Advice for my first tank

[Mark M]

Hi all,

Im starting my first marine fish tank primarily to house a few fish without any corals to begin with.

My tank is 800mm wide x 500mm hih x 350mm depth. Im wanting to put an inch of coral sand on the bottom and use ocean rock for decoration and to create somewhere for the fish to hide.

I have 1 x fluval cp2 for circulation and was advised to get a U4 internal filter which I've not put in yet.

My questions are simple, will the ocean rock work like live rock to filter my water once established? Should i keep the U4 or swap it for a PS1 skimmer? Will one CP2 be ok or will i need another?

Many thanks

Mark

 

[mcgyvr]

All "dry" rock becomes "live" once its populated/colonized with bacteria which happens during the cycling process required to start a marine system..

As far as what type of filtration..
Personally I would rather have a skimmer vs any mechanical filtration system as I believe mechanical filters are not needed at all in marine systems as what we are most concerned with removing is not something a mechanical filter can remove..

 

[Mark M]

Thanks for your advice its so easy to get poor advice from someone trying to sell us goods we dont really need

 

[Sk8r]

Definitely skimmer and sump. Fish aren't easier than corals, just sayin'---they have their own stringent requirements, which, if you meet, you're good. With fish it's oxygenation and swimming room, with corals its lighting. Personally I use the happiness of my corals (evident by how far they extend) as a barometer for the health of my fish (fish don't complain til they go bellyup). What you need:
A tank large enough for the species you want to keep. Some species top out at 5"---others at 12". And they do grow. For a 50 gallon tank, gobies and blennies are good. For a 100 tank, damsels, gobies, blennies, dwarf angels and 1-2 species of tangs; for a 200, all above, plus many types of tangs. Etc.
A fair-sized sump---30 gallons is good for a 50-150. A pump delivering, say, 950 gph for a 50. A skimmer, ideally one of the cone-type: spendy but worth it.

Contrarily, go for the little fishes and you have an all-in-one, a 30 gallon tank that will have much equipment built in to run a modest tank or reef, compactly, for about 300.00 US.

 

[mcgyvr]

Thanks for your advice its so easy to get poor advice from someone trying to sell us goods we dont really need

Well.. there really just isn't "one right way" in this hobby and suggesting a filter isn't necessarily "poor" advice... It has some potential use.
There are plenty of tanks that do just fine having mechanical/canister filtration though..
On a sumpless tank is nice to use it to suck down the protein slick on the surface of the water or to use when blowing detritus around or to run other biomedia and remove the floss filtration or just as is with frequent cleaning to remove trapped crap before it fully breaks down further..

A sump or a skimmer isn't definitely needed either.. I personally have been running a 40b tank now without any skimmer nor filtration at all.. It relies on water changes (and alk/cal) dosing only.. I've been growing corals of all sorts just fine in it.. Its 2 powerheads a tank and a t5 light fixture with rock and sand and nothing else.. not even a heater as my house is climate controlled enough..

All the "extra" stuff can make life easier but none of it is really 100% needed for a successful tank given enough well...water changes mostly..

The best "equipment" is your brain.. Use it to learn all you can.. Don't accept any 1 thing as truth and just do your research and take your time.. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby..

Enjoy..

 

[billdogg]

All "dry" rock becomes "live" once its populated/colonized with bacteria which happens during the cycling process required to start a marine system..

As far as what type of filtration..
Personally I would rather have a skimmer vs any mechanical filtration system as I believe mechanical filters are not needed at all in marine systems as what we are most concerned with removing is not something a mechanical filter can remove..

Definitely skimmer and sump. Fish aren't easier than corals, just sayin'---they have their own stringent requirements, which, if you meet, you're good. With fish it's oxygenation and swimming room, with corals its lighting. Personally I use the happiness of my corals (evident by how far they extend) as a barometer for the health of my fish (fish don't complain til they go bellyup). What you need:
A tank large enough for the species you want to keep. Some species top out at 5"---others at 12". And they do grow. For a 50 gallon tank, gobies and blennies are good. For a 100 tank, damsels, gobies, blennies, dwarf angels and 1-2 species of tangs; for a 200, all above, plus many types of tangs. Etc.
A fair-sized sump---30 gallons is good for a 50-150. A pump delivering, say, 950 gph for a 50. A skimmer, ideally one of the cone-type: spendy but worth it.

Contrarily, go for the little fishes and you have an all-in-one, a 30 gallon tank that will have much equipment built in to run a modest tank or reef, compactly, for about 300.00 US.

Well.. there really just isn't "one right way" in this hobby and suggesting a filter isn't necessarily "poor" advice... It has some potential use.
There are plenty of tanks that do just fine having mechanical/canister filtration though..
On a sumpless tank is nice to use it to suck down the protein slick on the surface of the water or to use when blowing detritus around or to run other biomedia and remove the floss filtration or just as is with frequent cleaning to remove trapped crap before it fully breaks down further..

A sump or a skimmer isn't definitely needed either.. I personally have been running a 40b tank now without any skimmer nor filtration at all.. It relies on water changes (and alk/cal) dosing only.. I've been growing corals of all sorts just fine in it.. Its 2 powerheads a tank and a t5 light fixture with rock and sand and nothing else.. not even a heater as my house is climate controlled enough..

All the "extra" stuff can make life easier but none of it is really 100% needed for a successful tank given enough well...water changes mostly..

The best "equipment" is your brain.. Use it to learn all you can.. Don't accept any 1 thing as truth and just do your research and take your time.. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby..

Enjoy..

^^^Thanks to the both of you for saving me from typing all that out!!!^^^

I agree with all of the above 100%.

I've done the sumpless thing. I ran a 60 cube for 22 years with a dual biowheel HOB and a canister filter. No skimmer. I did have a GFO reactor for most of that time. Didn't use it all the time, but it was there. T12 VHO lights until LED's started to come into their own. The last year or so lighting was a AI Sol Blue.

All the rest of my tanks have had sumps and/or larger refugiums. It really is easier to keep a system stable with them IMO. It's also the only place that heaters, skimmers, and other necessary hardware belongs. Who wants to look at all that stuff?

My current DT is a 120g SPS dominated reef. It has a 40b as the sump. It almost runs itself.

 

[mcgyvr]

yep..
and I said that above as I'm finishing up my new tank (80G rimless/40b sump) with skimmer/sump/a section for a fuge and even provisions for filter socks should I want it during cleaning,etc...
So yes you certainly don't need it all to have success but it sure is nice to have when you want to go all out.. :thumbsup: