best filtration for fish only tank?

[jrcastro]

can anyone advise me on what type of filtration is good for a fish only salt tank? wet dry filters with the bioballs do the job? do i need a skimmer? do need to put lots of live rock & live sand?whats the best/cost effective method? its for a 60gallon.thanks

[Jerry W]

Probably no best way, but a decent amount of LR for biofiltration, coupled with a good skimmer and adequate flow works for many. Regular water changes are, IMO, essential. Some folks employ a refugium for nutirent export, and this is the key, wether it be a fuge or water changes. hth

[B Pierce]

a lot of LR and LS, good current, run carbon and a XLARGE skimmer;)

Bill

[Fraservet]

Best - live rock
Cost Effective - couple of large external filters

for both, the best skimmer you can get.

[Ktlk]

IMO fowlr need a good skimmer, an ozoniser/UV & lots of lr.

[Paul B]

For a fish only system the best system (IMO) is a wet dry.
You could of course add a skimmer and live rock. A canister filter should be used sporatically with carbon but it should not be left on the tank more than a few days.
Paul

[Mad Scientist]

Big Skimmer, lots of LR, lots of circulation

[JDM130]

First you need to decide what kind of stock you want to keep.. A 60 gal. isnt to big and adding 60-90 pounds of LR will leave little room for the fish unless of course you are planning to keep just tiny fish or have a sump to keep the LR in.

That being said a WD filter is a very effective form of filtration however there are downsides to WD's. One of them is usually high nitrates. They are very efficient at converting ammonia to less toxic nitrates but with that comes sometimes unmanagible nitrates.

Another option that many over look is a sand filter or fluidized bed. This type of filtration does a great job at quickly converting ammonia to the final non toxic compound. This is the type of filtration that many large wholsalers use because it can handle large spikes and quickly recover. The sand inside the chamber offers tremendous surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonize on. However they do require some maintenance and proper flow thru the chamber is about the most important aspect of these filters.

Whatever you decide just be sure to have a sump and of course a GOOD skimmer. Don't let anyone tell you a skimmer is not important or you don't need one. It is possible to succesfully keep a tank with out one but why??? Protein skimming is the only type of chemicle filtration that physicaly removes organics that you can see, smell, and touch (if you really want to). No other type of filtration does this including carbon. To me this is one of the most important devices you can get and it's best not to skimp in this department.

IMHO, I feel that LR, LS, a sump, and an agressive skimmer is probably the best choice to keep a well maintaned tank for the long haul. And one more thing, seriously consider a quarentine tank as well.

HTH,
Jeff

[jrcastro]

thanks for the replies. How muc live rock & live sand do i need? can i use base rock & mix it with a bit of live rock to seed the base rock?

[Paul B]

Yes, you can use base rock and mix it with live rock.
Paul

[spamin76]

Two words - protein skimmer - the bigger, the better.

[spamin76]

Originally posted by jrcastro
thanks for the replies. How muc live rock & live sand do i need? can i use base rock & mix it with a bit of live rock to seed the base rock?

The amount of live rock depends on the density of the stone - In general .75 lbs per gallon is ok with porous rock and 1.25 pounds per gallon works generally well for more dense rock. Yes you can use base rock with a few pieces of LR - just provide a little time for it to get established. The same guidelines for baserock applies to the above. - denser rock you need more, less dense rock you need less.

These are just recommendations... you can add more or less based on your discretion