Is this enough filtration?

[ReefJeff]

Hello Reefers,

I have a AquaClear 70 HOB filter and a Remora protein skimmer on my 50 gallon reef. My tank seems very stable so far (6 months old). Is this enough? I do weekly water test and everything comes out great. However, I do have a live sand base and very hard to get in there with a syphon hose without disrupting the rocks.

I just wanted to make sure my filtration was good and with my 10% water change once a week, I hope its enough?

I am mostly supporting soft corals (pom-poms and similar) a couple anemones, and a few damsels and maroon clowns. I have a T-5 light which I just put new bulbs in today (can't wait to see if they make a difference in the growth of the corals).

Thanks,

ReefJeff

 

[jezzeaepi]

How large is your tank?

 

[ReefJeff]

How large is your tank?

Sorry, its 50 gallons.

 

[DonW]

If your tank is healthy and your water parameters are where you want them then yes your fine.

Don

 

[jezzeaepi]

For a few fish and some soft corals that sounds perfectly fine to me. I wouldn't want to add any more fish, or upgrade to hard corals without considering some better filtration though.

What are you running in your HOB filter? Are you using media, or just using it for carbon and water flow? If you are using media in your hob filter, then you have what is commonly referred to as a "nitrate factory" here on the boards. It is a nitrate factory because it rapidly converts ammonia and nitrites in to nitrates, which is a good thing for fish. Soft corals also like these nitrates, and likely are growing faster because of their presence. It sounds like this is what is going on in your tank now, which is keeping it in good balance and keeping your nitrates down. Adding another fish may be too much for your system to handle, and may throw it off balance. Four fish sounds like a good amount for this system. Also, hard corals tend to not do as well with nitrates, so if you ever wanted to switch to different corals, it would be advised that you take out your HOB media, and buy a larger skimmer.

What kind of test kits do you use? Have you ever had your LFS test your water with a different set of kits? I find sometimes that certain brands of kits(and sometimes certain batches of kits) are really bad at picking up lower levels of nitrates. Its always good to try to confirm your test kit numbers with at least one other test kit from a different quality manufacturer. So many reef problems are caused by bad test kits.

Peace,
Jesse

 

[ReefJeff]

On my HOB filter, I have a sponge/bio media/ceramic discs. I clean this once a week wether it looks dirty or not just to keep things in balance, same with the skimmer, sometimes twice a week on that.

My test kit is the standard all in one kit (ammonia/nitrite/nitrite/ph). I am also using a calcium test kit (calcium a little high around 500).

Thank you all for the comments.

ReefJeff

 

[DonW]

On my HOB filter, I have a sponge/bio media/ceramic discs. I clean this once a week wether it looks dirty or not just to keep things in balance, same with the skimmer, sometimes twice a week on that.

My test kit is the standard all in one kit (ammonia/nitrite/nitrite/ph). I am also using a calcium test kit (calcium a little high around 500).

Thank you all for the comments.

ReefJeff

All in one kit?? I'd question that. If your not dosing and not using oceanic salt I'd also question the CA.

Don

 

[ReefJeff]

Here is the test kit I have which seems to be a standard.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+4452&pcatid=4452

I do use Oceanic Salt. I read from this site is was one of the best.