Archivarium 2004

[freya]

hi.. I'm from croatia - europe, so pls sorry for my bad english..
I have 100 gal tank and I would like to make fish only tank with clown fish in it.. I have experience with fresh water aquariums and I understand ruls of aquariums.. the tank will have ONLY fish in it.. no corals or invertebrates..

I would like to know what is a cheapest and easiest filtration for that kind of tank?

tnx..

[TheVillageIdiot]

cheapest and easiest?

I don't know if you can do both as, in my opinion, the easiest is a protien skimmer (perhaps 2 in your case) and live rock, but then again, that's "easy" in the sense that it only involves setting up the protien skimmer(s) and putting live rock in the tank... live rock ain't cheap and it requires some care (feeding, water conditions) to keep it alive, the s/g in a live rock tank will need to be higher (1.023 min, imo) to keep the c.pods and inverts on it alive 'n kicking!

the cheapest way to do it, and again, imo, cheap and saltwater tanks, especially for beginners, probably aren't going to go together well... the cheapest way to do it is to using a HOB filter, perhaps a fluidized sand bed, a HOB protien skimmer, and a UV sterilizer, again, this won't be cheap, but it's probably the cheapest, unless you can legally get live rock for free somewhere...

anyway, hope I didn't confuse you, and before you make a decision let some of the advisors or moderators reply to this thread as they have a lot more experience w/ marines than I do...

good luck!
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20g planted - 1.5 wpg - pea gravel/sand/laterite - DIY co2

[dale]

Hi Freya,
One idea is to go to the saltwater fish section and read some posts by Florida Boy who has a system using underground filters and sand. I don't have any experience with this but he does and thinks it is good for fish only tanks. If you want him to explain it you can always Private message him.
Good luck!
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Think like a fish

[KDodds]

Actually, the cheapest, easiest, and most stable way to do it is simply with a DSB, base rock, and a few powerheads. Add a light fixture (normal output is fine) and a heater and you're done. A 100 gallon tank housing only a couple of clowns is going to seem a bit empty tho. Luckily, you've plenty of room to add a few more smaller species which will still be within bio-load capabilities of such a system. And no, you don't NEED a skimmer.
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Kieron Dodds
Inside Aquatics
www.insideaquatics.com

[TheVillageIdiot]

kdodds, she (or he?) admits to being a beginner, imo, it's probably a good idea for this individual to have a protein skimmer...
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20g planted - 1.5 wpg - pea gravel/sand/laterite - DIY co2

[KDodds]

In 100 gallons? With only a pair of clowns? I disagree, a skimmer is NOT necessary in such an instance, not at all. Routine water changes of 10% every two to three months should be all that is required (if that even) to maintain such a system. Now, a pair of clowns in 100 liters would be a different story, but still not a scenario where a PS would be a requirement. FWIW, I'm running a JBJ Nano-Cube with a C. argi and a Plectranthias sp., with all media removed, 1 pH added, a 1" LSB and 6lbs of LR, without a PS and the daily upkeep amounts to cleaning the glass and feeding. I top off weekly, if that. How difficult do we need to make things for beginners anyway? My daughter's 20 reef is also running skimmerless. Besides looking a little skanky (she doesn't clean the glass), there are no real problems there either, even with a Yellowtail Damsel and Arabian Dottyback. The only thing I do with that tank is top off and feed. My wife is running a Dwarf Seahorse JBJ Nano-cube, also skimmerless, also without any media (except carbon). Again, other than the expected algal/cyano blooms, no problems. Again, the only real maintenance that will be long term (we're working with manual removal of cyano patches now) will be topping off and feeding.
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Kieron Dodds
Inside Aquatics
www.insideaquatics.com

[TheVillageIdiot]

Sir Dodds,

I was under the impression she wanted to have a bunch of clowns in the tank... clowns of all sorts and colors...

I'm curious, what, in your opinion, is the best filtration system for a saltwater tank w/ a moderate bio load? That is, for a non reef system!
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20g planted - 1.5 wpg - pea gravel/sand/laterite - DIY co2

[KDodds]

"A bunch" of clowns would certainly be a big mistake from the standpoint of territoriality and aggression. Sometimes A. ocellaris or A. percula can be kept this way successfully, but not always. Other clown species are far less accomodating.

As far as what "the best" filtration method is, each situation is different. For instance, in a "moderate bio-load" large predator tank, nutrient levels can be tremendous. While a DSB can usually handle it without problem, it is often more efficient and easier to use a wet/dry and water changes. Then, the problem is also in defining "moderate bio-load". I know what that means to me, but what does that mean to others? To the systems they're running? Here, however, I would recommend a DSB and Base Rock setup, possibly seeded with a few lbs of LR, and cycled using the shrimp method.
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Kieron Dodds
Inside Aquatics
www.insideaquatics.com

[TheVillageIdiot]

how's about a non-predatory tank w/ roughly 3 gallons per inch of fish and a few inverts...
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20g planted - 1.5 wpg - pea gravel/sand/laterite - DIY co2

[KDodds]

Again, species plays an important role. For instance, a 30 gallon tank with a 10" Angel is going to be seriously hurting no matter what you do. But, being more reasonable, if the fish are all close to the 3" range or smaller, you should have no problem running skimmerless with a DSB. Now, take out the DSB and that's another story altogether. Keep in mind as well that circulation in such a system should be a minimum of 10x tank volume per hour. But then, I wouldn't do ANY marine tank at less than that.
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Kieron Dodds
Inside Aquatics
www.insideaquatics.com