whats a great filter????

[amp123dime]

I have a 46 gallon tank and dont like my filtration system. I want to upgrade to the best possible filter possible. I was thinking over 500GPh A little much maybe but at least my tank will be clean. Money is not an issue just want the biggest and baddest filter possible. I want the same filtration an expert reef keeper would put on a 100 gallon tank any ideas would be awesome.

[Lance M.]

What filtration system do you currently have? and do you have corals?

There are a couple options you can do-

1. You can just go with a couple of powerheads and a skimmer.

2. You can get a sump, a couple powerheads and a skimmer.

3. You can get a sump, a couple powerheads and a skimmer and a refugium.

That's what most people around here do. Sorry I couldn't give specifics but it should help.

[Ziggy953]

The best possible filter is mother nature. The less chemicals you use the better. A good skimmer, sump and fuge (with macro algae) are a good start to good filtration.

LR and LS along with good water movement will take care of filtering the water. Frequent PWCs along with reasonable feeding will keep things nice and clean for you. Don't over load your tank with too many fish and you wont have a lot of problems.

[Charlie]

I'm still a novice but I would suggest that the "best" filter is large quantities of LR. Add a quality skimmer and a refugium and you've just become a professional reefer. :>)

On my 46 gal tank I used about 110 lbs of LR, most of which was in the disp[lay tank. The balance was put into the wet/dry filter where the bio-balls were removed. The wet/dry also has a skimmer and an easily changeable 50 micron filter pad. My tank is allways crystal clear and I haven't had a significant problem in over 1 year.

I also change 13% of my water every 5-7 days. PWC's are a filter of sorts because they remove negative elements of your water chemistry that would be difficult to remove by other means.

Just my 2 cents

[amp123dime]

Ok so if I buy 50 plbs of premium FiJi live rock and add a Bak Pak2 skimmer and a power head and that is all I will need? I was looking at refugiums and I am lost what will that do for the tank?? and The Refugim I was lookin at was rated for over 100 gallons and like 300 dollars Is it money well spent. I am also replacing my crushed coral with fine sand. What is a good source for quality sugar fine sand that wont add any silicate to my tank?? And I figured any more than 50 Plbs of live rock would be too much for a 46 gallon. 110 Plbs how do you fit that much. And another question is with that much rock in there how do you vaccum up the fish waste and sediment on the floor of the tank. Live rock doesn't eat fish poop. In a reef tank nothing ever gets moved around is that correct. Also I want the brightest and most colorfull rock i can get is premium Fiji good stuff for bright colors. I have the lighting for it

[Charlie]

50 lbs of LR is a good starting point. Opinions vary regarding quantity per gallon but 1.5lbs/gal is an accepted standard. Some use more, some less.

Refugiums have many benefits and a little reading will get you a long way into understanding them. Here is a place to start: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?aid=439

I only vacuum fish waste off the front floor of the tank. The remainder of the tank is an entanglement of caves, cliffs & various hiding places for fish and inverts.

If you want the "most colorful rock" that you can find - don't buy it over the internet because buying rock that way is like buying a pig in a poke. I've bought LR from 3 different sources and was very disappointed in most of the rock I received. None of it looked like the LR that was seen in the advertisments. However, its always possible to get lucky and get some nice rock at a fair price over the net. You may want to try your LFS's and pick out a piece at a time when you see what you want. It's more expensive but you get exactly what you want as far as shape, size, configuration, coraline coverage and occasional hitchikers.

[mnestroy]

As far as skimmer goes there are several high end models, depends on how much money you want to spend.

H&S, ASM, ER are pretty good skimmers, There is a lot of debate about buying a skimmer that is not oversized for your tank. The idea is that a skimmer rated for a 500gallon tank would not work very well on a 50gallon tank.

When it comes to this hobby there is almost two separate groups of hobbiest.... those who get all their supplies from Petsmart, Petco, ebay... and those that use top quality specialized products from speciality stores/sites... the more you learn the better decisions you can make for yourself.. like if you really need to spend 800+bux on a skimmer.

Avoid the dirt cheap ebay specials, more often u'll regret buying the product.

[melosu58]

Originally Posted by amp123dime

Ok so if I buy 50 plbs of premium FiJi live rock and add a Bak Pak2 skimmer and a power head and that is all I will need?

This was all I used for 7 yrs when I had my 55 gallon tank. A sump or refuge will be an added bonus as it will add water volume which is always good.