question on filtration

[paul baxter]

Hi there
I am brand new to marine fish keeping.I have a trigon 190 tank I have fish only in at the moment x2 clowns ,oriole angel and a small blue fish with a yellow fin that I inherted with the tank.I intend to getting manderinfish and a cleaner shrimp an arrow crab and a small star fish.and some easyer to keep soft corals.At the moment I have added an under gravel filter with two power heads and fine sand filter ,Also a 303 fluval canister filter with x2 baskets of ceramics and a new sponge in the last basket and last of all i have a stantard juwel filter system.My question to anybody that can help is have i got enough flitration and has it got the correct filters in ie sponges ect.And the last question is how often do you think I should change my filters.
Regads paul baxter a very novis marine fish keeper

 

[Fluff]

I don't know much about mechanical filtration. I just use live rock and ph's with a skimmer. You didn't mention rather you had any live rock in the tank and I just wanted to let you know, that without alot of LR, a mandarin will not to well. It also needs a very mature system with a large pod population. Also, the oriole angel (bi-colored angel) will need to be watched if you add corals. It may nip your soft corals.

 

[lando]

Hi Paul...Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com!!!
First off, is this 190gal or 190L? Can you explain more about your set-up? Type of filtration, amount of LR, substrate, lighting...
UGF are cnsidered "old school" in SW aquaria. There are much better filtration methods out there and will make things a lot easier on you. I agree with fluff (big surprise), hold off on the manderin as they have special dietary needs that only a ton of LR and a mature tank can provide. If you want corals, the angle will also be a problem. If you are new to SW then I recommend you get a good book. I like "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Rober Fenner. Keep stopping by this great forum and good luck...Lando

 

[paul baxter]

land and fluff
Thanks for the quick response.The tank I have is a 190la corner tank I have a jewel biological filter this has filter wool, sponge,carbon sponge, it filters 600L an hour.I have got an under gravel filter with two power heads and about 2" of fine sand in the tank.I have also got a canister filter with 2x ceramic baskets had a sponge in the last basket.this pumps 70 gal an hour.I have x3 florecent tubes on the tank I cant remember what the spec is for them, but the man at the marine shop recommended them.I have got lava rock and tufa rock in the tank but no L/R I intend putting in some live rock and some easy to keep soft coral when the water are stable.I will keep an eye on the angel when i put in the L/R,it will have to go if it becomes a problem.I will leave the manderin for a few month to see how the tank developes.Any sugestions would be appreciated

 

[lando]

Hi Paul, Thanks for the description. I have a few recomendations. First off, I would remove the UGF. These are not commonly used in SW anymore and their benifits are suspect. Your other mecanical filtration will be okay but will require frequent and reg maintanance in order to stay clean and keep your nitrates down. I suggest getting a bunk of LR. The tufa rock should be okay, but I do not know about the lava rock in a SW tank. I have heard conflicting reports so I will let someone else chime in on that. Not sure what the conversion to gal is, but soot for between 1.5-2lbs/gal of LR for great biological filtration. once you get up to this level, add a good skimmer and then you can get rid of the jewel and canister if you want. Try to identify the type (NO, CF) of your lighting and the wattage before adding any corals. Good luck...Lando

 

[paul baxter]

Hi lando and fluff
I spoke the the man in the marine shop who I bought my tubes of.I have x3 flourecent tubes in the hood of the tank, the one at the back of the tank is a 24" 13000k white the middle tube is a 24" actinic blue and the front tube is a 24" power glow full spetrum.These specs dont mean much to me, maybe you could tell me a little bit about them,Any help would be much appreciated...Regards paul baxter

P.S. my tank is depth from light fitting to the sand is 18" if thats any help

 

[lando]

Do you know if these are NO flourecents or CF?

 

[paul baxter]

Hi fluff
You mentioned PH,s when you were talking to me about my filtration.With being brand new to fish keeping I am unsure of some of the termonology.Could you please explain to me what PH,s are.
Regards Paul baxter..........The fish out of water....

 

[Fluff]

PH=powerheads in the sense that I was using it. Sorry about that.