Beginner question: how do you actually 'tune in' mechanical filtration?

[Pandaexpress]

Heyyy friendly R2R community~

There are so many filtration options out there. Some people use filter socks and rinse it out every couple days, some take out the socks and switch them into filter cups/baskets. But then what do you actually put in those baskets?? sponge filter foam? filter floss? filter media for additional bacteria? activated carbon? I also see some reefers argue that fleece rollers or skimmers are not strictly necessary, sometimes might even do harm to the aquarium balance. but some say they benefit a lot from those and couldn't live without. Completely overwhelmed with mixed information! haha, how do you guys approach this problem in your tank setup?

Some basic description of my reef tank setting (and my vision for the future): I have a nano tank, 30 gallon display with 15 gallon sump, so total volume around 45 I guess. Eventually I want to keep probably 4 utilitarian nano tiny fish, some cleanup crew, and mostly soft corals + a few LPS. I plan to finish the cycle and add in these creatures one by one slowly. Oh yes I also want to modify part of the sump into a refugium to keep algae and pods, with reverse light cycle to further stabilize this nano system.

I mean to think about it, there has to be a physical, mechanical filtration somehow to get the gunk out as a 'first defense' right...? How should I do this from the beginning?

Sorry if this is a dumb question, coming from freshwater a lot of these are very new to me. Skimmer isn't even a thing in freshwater as the water can't create foams. Too much to learn haha. Thank you thank you.

 

[Subsea]

Panda,
No one right way to tune in. Expect contradictions in reefkeeping styles.

After 55 years, all of my systems are skimmerless. And Niels Bohr said an expert was someone who made every conceivable error in a field of endeavor.
So, I am an expert.

If you want to eliminate many headaches, cycle your tank with diver collected live rock from Florida GulfCoast. I emulate a Caribbean lagoon with a heavy emphases of filter feeders and ornamental seaweeds.

 

[Red_Beard]

A very lot of those options boil down to personal preference. You can 100% opt for no mechanical filtration too, a very valid option. In saltwater, everything will eventually be eaten, excreted, eaten again, excreted again, etc, until it eventually breaks down into inert mulm with no nutritional value. That mulm can become home to copepods and other tiny forms of life when it accumulates in the deep recesses of your sump. The real work horse in your tank is the bacteria housed in the rock, and a clean up crew to help get things smaller for that bacteria to get to work on. The hard part up front is that the whole of the bacterial population, diversity as well as density, takes time to develop. A skimmer will help remove excessive organics, proteins and lipids etc as well as provide additional aeration.

I think you will find that the option of being able to run mechanical filtration is beneficial though, especially earlier in your tanks matuation. The question of socks, floss, sponges etc is really a matter of preference. Socks work great, and are easy to install but really suck to keep clean. Floss is easier to keep clean, as you just toss it. Sponges are easier to clean and maintain, but dont catch as small of particles. Rollers can work great as an easier to maintain option, but arent as easy if you only want periodic filtration. How much filtration your tank needs will be up to you.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

A lot of filtration types are optional, especially on nano tanks. To me, mechanical filtration is the least important and least impactful on the system, I have 5 tanks and none have mechanical filtration (except that I have skimmers on 2 tanks, but I never understood why skimmers are classified as mechanical filtration).

I have a 32 gallon tank with a skimmer and a tidal hob filter mainly to run activated carbon, and it gets weekly water changes. IMO water changes are more important than any filtration you can add on this size tank.

 

[Pandaexpress]

Panda,
No one right way to tune in. Expect contradictions in reefkeeping styles.

After 55 years, all of my systems are skimmerless. And Niels Bohr said an expert was someone who made every conceivable error in a field of endeavor.
So, I am an expert.

If you want to eliminate many headaches, cycle your tank with diver collected live rock from Florida GulfCoast. I emulate a Caribbean lagoon with a heavy emphases of filter feeders and ornamental seaweeds.

wow touche! Thank you for your words of wisdom. I will cycle my tank fishless with real live rock & sand from the ocean, then test and go from there, one step at a time .

 

[Pandaexpress]

A very lot of those options boil down to personal preference. You can 100% opt for no mechanical filtration too, a very valid option. In saltwater, everything will eventually be eaten, excreted, eaten again, excreted again, etc, until it eventually breaks down into inert mulm with no nutritional value. That mulm can become home to copepods and other tiny forms of life when it accumulates in the deep recesses of your sump. The real work horse in your tank is the bacteria housed in the rock, and a clean up crew to help get things smaller for that bacteria to get to work on. The hard part up front is that the whole of the bacterial population, diversity as well as density, takes time to develop. A skimmer will help remove excessive organics, proteins and lipids etc as well as provide additional aeration.

I think you will find that the option of being able to run mechanical filtration is beneficial though, especially earlier in your tanks matuation. The question of socks, floss, sponges etc is really a matter of preference. Socks work great, and are easy to install but really suck to keep clean. Floss is easier to keep clean, as you just toss it. Sponges are easier to clean and maintain, but dont catch as small of particles. Rollers can work great as an easier to maintain option, but arent as easy if you only want periodic filtration. How much filtration your tank needs will be up to you.

thank youuuu! this is such a great way of explanation, I kind of get the sense of how the ecosystem is running now. this hobby is a lot of hands-on try out and find a personal preference it seems. So excited to explore those tools & options in the future.

 

[Pandaexpress]

A lot of filtration types are optional, especially on nano tanks. To me, mechanical filtration is the least important and least impactful on the system, I have 5 tanks and none have mechanical filtration (except that I have skimmers on 2 tanks, but I never understood why skimmers are classified as mechanical filtration).

I have a 32 gallon tank with a skimmer and a tidal hob filter mainly to run activated carbon, and it gets weekly water changes. IMO water changes are more important than any filtration you can add on this size tank.

haha sorry I actually didn't know what skimmers should be classified as! I just lumped it in because.... I guess bubbles are 'physics'? or 'chemistry'? no idea Interesting, so some people can just skip the mechanical filtration, let the established ecosystem take care of the gunk, with weekly water change to buffer. Truly every reefer has a unique way to approach stability, and I think that's the beauty of making reefing so much fun. Just like nature has a billion creative ways to maintain various ecosystems as well.