Filtration questions

[BigBertha]

Hey y’all.

For my 75 gallon reef tank, I have initially planned to use a canister filter with a built-in media basket for the below filtration:

Filter Floss
Granular Ferric Oxide mixed with Activated carbon
Bio-Filter ceramic balls

I have recently learned about reactors. Are there reactors that would house other media aside from carbon and gfo?

Also, I am wanting a protein skimmer. Can one have such without having a sump?

Lastly, is it possible to utilize a bio-wheel filter, canister filter, and a sump simultaneously?

 

[DesertReefT4r]

What will the tank be stocked with? Why dont you want to do a sump? A canister filter will cause issues in the long run. There will be no need for carbon and gfo and both need to be used correctly especially in a reef tank.

 

[Peace River]

Hey y’all.

For my 75 gallon reef tank, I have initially planned to use a canister filter with a built-in media basket for the below filtration:

Filter Floss
Granular Ferric Oxide mixed with Activated carbon
Bio-Filter ceramic balls

I have recently learned about reactors. Are there reactors that would house other media aside from carbon and gfo?

Also, I am wanting a protein skimmer. Can one have such without having a sump?

Lastly, is it possible to utilize a bio-wheel filter, canister filter, and a sump simultaneously?

Hi! It sound like most of your questions are about filtration so I would recommend that you read the R2R article on Sumps. Also, remember that there are three types of filtration (biological, mechanical, and chemical) so pay attention to what and how these may or may not be happening in your system.

Reactors are basically acrylic cylinders that can be filled with media and have some type of plate/baffle to keep the media in the cylinder as water flows through. There are several types of media that you can put in a reactor including chaeto, Purigen, calcium, carbon, etc.

Similarly, a sump is basically a glass or plastic box where you can put your filtration and other useful items that you do not want to have in your main tank. So will have can have a hang-on-the-back (HOB) bio-wheel filter, HOB skimmer, or in-tank heater, many people try to move this equipment to their sump.

Finally, I would encourage you to start a thread in the "Meet and Greet Forum" to introduce yourself. We're glad you're here!

 

[BigBertha]

What will the tank be stocked with? Why dont you want to do a sump? A canister filter will cause issues in the long run. There will be no need for carbon and gfo and both need to be used correctly especially in a reef tank.

I’m not hesitant to utilize a sump, but felt starting off with a canister filter would be ideal as I could always upgrade to other systems after I got my reefing sea legs. I plan to have a few clownfish and some cleaning crew inverts.

 

[BigBertha]

Thanks for the information. I’ll check out the article.

 

[Mono]

I started that way and a lot of people do. But drilling your tank and adding an overflow box (or buying a reef ready drilled tank) and a sump is much easier to plan and execute before you get your tank underway.

Having a sump helps keep your display tank uncluttered and having an overflow helps with surface skimming and flow. All kinds of organic gunk collects on the surface. If you stick with it, you will very quickly run into limitations with a canister filter set up especially with a 75g tank.

You can run a sumpless system without a protein skimmer on a smaller tank. On a smaller system you can compensate with a greater volume of water changes.

 

[BigBertha]

Thanks. Good info. I initially considered a 32 gallon, but felt that I would quickly outgrow the nano tank. I still intend on doing weekly water changes, but am wanting to purchase the right equipment to ensure the highest water quality.

 

[newbie2014]

• When I just switched from FW, I used Eheim canister and AC700 for mechanical filtration. To simplify maintenance, i took the canister off line soon afterward. After six months or so, during the ugly stage, I replaced the AC700 with Aquamax HOB-1 skimmer. To tone down GHA, I also implemented GFO/carbon reactor, which I highly recommend. I also resorted to carbon dosing for a month or so.
• Once the tank matured (about 2yrs), GHA kinda disappeared on its own, and I took everything off line. I’ve been sumpless and no mechanical filtration for the last 2 yrs. My only method of filtrations is live rocks and a few snails and hermits.