Do you need a filter?

[salman]

1982


I was reading about setting up a nano reef, and some people say that they use live rock and live sand as a filter. So, do i need to put one in? And is the purpose of a power head? And, how do you cycle the tank? Do i put the water, then the salt, then the live rock, then the sand? And then wait 2 weeks?

[coachfraley]

The only type of filtration you might want is mechanical and chemical. It is nice to have a way to get particulate matter out of the water column, and a lot of people like to run some kind of chemical filter such as carbon or purigen.

The live rock and live sand will be your bilogical "filter".

In SW tanks, you want to have a lot of flow, and that is the purpose of the powerheads. You want your flow to be at least 10 to 20 times your tank volume. So a ten gallon tank should have a minimum of 100-200gph. The amount of flow you decide upon will ultimately depend upon what you are putting in your tank. Some corals need higher flow rates, and some (like mushrooms) can get by with the minimum. You also want to make sure that you do not have "dead spots" in your tank where there is no flow, or waste will accumulate there.

So...In the pic. you provided, you could place a sponge and a chemical bag in the HOB filter, and the powerhead would provide additional flow. Keep in mind that you would have to clean the sponge VERY often to keep nitrates from piling up. That is why some people use the bulk filter floss (instead of a sponge) and throw it away every other day.

To cycle the live rock and sand, you can just set up your system...throw in the sand and rock...and basically leave it alone until it cycles. You will know it is done when your NH3 and NO2 zero out. DO NOT run your lights for 8 hours during the cycle or you will get algae like crazy. Some people shut off their lights all together, others run them about 4 hours a day. You want good flow around the rocks while they cycle, so turn all your pumps and powerheads on.

In my humble opinion, the most important part of a SW tank is a refugium with chaeto algae. Using a "fuge" will help your nitrates to stay low in between water changes, and will ultimately give you a healthier tank.

[salman]

The only type of filtration you might want is mechanical and chemical. It is nice to have a way to get particulate matter out of the water column, and a lot of people like to run some kind of chemical filter such as carbon or purigen.

The live rock and live sand will be your bilogical "filter".

In SW tanks, you want to have a lot of flow, and that is the purpose of the powerheads. You want your flow to be at least 10 to 20 times your tank volume. So a ten gallon tank should have a minimum of 100-200gph. The amount of flow you decide upon will ultimately depend upon what you are putting in your tank. Some corals need higher flow rates, and some (like mushrooms) can get by with the minimum. You also want to make sure that you do not have "dead spots" in your tank where there is no flow, or waste will accumulate there.

So...In the pic. you provided, you could place a sponge and a chemical bag in the HOB filter, and the powerhead would provide additional flow. Keep in mind that you would have to clean the sponge VERY often to keep nitrates from piling up. That is why some people use the bulk filter floss (instead of a sponge) and throw it away every other day.

To cycle the live rock and sand, you can just set up your system...throw in the sand and rock...and basically leave it alone until it cycles. You will know it is done when your NH3 and NO2 zero out. DO NOT run your lights for 8 hours during the cycle or you will get algae like crazy. Some people shut off their lights all together, others run them about 4 hours a day. You want good flow around the rocks while they cycle, so turn all your pumps and powerheads on.

In my humble opinion, the most important part of a SW tank is a refugium with chaeto algae. Using a "fuge" will help your nitrates to stay low in between water changes, and will ultimately give you a healthier tank.

Wow thank you, i couldnt have asked for a better reply. Now everything makes sense to me! Thanks again.

[zackish]

I was reading somewhere that you don't want a filter at all if possible. If you have enough LR it should take care of it.
That was a very good post coachfraley, how clear do you think a tank would be with no filter at all besides the LR?

[coachfraley]

I don't really know for sure...

I think that a majority of the nanoreef crowd has at least some mechanical filtration somewhere in their system. Usually it is just a chunk of floss somewhere in their fuge setup. But, I have seen plenty of posts where people have done without it, and their tanks look great. My guess is that a "no filter" tank would just take a little longer to clear up after it is stirred up for some reason.

I think people are advised not to have a conventional filter because they can turn into "nitrate traps". This advice kind of relies on the fact that most people are not dilligent enough to clean their filters on a regular basis to remove the nitrates. I personally think the filter floss method is best because you can remove particulate matter fast and all you have to do is change out the floss every other day to prevent a nitrate build-up.

[kkyyllee]

i run my tank without any filter, its perfectly clear

[jttt3]

Also, a lot of people suggest a Protien skimmer when using live rock in a tank 20 gallon +

[mariusz621]

I have just looked at the diagram of the tank. I would remove the glass cover completly...

As long as you can keep up with water changes I would not worry too much about protein skimmer. It would not hurt to add one if you can:ezpi_wink1: