• Is a penny needed at the start?

  • Shelby3182

Good afternoon! Please advise and enlighten me - is a filter needed during the startup and maturation period of the aquarium? Or can it be purchased and installed when the animals are introduced?

Shelby3182

If live rocks are present, I believe they are necessary. Surely something will spoil in the live rocks. I turned mine on almost immediately, and after a week or a week and a half, it started to work.

Michelle5859

Needed.

Patricia1746

It is needed even if you have a completely empty aquarium, let it enrich the water with oxygen. As the aquarium becomes populated, it will start its function as a skimmer.

Alexander

It is essential to have... at the moment of starting, there are many mechanical particles, turbidity, etc. in the aquarium water, which are suspended in the water column after the initial reef setup, and it will gradually remove them. Also, the gas regime in the water body will stabilize over time due to its continuous operation.

Michelle1505

Each launch is different. Different stones, currents, lighting... everything is different. In the absence of a foam separator at the start, processes simply unfold differently. It is not mandatory. The principles of water treatment vary for everyone on the forum. Filtration systems can also differ significantly. The main thing is to assist the system, not hinder it. I repeat: there are systems without foam separators at all.

Amanda5586

I agree with you, there are such systems. However, initially, it is still necessary to use a skimmer to get them started. I had it that way. Currently, I do not use skimmers in my reef aquarium and in the fish tank.

Deborah2682

Very desirable. Some will get lucky, while others won't. For some, ammonia levels are off the charts, while for others, it is not even detectable. It is better (and more correct) if the pen is already in the system. P.S. This can also be a very important factor for unexpected discoveries regarding the SAM structure.

Stuart

What do you think is in the foam collector? When the skim is brownish-black? What’s in it? Bubbles attract detrital micro-suspensions as well. You know the sea very poorly, yet you teach everyone, lecturing them... "Respectful treatment of a person implies addressing them in the formal 'you'."

Jennifer7578

Off-topic. Men, let's try not to "mess up" this topic? What I've noticed in the skimmer cups: rotting algae, dead gammarus, pieces of food... When the skimmer cup is just cleaned and the aquarium glass is wiped, the green foam is immediately visible. Very often, not only the "molecular" part is visible in the cup, but also various types of mechanical contaminants. (photo) This can be achieved through mechanical filtration, but the skimmer removes dirt into a container that does not come into contact with water, meaning further reactions occur outside the marine system.

Yolanda

This link clearly defines what the skimmer extracts from seawater, paragraph 3.

Stephanie3084

A month of time means something if you're still going to buy a penny later?

Erica752

Offtopic. So how does what is described in this link differ from what I mentioned in point #10? There, Stepanich, even your favorite word - detritus - is absent. What is the purpose of your points #11 and #13? This is leading to good off-topic chatter and causing disputes in the threads. Stepanich, I am not teaching or lecturing anyone; please try to understand this for yourself. I am expressing my point of view and what I have encountered during the setup and afterwards. That is why the "General Questions" section exists, where people share their opinions and experiences, not to evaluate knowledge of marine aquaristics, which turns into bickering.

Kevin3579

Nothing is said about mechanical particles and suspensions. In my reference: "the foam separation column removes particles and suspensions..." This is what distinguishes it... And I completely agree with him, yes, in the foam collector, in addition to sometimes even compacted dirt, you can also see fragments of algae and water with electric currents and bubbles from the shell of Gammarus, I have seen it myself, etc.

Justin9867

Although the word "detritus" is not my favorite, it is an integral part of a marine aquarium. And when its particles become "suspended" in the water column, a well-functioning pump has the ability to "squeeze" them out of the aquarium water, thus assisting mechanical filters. This is what I meant in my posts. What’s wrong with that?

Chad9037

We do not deviate from the topic of the thread starter.

Bonnie

Mechanical cleaning can exist without a foam fractionator. The absence of one in the early stages accelerates the completion of certain processes in the aquasystem. The process curves behave differently. However, the final outcome remains the same. Since there are no hydrobionts in the system during the startup phase, the risk is zero. If the foam fractionator is absent during the system startup, there is nothing to worry about.

Brian

There is nothing terrible, however, when fresh live rocks are introduced, especially those that have been exposed to unfavorable external conditions during transportation, the levels of ammonia and dissolved organics can be very high and then transition into long-lasting nitrates. This is where a skimmer and activated carbon come to the rescue, along with mechanical filtration. However, it can also happen that one can manage without a skimmer... but that is when the live rocks have almost 100% biological strength.

Jeanne

The question about the proper placement of live rocks is somewhat different. The behavior of dry reef rocks should also be discussed separately. It often happens that there are many initial mistakes during the setup: rocks, lighting, water preparation, decoration, equipment, ... A skimmer mitigates these risks. However, mistakes usually emerge later. In recent years, there have been fewer good live rocks available.

Joseph8592

I believe that mechanical cleaning should be carried out BEFORE the foamer.

Dana4701

I just placed an 800L pump in a remote corner of the aquarium, behind the rocks, with a foam medium filter, and I wash it under the tap with warm water every two weeks.

Tonya

Stepanych, can we stop for a moment regarding activated carbon? One of the local sharks of marine aquaristics mentioned that it not only provides benefits but also absorbs useful trace elements, and he was categorically against its use in marine aquariums. This information will also be useful.