Filtering issues

[JaxPuffer]

I have some filtering issues with a fairly new tank. I have a 52 gallon (pretty sure that's what it is) that has a over-sized HOB filter, two large powerheads, and about 50 pounds of pretty good really porous LR. The tank cycled really well and is staying pretty steady. It now has two yellow tail damsels (about 1.5"), two GSP's (one is a foster kid looking for a new home about 1.5" each, and a mandarin goby. The copepods in there seem to be thriving pretty well and I always see a lot when the lights go out. My issue is partly money as I cannot afford right at this minute to invest in a sump but, will probably pick one up in June when I get bonus at work. The other part is that the copepods seem to be getting caught up in the HOB filter and I don't want to deplete the tank. If I remove the filter media though I will have nothing to clear the tank of the solids that are suspended. So does anyone have suggestions that wont cost me a couple hundred bucks?

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

[Mek0ng]

Any filter is gonna trap pods. The concern is not that the HOB is trapping pods, but the goby is going to easily decimate the population of pods. The tank sounds rather young and small to house a mandarin. I would advise finding a new home for it if you can not get it to eat prepared foods.

You could turn the HOB filter into a mini fuge by restricting the flow, then fill the filter with live rock rubble, (have no lighting over it) and it would make a nice pod breeding ground, but still not enough to entirely support a mandarin.

[bastallard]

Sponge filters would handle the mechanical and biological filtration and not trap anything, and are inexpensive.

[bastallard]

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10985/product.web This would more than likely fit on your HOB filter.

[bastallard]

Since you already have power heads these would work for you and then you could use your HOB for chemical filtration.
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/248271/product.web

[Mek0ng]

Sponge filters are not advised with a marine system with live rock.

[JaxPuffer]

Sponge filters are not advised with a marine system with live rock.

Can you explain the reasoning behind this? Just curious.

[Nick]

Ideally skimming and the rock will deal with the wastes more efficiently and throughly, which they cannot do if it is trapped in solid form in a sponge.

[bastallard]

Skimming is chemical and the rock is biological, you still need mechanical which sponges do a great job imo and they fit the bill for the original post.

[JaxPuffer]

Skimming is chemical and the rock is biological, you still need mechanical which sponges do a great job imo and they fit the bill for the original post.

I know a lot of the skimmers are pretty pricey. I do not mind investing in a good one that can grow with me but, again, this will have to wait till June. I know there is some HOB styles out there that are pretty affordable for a temporary fix. Has anyone had any luck with these? I have a little to spend right now but not a ton. I realize that the rock does a lot of the biological filtering and that the power heads keep the stuff suspended. It seems like it would need some type of mechanical though to keep the particles out of the water. The idea of the skimmer is to keep the scum off the top right? What about the stuff that gets suspended in the water? Man, I wish June would get here so I can spend some more moola.

Also, thanks again for the help! This forum is great for that.

what about a set up like this one? Is it worth spending the money on?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hang-on-back-wet-dr ... 3a5877899c

Or here is another I found locally.

comm-uejhz-1609384601@craigslist.org

[CarmenH]

You only posted the "reply to" for the craigslist ad...I searched it and here is the link for the actual ad...
http://jacksonville.craigslist.org/pet/1609384601.html
Neither of these are familiar to me, though, so no comment I have coralife superskimmers, you can often find them cheap/used and they have a spotty reputation but I love mine...

[bastallard]

That posting won't last long.

[Mek0ng]

Skimming is chemical and the rock is biological, you still need mechanical which sponges do a great job imo and they fit the bill for the original post.

A sponge filter is used for biological filtration, for instance in a QT tank. In a reef system you want the liverock to do deal with the biological, otherwise you are going to be creating a nitrate issue. The live rock can break down nitrates in the anaerobic regions to certain extent, but not when there is a sponge collecting debris and letting it rot. This is why it is pretty much standard to use a filter sock, either changing daily or just to polish off the water when needed, ie like after a water change. Also a certain amount of plankton and other natural food for the smaller invertebrate life (from corals to worms and beyond) gets filtered out, so its also not common to run them 24/7.

Skimming is chemical and the rock is biological, you still need mechanical which sponges do a great job imo and they fit the bill for the original post.

+1

[Mek0ng]

The idea of the skimmer is to keep the scum off the top right? What about the stuff that gets suspended in the water?

I think you are getting confused with a 'surface skimmer' and a 'protein skimmer'. A surface skimmer will do just that, get rid of surface scum, and is used some many things from swimming pools, ponds, some freshwater, and is part of having a overflow in a tank. A protein skimmer will also use foam to carry out the waste suspended in water.


As for the craigslist posting... I would ask your self if you are going to go sumpless or not. If you are going to eventually get a sump, I would save my $ till you can and just try and do many water changes. If you are going to go sumpless, I again would not waste $ on something cheap.

A used coralife superskimer is a good choice for a cheap in sump option, even though they can be run HOB, they have the flaw that the adjustment knob can and IME will leak, and they have no protection against overskimming and making a mess. A remora or bak-pak is a time tested HOB skimmer, and can be found cheap used. There are also a large number of new HOB skimmer types that I would suggest looking in to such as Octopus HOB skimmers, particularly the super series.

Hope this helps.

[Mek0ng]

Oh and I notice you are looking into wet/drys. Do not use a wet/dry or any other form of bio filtration on a tank with live rock, its a nitrate bomb!