Filter or Not?

[TinaPerry]

I am pretty new to the Salt water world.{3 years}..Having a 55Gal tank and downgraded to 30gallon........It has been expressed that I really don't need a Filter on my tank being a 30 gallon bowfront ....I have 1 neon Green anemone and 1 tang 1 clown and several soft corals....with a Copper band shrimp 1 ornamental shrimp and a 4 to 5 inch crushed coral bed......I have an Eclipse protein skimmer that does a great job....I currently have a over tank filter on it that covers about 1/3 of my tank from lighting so in wanting to take that off now that I have metal halide lights over it and want full lighting I went to my local pet store and it has been recommended that I don't put any filter on it and just run my Protein skimmer and let my coral bed do most of the work...I don't have any water clarity issue now or have not had them in the past....My reading are and have been great.....My concerns are spikes in reading and Do I really need the filter on it? Please if anyone can direct me in to what I really need.....I would be grateful....Thanks

 

[BCT182]

Well the protein skimmer is important for sure. As for a hang on filter, they are a nitrate factory. I would first ask this. Do you have a sand bed? How deep and what kind, sand or C.C. Also do you have any live rock and how much? Im sure removing the filter now would cause a shift due to the tank depending on it for benificial bacteria, it just depends wether or not the rest of you tank is established well enough to take over.

 

[TinaPerry]

I don't have any Sand it is all C.C........and for Live rock I have about 45lbs.........

 

[Krish]

Welcome to RF!

Your live rock will/should provide you with all of the necessary biological filtration and denitrification your system will need once you don't exceed it's limit where bioload is concerned. Your sand bed being crushed corals will provide you with some biological filtration, but nothing really for denitrification. The reason why is because of the grain size which allows air to get into the sand bed and therefore, you will have no anaerobic zones for the necessary bacteria to grow/populate and perform denitrification. This is why people use a finer grain size when going with a dsb (deep sand bed) so that it can function properly providing them with denitrification. A protein skimmer is always a plus IMO and where hang on filter's are concerned, it can be beneficial, but can also work against you. What I mean by that is if it is used with a sponge for instance, to help remove detritus etc from the tank, if not cleaned out regularily (ever 2-3 days) or changed, then the waste that it has trapped can rott and degrade water quality so in that case it can work against you. Some hang on filters are good though as they provide a place for you to run carbon for those that do not have sumps to do so. You'll just have to remember to change it regularily as well.

On a side note, be careful with the crushed corals. You should try as best you can to keep it clean as a lot of waste can get trapped/lost in the sand bed and if not removed, can degrade water quality. With everything in this hobby though, go with what works best for you and your setup as there are many ways to go about things in this hobby

 

[ronj]

i say get rid of the hang on filter..... if you want to clean your water up every now and then, run some carbon...the filter is not necessary.. if you are using the filter for water movement, you may want to get a few powerheads to move it around.. make sure to have good surface aggitation on the water.. it will help with oxygen exchange, which will help with your ph

 

[Juanfer]

do you really have a tang??
what kind and what size.....
most tangs needs at least 75 gallons cause they can easily overgrow a tank.

 

[Salty D-O-G]

I have a 180 bow front and have only a protein skimmer and a refrgium sump, 4 inches of sand and she is clear as a bell and levels are good but you must do water 10% changes weekly.

Jerrry

 

[TWallace]

Assuming you have live rock, I'd remove the filter. I don't subscribe to the "protein skimmers are required" school of thought either. My tank runs great with SPS, LPS, clams, softies and fish without a skimmer and nitrates never rise above 0.5.