Can a 40 gallon reef aquarium survive with only a wet and dry biological filter. What type of filter is absolutely necessary?. and i can put a sump on it.
and please no responses like: No way ur a beginner u need at least a 99999 gallon reef and u need to have at least 10 years experience no exceptions!!!!
First of all how do i get experience if i never start out? and how do u aford a 9million gallon tank
lol
ops meant i cant put a sump no room
congrats for taking the plunge (no pun intended...lol). Personally, I don't like wet-dry trickle filters for reefs tanks unless you are VERY dedicated about doing your chores. As has already been mentioned, I advocate a sump on just about every reef tank. A refugium either built-in to your sump or separate would be fantastic IMO. I'm adding some links below about setting up a simple refugium.
If you go with a sump, I'd use sump-based filtration including a protein skimmer and a substrate reactor in which you can run carbon and phosphate absorbing media. Don't skimp on your skimming! Get a quality skimmer.
With a sump, I'd want a return pump that is turning your system volume over at least 10x per hour. Make sure your return pump is matched to the pump that drives your protein skimmer.
In my 30 gallon, I also run a closed loop system for additional flow (it turns water over 40x per hour, which is great for corals that like high flow IMO). A closed loop system is easy to build using a MAG pump, and some PVC. It's even better if you put a device such as a Oceans Motions wavemaker or even just an affordable SCWID (a non-electric wavemaker). Anyway, you can read up on closed loop systems, but it is something I would consider for your reef.
As has been mantioned above, live rock is essential IMO. Get good quality live rock (read: light with lots of surface area) and aim for forty+ pounds of it. Some folks like to also run a fludized bed filter to increase biological filtration capacity on a small tank--just thought I'd mention it.
This is exciting! Good luck, and come back if you have more questions.
For More Reef Aquarium Info Click On The Blue Links Below
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