Upgrading tank. Need suggestions

kozzy · Oct 20, 2015

3dees said:
live rock is my filtration. my heater is hidden behind the rocks. skimmer and powerheads are the only things hanging in the tank. I do run a canister on occasion when I frag my softies but only with carbon.

I have all the same but I have a canister filter that is on all the time? Should I keep it running? There is carbon and pads in there

kozzy · Oct 20, 2015

Chris Aldrich said:
I always recommend a sump for added water volume and a place to house additional filtration, plus other equipment (heaters, etc). Depending on your stand configuration, you usually have plenty of space to work with, especially with a 4 foot tank.

I'd personally ditch the canister filter (aside from temporary use after water changes, etc - more: http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/mechanical-filtration-marine-aquarium-1469/) and stick with live rock and a skimmer. Speaking of the skimmer, take advantage of sump space and snag one rated for more total volume than you're system. You'll thank yourself later.

What does the canister filter acculuy do

HowUDoin · Oct 21, 2015

Saltwaterfishy said:
What does the canister filter acculuy do

The filter pads work as your mechanical filter, catching the fish poop. The carbon cleans up the water clarity. If you freqently clean your cannister filter, you would be ok. But it is less than ideal. The standard is to run a saltwater tank with some kind of sump system, along with a protein skimmer.

I ran a fish only tank for about 2 years with cannister filters, but that was back in the late 80's.

Chris Aldrich · Oct 21, 2015

Saltwaterfishy said:
What does the canister filter acculuy do

They're great at trapping suspended particulate matter in your water. Unfortunately that collected waste decomposes quickly and unless you stay on top of cleaning the filter, as @HowUDoin mentioned, your dissolved nutrient levels in your aquarium will increase.

With other much more efficient filtration methods, they're just not the best option for the modern home aquariums anymore. They still have a temporary place for helping to "polish" the water after heavy cleaning and the like, though.

Nathan Froehner · Oct 21, 2015

Cadlight 100 gallon artisan

kozzy · Oct 21, 2015

Chris Aldrich said:
They're great at trapping suspended particulate matter in your water. Unfortunately that collected waste decomposes quickly and unless you stay on top of cleaning the filter, as @HowUDoin mentioned, your dissolved nutrient levels in your aquarium will increase.

With other much more efficient filtration methods, they're just not the best option for the modern home aquariums anymore. They still have a temporary place for helping to "polish" the water after heavy cleaning and the like, though.

Should I take it out and just run the protein skimmer? And the rocks are my filtration

Chris Aldrich · Oct 21, 2015

Saltwaterfishy said:
Should I take it out and just run the protein skimmer? And the rocks are my filtration

You've got it! The skimmer and live rock will provide all the filtration you need. Sure there are other options out there to use in addition, but success can easily be had with those two.

kozzy · Oct 21, 2015

Chris Aldrich said:
You've got it! The skimmer and live rock will provide all the filtration you need. Sure there are other options out there to use in addition, but success can easily be had with those two.

What about the carbon that's in the filtration does that help at all

Chris Aldrich · Nov 3, 2015

Saltwaterfishy said:
What about the carbon that's in the filtration does that help at all

Activated carbon certainly helps, yes, but it's not what I would call "foundation" filtration. Some folks choose to run it, while others do not.

Here is a breakdown of the benefits of activated carbon use in your aquarium: http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/activated-carbon-in-reef-aquarium-2908/

kozzy · Nov 3, 2015

Chris Aldrich said:
Activated carbon certainly helps, yes, but it's not what I would call "foundation" filtration. Some folks choose to run it, while others do not.

Here is a breakdown of the benefits of activated carbon use in your aquarium: http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/activated-carbon-in-reef-aquarium-2908/

Thanks. How often do I change the carbon

merlberg · Nov 3, 2015

3dees said:
uv's do nothing for ich.

Dnt they rid the free flowing parasites tho?

merlberg · Nov 3, 2015

Wht kind of eels do you have?

kozzy · Nov 3, 2015

merlberg said:
Wht kind of eels do you have?

The snowflake and ribbon

Chris Aldrich · Nov 3, 2015

Saltwaterfishy said:
Thanks. How often do I change the carbon

That will depend on your system and the amount of dissolved organic compounds. In general it seems to be every 2-4 weeks, but you can compare freshly made water with water you pull out during a water change to see if the yellowing of the water is apparent (meaning the carbon is exhausted).

merlberg said:
Dnt they rid the free flowing parasites tho?

UV sterilizers can be effective on the tomite stage (as that is when the parasite is in the water column), BUT many hobby-level sterilizers aren't of ample power to kill larger Crypt parasites AND this assumes all parasites will end up in the water column, which they do not. So unfortunately no, UV sterilizers will not eliminate an active infection from an aquarium.

[Shameless plug: Tons more info about fish diseases prevention, diagnosis, and treatment (both effective and snake oil) in the book in my signature. We published it earlier this year.]

merlberg · Nov 3, 2015

Oh yea ... Ok i read that you wanted somewht of an aggressive tank as do I since I'm in the process of upgrading and also wanted to get a ribbon eel eventually but very worried about the fish being aggressive towards the eel, dnt u have tht worry? Because my puffer is a nipper and my humu trigger is very aggressive [emoji85]

kozzy · Nov 3, 2015

merlberg said:
Oh yea ... Ok i read that you wanted somewht of an aggressive tank as do I since I'm in the process of upgrading and also wanted to get a ribbon eel eventually but very worried about the fish being aggressive towards the eel, dnt u have tht worry? Because my puffer is a nipper and my humu trigger is very aggressive [emoji85]

Ya I want a aggressive but is also like corals now lol I bought 2 the other day. My trigger doesn't really nip him or anything but he does bother him being the only fish that swims in his tube

chimmike · Nov 3, 2015

IMO, a 90 is not an optimal tank size for a bigger bioload of aggressive fish, especially a trigger, tang, and more eels.

kozzy · Nov 3, 2015

chimmike said:
IMO, a 90 is not an optimal tank size for a bigger bioload of aggressive fish, especially a trigger, tang, and more eels.

I have those in a 50!! I know it seems too small and the water levels will be bad but there all fairly small and I've had them for a whole and my nitrates stay in the 10-20 range. But I'll be upgrading soon

kozzy · Nov 3, 2015

I was thinking about getting rid off the eels but my ribbon hasn't started eating and I've had it for a month and that wouldn't really be fair but my snowflake is a pain and I might get rid off him. In a smaller tank he's always roaming and it's harder to feed everyone and clean the tank because he's always roaming around. Man he's a fat guy!