do i need filters in red sea max130d

[megatron1968]

Do I need to put the filters in my max 130d as I went into my lfs
S today and he had a max130d setup with no filters he just put about 25kg of live rock in instead and he said that it would run better

 

[higgs]

Glenn needs to jump on this one!verhere:

 

[robboh]

Assuming you are meaning the black coarse sponge filter here?
IMHO, you don't need the filters and you get better flow without them.... HOWEVER....

Live rock does NOT filter out detrius (it tends to capture/create it in my short experience), plus I find I get dead spots with the standard return pumps where detrius collects.

The skimmer will to an extent skim out some of the detrius which is kept in the water column, but has less than half the water flow of the return pumps, so the skimmer will not process all the water which gets surface-skimmed from the DT into the back chambers.

So basically, the caveat is that if you are siphoning the detrius in the DT, and/or have sufficient flow to keep the detrius in the water column (and it doesnt collect on the rocks or substrates), then you dont need the filters. But if you continuously have 'stuff' floating in the water then I would suggest putting them in for a while to help clean up.

 

[jake9015]

I personally have been running my RSM130d without any mechanical filtration for the last 2 years. My tank thrived haha


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[BigAl07]

I've been running "Poly Pads" in mine on top of the black sponge for over a year now. You MUST replace the poly almost daily and the sponge must be cleaned out/rinsed every couple of days. The more "big stuff" you remove from the water column with mechanical filtration the better off your biological filtration will be.

 

[ausreef]

i run no mechanical filtration at all,no problems

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I always ran mine, it was so easy to take the white/blue fine filter out & over to the sink & rinse under running warm tap water, shake dry & replace - I would do this every couple of days & it was always was dirty.

No one right way to proceed... but if you keep it clean, it does not inhibit flow & does remove debris.

+1

The more "big stuff" you remove from the water column with mechanical filtration the better off your biological filtration will be

.

 

[Leighw85]

did you guys use the black one that came with it or got different filter material?

 

[BigAl07]

I'm still using the black one that came with the kit. I do just like Glenn suggested and rinse it every couple of days. You'd be surprised what it does take OUT of the system.

 

[nanoreefing4fun]

I used the stock black one (cut down by 1/3 or so... ) as a holder for a square of the finer white/blue square

Poly Value Pack

 

[robboh]

I'm still using the black one that came with the kit. I do just like Glenn suggested and rinse it every couple of days. You'd be surprised what it does take OUT of the system.

+1 to this, Glen's comments, and that mechanical filtration makes life easier for the other filtration methods.

I find when I do run a fine filter pad, that they are very dirty after several days. If I keep on top of detrius in the DT, then they arent anywhere near as bad.
Even just with the coarse black sponge, if you rinse it in a bucket after a week, you'd be amazed at how dirty the resulting water is.

 

[robboh]

FYI on this. I just came across a post on UultimateReef (UK forum) where RedSeaKev suggested that the coarse sponge is the one to run regularly, and to use fine sponges occasionally / for short periods to "polish" the water after maintenance.