Filter or skimmer?

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pattyfurg

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Sep 19, 2011
Messages
697
Hi everyone!

I'm going to be getting a 200 gallon tank in about two or three weeks time and it comes with everything except a filter!
He has two expensive protein skimmers that are quite large and he says they are a good brand one 'cost him over $2000'
I'm going to get a Hawaiian dragon moray eel, a Picasso triggerfish, maybe! A scorpion leaf fish and some cleaner shrimp?
Will I need a filter for this stock or can I just go with lots if live rock and the two skimmers?
 
Sump or no sump? Im assuming you have one with that size of a tank. If you do then you can have both by installing a filter sock for mechanical filtration. The rock will be your bio filtration and your skimmer will dispose of organic waste. For that size of a tank, i would invest in a huge skimmer. It will help keep your nitrates down keep your water clean.

Those Hawaiian dragon morays are crazy looking! My LFS has had one for sale for about a year now. Theyre selling it for $500-$600. I always have to give it a passby everytime im there.
 
You could try the Berlin method with the LR and skimmers. If you find your parameters aren't good, you can add a canister filer or sump down the line.
 
With a skimmer you should not need a filter. A skimmer and no filter has worked for me for 14+ yrs now.
 
I have a filter that I use on my freshwater tank (going to sell it for $$ for my larger tank) and its actually 200 gallon rated so I guess I could try to sell the tank without the filter :/
I'm planning on having ALOT of liverock for my eel to be happy XP
 
patty, go plus one on on your filtration. What I mean by plus one is that if you have a 200 gallon tank, go for a filtration that is rated for double. Filtration ratings are good for light to normal stocked tanks. If your tank becomes a heavy stock, a filtration rated for that sized tank probably won't cut it. And sometimes, even if you didn't plan for it, your bioload can become quite heavy from fish growth and reef growth if you are going that route. What protein skimmer is he including with the tank you're getting?
 
He doesn't know the name of the skimmers :S I'm really not planning on over stocking my tank :/ all I want is one eel, one Picasso trigger fish and (maybe!) two scorpion leaf fish then afew cleaner shrimp but I'm sure that wont create much of a problem for bioload lol
 
Well either way, in my opinion, a skimmer is a must have item for any saltwater tank. By the way, I am pretty sure that the scorpions and the eel will not be safe to have with your inverts and are not considered a reef-safe fish nor are trigger fish (Niger Triggers can be borderline safe) if you are considering going for a reef tank. The eel and scorpion are considered predator fish.
 
Skimmer. Skimmer removes the bad stuff from the water before it has a chance to convert to tocixity.

Filter just traps and allows the bad stuff to have a place to sit while it breaks down.

Skimmer all day. I don't have a filter and I cringe when I see someone with a canister filter on a saltwater tank.
 
So run the skimmer all the time? Do I need a cycle or anything?
 
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