UV Sterilizers, Skimmers, Filters

[HiItsValerie]

What should I look for when buying a UV sterilizer for a 72 gal bowfront???

What Protein skimmer would be best for this size tank - I want a HOT one.

And, finally, would 2 Emperor 400s be sufficient?

I want to keep coral inverts and some fish. :fish:

[Michael_Lambert]

Valerie,

First ensure you have enough live rock for the tank, For the 72G tank i would say 120 Pounds of live rock!

Having that much live rock and a Deep sand bed, You will have no need for the Emperors, In a reef tank you do not want to run any sort of Mechanical filtration, It will cause Nitrates witch are bad for corals!

As for the Skimmer that is Hang on, Maybe look at Berlin Turbo nice skimmer for the type it is.

as for a UV Sterilizer, You don't need it.. Its great when you get Green water or real bad Algae, Running them all the time can kill good bacteria in the tank.

hope this helps
Mike.

[HiItsValerie]

What sort of filter should I get? I really cant afford a sump..... and I'm not very handy with making things....

[Michael_Lambert]

Nothing :)

As long as you have the proper amount of live rock in the tank and 120 Pounds is a really good start, Then you don't need any Filters, as the rock and sand bed will filter the water Naturally!

the only reason people would run sumps is for added water Volume and a place to hide the heaters and such.

If you are looking for something for water flow, then toss in a couple of power heads, Or pick up a nice sized pump something that does say 1000GPH, and run a closed loop on the tank for the water flow!

[HiItsValerie]

I went to a petstore today that had some great dead coral skeletons for AWESOME prices! I think to save some $$ I am going to wait to do corals... They are expesive and since this is my first tank I want to minimize mistakes. For fish and inverts should i use that stuff?

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea thats all cool :)

Just remember when adding fish, Just adding them slowly. Say one fish every couple weeks.. giving your tank a chance to catch up to the bioload on the tank.

[HiItsValerie]

mike, you're awesome!

[Michael_Lambert]

:P

I try:)

Just trying to prevent you from making all the mistakes i made, and mainly that is buying a bunch of things the LFS says you need that you dont...

Now I'm not saying that what you where looking at does not work! .. Because they do, They are just not needed.

Like the filters, Fine for a Fish only tank as they will produce some nitrates witch most fish can handle but not the inverts and corals, And the UV system.. they work.. but again they do kill good stuff that you need in the tank..

[Sohal Tang]

Val, upon reading the posts on this item.....I would
recommend that you go the route you are planning but
to NOT EVER use COPPER in the tank....or any other medication
for that matter so that when you DECIDE to GO FULL BLOWN REEF WITH LIVE ROCK ETC...thennnnnnnn you will not have to
strip it down.....COpper and medications are BRUTAL on a reef.

You can always add live rock later but..but...remember that
there is NO BETTER FILTRATION for your tank then LIVE ROCK.

So...personally...I would go SLOWER and go REEF with the rock.

I did it before...I had a small 50 gallon and I bought a couple
of pieces of live rock....couple weeks later couple more pieces...
the reef went up slowly but believe or not you APPRECIATE IT sort of more that way...then doing the wammy.......

Just my .02 worth
Good luck
p.s if you go REEF I recommend you get advice from OAKVILLE
REEF GALLERY on HOW TO GO SLOW in setting up a reef over time.

Tim

[HiItsValerie]

I was planning to have live rock from the start.... But thanks!

[afss]

If you want a reef in the future its best if you do as has been suggested and prepare for it now.

You should have somewhere BTW 1-2 lbs per gallon or rock. IMO at least 10% live more if you can afford it, the rest can be base rock. What ever you do NEVER use copper medication in any SW tank.. at least IMO.

For substrate i suggest a DSB (Deep Sand Bed) some don't like them, i love them. IMO best thing i ever did for my tank.

For filtration, IMO nothing aside from the rock, sand and probably a skimmer. If you decide to get a skimmer, get a good one, not a cheap one.. you will pay for a good one eventually if you decide to go the skimming route.

As for a sump you can pick up a used 30- gallon tank for around 20 or 30 bucks. This would work great for a sump. Get the tank drilled and a bulkhead should be 40 or so.... you should have an overflow box, but you can make due with just a stand pipe.


Let the tank cycle naturally and don't rush things. After the cycle add a fish or 2 and wait a bit, then add more. Always slowly. If you are going to go with MH lighting then you will be able to keep just about anything once the tank is matured (different than cycled). If not there are still plenty of corals you can keep with lesser powered lighting. Frags are a good place to start with corals as you can try some smaller, less expensive ones first. Also good as they come from tanks rather than the ocean so there is less impact on the reefs.


JMO's

Scott

Forgot.. don't bother with a UV unless you have a specific problem that you are trying to remedy with it.

Scott