filter? can i avoid it?
- Thread starter fish_NEMO
- Start date
Swanwillow
goby girl
lots of water changes... a HOB filter will help with chemical filtration (carbon)
but, no matter what, lots of water changes.
but, no matter what, lots of water changes.
pledosophy
Active member
That is alot of biofiltration. It could work, just monitor your levels. Keep the bioload down.
YOu will need to do something to create surface agitation.
Just curious, why no filter?
YOu will need to do something to create surface agitation.
Just curious, why no filter?
XeniaMania
Active member
Well, here's the gray area. Adding a sump does not make it "unnatural". It's for convinience. Are you thinking a protein skimmer is unnatural? Quite the contrary, look at the waves on the beach, that foam, that's what a skimmer is mimicing. Reality is, there are certain things that you will need to remove naturally like nitrates and ammonia. If you don't mind detritus build-up in your tank, fine, but I love the stuff my micron sock removes. Adding more live rock increases your biological filtration, and adding 5 inches of sand will give you the detrifying sand bed everyone speaks of, but what if something else goes wrong in your tank? What if one coral decides to release toxins into the water? What if you kept Caluerpa and it went sexual on you? It's always best to stick to what's proven and true. You can be a pioneer once you fully understand how everything works.
Brock Fluharty
New member
I agree. What if you would get a major cyano outbreak (or any other type of algae, for that matter) and needed to scrub down your rocks in the tank. The algae would settle on the bottom, and would probably cause more algae to grow. When in doubt, go overboard...
pledosophy
Active member
You can go natural without all the extra's. 
I had a seahorse system set up for years with no filters at all. Everything was fine. I also had a system setup with only a refugium as a filter for over a year and all was fine as well. There are some very succsessful longterm seahorse keepers who use only an airhose.
Honestly I'm not a big skimmer fan. I have a nice one in the garage, not on a tank. They just aren't that great IMHO. I do love the macro's for nutrient export.
When your looking at setting up a tank you have to think what each piece does. There are many ways to setup systems right, and there are many who throw a bunch of different ideas together without understanding that each thing has a function.
It is possible to be very succsessful with natural filters, or with mechanical filters. You just have to figure out what it is you are trying to accomplish.
I switched to mechanical for a couple different reasons. Mainly I wanted some UV protection after my 5 year old WC died suddenly. Probably old age but still wanted to protect the other 5 year reidi that was in the system ( I still have him ! ).
There has been times over the last year when I have turned all the filters off for extended periods to help keep the shrimp fry alive long enough to be food, even got a couple peppermints to adulthood.
Both setups have pros and cons. If you have never kept salt water fish before I say get a nice size cannister, hook it to a UV, maybe through in a refugium with some EcoSystem Mineral Mud and some caulphera. If you have been around a minute, just try to figure out what you are tryingto accomplish.
I had a seahorse system set up for years with no filters at all. Everything was fine. I also had a system setup with only a refugium as a filter for over a year and all was fine as well. There are some very succsessful longterm seahorse keepers who use only an airhose.Honestly I'm not a big skimmer fan. I have a nice one in the garage, not on a tank. They just aren't that great IMHO. I do love the macro's for nutrient export.
When your looking at setting up a tank you have to think what each piece does. There are many ways to setup systems right, and there are many who throw a bunch of different ideas together without understanding that each thing has a function.
It is possible to be very succsessful with natural filters, or with mechanical filters. You just have to figure out what it is you are trying to accomplish.
I switched to mechanical for a couple different reasons. Mainly I wanted some UV protection after my 5 year old WC died suddenly. Probably old age but still wanted to protect the other 5 year reidi that was in the system ( I still have him ! ).
There has been times over the last year when I have turned all the filters off for extended periods to help keep the shrimp fry alive long enough to be food, even got a couple peppermints to adulthood.
Both setups have pros and cons. If you have never kept salt water fish before I say get a nice size cannister, hook it to a UV, maybe through in a refugium with some EcoSystem Mineral Mud and some caulphera. If you have been around a minute, just try to figure out what you are tryingto accomplish.
XeniaMania
Active member
Edited
Last edited:
XeniaMania
Active member
lol...good pt :lol:
