New Guy - Couple Questions

Hey all. New to the forum.

Just starting to setup my new Oceanic 58 gallon. Still have to buy a filtration system(suggestions welcome on that) and lighting system to get going. I'm looking to setup a reef tank and can't wait to get started! I had a 25 gallon for a year or two a few years ago so I'm not a complete noob, but I'm enjoying learning everything over again.

I keep getting told I need to get a retrofit lighting system, what does that mean? Also any suggestions on a filtration system?

Thanks,
PJ

 

as far as filtration goes the bigger the better, a retrofit lighting system means that a company, like coralife, did not put it together it means you bought a ballast pendant and bulb, and any other parts required for lighting, and attached them to a canopy you either bought or built, they are usually cheaper and easier to adjust to your needs

 

Welcome to 3Reef my fellow Floridian;D Im assuming that you live in Jupiter, FL. Heres a little crash course on filtration.

Types of Filtration
There are three basic types of filtration: mechanical, chemical and biological. Of the three, biological filtration is the only one that is unquestionably necessary. Many people rely primarily on protein skimming and biological filtration, and only use mechanical and chemical filtration on an as-needed basis to treat specific problems, stopping once the problem is under control.
Mechanical Filtration
Mechanical filtration is any process by which waste particles are physically removed from the water. This is typically done by running the water through some sort of filter pad, or a series of filter pads. As the water passes through, debris is trapped in the pads and stays there.
Biological Filtration
Biological filtration is the removal of ammonia and nitrites from the water via oxidizing bacteria. With live rock and/or a DSB, anaerobic bacteria can also consume the nitrates in your tank. (This is covered in more detail in the nitrogen cycle section.) In time, pretty much every surface in the aquarium will be covered in beneficial bacteria that assist in biological filtration.
The surfaces in the tank may not provide room for a large enough population of bacteria to eliminate all the ammonia that is produced by the inhabitants. In order to increase the capacity for biological filtration, some sort of porous media can be put into your external filtration system. Porous objects have extremely large surface areas, so a small amount of bio-media can greatly increase your system's ability to neutralize ammonia. If your aquarium has enough live rock, additional biological filtration may not be needed. (Live rock is quite porous and can therefore greatly increase your population of beneficial bacteria.)

Chemical Filtration
Chemical filtration is the use of some sort of chemical reaction to remove unwanted substances from the water. The most common chemical filtration agent used in aquaria is activated carbon (i.e. charcoal filters). Activated carbon removes things like chlorine (which should not be in your water in the first place) and DOC's. There are also chemical filtration media for the removal of phosphates, silicates and other substances. You must be careful when using chemical filtration because many kinds can cause new problems if not used properly. If you perform regular water changes with untainted water (i.e. RO water) and do not overfeed or overstock, there should generally not be a need for chemical filtration.

Wet/Dry Filters
A wet/dry filter (also known as a trickle filter) is a fairly simple system for providing biological and mechanical filtration, as well as aeration, in your sump. Water from the tank is poured onto a plate with a bunch of small holes in it. Water spreads across this "splash plate" and trickles down through the holes. Below the splash plate is some kind of bio-media, such as Bio-Balls. As water trickles through the porous media, it is exposed to air, as well as oxidizing bacteria. This aerates the water and removes ammonia and nitrites. After passing through the bio-media, the water is passed through some kind of mechanical filter to remove particulate debris. Chemical filtration can also be added at this stage. From here, it enters the main area of the sump, where a protein skimmer is typically housed. The water is then pumped back into the tank by means of a return pump. Wet/dry filters are very easy to maintain and can easily be constructed as a DIY project if you are on a tight budget.
Although a wet/dry filter is a good way to expand your biological filtration and aerate your water, it is not perfect for every application. The big drawback associated with a wet/dry filter is that it tends to create a lot more nitrates than your typical biological filtration would. This occurs because, when exposed to air, the bacteria do not only break down ammonia and nitrites, but they also break down proteins into nitrates. Also, when ammonia and nitrite are converted to nitrate by live rock, the nitrate is created in close proximity to the deeper, anaerobic areas of the rock that are occupied by nitrate-consuming bacteria. Excess nitrates mean you need to either change your water more often, or add a refugium with some macroalgae to consume some of the nitrates.
One other way to get around the problem of excess nitrates in a system with a wet/dry filter is to remove some or all of the biomedia that are in the aerating section of the filter. You can experiment with different amounts of biomedia to figure out what is right for your system. You are looking to get the least amount of nitrates possible, while keeping ammonia and nitrite levels low enough that they are undetectable. This will be primarily be determined by your bioload and the amount of live rock in your system. Ideally, if you have enough live rock, you do not need any biomedia at all. A system such as this, with live rock and a protein skimmer providing virtually all of the filtration, is called a Berlin system. I still like to keep my wet/dry filter in place because having the water trickle through the plate and splash into the sump does a great deal to aerate the water and keep they oxygen levels high.

What is Protein Skimming?
There are some impurities that accumulate in the water of your aquarium that will most likely not be fully removed via your mechanical and biological filtration. These impurities are called dissolved organic compounds (DOC's). For quite some time, commercial and industrial filtration systems have employed a process called foam fractioning to remove DOC's. A protein skimmer is essentially a foam fractioning system for your aquarium. It pulls out water, removes DOC's, and returns the clean water to the tank. If not removed from the water, the DOC's would result in a buildup of oils and phosphates from fats, and nitrates from proteins. Exactly how protein skimmers remove DOC's will be explained below.
How Does a Protein Skimmer Work?
Foam fractioning is a relatively simple process. If you agitate pure water by blowing bubbles into it, the bubbles at the surface burst quickly and no foam develops. However, if the water has fats and/or proteins dissolved in it, the bubbles will not burst as easily and a foam will form as you continue to inject air bubbles. If you've ever blown bubbles with a straw in a glass of milk, you've seen this in action. Milk is basically water with some fats, proteins and sugars dissolved in it. So when you blow bubbles in it, a foam forms. If you were to continually blow bubbles into the milk and scoop the foam off the top, you would eventually remove most of the DOC's (fats and proteins), as well as some of the water.
This is what a protein skimmer does. It creates bubbles in the water and as foam forms on top of the water, it falls into a collection container while the clean water (the stuff that wasn't part of the foam) is returned to your tank. There is a variety of mechanisms by which different protein skimmers accomplish this, but they all operate on this basic idea.
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If you want more info, try this web-site Saltwater Aquarium Setup Guide very helpful
Luna

 

welcome to 3reef!


you can either buy a whole set up or what was said above do that and put it into a canopy.....i have done both....and it really depends on the demensions on the tank and what you are going to keep in it, i have a 55 gallons with pc lights, that was purchased but a 135 gallon with metal halides and pc's that were constructed.

as for filterations, ^^ luna killed it with that.....sure it sounds complicated now....but it will get easy after a while.

 

How wide is your tank?

Welcome to 3reef!

 

Welcome "new guy"

Glad to see you found way here.

Best filtration money can buy is lots of Live Rock and some kind of a skimmer.

Lots of different skimmers available at wide range of price...

Take a look thru them and let us know what you think best fits your needs...

You will get lots of advice here.

Have fun...and Good Luck!!

;D

 

Welcome jupitersailfish! You've found the best reef forum on the web. Take in everything these guys say, read everything they give you to read, they're phenominal!

 

Thanks guys. Good to see a fellow Floridian;D

The tank is 36" long, 18" wide, 19 1/2" tall.

I think I'm going to put in a wet/dry filter and hopefully a refugium. I'm still going to shop around town for lights, one store wants $264.99 for a retrofit kit.

 

yeah, you would need a retrofit if you want to keep the canopy. you could use t5's. VHO's or Halides

 

Howdy! and welcome to 3Reef, $264.99 sounds like a lot it all depends on what are you planning to keep, and what kind of retrofit they offered, if you r keeping just fish there no need for a whole lot of lights, now if you intend to keep some softies false coral etc. that amount will buy you something decent, but if you decide to get into hard coral like acros and other hard to keep specimens you might just need some high wattage mh.
Good looking tank there btw! and happy shopping