It must remain in suspension for your filter to pull it out. If the debris is allowed to settle it will decompose and turn into nitrates. As soon as the excess debris gets sucked out after you intitially start your power heads the water will probably end up being clearer and your livestock will be happier.

DUH!! That was a dumb question of me to ask!! I never even thought of the filter. Boy do I feel dumb! Thanks for your reply :)
Kennan

There's no such thing as a dumb question, man. That's what forums are for! I hope we can all be as useful to you. Don't be afraid to ask questions - it will prevent you from making all the mistakes that we all have made as typical noobs!

It's all the dumb questions that you DON'T ask that usually causes problems and makes people leave the hobby. This is a very friendly forum and it's pretty rare that I've ever seen a question go unanswered no matter what it is about.

the only dumb question is the one you dont ask.... ... most ppl on this board are more than wiling to help..

i ran a reef tank without a sump and skimmer.... just fyi it can be done but the maintanece is insane...

Keeping up with your waterchanges (since you dont have a skimmer/sump, not that you shouldnt do them even with those) and regular maintenance, and NOT SKIMPING on stuff will really be your best 'tool' to fight dirtyness and bad experiences!

Remember, if you cut corners on one thing... that in turn cuts a corner somewhere else... That may mean the cleanlyness of your tank or the health of your tankmates. Those problems upset all us fishkeepers! So:

If you dont enjoy it, your not going to want to stick with it. Make sure you keep your tank clean and happy, and you'll love it, and in turn... GOOD maintenance also means less pain in the butt with maintenance (rather than leaving a tank till its too nasty!). You'll figure out the routines that work best for you as time goes on. Try not to fret too much and as everyone said, always ask any question you have!
Knowledge is power!

Cheers,

Chris

Another thing, just kind of to explain the powerhead thing...

Think of the suspended detritus this way: Having all that crud suspended and then caught into your filter makes it about a million times easier to take out. If all of it were to settle into the sand/gravel/through the rocks... you'd be gravel vaccuming all the time... big pain in the butt! But now.. its caught up in that filter... and when you clean it regularly (every week... two, or three, you'll find that out over time, when it needs to be done), then you can just get all the gunk right out of the filter pad.. and you rocks/sand are still clean, water is clear... and the filter pad/foam is ready to keep clearing the water! But also, the longer that gunk sits in there... the more it breaks down, so dont let it sit too long (frequent, quick cleanings are good), cause otherwise all those dissolved organics mean food for algae. Algae sucks, we all know it... 10 000 times more work to eliminate than keeping your filter and water clean. So as I mentioned... a healthy routine means a healthy tank and a good experience!

All the best,

Chris

Two other advantages to using powerheads in place of circulation pumps is that they are more efficent in terms of electricty drawn and add less heat to the water. Something like a submersible Danner Mag 7 pump will feel noticably warm to the touch and draws 65W. While a Hydor Koralia Evolution 750 will produce roughly the same amount of flow for only 4.5W

another question...
 

Hi guys,
Your replies have led me to ask another question..water changes..what exactly am I doing? I have some experience with freshwater tanks, and am used to vaccuuming the gravel when I do a water change. I was told with saltwater I don't want to siphon my substrate cause I have befeficial stuff there. So..am I just basically sucking up water and replacing it? Or am I just vaccuuming the parts of my Live Rock that I can vaccuum? I'm slightly confused on what to do to perform a 'proper' water change.
Thanks to anyone still reading and to anyone replying..I EXTREMELY appreciate it!!! Thanks to everyone who has replied. I look forward to learning some more!!! Take care,
Kennan

I vacuum the substrate a little on every water change. Doing a small area a little deeper and everything reachable lightly every time will help keep the crud level down without disturbing all the beneficial stuff too much.

While you're out shopping have a look at some of the hang on back (HOB) skimmers available. I've been running a 77 gal sumpless for close to 4 years and went from FOWLR at the start to where I now have anemones, soft and LPS corals. My skimmer came with the used system and is an old school DIY counter current, wooden air stone unit. With a few of my own mods, it works very well. If the skimmer prices are a little hard to take, search the net for DIY plans and if you're handy you should be able to get something built relatively easily for less money. Even with a FOWLR, once you see the stuff a skimmer can remove from the water over time, you'll be convinced it's a good thing for your livestock and to ease your maintenance burden.

Further on the subject of water changes, it's recommended to use RO/DI or distilled water to prepare your mix. Can depend on your source water too, but long term you'll have better results with pure water than with treated tap water when running a salt water system.