[cichlidfort]

I am setting up a 55 gallon tank and I was wondering if my filtration equipment was aquedate enough.

350 penguin Bio wheel power filter
20i Whisper in tank filter
Prizm Deluxe Protein Skimmer
65 lbs of live rock

Is that enough filtration?

[Reefland]

Overkill, ditch the Penguin and the Whisper. All you need is the skimmer, liverock and water changes.

[ANGRY JOHN]

THROWING IN SOME POWERHEADS FOR CIRCULATION WOULD'T HURT EITHER. WATER FLOW AND LIGHTING ARE THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS IN A REEF. IF THE BIO WHEEL IS STILL IN THE BOX I WOULD TAKE IT BACK TO THE LFS AND TRADE IT IN ON A FEW MAXIJET POWERHEADS AND THAT WOULD DO A LOT MORE FOR YA.

[cichlidfort]

oh sorry for the confusion guys. i have a maxi jet powerhead and a picor powerhead for both sides of the tank along along with two satelite flourescent fixtures. Sorry about the confusion and left out details. But with all of that, is that good enough?

[Reefland]

Again, I would remove the two power filters, they will give you no real benefit and may cause problems.

[Steven Pro]

I would also suggest you join a local club. There are generally a wealth of information. Orlando has a pretty good one called ORCA. Beyond that, a couple of good books will help tremendously. Mike Paletta's "The New Marine Aquarium" and Fossa & Neilson's "Reef Secrets" are both great beginner books.

[cichlidfort]

How would my filters cause problems? Why would they make such if they don't do any good?

I already have some good books but the real thing is experience that will help me the most and advice from other aquarists.

[BubbaWPB]

Originally Posted by cichlidfort

How would my filters cause problems?

Buildup of "detruitus" (the stuff filtered out) decomposes with the help of bacteria in the filter to produce nitrites and nitrates. Instead of cleaning your water, it can produce noxious wastes. Yes, you can use the filters safely, but you MUST clean/service them regularly. Why go through all the work and expense if the filter really isn't necessary?

Originally Posted by cichlidfort

Why would they make such if they don't do any good?

Pick an answer:
1. They are not bad for freshwater aquariums where live rock and skimmers aren't an option.
2. There are some people who would sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

Hint: both are correct

[Reefland]

I think Bubba covered it well. The filters can become nutrient traps if not frequently cleaned and to keep them from doing this, they must be cleaned frequently. There is nothing the filters can do that liverock and skimming won't do so adding the extra maintenance is not worth it.

[cichlidfort]

Are you guys positive about my filters? Are you also sure that a prizm deluxe and my liverock will do the job?

[Reefland]

Positive.

[ANGRY JOHN]

The Basic Bit About The Filters Have Already Been Covered But On The Side Why Would You Want Somthing Hanging On The Tank If It Is Not Doing Any Good. The Basic Idea Is To Have These Kinds Of Filters On Fish Only Type Tanks Because It Slows Down The Rate Of Polution And Polishes The Water. As You Will Be Using A Protien Skimmer That Will Remove These Things Before They Are Broken Down Then They Become Redundant And Usless. The Big Idea Is To Remove It All Before It Is Bologicaly Broken Down. The Live Rock Also Provides More Than Ample Space For Any Biological Filtering That Needs To Be Done. In Saying All Of This It Also Brings Out What A Vital Piece Of Gear Your Protien Skimmer Is So If It Is The Only Nessary Piece Of "filtration" That Is Added To The System It Pays Big To Have The Best One You Can Find/aford. If You Realy Want To Save Money Look At Building Your Own.

[cichlidfort]

I said i already have a deluxe protein slimmer.

[ANGRY JOHN]

i am sory as i do not have any experence or have not herd to much about that particular skimmer so i guess that is what i should have said. been on a big skimmer kick lately doing lots of lookups on design and theory and mabe thats why i was on that kick. anywase there important and sounds like your confident in the one ya got so great. best of luck.

[cichlidfort]

I hope its good one. it go up to a 100 gallons and i have a 55 gallon tank so it should be good enough.

[ANGRY JOHN]

i was curious about it so i did a skimmer search of this forum last night to get some background as i felt that next time i did not want to be in the dark about it. what i found is mixed reviews. i am comming back to the states in a few months and will be setting up my own 40 gallon breeder as it has been over a year that i have been stuck in england and not having a tank around kinda sucks. if your into projects mabe a diy skimmer might be better for you. i plan on making a diy standard counter current of the 3" dia vority and trying to go back to the basics. as i think that most skimmers are way over priced and do not follow the fundimentals of skimmer theory. there is a lot of information out there discussing skimmer theory. the project skimmers can be made for less than 50 bucks and i am shure they have there place. i hear that the remora is a great skimmer for that size and might be somthing to consider. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php this is a link about the above theory. http://www.hawkfish.org/snailman/diy3inskimmer.htm this a design that i plan to use with a little modification. i like the idea of being able to control the flowrate thre the skimmer and the traditonal air driven cc is the only way that this can be a complished. i believe also that the new designs are compromises to make the skimmer smaller and more managable. there are other diy plans out there if you look around. hope this is some info you find useful insted of intimidating as i want every hobbiest to be sucessful. john

[ksfireman]

I DID have a prizm and was not happy with it at all. If I were you I would sell it and get a Coralife Super Skimmer. I have a Coralife Super Skimmer and it beats the prizm hands down...not to mention the fact that these Coralife Skimmers are not that expensive either.

Bradd

[cichlidfort]

Could I have two skimmers. A coral life and a prizm?

[ANGRY JOHN]

you could have two skimmers but i think that would be redundant and who wants more equipment they have to clean monitor and care for. one well tuned skimmer should be all you need and mabe you could recoup some money by selling the other if you cannot return it.

[Poseidon]

Yup the super skimmers are actually pretty good. I have been watching 2 at a LFS running on a FOWLR and the larger one on a REef, both pull out quite a bit of CRAP!