starting new tank

[Nick540]

I will be starting a 45 gal FO tank. I was wondering if a filter would do instread of a protein skimmer. Also do i need to have substrate?
The fish i were thinking of were some tomato clows and yellow tang (maybe)
i was wondering what other fish i could get in there that i could not put in my reef tank. Eg. triggers etc..

 

[Dustin83]

I think I might have answered similar question on another thread. Not sure if it was you... but like I said there, mechanical filters and protein skimmers achieve totally different things, but if you have plenty of live rocks to faciliate the biological filtration, you may not need mechanical filter. I personally like to have a mechanical filter just so that I don't have any dirty "stuff" floating around from whatever source it may come from. So that answers whether you need filter or not.

Now some people say that they don't need protein skimmers and have done find without them. And I know that statement is true as I've seen tanks without it do really well.


So the bottom line is... you have to consider each one and think about whether you want the each one or not. You may want to have just one, both, or neither. It's not a matter of if you can have one instead of another. But my personal preference always has been to have both... of course for completely two different reasons.

 

[Reefscape]

If your going for just a FO nick, ( not FOWLR - Fish Only With Live Rock ), then i dont really see a need for a protien skimmer. Live rock in a FO system, in my opinion, is there purely for decoration and for hiding places and is not usually intended to provide the "mechanical" filtration as i would it would do in a FOWLR tank or Reef..So, your best option is to just go for a HOB filter that gives good water turn over and ensure that the filter floss media are cleaned in tank water on a regular basis...

What fish you can have in there all depends on the type of system you want to run...whether it be a peacefull or preditory system...

Niko

 

[Pallen81]

The fish i were thinking of were some tomato clows and yellow tang (maybe)

I'm not totally sure, but from what i've read... 46 Gallons is probably too small for an adult Yellow Tang. i think they prefer 55 and up. I think...

Also, having a sandy substrate can help buffer your pH, so you may want to consider having sand at least. but technically no, you dont NEED a substrate.

 

[Germanman]

I'm not totally sure, but from what i've read... 46 Gallons is probably too small for an adult Yellow Tang. i think they prefer 55 and up. I think...

Also, having a sandy substrate can help buffer your pH, so you may want to consider having sand at least. but technically no, you dont NEED a substrate.

i agree on the tang but it can be one. as for no sand like they said it can be done...but then u wont have the natural buffering cap of aragonite and the surface area for bacteria