Extra Filtration

My new 75 gallon tank has 80 lbs of live sand and 120 lbs of live rock, plus a 20 gallon sump with a fuge and a basic HOB protein skimmer (bought it before I realized how important a good skimmer was, unfortunately), and no other filtration. I keep hearing about products like Chemi-Pure and SeaGel, and I was curious whether those were necessary, or recommended?

I plan on keeping coral (whatever my lights can handle), if that matters. Are those products something I should be looking to add? If so, do I just hang bags of them in the sump, or would I need to buy a canister filter?

Thanks for your time.

 

I would take a step back and watch your tank for a week. See what you need or want to do...if you have no livestock there is no harm in perspective

 

Also no canister filter. Ever.

 

Chemipure elite is a nice product and you can run it in a hob filter. Its a mix of carbon and GFO. Carbon helps to keep the water clear and clean up toxins. GFO is used for removing phosphates which promotes unwanted algae growth.

 

my preference is to run both carbon and GFO

you do not need a cannister filter for these although IME that would be OK, provided you clean it regularly

if you have a sump, then a reactor or better still 2, would be better
adding carbon to 1 and GFO to the other

if you plan to have corals in the future, GFO will help reduce/ remove phosphate and thus assist in hopefully keeping your set up algae free

if you plan on having a mixed reef, or a reef with soft corals such as leathers, toadstools etc, then the carbon will help remove chemicals released by these corals, which can irritate other corals (nature's chemical warfare)

 

Thats simply a myth,canister filters can be great sources of filtration.The bad rep they recieve as being nitrate factories has nothing to do with the filter itself,but rather peoples lack of maintenance of the filter.

 

Totally agree 100% been using canister filters for 20yrs proper maintenance is key. With the ones out today, cleaning is a breeze.

 

they have a great (and affordable) dual Carbon/GFO reactor at bulkreefsuppy. There is a group buy thread going on here right now which would give you a better deal then normal. Dual BRS GFO and Carbon Reactor - English. I would maybe take a look at finding a better skimmer. Bulkreef supply has the Vertex that would be perfect for your tank (I have it and love it) for 199. You would get free shipping. Another, more budget minded way is to pick up an eshoppes from Drfostersandsmith or wait until someone breaks down a tank here on the classifieds. Heck, I have an eshoppes I just took down you could buy. Anyways, I think the skimmer is more of a priority then the reactor but the reactor is a good inexpensive add. Good luck

 

I'm definitely considering a skimmer upgrade. I bought the skimmer I have before I knew the importance of it, so I just got the cheapest thing I could find, and I definitely regret it now. I don't want to make the same mistake again, but I'm also on a budget, so the Eshopps looks nice.

Thanks for the advice everyone, you've given me a lot to think about. I don't have any livestock on the tank yet, so I have time.

 

A good skimmer is the way to go.