New to Reef please help :)

[MantisO_o]

Hello, i'm new to the Reefing. I have a 37 gallon with about 30 more or less pounds of Caribbean and Vanuatu live rock and 5 inches of live sand. Where i'm interested in getting a protein skimmer and a new filtration system, which currently i only have Emperor 400. I recently converted it about a month ago from a FOWLR setup.

I found two that i like, which i never had any of those brands before. With the protein skimmer i have a budget of about $150, which i saw this... "Eshopps Hang-On Protein Skimmer" - http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...m?pcatid=19865 & Video - http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...fm?videoid=255

and as for filtration i was looking at the Eheim Classic Canister Series 2213 or the 2215. However i heard Canisters shouldn't be used on Reef setups and i wanted to know what would be the reasons?

Any suggestions and or experiences would be welcomed.

[eb8919]

As far as the protein skimmer goes, i do not have any experience with eshopps products so hopefully some one else can chime in. It is definitely a good investment regardless.

Canister filters are not the best choice for a few reasons, the maintenance on them to keep them effective gets tedious. They are not as effective as biological filtration (live rock, live sand), culturing a macro algae, or running a combination of carbon and phosban. Any of the 3 are popular for reef tanks. Theres many methods of filtration and i believe canister filters on a reef are the least popular.

[reefbat]

For your reef tank setup the existing live rock that you've already got in your tank along with the sand bed will serve as your biological filter and the protien skimmer will pull out dissolved organics. Inverts are used to handle most of the detritus cleanup and then you just siphon out anything that piles up during normal maintenance. There really isn't a need to run an additional power filter unless your wanting to just have something like carbon in it.

The mechanical filter media like foam blocks that would normally serve double duty as particulate filters and biological bacteria surface area will just clog up and turn into a nitrate pump if not maintained regularly plus there is a good chance you'll disturb the bacteria in the media when cleaning it so why not just leave that out of your system to begin with because it really isn't needed in a reef tank.

I've read some positive comments about the eshopps skimmers but mabye someone that actually has one will chime in about it.

[MantisO_o]

Thank you 'eb8919' & 'reefbat' for helping me understand. I was about to ask what kind of filtration would be recommended? but after reading 'reefbat' i guess i can skip out on the filtration and focus on looking for a protein skimmer. So my next thought would be adding any reactors would help as an aid? & if i don't get any reply on the skimmer brand could anyone recommend one for me please?

[eb8919]

For additional filtration...the easiest would be a dual reactor. In one chamber you can add carbon which will make your water very clear and in the other chamber you can add phosban which will remove phospates from your water. Phosphates promote algae growth, so have the least amount as possible is best. Don't forget the importance of water changes!

[MantisO_o]

Thank you so much! This helps me narrow down what i need to get.

[MantisO_o]

I think i have decided on the "Reef Octopus BH 1000 Hang
on Back Protein Skimmer" Does anyone know of this?