nano-FISH...Best of luck to you. Link to comment
quinny Posted February 1, 2003 Author Share Posted February 1, 2003 i am intrested in reef, but i thought that instead of a filter vs rock bout, if i added a little more fish this would keep them both lively. This seems not to be the case.i think i will scrap the filter and just go with powerheads. how many and what size powerheads do you recommend for a tank this size Link to comment
glazer Posted February 1, 2003 Share Posted February 1, 2003 Quinny, Read this thread if you haven't already and it will lend you some insight into your wet/dry... wet/drys containing bio-balls or something similiar and bio-wheels operating on all the same priniciples. As far as your wet/dry competeing with your live rock... this is in the area of BIO filtration... not "visible" life forms. Your setup with a wet/dry AND live rock in practice/theory can indeed support a higher bio-load than just one or the other being in use. The more area available, the more the bacteria, more the bacteria higher waste processing ability. High "loads" in a tank be it reef or fish only is like walking on a tightrope. Most animals we keep are very sensitive in regards to water quality... the higher the bio-load the more difficult it becomes in keeping this all stable, also things can go south on you rather quickly. Simply, most reef tanks carry a very low bio-load, fish being the biggest contributor to this, and fish-only tanks rely on more efficient means of filtration such as your wet/dry, bio-wheels or even fluidized bed filters. By saying more efficient I'm not saying the rock is NOT... typically it and your sand is all you need. The other mentioned methods are capable by design of harboring HUGE! amounts of the bacteria necessary to the nitrogen cycle. If this helped answer your question, great, glad to hear it!..If it only served to confuse you more my apologies. Link to comment
jc51373 Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Bigger or more does not mean better or that you can carry higher bioloads of fish because you added more filtration...Less technology and more science seems to have worked well for most. Just put like a 1-2 pounds (72 pounds) of LR in the tank with sufficient light, minimise the bioload of fish ( add only fish you love and that will serve a purpose in the nature of the tank) add supplements (preferably B-Ionci is all you'll ever need) and add all the corals you like and perform regular water changes. And you will have yourself a nice simple reef tank...Add a wet dry (nitrate trap) with minimal LR and I am afraid you got yourself a fish tank with a limited life before you have to do something about the growing wet/dry nitrate problem, not a reef. By the way I have done both reef and fish at different times. I even tried to mix the two, heavy fish load, LR corals (never worked)...And reef is by far much more interesting and fun than fish only. I wish you the best of luck! Link to comment
quinny Posted February 2, 2003 Author Share Posted February 2, 2003 thanx for the input it has really helped. the filter can stay in the box. i plan on running 2 55w pc, the tank is 21" deep. will this be enough for easier mushrooms and polyps. Link to comment
glazer Posted February 2, 2003 Share Posted February 2, 2003 Bigger or more does not mean better or that you can carry higher bioloads of fish because you added more filtration... Well agree with the "doesn't mean better" part...lol On a sidenote... I looked up the filter you are talking about quinny. Wow, not what I was thinking... so this thing fits INSIDE the tank? Hmmm, takes up way more room than powerhead eh? If you wanted to use it for circulation at least yes you could put live rock in it and that would be dandy.... otherwise I wouldn't use it at all.... NOT because of the whole nitrate debate or whatever.... just cause that's a big piece of filter taking up room in the tank!...lol Link to comment
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