Returning To The Hobby

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Nick30G

New member
Hello Reef Central,
Im planning on getting back into the aquarium hobby again for the heck of it. In the past I had a 5G and 10G freshwater tanks which where decently sucessful. For many years now I have been away from the Hobby. Anyway I decided to build a DIY fish tank stand in my wood shop. I plan on buying a 30 Gallon tank and it being a salt water tank. I need some recommendations on Canister Filters, I have been looking at the Marineland MagniFlow series canisters with 160 GPM... I need a filter that can keep my water very clear and turn the water over at least 4 times a hour and it also needs to be near silent (its going to be in a living room and the canister filter is going to be in a cabinet underneath the tank). I will also pick up a 150W water heater with numbered temperature settings on it. I thought about putting a few things of live rock in there and some nice looking salt water fish, I want something that looks very pleasing to the eye. Also Does about $100 sound reasonable to for a 30 gallon tank (its aquaeon). Thanks hope you can answer my questions :cool:
 
30 gallon tank = $30 at the dollar a gallon sale at Petco (think one just ended)..

Canister filters are "ok" on saltwater tanks but MANY will recommend against them due to the belief that lack of maintenance just makes them a decomposing poop trap and that the elements we are really worried about are simply too small for a canister filter to do its job..
Some run them but ditch the foam filter pads and just run carbon or media stones,etc.. in them..

I actually am currently running one now (Fluval 206) and am actually very happy with it (as far as how it functions/how its built,etc..) but now its just a temporary spot that I run carbon in and I used it mainly to suck up the sand storm that was created when I started the tank..
I will be removing it from my system shortly..


Really I would suggest you spend the money on a decent protein skimmer instead (hang on back style since you have no sump) and use a powerhead or 2 in the tank to create flow..

Reef Octopus, Eshopps and Aquamax seem to have the most recommended skimmers out there (Hang on Back HOB style)
I have the Eshopps PSK-75H on mine and am very happy with it.. It started pulling tons of protein out on the first day of use and continue to fill the cup every few days..
 
Welcome to the forum.

The live rock will be your biological filtration. I would not use the canister filter and instead look into getting a skimmer. I would suggest looking into getting a reef ready or going with a Hang on back(HOB) overflow and utilize a sump in the stand. The sump will give you a place to put equipment such as a skimmer and heater so your Display tank(DT) does not get cluttered up. If you do not wish to use a sump then you can find a HOB skimmer. You will also need a couple powerheads in the DT for flow. If you plan to keep coral then you will need to consider lighting as well.

I would suggest looking at some place like live aquaria to get a potential fish and or coral list together. This will help you design your tank around what you would like to have and hopefully only buy equipment once.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1031074

The link is full of good info some is more relevant now. it is found at the top of the forum page look for the big red arrow. Good luck just my 2 cents.
 
NICK
for a fish only, IMO you are OK with a canister filter, just keep an eye on your nitrates and do 10% monthly water changes.....
 
OK... Kinda confused here. One of you said stay away from canisters for a regular salt water tank and the other said get a HOB skimmer. The tank will have some live rock in it (not alot) but mostly fish. The skimmer sounds wonderful but im still confused on what I should get. Should I get a skimmer or a canister for my purposes?
 
Nick30G said:
OK... Kinda confused here. One of you said stay away from canisters for a regular salt water tank and the other said get a HOB skimmer. The tank will have some live rock in it (not alot) but mostly fish. The skimmer sounds wonderful but im still confused on what I should get. Should I get a skimmer or a canister for my purposes?
Click to expand...

Do u have room for a sump? If so then get that. While you could run a canister unless you are going to clean it regularly I wouldn't brother. It's just going to make more work for you in all honesty.
 
Nick30G said:
OK... Kinda confused here. One of you said stay away from canisters for a regular salt water tank and the other said get a HOB skimmer. The tank will have some live rock in it (not alot) but mostly fish. The skimmer sounds wonderful but im still confused on what I should get. Should I get a skimmer or a canister for my purposes?
Click to expand...


Both myself and gone fishin are on the "don't use a canister filter but get a skimmer" boat..

A skimmer is more beneficial in a reef tank vs a canister filter..
 
What if I used a canister filter and a skimmer? I could maybe make a sump, I have a old 10 gallon tank lying around. For the skimmer what do you recommend for my 30 gallon tank and how much is a skimmer typically?
 
Forget about the canister. Also if you do go with a HOB skimmer then put it on the sump not the DT. You can also look at insump skimmers. I would go around an 80gph heavy bio load skimmer (At least a 60). A 10gal tank would work fine for a sump. I wouldn't bother with baffles because of the size. If you do put them in I would only do one. A sump is going to be a 1000 times better then a canister filter.
 
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OK sounds good. I have been doing research on 10 gallon sumps and heard with small sump tanks less is more, so if I where to setup my old 10 gallon into a sump, I should only have 1 baffle at max because a lot of baffles in a small sump like that dosen't work well. Also I heard to not include a refriguim in the tank because its not worth it and causes more problems then it worth. So it comes down to only a few parts: Maybe 1 baffle, power head, a protein skimmer, and a return pump does that sound about right? Anyone have recommendations on a protein skimmer and return pump for this sump I may build?
 
Nick30G said:
OK sounds good. I have been doing research on 10 gallon sumps and heard with small sump tanks less is more, so if I where to setup my old 10 gallon into a sump, I should only have 1 baffle at max because a lot of baffles in a small sump like that dosen't work well. Also I heard to not include a refriguim in the tank because its not worth it and causes more problems then it worth. So it comes down to only a few parts: Maybe 1 baffle, power head, a protein skimmer, and a return pump does that sound about right? Anyone have recommendations on a protein skimmer and return pump for this sump I may build?
Click to expand...

I would only put one baffle because of the size of the tank. A 10 gallon isn't that long to begin with. Don't know where you heard that refriguims are bad that is totally wrong. You can get by without one for a fish only tank but they are a must have for a reef. You also need an overflow to run a sump. As far as skimmers I like reef octopus and return pumps I like eheim or syncra.
 
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Though I don't have a sump on my 20 gallon long, I agree sump is the best. But if you decide to go with a canister and hob skimmer, I really like my fluval G6 canister. I've not seen any other canister that allows you to clean/replace the mechanical and chemical filters without disconnecting or opening up the canister. It just takes 5 minutes to do quick cleanup of my mechanical filter cartridge. If you have a spare cartridge, you can swap it out in probably 2 minutes, maybe even less time.

You said you won't have much live rock so you'll need lots of bio filtration in your sump or canister. With the G6, you won't even disturb your bio media during your mechanical and chemical cleaning. G6 also has a built-in temp meter and cleaning schedule alarms that you can customize so that it reminds to to do the cleaning on schedule.
 
Forgot to mention that G6 has an optional micron mechanical filter cartridge use can use that will keep your water crystal clear. But you may have to clean it every few days. You can tell when to clean it from the built in flow meter built into the LCD panel. If the flow gets too low, it will alert you immediately so your BB won't start to die off.
 
Reading from your post you state that you might not have a lot of live rock. Now if you are intending to stock on the heavy side that might be a problem. My recommendation to you is don't run a canister filter it's just another thing to clean. If possible I would strongly suggest to get a sump. Here you can place everything that will be eye sores in the tank such as the heater and you can place a skimmer on there. With a sump every once in a while when the tank water gets stirred just place a filter sock in the overflow line until it clears up then remove it. Going back to the live rock situation if you will have a little bit of it you can place a marinpure block in the sump and that can more then compensate for the lack of live rock. If you decide to not do a sump I would just stay away from the canister filter because for that small of a tank it's just not needed. I would just use powerheads, live rock and a skimmer that's all. You can simply buy a hang on the back filter and turn it on occasionally to clean the water or remove the media and place a light on it to make it a refugium.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
The benefits of a Skimmer are really amazing so im definitely going to get that. Im about 80% sure im going to build and use a sump. I will stay away from canisters as you guys suggested. Problem is where can I find plans for a 10 gallon sump with only 1 or no baffles? I found one on youtube with a air trap and like 4 baffles but apparently you dont want any baffles in a tank this small. Most plans have more than 1 baffle as I can find and I would also like to keep this sump as simple as possible so i do not have to cut out multiple pieces of acrylic. As for the refriugum, What should i get? I see a lot of people using different kinds of algae to kill problem algae. I will put a 150W heater in the sump then. As for the skimmer im going to get a Reef Octopus but im not sure which model to get for my tank from them, I was looking at the 110 since its there smallest one and it should be able to handle a heavy bioload right? And does $189 sound reasonable for a skimmer like this? I will then get a powerhead for the DT and a return pump. Another question, where does the beneficial bacteria grow in the sump if there's no biological media for it to grow on?
 
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