Filtration Question

[Rocktuna]

I used to keep Salt water tanks till about 10 years ago so I'm not a complete noob. Bought a tank a few weeks ago.
So I finally get the new/used tank up plumbed and all. Had a bit of a family emergency so it took a few weeks.
I went to the LFS and was talking to the guy about filtration plans. I plan on having a plenum with a good thick bed of live sand, I'll have about 80 to 100 lbs of live rock,(I already have about 40 lbs of base rock that I'll seed with live rock) plus a sump with bio balls in one half and live rock in the other, protein skimmer also.
The guy sez don't go with all that. Plenums and bio balls are both out. He sez all I need is an inch of live sand and 1 pound of live rock for each gallon. and live rock in the sump and of coarse the protein skimmer.
His way would be a lot cheaper......but.....I was always under the impression that more is better when it comes to filtration. In the past I just had a plenum with a 4 inch sand bed and a skimmer and had great results. This will be my first tank with a sump.

 

[Bifferwine]

He is right about the bioballs, if you have 1 to 2 lbs of live rock per gallon, bioballs are unnecessary, and in fact tend to lead to big nitrate problems. I don't recommend the use of bioballs in saltwater tanks unless you are running a tank with little or no live rock.

As for plenums, there are mixed thoughts on those, although the vast majority of people do not use them. I am of the school of thought that 1 to 2 lbs of lvie rock per gallon and a good protein skimmer are usually enough filtration for any system.

 

[Reefrookie]

Who did you get this info from? I didn't find anyone in our area that seems to know this hobby, they just want to sell. I usually go down to Lancaster at thefishplace for all my supplies and livestock.

By the way, welcome aboard!:mrgreen:

 

[salt newbie01]

Biff is dead on - LR ( 1-2 lbs per gallon is recommended ) with a GOOD skimmer and you should be good to go. I run approx 2-3 inches of sand in my reef tanks. I don't really like the look of a Deep Sand Bed. Plus when I water change I siphen my sand to remove excess detritus. I really think the skimmer should be one of the most expensive parts of your set up. The worst thing you could do is skimp on the skimmer. Trust me...I know!!! LOL.

Good luck and keep us posted with the progress

 

[reeffreak]

The plenum is sooooo 90's.I've also ran a plenty many years ago.....I never got the so called denitrification I was looking for..did get super fast coralline growth though.

I agree with the rest.Use 1-2lbs of live rock for the biological filtratration,a sump/refugium and a good quality skimmer.

 

[RyanG]

Rocktuna that would be the old way of setting up a Marine system the new way is call the the Berlin Method do a quick google search and itll give you some more in depth reading. Good luck, I myself would skip the plenum and bioballs. Im leaning towards a DSB in my tank so sand depth is up to you!

 

[fatman]

I do deep sand beds. They however take quite a while to become fully mature. Once they reach full maturity they greatly out perform live rock. Many people have shown examples where they have ground up a pound of shrimp and dumped it in a tank with a mature deep sand bed and tested daily for four weeks and never got readings of ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. A tank fifty percent full of live rock might possibly (doubtful but possibly) keep ammonia or nitrites undetectable but the nitrate readings would get huge. Yet a sand bed takes up what 20 percent or less of the tanks space if it is a tank 55 gallons or larger. I recomend that a person use live rock, a deep sand bed and a skimmer. I advocate only 3/4 of a pound to a pound of live rock with a deep sand bed and even that amount of live rock can be easily reduced down to 1/2 half a pound per gallon as the deep sand bed matures. REally all the rock that is then left in tank is thre for appearnces not beacuse it is needed for nitrification. I would not recomend any tank housing corals have a bio wheel or trickle filter or even use anything other than live rock or deep sand beds as a filtration system. I do advocate the addition of refugiums but not as a major part of the biological filtration system, but to instead grow algae for nutrient export and chiefly to stop large dissolved oxygen swings within the system when main tank lights are not running as well as pH declines during that time period.

 

[Rcpilot]

I do it the same way as Fatman. I'm using a 4--6" DSB in the tank AND the refugium. Macroalgae in the refugium and a skimmer. Couple powerheads in the tank for circulation. Done.

I didn't think it would work, but thats what my buddies at Living Reefs told me to do when I set it up. I followed their advice and my tank looks and works great.

 

[Doc]

In addition to the live rock and your skimmer, don't be afraid to run some carbon to really polish your water and a phosphate remover if you are going to heavily stock your tank with fish.

-Doc