setting up sw- filtering ques.

[dmopar74]

i have been doin fw tanks for a couple years and i want to set up a 38g sw tank now. i have 2 penguin 200 hob's i can use and a aquaclear 400gph powerhead for circulation. i plan on live sand and maybe live rock. will i need a protien skimmer? also how many watts of lighting will i need? any other suggestions are apreciated.

 

[Germanman]

i wouldnt use anything less than a canister filter for a saltwater aquarium. as for lighting and skimmer it depends what kinda of animals you want in the aquarium, fish only, corals, inverts. and i would highly recommend at least half live rock if not all.

 

[fsn77]

Instead of buying live sand, buy live rock and regular aragonite sand. Bagged "live sand" is barely alive and the money would be much better spent on live rock. To get your dry sand going, just get a cup or two from a couple of different established tanks and use it to seed the aragonite. You'll end up with greater bio-diversity that way, too.

A skimmer is an important part of any sw tank. Yes, many tanks are run without one, but they are typically stocked very lightly and fall under a strict maintenance schedule.

 

[bloo1987]

Hey. In my 55 gl. tank I have LS and about 50 lbs. of LR as my filtration system. I also have a canister filter filled with 5 trays of carbon, but just recently I have removed 4 trays of carbon replaced it with LR rubble. and left one tray of carbon. My water is crystal clear. So I am just beginning to add coral to my tank. If you have too muh carbon in your filter it sucks up all the nutrients needed for the coral and eventually your coral will die off. I mean you can take off your filter or not have one to start with because eventually your LR and LS will be your filter once it has been set up.