Saltwater Tank Questions

Hi,
I have a saltwater tank up and running for about 3 years now. It's got live sand and rocks with a metal halide.
I may start another saltwater tank and I have a few questions.
Can I have a bare tank with just an outside filter and heater? I plan to keep just fish.
I don't want any live sand and rock, protein skimmer, and uv sterilizer. Nor do I want a wet dry filter.
To maintain good water quality, I plan do do frequent water changes.
Can this be done?

[jline]

I have a bare bottom tank. I put a NNR section in the sump. Take a 10 gallon tank, put 2 plexie glass deviders in it 1 to 2 inches from the top and silicone them in solid from top to bottom. In the chamber that you just created, cut a piece on egg crate to fit, cover it with plastic window screen, space it about 1" off of the bottom of the tank,cover it with aprox. 4" of fine crushed coral. This will act as a filter, My nitrates are zero. It is easy to clean, about every 6 months, scoop out some of the top coral,always leave at least 1 to 2" of it alone, rinse it out with a garder hose, dump it back in. You should have a protien skimmer. Unless you are using a DI filter, the water you are using for changes may be just as bad as the water that you are taking out.

[Craig Manoukian]

There are quite a few reefers I know who go "bare bottom". They set up their ref tank the same except with no sand. a remote sump or refugium as described by jline is an option.

Hi,
Thanks for reading and replying to my questions.
I don't want to do an overflow with a sump either.
I just want a bare tank with fish.
Just a heater and outside filter.
Possible?
Will the fish be ok?

[Matt Rogers]

I guess, if you are willing to do the work..
what's an 'outside' filter?

an outside filter is the type that hangs on the back of the tank.
i'm thinking of using a tetratec 300 or an aquaclear.
anyone have success doing this?

hot filters--- Hang On The back filfter.
What size of tank is it?

although i haven't used the tetratec, my experience with the aquaclear is good.
is the tetratec filter good and quiet?
are the aquaclear filters better than the tetratec?
which filter brand is better?
this is going to go on a 50 gallon.
if this doesn't work, i may just go back to freshwater.
and my copperband bites my clams. arrgghhh......
and what's the cause of all my hair algae?
it's growing on all the sides of the tank?
what can i do to stop hair algae and algae?
better water circulation? uv? more water changes?
get true ro/di freshwater for topoff? i don't check the tds in the ro/di water at my lfs.
aarrggghhhhh

[IceDragon]

tetra is much better IMO ... i work at a FW LFS and i constantly get complaints on the AC products ... it may just be that we have hardwater in my area but the AC just doesn't seem to hold up as well

[Matt Rogers]

I have a Tetratec filter and like it a lot for my tank. But it's not for everybody. The surge goes 'plop, plop, pop!' every 30 seconds or so.

But my levels have been very good, so it seems to work well.

My major complaint is when I turn it off now, it doesn't always turn back on because the impeller gets stuck. So I have to take it off and play with it which is a big pain. This may be because it's a over a year old and the impeller could need to be replaced. Not sure though...