[birdz]

Hey, the thread title should be enough to get you going.

I'm starting up my first salt water tank, fish first but I'll do a reef soon enough that I might as well start off with a filter that will handle it.

I've got limited space under the cabinet so I was thinking about going with a daisy-chain of canister filters but I see that those can be pricey. What are my other options and what are the caveats I should be aware of while starting up?

 

[maryg]

An overflow with a sump would be the best choice. You can buy an acrylic custom made sump or a 20 gallon fish tank. I always use a HOB filter from Walmart to run charcoal for my corals. Canister filters are alot of upkeep IMO. The best filter is biological in the way of 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon.

 

[birdz]

I'd like a sand bottom, is live sand the same as live rock? HOB?

Also, time spent on upkeep is something to think about but space is my real issue. A sump, specifically, is the same as a wet-dry trickle? I'm not up on the terminology

 

[maryg]

2-3" sand bed is great. I would use dry aragonite sand. The "live" sand has some bacteria. But the live rock will seed the sand and save you $$.
HOB= hang on back filter.
There are sumps with trickle filters with the bioballs and some without. I have these (trickle filters) on both my tanks. You can also use a plain tank and get a overflow box and have it drain down into the "sump" and a return pump to bring water back up to the tank. Some people also use filter socks and use live rock rubble in the sump. The rubble and the bioballs serve the same purpose for beneficial bacteria to grow on the surface for denitrification. Search your local craigslist and ebay for used items. There are some online sites as well to buy products.

 

[birdz]

thanks everyone