new 30 gallon saltwater tank, what to use for filtration

[Quibys_reef]

Hey everyone, so I've been in the fish keeping hobby for about 2 years now working with freshwater, I'm new to saltwater and I'm in the works of setting up a 30 gallon saltwater tank and I have a question about the filtration I know people say to use power heads and live sand and rocks with a tank this small and use a 1-2lbs of rock per gallon, but I'm wondering if there is anyway around that I have about 16 pounds of dry Fiji rock, and I was wondering if I could use that & sand, with a skimmer and maybe some other type of filtration unit like a small 20 gallon canister or something like a HOB filter. And that would be good enough for the filtration of the tank ?

-Quibs

 

[davehead86]

I wouldnt use a canister filter. I havent heard many nice things about them around here (major pain). You dont need a HOB Filter. If you have that much live rock and a skimmer you will be fine with filtration. Just make sure you have enough space and caves for your fish to hide in and swim around.

 

[Quibys_reef]

I wouldnt use a canister filter. I havent heard many nice things about them around here (major pain). You dont need a HOB Filter. If you have that much live rock and a skimmer you will be fine with filtration. Just make sure you have enough space and caves for your fish to hide in and swim around.

Awesome thanks so much for the help! And Will I still be able to grow corals at all? Or would that require more rock? I only want one or two little corals probably.

 

[davehead86]

Awesome thanks so much for the help! And Will I still be able to grow corals at all? Or would that require more rock? I only want one or two little corals probably.

The rock is all dependent on the size of the pieces and arrangement. As long as your guys have places to swim around and hide and live then your gonna be fine.

Personally I like the way 1lb per gallon looks. Thats just me and there are various opinions on the amount of rock.

In regards to keeping corals it is a lot more than just a rock to keep it on. You need the proper lighting and nutrients in the water. I highly recommend reading about corals on here before diving into them. Just keep your fish happy to start with.

 

[Quibys_reef]

Awesome thanks so much for the help I'll definitely get ito the research of the corals!

 

[Sk8r]

Use live rock and sand, after cycling. There's a 'how to' in SETTING UP in the stickies above. [welcome]

 

[Virtual Balboa]

I use an Aquaclear 70 on my tank. I run filter floss and bag of carbon. Many people say it's unnecessary but I like to catch some of the debris floating in the tank. The other benefit is if you don't have a sump like myself then you could turn it into a refugium or I have a eggcrate shelf in mine where I have a small pump that feeds into a Phosban reactor hanging off the back of the tank.