filter question

[kittyhazelton]

how are the penguin and emeror filters as far as use for saltwater? they say on the box that they are OK for marine use, but would they be a realistic choise for use in a FOWLR? say I got two of the emperor 400 which is rated for 90gal tanks for a 110 aquarium? Would that along with a decent skimer be ok for say, 5-6 med size fish? (Tangs, lionfish, puffers, etc.)

[Sregnar35]

You may want to also conisder what's called the berlin method of marine aquarium husbandry. Set your aquarium up with a deep sand bed, lots of live rock and a very good protein skimmer. You won't need any other filtration, you will need powerheads for water movement. I bought an eheim canister filter when I first set up my 75 gallon, but upon further research realized that the berlin method was a far better choice for me, and I've been successful for 2 years.

[kittyhazelton]

Okee dokee. Though I would like something for removing the heavy debris as I plan on getting lionfish and eels in this tank. Thanks!

[Sregnar35]

There are certain scavengers that people have success with in aggressive setups. I don't know them off the top of my head, good luck!

[kittyhazelton]

the most difficult part will be setting the whole system up when my BF isn't home. He wants to save time and money by making it a freshwater setup. I am upgrading from a 55gallon tank.

[Sregnar35]

So you are going to try to take an empty 55 gallon tank, and surprise him with a saltwater setup. You know it takes approx 6 weeks before any fish can safely be added.

[kittyhazelton]

No the 55 has been setup and running for a few months now. He doesn't like the idea of making the SW BIGGER. Becuase there was an incident where the return hose on the sump came off, drained alot of my water onto the floor. I was away for the weekend and so he had to refill it but didn't add any of the correct water treatments and not NEARLY enough salt and killed half of my fish.
I plan on using as much of the water and substrate as possible to start up the 110 to minimize the possiblitiy of drastic nitrite/amonia/ph fluctuations. The idea of enclosed filters that do not have the ability to overflow onto the floor is very apealing at this point in time.
All i have left for fish after that incedent is 1 yellow tang and 2 neon gobies. All my crabs are alive, and I lost one of 3 feather dusters I had.

[dorkfish]

The Emporer and penguin biowheels are exellent for FOWLR and can even work for reefs. myfriends tank has one of these and a wet dry and his tank has 4 anemones in it. the trick is to clean you media often enough