can't keep soft corals???

[angeladawng]

Was just wondering if it's true that if you don't have a sump, you can absolutely not keep any kind of corals. Was told this today by one of the guys at my lfs. I don't think he was the owner...just one of the guys working there and he tried to sell me a sump, a custom built case to hide it since it won't fit in my stand, and the drilling ($149 for the 1st hole and 49.99 for each additional...they would come to the house and do this while the tank is up an running)

I actually stopped in there real quick today to ask if I could remove my hob filter since I purchased a great skimmer. He told me I couldn't get rid of that either. Kind of weird that he was so adamant about everything he said today....was almost arrogant about it. Didn't give me any reasoning at all...just talked to me like I was an idiot.

I have read that if you have a good protein skimmer and lots of circulation and rock that you really don't need anything else, but nowhere in there did it say that you can't keep softies....any clarification would be much appreciated

 

[stingrays4]

Hi me being a newbie aswell I can only add that my local fish shop has a three foot marine tank,without a sump and without a protein skimmer and they have soft corals absolutely thriving in there The tank is light by T5s and has two external filters on - i intend to find out more but the shop has been rather busy lately so a conversation has been rather short!!!

 

[Jake337]

That's a complete lie. The guy was trying to sell you a sump and that is why he said you can't keep corals.

 

[Schism]

Was just wondering if it's true that if you don't have a sump, you can absolutely not keep any kind of corals. Was told this today by one of the guys at my lfs. I don't think he was the owner...just one of the guys working there and he tried to sell me a sump, a custom built case to hide it since it won't fit in my stand, and the drilling ($149 for the 1st hole and 49.99 for each additional...they would come to the house and do this while the tank is up an running)

I actually stopped in there real quick today to ask if I could remove my hob filter since I purchased a great skimmer. He told me I couldn't get rid of that either. Kind of weird that he was so adamant about everything he said today....was almost arrogant about it. Didn't give me any reasoning at all...just talked to me like I was an idiot.

I have read that if you have a good protein skimmer and lots of circulation and rock that you really don't need anything else, but nowhere in there did it say that you can't keep softies....any clarification would be much appreciated

The guy is 100% lying straight to your face on every question you asked him or hes the idiot and doesnt know what he is talking about.

There is absolutely no reason why you have to have a sump in fact most beginners and people without the room start this way.

Also with skimmer and live rock thats all you need. The hob filter can be removed, however you they can be useful for running carbon and gfo or if its large enough you can convert them a little refugium.

 

[bskerrichard27]

Those prices to drill your tank is a ripoff u can do it yourself for 20-30 bucks ...and as for a tank having to have a sump this is false also sumps are deft better imo but not a must ...

 

[bskerrichard27]

My sumpless 24 g

 

[z_dano]

Yup, guy fed you a load of bull. I have a sump but its mainly for additional water volume and to hide my skimmer.. that's all it does for me

 

[angeladawng]

The guy is 100% lying straight to your face on every question you asked him or hes the idiot and doesnt know what he is talking about.

There is absolutely no reason why you have to have a sump in fact most beginners and people without the room start this way.

Also with skimmer and live rock thats all you need. The hob filter can be removed, however you they can be useful for running carbon and gfo or if its large enough you can convert them a little refugium.

I have been having issues with nitrates...not real bad but they are like 20-30 and that is why I wanted to know if I could remove the hob...it's an emporer 400 and I just think that is where my problems are...I guess I am just scared to take it off the tank "just in case". It came with 2 extra cartridges that can be opened up to put stuff in....I don't like the catridges with the carbon on one side and blue fuzzy stuff on the other...seems like that is what is causing my problems. Can I take those out and just run the ones that I fill myself? and what would you suggest putting in them? there are 2...one for each compartment. I also have a bag of chemi pure in each compartment behind the combo cartridges but they obviously aren't doing any good if they are supposed to get rid of nitrates and mine are high...either that or I have them in the wrong place....

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Bio-Wheel filters will definitely keep the nitrates coming. I'd just take the wheels off and run it only for circulation and mechanical and chemical filtration. It'll be better with the wheels off but useful for the rest.

The guy at the store was probably trying to be helpful but he was giving you stupid advice. Sumps really are wonderful but not essential. Just pop the bio-wheels out and do a nice water change, feed very very lightly and see if your nitrates improve. They really should. Good luck!

 

[bskerrichard27]

How bugs this tank sorry if I missed this and what and how often do u feed yur fish ..

 

[angeladawng]

75gallon....feed every other day--1 cube of brine or mysis...I read that biowheels aren't good for salt so when I set up tank, I removed them right from the start

 

[CorallineAlgae]

75gallon....feed every other day--1 cube of brine or mysis...I read that biowheels aren't good for salt so when I set up tank, I removed them right from the start

I'd actually feed one quarter of a cube of frozen food every day. It's better for the fish and the tank.

You could add a bag of Purigen to the filter. It absorbs organics and works with the carbon and skimmer to keep the water more nutrient free. Highly recommended.

 

[angeladawng]

I'd actually feed one quarter of a cube of frozen food every day. It's better for the fish and the tank.

You could add a bag of Purigen to the filter. It absorbs organics and works with the carbon and skimmer to keep the water more nutrient free. Highly recommended.

I always feel like I am starving them to death....I have 2 bangii cardinals, 1 ocell clown, 2 green chromis, 3 sapphire damsels, 1 anthias, and 1 tang.

Can I take out the carbon thing with the blue floss on it and just put carbon in the basket and put purigen in behind it?

 

[Mr. Crabs]

Alot of unqualified people work at the LFS and dole out advice. What are the qualifications to being hired there? ..........exactly =-)

Don't need a sump. Some would argue, you don't need a skimmer. Good circulation and decent water (RO/DI is important in my opinion) and routine water changes with decent lighting.

No magic trick or large amounts of money to keep softies. They're great corals and often starter corals. Don't be discouraged.

You can do it.

 

[Schism]

I always feel like I am starving them to death....I have 2 bangii cardinals, 1 ocell clown, 2 green chromis, 3 sapphire damsels, 1 anthias, and 1 tang.

Can I take out the carbon thing with the blue floss on it and just put carbon in the basket and put purigen in behind it?

Yes you can do that, you can do anything really, whatever you do with the filter the main thing is to clean it and the pads or media often. The reason hob filters cause nitrate problems is because that trap large amounts of organic matter where it sits and rots until you clean it, and since you have a skimmer those organics are not being removed by the skimmer. Skimmer will do a much better job of actually cleaning the water but it can on clean what it can pull out, if everything is trapped in your powerfilter your skimmer isnt doing much good.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

That's a shame someone would be so misleading and expensive.You can use a hob or canister,smaller tank skimmer optional. Decent lighting and proper maint. and water changes you will be fine. Local lfs uses penguins on all there smaller tanks. Here's a 46 bowfront with penguin 400 bio wheels and coral life skimmer.

 

[Daniel Fishy]

Another angle

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I always feel like I am starving them to death....I have 2 bangii cardinals, 1 ocell clown, 2 green chromis, 3 sapphire damsels, 1 anthias, and 1 tang.

Can I take out the carbon thing with the blue floss on it and just put carbon in the basket and put purigen in behind it?

If you're worried about your fish going hungry then feed then nearly the same amount as you are now but break it up into more feedings of smaller amounts. Feed less food more often. That way the tank won't have to deal with lots of food all at once.

You can loose the pads but I wouldn't. I'd just rinse them out really well once or twice a week in regular tap water then give em a tiny rinse in RO water before popping them back in. That way the rock and sand will be the only biological media and the pads will be just used to remove particle waste. You can actually use the pads for about six months like this. If you decide to take them out that's a viable option too. The idea is to prevent gunk from getting turned into nitrate. Cleaning is more work but it's good for SPS.

 

[angeladawng]

thank you all for putting my mind at ease on several levels. I don't like that one kid at that store and when I walked in today, I had a feeling he was gonna blow some smoke up my rump. The actual owner of the store is very knowledgeable and has actually stopped me from making dumb purchases in the past. He even suggested the skimmer I have now (reef octopus bh2000) He said he could get it for me but that I should just get it online and save money. He feeds all livestock before I buy them without even being asked, will quarantine a fish for you as long as you want him to, etc...seems like descent guy. My bad for not asking if he was there today.

I am going to wait a bit to start on softies until I get my nitrates down some more. I really like the way my skimmer is working...it's pulling out a ton of junk. I can already see a difference in my water clarity and it's only been a few days. Going to keep the hob but rinse it a lot more often as suggested and start running purigen. Also going to feed a quarter of a cube per day. Can I still hand feed them seaweed salad once a week?? All of them eat out of my hand....I only feed like a 1x1 square but it's really neat to have them all come to me like they do.

 

[MacDracor]

In regards to "nitrate factories"... Nitrates don't appear from nowhere. They come from nitrites, which come from ammonia, which comes from food and waste.
To decrease nitrates short term, water changes. To keep them low, alter feeding or make a routine of cleaning any filter pads or other places where these things accumulate. For example: filter pads trap debris. As the debris decomposes, nitrates rise. But if you clean those pads say... every two days, nitrates should stay a bit lower.

Two things about the guy at the store. First, he has no business working in a fish store. Second, you should help future customers from being ripped off by him. The responsible course of action would be to notify the owner how dishonest he is. The fun thing would be to hang out and wait for him to give bad advice to someone, then interrupt and tell the customer what the truth is and point out that he has lied to you to make a sale. Right in front of him. THEN talk to the owner. Lol