Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Would this be good for a 60 gallon reef?

8K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  Markieemel 
#1 ·
#2 ·
No, you don't want this. These units are all in one "convenience", but they don't bother telling you that you are purchasing a nitrate factory.

Actually, in their own product description, they do admit to the flaw:

"Built-in surface skimmer removes solid waste before it can decompose to create toxic chemicals"

When they say decompose, they are describing the break down of organic waste that is then processed by the biofilter and turned into nitrate. Which makes you wonder why they then incorporate a biological filter to do exactly what they describe as being bad.

"Countercurrent protein skimmer with limewood airstone is built right into the filter to remove waste materials collected by the surface skimmer."

This is the only protection from the biomedia, and these style protein skimmers are much less efficient that others on the market today. Skimmers that use airstones are dependent on the life of the airstone, and gradually become less efficient every day until the airstone is replaced again. This type of skimmer ensures that a lot of waste will pass through the skimmer and enter the biomedia, being broken down into nitrate.

"Includes large capacity baskets with mechanical filtration pads (top), activated carbon for chemical filtration (middle), and sintered glass biological media (bottom). (Sintered glass has more surface area than ceramic rings or bio-balls.)"

In other words, this sump has a lot of features that are used in freshwater but have no benefit at all for a modern marine aquarium.

"Automatic “stop and start” mechanism prevents flooding during power outages by maintaining water level and keeping it from draining back into the main filtration chamber at the time the power shuts off."

This isn't a feature, it is called gravity. All sump systems have this as part of the overflow.

More details on the next post. My browser is acting funny....
 
#4 ·
What you should be looking to do with any marine system, especially a reef, is to use a deep sand bed, live rock, and a protein skimmer as your only filtration device. An effective protein skimmer will remove organic waste before they break down into nitrates. What waste that is left behind to break down is processed by the live rock and sand, with an end result of NITROGEN GAS, which leaves the system naturally and causes no harm.

You do not want to incorporate a biofilter of any type into this tank, as this causes the organic break down to end with nitrate. Additionally, this process removes carbonates from the water, making it more difficult to properly sustain alkalinity and calcium levels, which are required for a stable system.

You can read more details on marine filtration here:
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...-filtration-101-how-differs-freshwater-31955/

I would also encourage you to browse the "Pictures and Videos" section of this website. Look at existing successful setups. You will not find a single person using a biological filter. Located here http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-fish-pictures-videos/, you will see that nearly every successful marine aquarium is set up with the principles of protein skimming and live rock.

I would be happy to makes some very specific equipment recommendations if it helps. What are your tank dimensions? Is the tank drilled with an overflow?
 
#6 ·
Did I understand correctly? It is 2.5 feet tall? This makes lighting more difficult. Confirm the height and I'm sure Wake49 will give some lighting recommendations.

As for the setup, I would personally do this:
80 pounds Key Largo dry rock & 80 pounds aragonite sand $218:
http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=62

The dry rock quality from Marco Rocks is outstanding. You can then about 10 pounds of good quality cured live rock to seed the system. My 180 has about 250 pounds of this Key Largo dry rock and 20 pounds live rock.

Dry rock is a calcareous porous rock that quickly becomes live when seeded with live rock. The purple rock above is established dry rock (now live) which has been quickly coated with coraline algae. The white rock on the left is new dry rock.

I would use the AquaC Remora Pro hang on protein skimmer with surface skimmer: $290
http://www.marineandreef.com/Remora_Pro_Protein_Skimmer_with_Mag_3_AquaC_p/rac13121.htm
http://www.marineandreef.com/AquaC_Surface_Prefilter_Box_p/rac03313.htm

If your budget is really a big issue and you absolutely have to skimp on the cost of the skimmer, then the CPR Aero Force is a nice second option: $195
http://www.marineandreef.com/CPR_Aquatic_Aero_Force_Skimmer_p/rcpr02074.htm

I would prefer that you get the AquaC Remora Pro because your tank will be a reef. If it were a fish only, then I would probably just recommend the CPR Aero Force.
 
#7 ·
I am sorry if you have stated this in another thread, but what kind of reef are you planning on? Full reef, with SPS corals and inverts? Or just softies and shrimp, and snails and crabs?

I am on the road right now, so when. I get home I will post some good fixtures for you. 30" tall? That's a deep tank...
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#8 ·
its actually jus 2 feet deep. i jus got done measureing.

I plan to have a reef with:

Green Chromis X5

Ocellaris Clownfish X2

Flame angelfish X1

Neon Goby X3

Pajama Cardinal X3

Regal Tang X1

Well, thats jus the fish. I'll need recamendations on inverts later, but since a newbie, i wont cross that road for awhile.

I do have my eyes on pink tip anemone. But i have no idea about corals. i didnt even know there was two different types before i saw on this site.
 
#9 ·
its actually jus 2 feet deep. i jus got done measureing.
This is actually a 45 gallon tank
I plan to have a reef with:

Green Chromis X5

Ocellaris Clownfish X2

Flame angelfish X1

Neon Goby X3

Pajama Cardinal X3

Regal Tang X1
You may want to step the Green Chromis down to a pair. The Regal Tang is not suited for a 45 gallon aquarium, these fish grow too large and require too much swimming room for a 36" long aquarium. I have a 150 gallon tank and that is probably the minimum I would suggest, especially to someone just starting a tank. Pasfur has written a good article about stocking marine tanks: Marine fish compatability, creating a stocking list.

I do have my eyes on pink tip anemone. But i have no idea about corals. i didnt even know there was two different types before i saw on this site.
That anenome is something that you should wait until you have a good year's worth of experience for. They are difficult creatures to keep and require a very mature tank.

There are three main "types" of corals we keep in the hobby. There are SPS (Small Polyp Stony). These have the highest demand on the hobbyist, as they are tougher to keep than the other two types. Your water must be pristine, they require strong lighting and spot feeding. There are LPS (Large Polyp Stony). Easier to keep than SPS, they still are in requirement of pristine water, but lighting can be stepped down a notch. Softies are the easiest to keep; lighting isn't as crucial as the other two.

I personally keep LPS and softies under a Nova Extreme Pro T5HO . I am even thinking of SPS, but I will keep them higher in the tank. I personally like the T5HO's over Metal Halide because they are more energy efficient. You could definitely keep softies and maybe the easier LPS under Power Compacts (PC) like a Coralife Aqualight Double Linear 2x96w. There is also a single bulb version that's half the price if you think that Softies are the only thing you'll keep... If you are going to go with SPS (after some experience), then I suggest using a Metal Halide (MH), like the Coralife Aqualight Pro MH 1x150w w/ 2x65w PC. Another alternative is the AquaticLife HID 1x150w w/ 2x39w T5. I have a friend that has this and says it could be spotlightish, unless you hang it high.
 
#12 ·
Sorry! I wasn't specific enough. I didn't give the full deminsions. It's 48x12x24
Posted via Mobile Device
I wouldn't change any of the advice I had given based on the extra foot of length. Did you have a chance to read that article? You will see the fish that are more suitable for fish in a tank that is 4 foot and under in length.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top