I am starting up a 30 gallon AIO Reef tank. I have already been advised that I will need a nano protein skimmer. How important are media reactors? If necessary, which ones are most important since space is limited in my AIO sump. I have 3 chambers. I suppose I could rely on my live rock for biological filtration and remove the large bag of ceramic rings in my middle chamber which would free up some space for a variety of components which would include the skimmer and any other necessary items.
Media reactors, necessary or not?
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pluikens
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Welcome to R2R! There's some great people here with loads of knowledge. If this is your first tank, I'd suggest starting your reef with only fish and try to get it very stable before introducing corals. You can start without a skimmer and see if your WC schedule keeps up with nutrients. If you're not satisfied, then you can add a skimmer later. By then you may even have an opinion of what skimmer you'd like to try. When I started, I found it was easiest to start with fish only but monitor my tank as if I was keeping corals. Once I had my levels stable, I knew adding corals would be successful. That's not to say I didn't have some loses at first but I was overly optimistic of what could be kept by a beginner in a new tank.
chipmunkofdoom2
Always Making Something
Media reactors just hold media (GFO, GAC, biopellets, etc). You only need a media reactor if you need one of those types of media.
So the real question should be if you need GFO, GAC, or any other media that might fit into a reactor. The answer depends on how your tank behaves after it's up and running.
I would personally not buy any reactors until you need them. Even if you end up needing GAC or GFO, these can be run successfully (although not 100% efficiently) in media bags.
So the real question should be if you need GFO, GAC, or any other media that might fit into a reactor. The answer depends on how your tank behaves after it's up and running.
I would personally not buy any reactors until you need them. Even if you end up needing GAC or GFO, these can be run successfully (although not 100% efficiently) in media bags.
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With a tank that size you don't need a protein skimmer provided you don't overfeed, change the water frequently (ie once a week) and stay on top of filter changes. I wouldn't use ceramic rings either. Something with a GFO mix would probably be best for your tank (ie Chemipure Elite).
For a skimmer I'd go with a 9004 tunze -- it's much better. I would also say you don't need a reactor because a simple bag with the media would be JUST fine. I never need to use a reactor on my tank and it's just shy of twice the size and full of delicate SPS.
I talked to my lfs today, and he said more or less the same thing. He suggested keeping my sponge in chamber 1 for some mechanical filtration and getting rid of my ceramic rings in chamber 2 and replace them with live rock rubble and a bag of chemi pure blue. If need be in the future, I could also place a protein skimmer somewhere in chamber 2, or get a very compact air driven skimmer and place it in chamber 3. Thanks for your input.
Truthfully, while nobody needs anything in this hobby -- I would say skimmers are essential.
- Do you plan having corals? -- Skimmers increase the pH in water, increasing coral growth.
- Do you plan to have fish? -- Skimmers aerate the water significantly more than any other process -- this is especially important in hot weather as the tank becomes oxygen starved.
Of course some people get on just fine without a skimmer. I would still argue just having the skimmer not actually removing any skimmate is STILL an amazing tool for the reef.
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