Hello,
It is the first time I am planning to get into the reef tank world.
I am a hobbyist for about 5 years creating aquascapes and planted tanks.
I have a tank which is now empty , a 65 gallons with 100 x 50 x 50 cms dimensions. It's a rimless non drilled tank which was running for about 1 year as a planted tank.
I want to convert it into a reef tank and the truth is that I am on a tight budget seeking to find out economical solutions to start.
Since I don't want a sump because of the extra work , the risk of doing something wrong and the extra cost, I am thinking of using a canister filter , the biggest one I can take with an inline heater on.
I will remove every single bio media and I will fill it with chemical media and few mechanical. Live rock and sand will be my main source of biological filtration.
I will also buy a hob skimmer , something discreet maybe the eheim marine skimmer which is black and will blend pretty well at the back.
As a top off I have already found one which is small but I can't remember the brand name at the moment.
Anyway, after lots of reading I believe that this combination should work with no issues ,unless I don't clean the filter often enough to avoid any organic build up inside.
As for the light , I am thinking of an hydra 32 just for the initial stages and a second one when my budget allows to.
I have two questions..
I want a clean setup. The cleanest i can get with what I have . Is there any hob available in Europe that can get the skimmer and the heater inside ?
My second question is If there is anything wrong with the above setup and if yes what should I change ? Is there any way to make it more economical without running into trouble?
Just don't tell me about sumps, I really know every single detail about them
I would have easily go with a red sea reefer 350 if it wasn't so much expensive or if I didn't already own a tank that I can use.
Thank you
It is the first time I am planning to get into the reef tank world.
I am a hobbyist for about 5 years creating aquascapes and planted tanks.
I have a tank which is now empty , a 65 gallons with 100 x 50 x 50 cms dimensions. It's a rimless non drilled tank which was running for about 1 year as a planted tank.
I want to convert it into a reef tank and the truth is that I am on a tight budget seeking to find out economical solutions to start.
Since I don't want a sump because of the extra work , the risk of doing something wrong and the extra cost, I am thinking of using a canister filter , the biggest one I can take with an inline heater on.
I will remove every single bio media and I will fill it with chemical media and few mechanical. Live rock and sand will be my main source of biological filtration.
I will also buy a hob skimmer , something discreet maybe the eheim marine skimmer which is black and will blend pretty well at the back.
As a top off I have already found one which is small but I can't remember the brand name at the moment.
Anyway, after lots of reading I believe that this combination should work with no issues ,unless I don't clean the filter often enough to avoid any organic build up inside.
As for the light , I am thinking of an hydra 32 just for the initial stages and a second one when my budget allows to.
I have two questions..
I want a clean setup. The cleanest i can get with what I have . Is there any hob available in Europe that can get the skimmer and the heater inside ?
My second question is If there is anything wrong with the above setup and if yes what should I change ? Is there any way to make it more economical without running into trouble?
Just don't tell me about sumps, I really know every single detail about them
I would have easily go with a red sea reefer 350 if it wasn't so much expensive or if I didn't already own a tank that I can use.
Thank you
