Im Confused

[sean11]

HI,
I would like to start a saltwater tank but im a little confused with what i read on the internet. Can you use jut a wet/dry trickel filter wihtout a protin skimmer or do you need both.

hope you can help.

thanks for reading sean11

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends, what size tank are you starting Also, do you want to go with a fish only or a reef setup?

 

[sean11]

Hi im not sure what size it is. I saw it at the petshop and it said it came with a wet/dry filter system but i can never trust what they say at petshops so i just wanted to find out if it needed anything else. Its not a very big tank at-leased 20 galons. i would like to have a fish only tank.

thanks sean11

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, you're in the nano area there sean. Anything 30gal and below is pretty much considered a nano tank. As such, you'll here most people around here, myself included reccomend that you use liverock only as your filtration, and if you can find/afford a small enough skimmer to use that as well. Having enough liverock in the tank (minimum of 1lb per gallon for a nano) will help your tank process nitrates which is essentially what a wet-dry filter does. Do you have a link or a product name and model number on the filter you're considering, that might help us tell you if its worth its salt or not

 

[Aquascaper]

Wet/Dry filters cannont process the Nitrates like live rock does as there's little anaerobic areas in the filter for the Nitrogen Fixing bacteria to live. If you use a wet/dry filter you will have to clean it out religiously to maintain low Nitrate levels whereas a tank with live rock will just need regular partial water changes for maintenance.

You can use them but live rock is the better option, balance up the cost of the Filter and the live rock and see if it's worth it IMO

Live rock will set you back about £10/kg as a rough price so for a 20g you'll be looking at 20lbs (9kg) which is around £90, the cheapest Eheim wet/dry filter will set you back about £140 (+ running costs, ie. replacement media, electricity)

Live rock is natures filter and will filter the water better than anything else so if possible use it IMO