Fleshy's 125g Build

[Heathd]

A canister is a terrible idea for a reef, as well as a protein skimmer. Starving your corals is not an ideal reef. Your fluval will eventually collect nitrates if not properly maintained, although it can be done, I wouldn't risk it with a reef. Protein skimmers remove food and hinder the corals from eating 24 hours a day, hell even 2 hours a day! Live rock is not half as important as a sand bed. A refugium is always the best for a reef, without a skimmer, or with an algae screen.

Skimmer.... removes corals foods. Removes calcium plankton idodine and many other elements that hinder your corals life.

Canister... can collect nitrates and kill off corals noticed
...............................................
Refugium... keep nitrates at 0 at ALL times, never worrying about water quality

Algae scrubber.... constantly feed corals and have food 24/7 While keeping algae out of the tank


The answer is clear!

Personally i would just build a refugium, i mean what else do you use a skimmer for? To basically remove possible nitrates right? A fuge eats them and produces food for many micro organisms that will help your reef, and you will maintain better trace elements.

I would advise everyone except a true pro to use a protien skimmer, given the sensitive nature of many corals, it only makes sense.

Its true that a cannister can be a nitro bomb waiting to happen, but thats due to bad husbandry. Poor upkeep of a sump or an HOB can cause problems too. But i do agree, with all the above aside, a sump would be better.

 

[Ashlee]

I would advise everyone except a true pro to use a protien skimmer, given the sensitive nature of many corals, it only makes sense.

Its true that a cannister can be a nitro bomb waiting to happen, but thats due to bad husbandry. Poor upkeep of a sump or an HOB can cause problems too. But i do agree, with all the above aside, a sump would be better.

exactly sensitive nature of corals... ripping them of calcium levels and iodine is better? Are you aware of what pros and cons a skimmer actually has or just relaying information?

 

[mos90]

let me see if grasp this. 1- protein skimmer is bad for reef tanks.
2-canisters can be ok but can build up nitrates if not kept clean.
3- refuguim or algea scrubber is the way to go.

what about for fowlr tanks. can a protein skimmer be bad for that also?

 

[mos90]

btw nice looking tank fleshy.

 

[Diskboy12]

I like the hippo tang

 

[FLESHY]

A canister is a terrible idea for a reef, as well as a protein skimmer. Starving your corals is not an ideal reef. Your fluval will eventually collect nitrates if not properly maintained, although it can be done, I wouldn't risk it with a reef. Protein skimmers remove food and hinder the corals from eating 24 hours a day, hell even 2 hours a day! Live rock is not half as important as a sand bed. A refugium is always the best for a reef, without a skimmer, or with an algae screen.

Skimmer.... removes corals foods. Removes calcium plankton idodine and many other elements that hinder your corals life.

Canister... can collect nitrates and kill off corals noticed
...............................................
Refugium... keep nitrates at 0 at ALL times, never worrying about water quality

Algae scrubber.... constantly feed corals and have food 24/7 While keeping algae out of the tank


The answer is clear!

Personally i would just build a refugium, i mean what else do you use a skimmer for? To basically remove possible nitrates right? A fuge eats them and produces food for many micro organisms that will help your reef, and you will maintain better trace elements.

HEYYYYYY! Its the Canuckster! I was missing you and hoping you would come back to comment on this thread. I wish that I had the money, the room, or the capability to build a sump. I really do, but I dont. Tank is tempered, and it has livestock in it, I cant just tear it down.

So my options for filtration are these...canister, which will be maintained vigourously (I take my fish pretty serious I hope you can see that.) Or just protein skimmers.

Its funny that you talk this way about skimmers though. All of the people that sell you your corals are skimming their water. All of the corals were fragged, and grown in water that was being skimmed. And as long as my water quality is dang near perfect with great consistent calcium levels 420 (24/7) and my growth is this good. I think I will keep skimming. You can get off that soapbox because you know you arent going to change my mind. The proof is in the pictures...my corals are doing good. If anything it would be the softies that were affected and they are spreading like crazy. So...I dont really know what else to say about that. Now...forward from the tangent.

Oh ok I didn't know you wanted a cleaning crew. Well that makes sense then why you didnt want one. Well what about some kaudern cardinals or some angels?

Gotta have it in my opinion. Keeps aptasia out of your tank, and keeps ich off your fish. Win win win.

Theres one cardinal in there, and I like them, but the problem with them is that they dont like flow, and I am the flow master. Part of using a skimmer for filtration is that you need to keep your wastes suspended. So I think that that is going to have to wait. Thinking about another tang, or possibly some anthias, probably fatheads a group of three introduced all at the same time.

that wouldnt be putting there lives on the line........... it would be like tieing them onto the line and dropping it in a barrel full of hungry eels lol. love the 75 look but that 125 is about as ugly as it gets lol. i see why your offing the lr and softies for so cheap. if your going dense with fish i would stick with somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 to 150 lbs of lr in the 125, but it all kinda depends on how big the pieces are that you keep, the bigger the pieces, the more weight you need, the more little pieces the less you will need as there is more surface area on 10lbs of 1lb rocks than there is on a single 10lb rock. (that was thrown in for all the newbies that are probably reading this thread im fairly certain fleshy already knows this)

Ha, yes unfortunately the person I got it from was...not a reefer. The rock is of high quality though, and some of the corals are actually valuable. As far as softies go.

btw nice looking tank fleshy.

Thanks mos! Cant wait to see more of your stuff in action. Sorry to say the 75 is really dirty in this picture...cant wait to get the 125g stocked up like this one is with a couple big, healthy, show fish in it though.

let me see if grasp this. 1- protein skimmer is bad for reef tanks.
2-canisters can be ok but can build up nitrates if not kept clean.
3- refuguim or algea scrubber is the way to go.

what about for fowlr tanks. can a protein skimmer be bad for that also?

Whoh. I cant agree with this. Look at my reef...do any of the corals look like they are starving? No. I have been reefing intensively for eight years. I have always skimmed, and always will. I cannot with a clean conscience tell you not to, because I know what the surface of a saltwater tank looks like if it has not been skimmed.

I like the hippo tang

Thats Nigel. He loves to have his picture taken! Cant wait to get the 125g set up right so that I can buy my chevron tang and get the two of them in there with some room to move!

Thanks guys, lets keep the discussion up while I start to sell stuff, and get things together!

 

[mos90]

we need to clear this difference in opinions up on skimmers. from all of the info ive gathered from talking to Either people that sell coral,keep coral,sell refugiums or sumps have said that skimmers are the way to go.

 

[mos90]

hey flesh. ive made a decision on the route for my 125 when i convert it to salt. u may like this setup. complete package except for overflow. 1200gph external pump. and dual 3/4 " returns using all flexible hose. i think $600.00 for complete package.

http://www.superskimmer.com/Protean_400.htm

 

[Heathd]

exactly sensitive nature of corals... ripping them of calcium levels and iodine is better? Are you aware of what pros and cons a skimmer actually has or just relaying information?

So you say a protien skimmer is bad because it depletes nutrients for corals, yet you say a sump is best? Wet-drys cause nutrient depletion themselves, and arent ideal for corals either. Unless your keeping Acro or something else like that, I dont think your going to notice that big of a problem.

There are ways to go about not using a protien skimmer, and you are right that a scrubber and good sump is a way of steering around it, but it by no means steers around the element depleation issue.

Why dont you tell the guys at extreme corals that their two 10k gallon skimmers are stupid and destroying the nutrients for their coral prop. and keeping facility? If it was as bad as you make it out to be, I highly doubt that would be using them.

Now, if you can start putting hard percentages down of how much is lost due to a skimmer, and the setup you reccomend, then taht would be nice, and perhaps make me shut up.

 

[FLESHY]

Skimmers have more pros than they do cons. Otherwise all of the coral aquaculture facilities in the country, no the WORLD, wouldnt be using them.

Anyone think they can come up with a bigger argument than that?

Basically +1 to what heath said. Sorry Ash, but I dont think you are as good as the pros yet.