Overkill filteration ?

Just curious I'm new to salt tanks, my tanks currently 1 month new, 20 gallon(tall). Here is my current specs.....1 inch live sand, 25 lbs live rock, 500 gph power head(500gph), hot magnum 250 gph, Marineland Penguin HOB(250GPH).... I have a AquaC Nano Remora Protein Skimmer with a Cobalt MJ900 Pump on its way...So this would net me at 1130 GPH.....I guess my question to you guys is should I ditch one of the filters? Possibly the Hot magnum? From what I read on these forums the canister style filters aren't exactly "ideal" among saltwater enthusiasts because they are nitrate traps.....

P.S. all I currently have is some zoothanthellae and a occelaris, but plan on getting soft corals and maybe some more difficult corals far far down the line when my tanks much more established....Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

 

I believe you can never have too much filtration. With saltwater though, live rock is the largest contributor to filtration, followed by the protein skimmer IMO.

Some like canisters, others dont. If you end up keeping it, just clean it regularly. I would see at least once a week.

Your HOB filter, what are you running in it? If it has any filter pads or a bio-wheel, I would remove those because they act the same was as a canister filter. Stuff will just collect in them and rot. As far as keeping it, up to you. It will help with surface agitation and flow and you could always use it to run carbon in your system if you ever need to.

And zoothanthellae is a type of algae that lives inside coral and through photosynthesis provides food for many corals/inverts.

Did you mean zoanthids?

And for keeping corals down the line. What lights do you have now and what kind of corals do you plan to keep, or ever want to?

And welcome to 3reef!

 

Thank you for the reply Inertiatic!

To answer your questions i've been just running the standard power filter cartrididges that the HOB comes with, aka black diamond carbon. I recently removed the bio-wheel from it because it was making way to much noise with the wheel and very quite without the wheel. The paticular canister I'm running(h.o.t. magnum) can run either carbon or Water Polishing Micron Cartridge which again, I'm using the chorcoal (black diamond)...What type of media should I keep in each of these filters?

I apolgize I meant zoanthids, I was running on about 4 hours of sleep when I typed that first segment.

To be 100% honest I think I will need to get corals way down the line because my knowledge on them is very minimal and I wish know more about them and what I need to keep them alive and well in my tank....Any suggestions on some "easy" corals? As far as lighting goes I just have the marineland reef capable lighting(24-36 inch) for now, which I got for free as a gift from a friend ......

P.S. I see you're from Temcula, I'm from Escondido

 

I'm of no assistance when it comes to what to run in the canister filter. Hopefully someone will chime in.

As for easy corals, zoas like you have now are always easy and pretty much any soft coral. My first coral was a frag of pulsing xenia that has been through a lot. I couldn't kill that thing if I tried. Mushrooms are also a good choice. But just remember that most soft corals are generally quick growers and will try to grow over other corals. Just be mindful of placement.

I know your LEDs won't be strong enough for some light hungry corals, but in a 20 gallon, your softies should be fine.

What kind of lighting were you looking I upgrade to?

And nice, a reefer who is near me. What fish stores do you frequent around the area?

 

You are doing well with the carbon in the Magnum. I would take the Penguin down as it is redundant in your set up unless you want to polish the water by using floss in it. You will want to change out the carbon and floss every two weeks so the filters do not take over the nitrogen conversion duties of your live rock.

 

extra filtration will never hurt you in my opinion, but it does come with unnecessary maintenance. and when you have a big reef tank unnecessary maintenance is not what you want, when you have a list full of things that you HAVE to do.

 

Inertiatic,

before I decide exactly what route I'm going with my lighting I think I probably should decide exactly what type of corals I want to keep.....But ideally i'd like to keep my current setup and down the line add DIY L.E.D set up with some CREE l.e.ds but thats a bit down the line, I think I'll stick with my current light for about 6 months and just get some soft corals for now......Any recommendations on fish places? I have got everything online thus far...


2in10:

so you're saying ideally to just keep carbon in the magnum, and ideally I should keep floss in the penguin or just remove it all together? Also when u say change out carbon and floss every 2 weeks do u mean rinse it out, or should I actually replace the carbon and floss every 2 weeks?

 

DIY route would be cool. I would recommend whenever you get your lighting to just get something that wont really restrict what corals you can keep in the future. I started my tank as a FOWLR and then just had to have corals. I never thought I would end up keeping SPS so I only got a 2 bulb fixture, and now I have a 4 bulb so I can keep whatever I want in my tank.

I like Fish Haven is in Escondido off of Valley Parkway. Pretty good variety and fair prices for the most part. I've gotten some awesome frags there for under $20 bucks.

I hear there is a store in Vista somewhere, but I haven't gone searching for it yet.

And then south of the 78 I have no idea. I hear there are a few good ones. Aqua SD is a sponsor here and just opened up a new shop in Claremont. I've been wanting to go check it out.

 

ohh **** I totally forgot about fish haven......Ya I've definitely been there but its been a couple years........I'll have to see what they have in stock TYVM