Filter question

[Greenman]

Im turning my tank from a FOWLR into a reef. at the moment I have an ehiem canister filter a friend gave me. If i clean the media once every other week will it work alright as a filter. In 6 months i'l lhave the funds for a 10 gal sump (30 gal reef) but plannin on using the canister till that point.

 

[reefnoob]

A sump doesn't really work as a filter, it just adds extra water volume. In saltwater, a canister filter would be replaced with live rock and a good skimmer.

 

[Greenman]

I've got 20-30lbs of rock. I am looking for a skimmer. You think just a small job would be fine?

 

[reefnoob]

What do you mean by small job?

 

[Greenman]

Lol stupid phone... Hob

 

[Marinne13]

yes a HOB skimmer will work...if you are only doing 30G than you really don't need a sump

 

[reefnoob]

Yes a HOB can work. I have a 90 gallon tank and I have a HOB as well. Although, if you could have a sump, I would suggest getting one. I read that in-sump skimmers work better than HOB ones. And if you put a skimmer in your sump, you won't have to look at an ugly piece of equipment in your otherwise beautiful tank.

 

[BL1]

Honestly, with a 30g a sump or a skimmer aren't necessary. You can get away with only weekly water changes as an acceptable "filter".

 

[Greenman]

I figured a sump on a 30 was good to increase the volume so drastic chem. changes were not so drastic

 

[noy]

I figured a sump on a 30 was good to increase the volume so drastic chem. changes were not so drastic

I agree. I'm tempted to run a sump on a 5 gallon chi tank. However, you will either have to drill a hole(s) in your tank to let the water flow to the sump (preferred) or have an overflow box. You will also need a good return pump and all the plumbing with this. This adds to the expense of everything. If your water chemistry is manageable right now, it may be a bit expensive to have sump setup just for water volume.

BUT, down the line you may want to invest in some expensive livestock (corals and fish) and decide a sump/refugium setup is required to get the necessary water chemistry.

The canister filters are not that great for saltwater. I think all the media they use to filter/absorb chemicals isn't all that effective for saltwater.

 

[Greenman]

At the moment everything is at 0 so chemistry running great