totally lost!?

[FOREIGNER]

i need some help! i have a sumpless 55 gal tank. I have been running a powe filter with carbon and phosphate sponge, is there any advise against running a power filter?
i have great water circulation by the way and a skimmer

:mad2:

[kraze3]

I ran a filter for a while. It will be fine as long as you keep up with the matinence. I cleaned mine weekly.

[fish 511]

So what is the problem?

[demonsp]

Only if the filter has bio wheels. If it does remove them. I use one because my daimond goby stirs up debris and it helps clear this. Its also a good place to put carbon if your amonia levels are higher then wanted. But you can use is you want.

[JRod]

Any mechanical type of filter becomes a garbage collector over a period of time. As Kraze states, you need to clean it often, or else it becomes a breeding ground for bacteria and detritus collection.

[clevername]

Filters are great, but are alot of maintenance. I ran my for 2 years, had perfect clean water. Now i run a oversize skimmer, which does wonders. Also i just added a refugium.....

[drummereef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9468650#post9468650 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FOREIGNER
i need some help! i have a sumpless 55 gal tank. I have been running a powe filter with carbon and phosphate sponge, is there any advise against running a power filter?
i have great water circulation by the way and a skimmer

:mad2:

Not a problem at all. Just don't put any mechanical or bio media in it. Only use carbon or your choice of phosphate media. I think they work quite well at adding additional flow to the tank. ;)

[FOREIGNER]

so: clean weekly, remove the filter foam? use carbon and kent phosphate sponge...is it better to not run a power filter and get a really good skimmer instead? i hate the salt that collects on my lights due to the power filter and i heard that power filters increase nitrates

[luke33]

Yes its better to have an over large skimmer, but its not a bad thing to have a filter lying around for a rainy day if you feel like running carbon or what not. I keep an emperer 400 around for that reason. they are also fine for FO tanks imo.

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9473827#post9473827 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FOREIGNER
so: clean weekly, remove the filter foam? use carbon and kent phosphate sponge...is it better to not run a power filter and get a really good skimmer instead? i hate the salt that collects on my lights due to the power filter and i heard that power filters increase nitrates

i big skimmer helps but without a sump there really are no good affordable hang on skimmers. the in tank Tunzes take up too much space for my taste.

so without a sump i run a decent HOB skimmer and a powerfilter full of Carbon and PURA pads

i do hate the microbubbles

a canister filter can be better with bubbles but is harder to maintain

plus i like to run carbon and you cant do that with only a skimmer

[FOREIGNER]

thanks so much for all the advice, i think i am going to upgrade from the prizm (ashamed) to the Tunze 9010 and use the power filter only for carbon and phosphate sponge....any more suggestions?? does that sound good? i would love to have a sump but i think i do not have enough room in my aquarium stand on the 55

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9474241#post9474241 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FOREIGNER
thanks so much for all the advice, i think i am going to upgrade from the prizm (ashamed) to the Tunze 9010 and use the power filter only for carbon and phosphate sponge....any more suggestions?? does that sound good? i would love to have a sump but i think i do not have enough room in my aquarium stand on the 55

you will be amazied with the Tunze on a scale from one to ten the prizm is a 3 and the tunze is a solid 8 and totally silent i think that is my next purchase as well my buddy has a tunze nano skimmer on his 29g biocube and it is awsome and the 9010 is way better than that.

the powerfilter will work fine and you could upgrade to a canister if you get sick of the bubles
luckily i have HQI bubls so i just have to clean off the glass once or twice a week.

[RobNJ]

i actually have a canister filter that i removed the sponges and ceramic pieces and just toss in a carbon pouch and turn it on when i want to polish the water

[FOREIGNER]

how large does a sump have to be?? any ideas about how to build a small one?

[GSMguy]

their are dangers into adding a sump to a tank that is not drilled for it hang on back overflows have been known to fail leaving a poorly planned sump being emptied in the tank and subsequently onto the floor causing lots of problems.

but a wel designed sump with propper baffles set up could be relativly small 20h or a 10g works for lots of people.

as for building one the best way is to just use either a 20 or 10 g tank or a rubbermaid stock tank if you want to go bigger then all you have to do is design the baffles to make sure the pump would not drain the entire contents into the tank in the event of an HOB overflow failure.

[okie1]

I have a Deltec MCE600 and it is a great HOT skimmer, plus it has a chamber for carbon and ect., it is a bit pricey but worth the money in my oppinion. I have a Maroon Clown and a Dwarf Lion in a mixed reef 50 gallon, and with the light bio load it still pulls some dark nasty nog daily. Shortly after it was installed we had a medical emergency so it was running unattended for several days at a time, it was nice to not have to worry about it overflowing onto the floor.

[FOREIGNER]

i see...that makes sense..new house definitely do not want a mess on carpet wife would kill me. i have another questions guys
since i lack a sump i bought 2 koralia #3's and they are great, these were an addition to 2 penguin 1140 powe heads already in there, what's the best set up on the tank to maximize flow and circulation? i have a bunch on live rock and it leans against the back glass and covers the whole length of the glass, i do have caves and such so the whole middle is open water
thanks again

[GSMguy]

i like my set up i have the skimmer and powerfilter along the back wall and my nano streams on the sides pointing at eachother to try and randomize the flow

i also keep them close to the top of the water so the surface get churned up i dont have an overflow and if i didnt stir up the surface my ph would swing too much

[power boat jim]

If you run a canister or any other type filter it is ok to leave the filter/foam pads in. They should be cleaned often and you will be surprised how much crud you are removing from the tank that otherwise would be left behind. A skimmer is not a mechanical filter, the particles that a filter/foam pad removes are generally too heavy to be lifted by micro bubbles into the collection cup.

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9476244#post9476244 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by power boat jim
If you run a canister or any other type filter it is ok to leave the filter/foam pads in. They should be cleaned often and you will be surprised how much crud you are removing from the tank that otherwise would be left behind. A skimmer is not a mechanical filter, the particles that a filter/foam pad removes are generally too heavy to be lifted by micro bubbles into the collection cup.
depends on the skimmer ;) a big deltec will skim sand out

[FOREIGNER]

well, i guess after all the great input I got today my tank should improve.
I am fairly new to RC and I am impressed at the eagerness of fellow hobbists to assist one another. hopefully i can help someone in the future the way all of you have helped me today.

[GSMguy]

This is a throw away industry and only one out of ten products is actually good for the tank lots of products for saltwater that do more harm than good RC is an exellent place to find out what the best options are. its just the coolest site ever.