Refugium or Canister Gof for 36 Gallon bowfront Reef System

[smeagolsdust]

Hello everyone, I recently got back into the hobby after having to sell my 120 gallon reef system 4 years ago. I found an awesome tank with everything for $100.00 and would like to know what would be best for the filtration. I will do live sand and live rock again and I hope to do led lighting this time. Will the canister filter that came with it be enough to keep my corals happy or should i have a small refugium with a protein skimmer ? My old tank I had a chiller, uv sterilizer, protein skimmer and a wet/dry sump but it was a bigger tank.

Thanks and I'm super excited to get back into the hobby and meet some new hobbyists.

Thanks,
Dustin

 

[Haddonisreef]

All depends on what you plan on keeping, I have had great luck running canister filters on smaller systems. By after progressing in the hobbie, if you have the room for a refigum then I'd go that route.

 

[reefmaster719]

Im setting my 36 bowfront reef up this week and I'm plumbing a wet dry filter to it. On my 75 Ive had it up and running with a can filter for over 6months now and no problems. As long as you clean the filter ever 2-4 wks you will be fine. Just get a can filter that has more than 11x the flow rate of you tank. Ex. 36gallons x 11= 350-400 gph. I have had problems with fluvals in the past so go with a better brand. Eheim makes good ones.

 

[smeagolsdust]

thanks for the info. The tank came with a fluval 204 canister that I tested and works. After your info I will look for a used or find a Eheim canister filter. I believe this will be less maintenance than a refugium.

 

[reefmaster719]

Whoooah I didn't say less maintenance. Your gonna be having a lot of algae blooms in the first 3mnths or so. If I had an option I would go with refugium. There kind of noisy but it will make your water way cleaner.

 

[smeagolsdust]

Yes, my bad. Any reef system has maintenance and I had plenty of problems when I had my 120 gallon reef. The first year was hard but regular water changes helped keep in in control for 2 years. I had a wet/dry last time but I really would like to do a refugium this time. I'll keep checking the forums for a used one or build one myself. Thanks for your info.