Is it possible to overfilter a sal****er tank?

[Pete]

I am setting up my first sal****er tank. (converted from freshwater)

It is 38 gal

I have 3/4 of the tank with undergravel filter with crushed coral on
top. Using a 145 gph power head

I also have an emperor 280 hang on filter.
I think this is 280 gph ??

I also have a large protein skimmer for a 90gal tank.

I plan on small fish, and hopefully some live rock.

[Greg Bunch]

Pete,

IMO, I don't think you can overfilter a SW tank. A big skimmer will pull out
some trace elements along with the bad stuff, but that's part of running a
skimmer.

Lots of people will advise you to lose the undergravel filter. They're not
usually recommended for SW.

Personally, I don't think you have a great deal of filtration on that tank.
I have a 29-gallon fish-only, with a 10-gallon DIY wet-dry/sump. I'm using a
Mag 7 for a return, so at about 4' head, I'm pushing around 480 GPH.

For reef tanks, many advocate a flow rate of 10 times the water volume!

Take a look at the many superb aquaria forums on the web. You'll get a lot
of great information.

Hope this helps!

--

To see how I cycled a brand-new 5-gallon tank using household ammonia, take
a look at: http://members.cox.net/gbundersea/aquaria/5gallon/cycling.htm

Also see my Jensalt sump horror story site:
http://members.cox.net/~gbundersea/aquaria/badsumps/badsumps.htm

Greg Bunch
gbundersea AT cox DOT net
http://www.gbundersea.com
Creator of the Digital Lens Dock,
MXTENDER Optical Strobe Cable System
for the Sea&Sea MX-10, and the Save-A-Lens Kit
for MX-10 and Motormarine



"Pete" > wrote in message
...
> I am setting up my first sal****er tank. (converted from freshwater)
>
> It is 38 gal
>
> I have 3/4 of the tank with undergravel filter with crushed coral on
> top. Using a 145 gph power head
>
> I also have an emperor 280 hang on filter.
> I think this is 280 gph ??
>
> I also have a large protein skimmer for a 90gal tank.
>
> I plan on small fish, and hopefully some live rock.
>
>

[richard reynolds]

> I am setting up my first sal****er tank. (converted from freshwater)
> It is 38 gal
> I have 3/4 of the tank with undergravel filter with crushed coral on
> top. Using a 145 gph power head

for a reef this would be over filtration nothing would be able to complete the nitrogen
cycle with the bio mass(not sure thats 100% correct wording) of a UGF they are too
efficient at nitrification in a FW tank thats a good thing, in a SW tank, generallly its a
bad thing, there also more prone to failures in SW tanks. old tank syndrom hits sooner, LR
piles have crushed them ocasionally(ok ive herd of it 3 times now)

> I also have an emperor 280 hang on filter.
> I think this is 280 gph ??

this would also be over filtration for a reef. also because its too efficient at
nitrification, it however isnt too much for a FO or even a FOWLR depending on how they are
stocked, it might not be enough.

> I also have a large protein skimmer for a 90gal tank.

this isnt even close to over filtration

> I plan on small fish, and hopefully some live rock.

that makes the HOB a good thing, the UGF still remains a bad thing


another note, any mechanical filtration is generally considered a bad thing on a reef, not
so on a FO or FOWLR but for a reef, removal of plankton is more harmfull than the gain of
removing floating fish poooo, which some of the small critters eat anyways.

HTH

--
richard reynolds

[plaguebeast]

do you have your mag 7 in your sump under water ? I have mine in a 5 gallon
sump and it seems to get pretty warm and heats the water. Do you know if it
can be safely run without being submerged in water ?


"Greg Bunch" > wrote in message
.. .
> Pete,
>
> IMO, I don't think you can overfilter a SW tank. A big skimmer will pull
out
> some trace elements along with the bad stuff, but that's part of running a
> skimmer.
>
> Lots of people will advise you to lose the undergravel filter. They're not
> usually recommended for SW.
>
> Personally, I don't think you have a great deal of filtration on that
tank.
> I have a 29-gallon fish-only, with a 10-gallon DIY wet-dry/sump. I'm using
a
> Mag 7 for a return, so at about 4' head, I'm pushing around 480 GPH.
>
> For reef tanks, many advocate a flow rate of 10 times the water volume!
>
> Take a look at the many superb aquaria forums on the web. You'll get a lot
> of great information.
>
> Hope this helps!
>
> --
>
> To see how I cycled a brand-new 5-gallon tank using household ammonia,
take
> a look at: http://members.cox.net/gbundersea/aquaria/5gallon/cycling.htm
>
> Also see my Jensalt sump horror story site:
> http://members.cox.net/~gbundersea/aquaria/badsumps/badsumps.htm
>
> Greg Bunch
> gbundersea AT cox DOT net
> http://www.gbundersea.com
> Creator of the Digital Lens Dock,
> MXTENDER Optical Strobe Cable System
> for the Sea&Sea MX-10, and the Save-A-Lens Kit
> for MX-10 and Motormarine
>
>
>
> "Pete" > wrote in message
> ...
> > I am setting up my first sal****er tank. (converted from freshwater)
> >
> > It is 38 gal
> >
> > I have 3/4 of the tank with undergravel filter with crushed coral on
> > top. Using a 145 gph power head
> >
> > I also have an emperor 280 hang on filter.
> > I think this is 280 gph ??
> >
> > I also have a large protein skimmer for a 90gal tank.
> >
> > I plan on small fish, and hopefully some live rock.
> >
> >
>
>

[Dragon Slayer]

"plaguebeast" > wrote in message
...
> do you have your mag 7 in your sump under water ? I have mine in a 5
gallon
> sump and it seems to get pretty warm and heats the water. Do you know if
it
> can be safely run without being submerged in water ?
>

yes they can, but they still add a good amount of heat to the water. I have
a Mag 12 external and it heats the tank (29 gallon) from 76 up to 82 with
just the pump running closed loop.

kc