Undergravel Filter???

[Nels22]

Hello All, my first post on the forum....exciting !! i am looking to buy a sw aquarium, 46 gallon, with dsb, and liverock, probably 60 lbs... i had a question about the deep sand bed...i am planning on buying the play sand everyone talks about on here from home depot, and was wondering if i dump this right on top of the undergravel filter?? will the sand plug it up?? any suggestions, what about buying live sand from the lfs, from my understanding it really isn't worth the money cause the live rock eventually will turn the sand into lsb. thanks for all the help.

[Corty]

I would suggest dumping the undergravel filter, and getting yourself something more appropriate.

[Nels22]

what would be more appropriate??

[Corty]

I think you should be fine with live rock, live sand.. getting a protein skimmer isn't a bad investment either, although there are people with understocked tanks that have no electrical *anything* attached and still have a nice display.

I haven't used undergravel filters with SW, though I have with FW, and quite frankly, I think the only place I'd put one now is in the trash.

[malkore]

UGF's for SW tanks are 'old school'...so many better options exist. Remember UGF's pre-date the use of live rocks in aquariums.
ditch the UGF, use at least 1lb of live rock per gallon of water (up to 2lbs/gallon), get a good protein skimmer (nothing under $100 is worth a crap - i'd get a CPR bak-pak or an aqua C remora), and enough powerheads for 500gph of circulation.

[Nels22]

ok.....so the ugf is gone... i will be investing in a good protein skimmer cause it is essential. i ordered a r/o -d/i filter from ebay today, so i will be able to have good quality water. i am going to go with two submersible heaters rather than one, lighting I am just going to go with a good cf for now, cause i don't want to spend them money on a good hood yet, although probably would be worth it, but with the tank equip and rock, looking at 700-1000, so the lights can wait. still am wondering about the dsb....should i buy home depot sand, and mix in some crushed rock, and lfs ls??

thanks for the reply's they have really helped

[lando]

First off...WELCOME TO AA!! I agree with everyone else, ditch the UGF. You will have great filtration if you go with a DSB, lots of LR and a good skimmer. Throw in a couple power heads for movement an you will be just fine. Where in MN are you? Have you found a good LFS yet? I am in the South Metro and can recommend some if you would like. Good luck on the stat up...Lando

[Nels22]

thanks for the welcome lando...

i have tried a few lfs, mankato seemed to have the best saltwater store(PETSMART), i am going to try petco in rochester this weekend...also, where would you recommend i buy sand? i am having trouble finding anything but the bags at the lfs, and they seem to be way overpriced...any recommendations of lfs would be beneficial as well, thanks for your help.

[lando]

I am ussually leary of buying livestock from those big chain stores. The quality and health of the fish is ussually suspect. However, it does vary from store to store so do research before you go and know what to look for in buying a healthy fish. They do a good job at offering low prices but DO NOT reley on them for any type of advice. It is far to inconsistant. As far as LS goes, you may end up having to buy it at the LFS or do a search on line for real LS. (try tampabaysaltwater.com) Play sand at Home Depot is out of season. Lando