Your opinion on my current filtration setup

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dlwn88

Aquarium Advice Activist
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Jan 12, 2011
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Newport News, VA
So I upgraded from a 40g to a 75g three weeks ago, nearly a month now and I wanted to know your guy's opinion on my filtration, wondering if I have room to make changes for improvement/adjustments.

Right now I have an overflow box rated for 400gph that flows down to a wet/dry trickle filter/sump. It currently has bio balls but I will likely make the switch over to live rock pieces later on, or just clean the bio balls often In there is also a protein skimmer in there that skims the water after it trickles down.


Then I also have a RENA XP3 setup as well, the ones rated for a 175g. Now I know you can technically never have enough filtration, but I'm wondering if having the extra XP3 is worth it. The tank is always crystal clear, no issues, but I've read about some issues when using a canister filter. I guess the only benefit it has right now is additional filtration, it didn't come with a lot of the bio stars or whatever they are so it's probably not doing a whole lot as far as a bio filter.

I'm wondering if I should just remove it and put a water pump/powerhead in place out the xp3 outlet. Is this a good idea? Or should I just leave it?
 
Are you wanting a naturally filtered reef tank or do you want to stick with FOWLR?
 
I know a lot of people eventually move up to a reef, but for now, and for some time, I know for sure it will be a FOWLR. Coral down the road I'm sure, but not anytime soon.
 
Okay, let us know when that changes. For now I think you are fine. The bioballs and the canister will both promote extra nitrate production. The difference is not too bad for FOWLR assuming our lighting is pretty low. That difference can be huge though when under the lighting used for a reef, enough to turn the tank into an algae farm.
 
Okay, let us know when that changes. For now I think you are fine. The bioballs and the canister will both promote extra nitrate production. The difference is not too bad for FOWLR assuming our lighting is pretty low. That difference can be huge though when under the lighting used for a reef, enough to turn the tank into an algae farm.


Why exactly does it promote extra nitrate product? Is it because it processes ammonia and nitrite faster, isn't this good? I currently use a 48" coralife t5ho double bulb lighting fixture with an atinic and 10,000k daylight bulb. Will this be a problem? Seems ever since I started using it the coralline algage seems to be growing faster. Also, the tank itself looks a lot better then normal fluorescent lighting
 
No, the extra nitrate production occurs because bioballs and canister tend to trap debris. As the debris breaks down it releases ammonia and phosphate. Obviously the ammonia eventually gets converted to nitrate. With just live rock as your filtration the nitrate is produced adjacent to denitrifying bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen gas. In addition, if you have filter feeders in your tank they can consume particulate matter that would otherwise be trapped in bioballs, canister filters, and other mechanical prefilters.

This is why any filter, freshwater or saltwater, should be cleaned monthly. This doesn't allow a significant amount of debris to collect and create excessive nitrate. Many people tend to neglect this, especially in freshwater. I have talked to people who have had the nitrate go from 40 down to 10 just by cleaning their filters.
 
No, the extra nitrate production occurs because bioballs and canister tend to trap debris. As the debris breaks down it releases ammonia and phosphate. Obviously the ammonia eventually gets converted to nitrate. With just live rock as your filtration the nitrate is produced adjacent to denitrifying bacteria that convert nitrate into nitrogen gas. In addition, if you have filter feeders in your tank they can consume particulate matter that would otherwise be trapped in bioballs, canister filters, and other mechanical prefilters.
that's nonsense. put a bunch of live rock rubble in a cannister and wait a month or so and it will be full of detritus as well. it will have to be maintained the same way.
the same creatures live on bio balls that live on live rock. there are no filter feeders that live on live rock and won't colonize bio balls, and there are no filter feeders that will prevent live rock from collecting detritus. bio balls or ceramic rings or whatever media that you have in your cannister filter are simply surface area for bacteria, while live rock has anaerobic zones, where the low oxygen bacteria reside that convert the nitrate.
 
I mean if you don't trap the debris in a mechanical media (whether it is intended to be a mechanical media like foam, floss, etc. or something meant for a biomedia that will also trap debris like bioballs in a wet/dry filter or almost anything in a canister) you can keep the particulates moving until filter feeders eat them (like feather dusters, sponges, scallops, etc.). That is how I run my tank, no mechanical media anywhere. I don't have prefilter on pumps or anything. All the debris stays part of the ecology of the tank, not trapped and rotting in a canister or in bioballs.

In general I don't suggest using a canister, full of regular canister media or live rock. But in a FOWLR I don't think the difference is significant.
 
ive used a wet dry with bioballs hob filter and canister filter on several different size reefs over the years and as long as you keep up with maintenance they work well
 
but imagine if you didn't have the wet/dry, and just used live rock in the display. you would have achieved the same result without the maintenance.
 
Exactly. That is the method I went with my reef. Unnecessary extra maintenance is not what I want.
 
but imagine if you didn't have the wet/dry, and just used live rock in the display. you would have achieved the same result without the maintenance.

i did have live rock in the display in fact ive never had a sw tank without live rock lol
 
He means exclusively, no bioballs or anything else that needs regular debris removal like anything in a canister.
 
i guess its really how much maintenance you want to do is what it all boils down to
 
Take a oversized fine house hold sponge place it before the bioballs replace it weekly. Nitrate problem semi solved
 
The wet/dry is from sealife systems, it has something just like that before the bioballs. Will having this alone fix the whole bioballs problem? I just added about 7 pounds of live rock rubble on the bottom, will this be enough? i havent removed any bio balls, I'm slowly going to start doing that soon most likely. This wet/dry is a bit small, thinking about upgrading soon. Hopefully have some space for a fuge
 
if you have 75-100 pounds of live rock in your display, and a reasonable bio load, you don't need any extra surface area for bacteria. take the balls out of that thing and glue in an 8" tall wall in the center so the return pump level doesn't fluctuate, and toss a skimmer in there.
 
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