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