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Originally Posted by midgetwaiter
You are kind of making a mistake by assuming sump == filter. The way a lot of people use sumps in reef tanks they are not really working as a filter. The good parts of a reef tank sump are like Gizmo said. Not all sumps have built in trickle filters and most people who do have a wet/dry trype of thing going on end up getting rid of them.
A filter is not a strict requirement for a reef tank, it can actually cause problems. If you are starting with a good ammount of live rock and a skimmer you won't need it. Your biological filtration happens on the surface and in the crevices of your rock and you are not going to need mech filtration because you don't (shouldn't) have many fish and your clean up crew will get to the left over food. The skimmer will get the disolved gunk for you. You can actually end up having too much crud build up in a canister over time making it impossible to control nitrate levels.
The thing you need in a reef tank is water flow, most people overlook that at first. You can acomplish water flow much better with a couple of powerheads than you can with a canister. You can also get about 3 SIEO 620s for the same price as a single Fluval 404.
So spend that money on the best skimmer you can get (for hang on the Remora is good) and a few big powerheads.
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so i should do this, if it's okay....
72-70 gallon tank
2-3 inches substrate.
can i start with say 30-40 pounds live rock and add more..(before i add any fish or coral or anything of this nature) Then add more every couple three weeks....
use my XP2 for mechanical filtration/water polishing when needed....
and a sump as more of a refugium...?
then get a skimmer as soon as i can...
Just trying to plan if i can get some things going while waiting on others till i can get the funds...or to get it all before i start.........
hmm....
will a 24 inch PC light 130 watts be sufficient for a FOWL untill i can get the nice biggy for corals etc....i think it should be....maybe have wierd lighting effects being only half as long as the tank....hmm...