Live rock versus Filter?

[Stimey]

I've been reading this forum for a month or so now, trying to find answers to all my questions.

but I just can figure out the filter/live rock issue.

I am setting up a 44gal FO tank.

Right now I have:

a ProQuatics 1600 Canister Filter with carbon, Ehfimech and sponge filters in it.

A 300 watt heater

A SeaClone Skimmer (150)

About 3" inches of crushed coral on the bottom.



My question is this. I dont want live rock. Can I live with out it? Does the canister media take the place of live rock?

I talked to my LFS and it seems everyone has different methods for the cycleing. I talked to the guy at the LFS about the no live rock issue and he says at this point (i have had 1.020 salinity and a regular temp of 79 degrees for about 2 weeks) to add 3 damsels and this "refrigerated bacteria" stuff (can't remember the brand name at this point) to get everything going.

Does this seem OK?

Do I have all the right stuff at this point?

 

[Max]

I like live rock and it will help out your fish and make your tank cycle faster be better for fish etc. That having been said no you dont' have to use live rock . The damsels are probably a bad idea to cycle a tank with I'd use a bit of fish or shrimp fish food etc.. The bacteria in a bottle probably won't work worth a darn get a cup of sand out of an established tank that should introduce enough bacteria for your cycle to run it's course. You can use a deep sand bed in your tank as well. I would not use crushed coral under any circumstance your tank will NEVER complete it's cycle. Go to home depot and get some of their aragonite play sand lots better and cheaper too. There are a couple of threads running about it now. Yes the canister will work just fine but, there is more work involved . Also if you have a calcium based porus material for your fishes to hide in and even add a small bit of live rock your decorations will turn into live rock. The rest of the stuff sounds ok to me not 10% familar with some of the brand names. Someone here will know ," if anything says rio on it run away.
hope this helps and welcome aboard
Chris

 

[ben72227]

i would recommend live rock. it makes your tank look and work like the real environment that the fish live in. however, it's not a requirement. there are plenty of fish only tanks, but if it's your first tank, i recommend live rock.

also, get rid of the crushed coral - and get aragonite sand (AVOID SILICA SAND if you can get aragonite)

also, most people run filters without media (they use them for water circulation). Filter media is used to clear your tank like after adding a bunch of sand or if you want to deactivate your medications.

as for cycling - just toss in a few cocktail shrimp from the grocery store. don't cycle the tank with the damsels - for 2 reasons. first, you don't want to be stuck with damsels when the cycle's over. 2nd, when you're cycling, the ammonia burns their gills. Imagine if you had to breath in toxic chemicals all the time - it would mess you up too.

i would recommend getting some powerheads for circulation. probably 2 maxijet 600s or 900s

what kind of lighting are you using?

 

[as40]

Yeah, even if you don't want live rock, if you put anything porous or rough-edged in there for decoration, it will become live.
It's not bad to have the live rock, you don't have to DO anything (that I'm aware of) once it's cycled to maintain it, just the cost is prohibitive. But then, such is the case with everything SW.

 

[CHughes]

Stimey:
Hate to rain on your parade, but I have to agree with the other post. Maxilara (aka Chris) and Ben hit the nail on the head. A DSB and LR will make maintainence a whole lot easier in a SW tank.

It took me quite a while to get my head around the filtration in SW, having keep FW fish for many years...other than the expense of set up, it's a lot easier if you go the LR/DSB way.

Chris