Is a protein skimmer and sump really necessary for a saltwater aquarium
l wanna set up a saltwater tank but can not afford a sump, protein skimmer,
canister, etc. l saw a tank at a friend is house that been running on a
Emperor Bio-Wheel filter for a long time with no problems. Is this ok?
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a hang on back filter will be fine .try to get one that is
rated for a tank larger than the tank you plan on using.get hermit crabs
and starfish to help keep the substrate clean.clean the filter cartridge
often in salt water from the tank itself.don't overload with fish.
None of this is needed on a tank reef or not under 40 gallons.
There were no such items when I first began keeping salt water Many years
ago. I had a 30 gallon with a HOB filter & that was it. (that same tank
is set up the same way with nothing but a HOB) My fish were all fine.
The key here is you will have to test the water more often. These items
make saltwater keeping Easier.
If you are running a very large tank then I would suggest eventually getting atleast a skimmer, however on the smaller tanks they aren't needed. Skimmers are simply to remove organic & inorganic items from the water. Water changes will do that as well. Nope they are not a requirement just nice to have for the ease of caring for the tank.
You can get away without it, but there are some guidelines I
suggest you follow. If you are not using a sump, use a canister filter.
Don't try to skimp with a hang-on-back filter. Aquaclears can work, but
leave this to the experienced marine aquarists.
You can get away with not having a skimmer if you do very frequent water
changes. 25%+/week. More would be better. I'd suggest this even WITH a skimmer, but without it, it is truly necessary.
use living rock to filter the tank, and a protein skimmer, the
rock is not cheap but does a great job , the tank will not be cheap to set
up but once it is up and running it is worth every penny.
You dont strictly need a protien skimmer.
But if you run without one then you will have more ammonia released in the
tank from waste that the protien skimmer would have removed. That puts more
load on ur filtering, & eventually creates more Nitrate in the tank.
So the end result of having a skimmer is you can keep more fish and/or change less water. I would still recomend you get one, but it is possible to run a tank without, just keep less fish. If you are short of $$, then maybe marine fishkeeping is not for you. It will allways be expensive. It will be pretty discouraging if ur expensive fish die because you couldn't afford to set up the tank properly. Ian
Depends on if its a reef or fish only, or live rock tank. You
don't NEED to have a protein skimmer if you don't have coral. Its still a
good idea to have one & a sump is a much better filter system but you can
still have a successful saltwater setup without those. I have had marine
tanks for 8 years & have never had a protein skimmer or sump. I just have
live rock, live sand, 2 koralia powerheads & an aquaclear filter. My fish
are great as are my inverts (shrimp, snails & crabs). I do a 10% water change every two weeks though. They are a bit of maintenance especially the first year, but then its better once it gets established. Here is my tank if you want to see it, it is now almost a year & a half old. http://youtube.com/user/se7ngirl
:/ Bio-wheels are barely acceptable for freshwater fish.
You MUST have sump, skimmer, power head, canister, all that good stuff in
your saltwater tank.
Personally I enjoy freshwater over saltwater, though saltwater fish are
gorgeous, I feel like saltwater is just to taxing and expansive. Also, freshwater fish seem to have more personality.
You absolutely HAVE to have a protein skimmer, a sump and
powerheads along with many many other things. I suggest you get some books
on Saltwater Aquarium keeping and also join some aquirist forums.
I can assure you that your friend has had issues or has to do a crap load
of maintenance without those things.
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