new to this hobby

[lwaxman]

hello all,

so i am new to the saltwater exstravaganza and I set up my 29 g tank with just two filters and a heater. I got this idea from a lfs. I heard about the protein skimmer and a sump pump. is this nesessary? I hooked it up yesterday and started cycling my tank. what do you think. thanks

[kiknchikn]

What kind of filters do you have and what are you trying to keep?

Neither a skimmer or a sump are necessary for a nano, but they make life easier.

By the way. DO NOT buy things a LFS tells you to buy until you research it yourself online. Chances are you just bought two filters for no reason and you wont end up using them. LFS are just trying to sell you more and often times they are completely uneducated on how to properly keep a SW tank, especially a reef tank.

[dileggi]

I have a 29 now. I just ordered a skimmer for it. As for the sump, I have a biocube, which technically has a built in sump. It seems as though the more experienced hobbyists prefer a separate sump, but I'm not that far into it yet.

I'm sure alot of it depends on what you'll be putting in the tank as well. I've also added an additional power head, a Koralia1 to my tank to increase flow. I think it was $30.

[barbra]

What you do depends on what you keep. The filters are probably not such a great idea, but without knowing more about your system it's hard to say.

A protein skimmer is a very good idea. You don't need a sump pump if you haven't got a sump.

I would research here some more before going any further and I would not rely on what my LFS tells me. He's already sold you items that you probably don't need.

[Tremolo]

Protein skimmer is a must have in my opinion. With the sump you could go ether way. Sumps are really nice because you can hide lots of equipment in it and keep it out of the display tank. You could also add a fuge to the sump to help with nutrient export.

[kiknchikn]

Originally posted by Tremolo
Protein skimmer is a must have in my opinion.

Definitely not a "must have". Plenty of people (including myself) are running successful skimmerless nanos that look just as good (sometimes better) than nanos with skimmers.

It's just a matter of how much work you want to do. If you arent interested in doing weekly or bi-weekly water changes and you aren't interested in keeping the amount of feeding down then you should go with a skimmer.

A refugium with macro algae is far more beneficial for a nano than a skimmer in my opinion... but still optional