Going sumpless

Thinking of going sumpless on my new marine set up. It's a 300 litre, 4 ft tank. So I'll need 30k at least of LR. I have a Deltec MCE600 ordered. Should I just go LR and skimmer, or use an external filter too?

I was just reading this...

www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?p=2066895

... a bit of work there but looks decent and could be a challenge. Is it a Juwel you have?

Hi there,

Ive recently converted a 400ltr freshwater setup to a marine and am not using a sump. My filtration is 50kg live rock with a Deltec MC-500 skimmer supplemented with a Tetratec 1200 for mechanical and chemical filtration only. So far, things are looking good and all params are in the green. Although I would have loved to use a sump, I didnt want to go cutting away at my cabinet so I went down the other route.

Jay

Thanks for your replies lads. Wolfsberg, yes a Juwel, I saw that thread, or a similar one, not really too keen on cutting up the stand as I'm not that handy. Certainly would be a challenge, but I think the salty side of things will be enough of a challenge to start off with.

Jay, good to know that you're having success with LR/Skimmer/External. Are you finding you need to clean the cannister out a lot? What media do you use? Something for phosphate, carbon and just filter floss? There's space in the MCE600 for media, wonder would it be enough though?

Anyway, thanks for the replies.

I clean out the canister once a week to remove the heavy stuff and keep nitrates down. A quick rinse in some RO does the job or some siphoned tankwater if I have no RO handy. To be honest my bioload is minimum as the tank is a 400ltr and all thats in it now is two True Perculas, three Humbugs, two Green/Blue Chromis a Six lined Wrasse and a Yellow Tail Damsel. The usual janitor crew is in there too. No corals added yet as all cash went on the LR. Hopefully Ill pick up a Yellow Tang and a Pacific Blue Tang in the next couple of weeks but until then I may just clean the canister bi-weekly until a weekly clean is warranted by a heavier bioload as its less wear and tear on the unit.
As for media I have it packed like so, bottom tray...coarse sponge, next tray...Rowaphos and PhosEx Ultra, next tray...activated carbon, top tray...floss. Many folks will use live rock frags and bio balls in their canisters a biolgical filtration but its not nesessary with lots of live rock in the main tank. Also, a good skimmer is essential and you will see why when you first empty the cup...I was shocked at the gunk mine removed from apparently crystal water. Im gonna stress the importance of water changes here too...absolutely essential to keep those pesky nitrates and phosphates down. I change out 50 litres a week now but Ill probably have to up that a bit as the bioload increases and corals go in. I hope this helps a bit mate, and there are many other ways to go about doing this, but this method suited my pocket and so far so good.

Jay