new to the group

[admsfm]

I have enjoyed reading everyones logs in the past and now need more help.

I have kept freshwater tanks for the last 10 or so years. I have a 55 gal with african ciclids and a 48 with some semiaggresives. I also have a corner 46 gal that is empty now. I tried (and failed) a sw tank about 4 years ago but didn't put enough research into it. So here I am again.

I have read that for a reef aquarium it is good to do a reverse flow undergravel. I bought a kit to convert my powerheads. But I also read that many corals need a strong current. I was relying on the power heads to do that. Which is better. And lastly, are the powerheads and a protein skimmer adequate filtration?

thanks so much,

[Bifferwine]

Uh oh! No undergravel filter! Stay away from undergravel filter in saltwater! That's sooooooo 30 years ago! . UGFs are like the kiss of death to a reef tank.

But seriously, undergravel filters work well for freshwater systems. They are just awful for saltwater. What ends up happening is crap gets trapped in the substrate and underneath it, decays, and poisons your water. Undergravel filters will lead to high nitrates and phosphates, algae blooms, and poor water quality. Eventually the undergravel filter will clog with substrate, rendering it useless anyways. This leads to dead spots of water in your tank, and stagnant water leads to poor water quality. Not to mention that airstones get clogged with salt, and really just don't work in saltwater. Plus, there really is no way to clean out an undergravel filter without removing EVERYTHING else from the tank. Bottom line -- skip it.

In my opinion, the BEST method of filtration for a saltwater tank is plenty of live rock (1 to 2 lbs per gallon of tank size) and a good protein skimmer. If you have those two things, you can't go wrong. Of course, other people have different things in their systems, and other things work, but live rock and a skimmer are the two most important components of your filtration system.

Powerheads work great for current. In a 48 gallon tank you will probably want 2 or 3 strong ones. My favorite brand are the Hydor Koralias. They are pricey but well worth it. Much cheaper and also very reliable are MaxiJets.

Oh and welcome! Feel free to post any more questions that you may have.

[yote]

Welcome to the reef.
Like Biff said,UGFs are useless as tits on a boar hawg when it comes to saltwater.
A good skimmer and plenty of live rock will take care of your filtration.A good clean up crew will take care of the rest.
Good luck with it.

[MikMcgyver]

Welcome to the reef, Biff has got ya covered there. Pleant of LR(live rock) and LS(live sand) will get ya going, a good skimmer and yer off.... We love pics here, peeps will comment back on stuff, especially if ya got probs...

[Bifferwine]

Originally Posted by yote

UGFs are useless as tits on a boar hawg when it comes to saltwater.

HA HA HA!!!!!!!

[bobby]

Welcome to the site.

UGF are not good for saltwater, because over time it will trap too much stuff and ultimatly lead to a crash. Your best means of filtration is 1 to 2 LBS of live rock per gal and a good skimmer. You dont have to but it is best to avoid filter with pads or HOB and canister filters because they can lead to exsess nitrates if not cleaned often. Go to the top of this page and check out the helpful articals and if you have more questions feel free to post em.

[jhnrb]

Welcome to living reefs

[cgoodman381]

Ok so first of all welcome. I Have done freshwater for some time to, and now the only freshwater tank i have is my 20G with my Freshwater Lionfish in it.

To summerize everything on the site:
Post Pics
Dont go to fast with your tanks
post pics!!!!!
the people here know what their talking about, from what i can tell =D
POST PICS!!@!!!11
Lastly dont have people msg you for your tank info lol
Oh and POST PICS!!!!!!!!!!

[reeffreak]

Welcome to the site!

I agree with everyone else....avoid UGF!

You can have a successful reef with enough live rock(1-2lbs per gallon),a good protein skimmer and circulation/powerheads for water movement.

[fishbait]

welcome to the reefs. sounds like everyone has you covered on ugf so I won't repeat.