Jessie Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 hey guys, Im a fresh water guy about to jump into the marine world. I have a 30 gallon bow front aquarium and want to go with a reef set up. Im kinda stuck on wether to purchase a canister filter or a protein skimmer. can you guys chime in on what will work best? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 well you aren't comparing apples to apples. A canister filter is basically a place to put filter media (like activated carbon, chemical sponges, etc) and can be a nitrate farm (not a good thing) for a saltwater tank A protein skimmer uses air bubbles to pull out organic stuff (fish poop, pee, etc) in the water. Protein skimmers help reduce your nitrates and are an essential element of any successful saltwater aquarium. Your canister filter days are behind you, time to step into the saltwater addiction and leave the freshwater equipment behind... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 Great reply, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Great reply, thanks I agree! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robb in Austin Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I dunno, sounded kinda high brow and snooty to me. You know, all know-it-all-ish. JK. Mark gave a great reply. Check out his blog/You Tube show for more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Great reply, thanks happy help. Keep asking all the questions you want, I (and the rest of the club) are happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 I'll look them up tonight. My wife thought I was obsessed with my freshwater set up. She's got a big surprise in store with marine, lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekreefer Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 If you want to save on cost you can start-up the tank and cycle w/o the protein skimmer. You will want to buy one before adding corals IMO. You can start-up the saltware tank, add your liverock and within 4 weeks you will want to have added one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 I didn't know that Derek. I'm ready to buy a protein skimmer though so I probably won't wait. I have a 10 gallon I'll probably use as a sump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caferacermike Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Argghhh Not with the apples to apples thing again..... That's my thing. Grrrr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Argghhh Not with the apples to apples thing again..... That's my thing. Grrrr. I knew you were going to be in here saying that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I ran a cannister and a skimmer on my 29. I ran it this for 2 years before upgrading it to a 58. So you can use it until you can afford an overflow, and a sump. Oh and welcome to the addiction. . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I'd encourage you to get Sprung and Delbecks "Reef Aquarium Vol III". Chapters 5, 6, 7and 8 cover water chemistry, filtration methodology, water movement and lighting and I feel are an excellent place to start. Beside the wealth of first hand experience here (I've been keeping saltwater for 23 years and find this a very useful site for info) two other sites I like are http://www.wetwebmedia.com and http://www.advancedaquarist.com , and to reiterate Mcallahan "keep asking all the questions you want". I would also encourage you to keep simplicity in mind when designing and putting together your systems (I use the plural because I'm pretty sure you'll be setting up bigger and/or additional tanks to feed your addiction ). Over the years I've seen systems with all the bells and whistles but were failing because of poor design or layout made maintaining them an onerous chore. Here's a interesting article talking about this http://www.wetwebmed...es/Advances.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derekreefer Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 I got alot out of Sprung and Delbecks "Reef Aquarium Vol I". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardsfan12 Posted September 4, 2010 Share Posted September 4, 2010 The "Simple guide to marine aquariums" book I picked up from Petsmart got me up and running. It was an easy and helpful read with lots of pictures(my kind of book). My first tank was a 55 gallon with a Filstar canister filter and a red sea prism protein skimmer( I hate the prisms and would never recommend it by the way). I ran it for four years just fine with fish and some leathers, mushrooms and such. However, if your like most of us, no matter how convinced you are that your just going to dip your toe in the water and get a fish only set up, you are most likely going to end up with corals at some point. That being said, you might as well get the all of the neccesary basic equiptment up front. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted September 4, 2010 Author Share Posted September 4, 2010 I'm spending the weekend researching all your suggestions and links guys. Thanks for everything. I'll keep you guys posted on what I do and post some pics hopefully next week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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