[MilanoMami24]

Hey, i know its me again with yet another novice question.Is live rock absolutely necessary to have a basic saltwater? Can i just use a canister filter and a really good protein skimmer to keep up with the waste? Or is there another alternative to it? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[reseter5]

you need some kind of biological filtration... i know plenty of people using good canisters and a lot of skimming.. i would go with a wet dry if you dont want rock... it adds size to your system... but you have options... t also depends on the bioload of your tank...

[Ninong]

Originally Posted by MilanoMami24

Is live rock absolutely necessary to have a basic saltwater?

No, it's not "absolutely necessary." It just makes a lot more sense than going without it.

[reseter5]

i saw a huge difference when i went from bioballs to live rock... plus the look is even better

[dobz55]

I gota tell you I have run a canister since I set up 4 mnth ago and have never ever been able to achieve a zero Nitrate reading I have just today on advise from here and other forums removed it, go for live rock and let nature do it,s work

[leebca]

Salt water aquariums for fish only never used live rock for over three decades here in the USA. It isn't necessary for a FO aquarium at all.

I set up about 150 salt water aquariums for FO without live rock. Like previously mentioned, something has to be there to perform the biological filtration. In the 'first' old days, it was the undergravel filter. Nowadays there are many cannister filters that, when filled with proper media, perform biological filtration quite nicely.

This system produces nitrates which don't (for the most part) bother the fish. Nitrates are exported by water changes. This system can be modified to reduce nitrates by the use of macro algae (in a refugium or other places), a deep sand bed, chemical filtration, or a combo of these. But when it comes to the FO aquarium, nitrates are not evil.

It wasn't until the use of live rock that an aquarium could function more like a reef and then was born the reef aquarium. Now nitrates could be controlled to lower levels to accommodate marine life forms that don't tolerate nitrates very well.

[philolsen]

Although it is not necassary, it makes a huge difference. When I had tanks with decorative pieces onlt I had algae issues and the live stock was acceptable, once I went to LR, everything improved, water quality, less algae, the fish had better color and activity. I would never set up another tank without it.

[Old Man Of The Sea]

Salt water aquariums for fish only never used live rock for over three decades here in the USA. It isn't necessary for a FO aquarium at all

Myself as well, a great many years ago had not used LR in any F/O tanks. And yet it would hurt, but isn't a big deal when it comes to F/O tanks.

You might want to please those by removing the bio media in the canister and placing small LR instead>