confused

[che2003]

after doing some reading on this forum and others it seems that no oen is using a filter just a skimmer? my LFS says that I need a filter if I'm going to have some fish wich I'm planning to have a 50/50 reef/fish do I really need one ? he suggests for me to get the OC #3 RR filter, any comments?
Thanks!

[g. mcclean]

Do you need a filter? Most would say no, however we chose to have one in addition to a protien skimmer. The latter is a must. Theoretically the live rock and DSB should be your biological filter, but it does take awhile to get fully functional.As newbies we felt the filter gave us a little more room for error. They do need constant maintenance however. They can be nitrate factories according to some, but good maintenance should offset that.

[che2003]

thanks for the reply ,that's what my LFS told me ,but I read somewhere that you should not use a filter with a reef aquarium unless you want to clean it everyday.
Does that make any sense?
Thanks.

[mogurnda]

I don't like mechanical filters because they catch the stuff my filter feeders like to eat. But it's not a mortal sin. From what I have read in books and on the web, religious weekly cleaning of mechanical filters is a must. Daily sounds a bit extreme, but that's not based on experience.

[frazin78]

Well to avoid extra work I would not put a mechanical filter in your tank at all unless it's easy access and it's easy to clean. I have a canister filter and honesly it's a pain, cause if you ever do forget to clean it out, the water quality will go dowhill very very fast. It would be in your best interest along with the fish's to simply buy a very good protein skimmer and avoid the extra cleaning.

There are many good skimmers out there but I heard the best comments from the AquaC Remora or the Pro version....