My first tank. need a little help here

[smcdonn]

alright guys, just picked up a 75 gallon reef ready aquarium that came with the stand, hood, sump and protein skimmer for 300 bucks, what a deal. anyways I have some questions. The sump that this thing came with has the little black balls in it (bio balls i believe), what exact purpose does these things serve? The next thing is about the protein skimmmer. The guy basically threw it in and told me it needed a pump, probably a rio 800 or 900. Is this too small for a 75 gallon aquarium. My local guy told me that this was way undersized but he is way overpriced so I would like to get a few opinions on this before I go geting rid of it and buying a new one. Alright next off I was planning on doing a dual 175 metal halide setup probably 20K. From everyones experience, will I need to run a chiller with this setup. I am planning on having fans running to circulate air through my hood but wasn't sure if this was going to be enough. Alright thats all I can think of now but I know I will be back for my questions in the near future. Thanks for any help.

Sean

 

[Ann1214]

I would dump the bio balls and add a filter sock. You can most likely use the sam sump with some modifications.

 

[bertoni]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

The ambient air temperature and humidity both influence the need for a chiller, but I think a lot of people get away without a chiller.

The bio-balls are used to convert ammonia to nitrate, but they seem to cause higher nitrate levels in tanks that have live rock. I'd ditch them if you want a reef.

What kind of skimmer do you have?

 

[smcdonn]

I am not sure what brand of skimmer it is. I know that it requires an air pump that is attached to an air stone. I know nothing more than this. Also, is there anthing that you can put in the overflow so you don't have water crashing down to the bottom of it?

 

[MCary]

If it is an airdriven skimmer it is a toy and too small for your setup. Might want to start shopping for a better one.

 

[smcdonn]

Thats what I needed to know. Thanks

 

[bertoni]

What you have is probably a countercurrent skimmer. They can be great skimmers, but for that size tank, it'd need to be several feet tall to be useful, I think.

For that size tank, a Euro-Reef, ASM, or CoraLife SuperSkimmer might be appropriate.