Needing big help to start 55gal saltwater tank

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Listen to whatever Mr. X says you should check out this tank he has been working on.... The tank at Devon Fitness Club thread.... Very nice tank setup..
 
Those lovely "Owners".... It is ashame if I had someone to take care of my tank I would give them full reigns. I think I spelled that right...LOL
 
2 days is not enough to start stocking your tank and forget the canister filter and the wet/dry filter once and for all. they are old tech. I guess what we are looking at here (as always) is cost. How much do you want to spend? I'll list some parts for a 55 to give you some idea. I agree with X on the 75 though. you will apreciate the extra depth. The epuipment will be about the same for the 75

Low End
Tank
Argonite sand 30-50 lbs don't bother with live sand
Live Rock 50-75 lbs - Craigs list $2.00/lb. (make sure they never put copper in the tank.
Power heads - Koralia 2 Power Head by Hydor - AquaCave
Lighting - AquaticLife T5 HO Light Link Fixture - Marine
HOB Skimmer - AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer with Maxi-Jet 1200 Pump - AquaCave
Heater - Finnex HPS-200 200W Digital Glass Aquarium Heater - AquaCave

That would be a minimum for Fish and LPS corals. It is what I ran as my first tank almost exactly. My nitrates stayed below 15 and I did a 20% water change every 10 days.

Mid Range
Power heads - Same
Lighting - http://www.reefspecialty.com/virtue...nished-lumen-bright-complete-pendant-kit.html
Skimmer - http://www.reefspecialty.com/virtue...xp-1000-hang-on-the-back-protein-skimmer.html

Will handle SPS corals anemones and clams. still doing weekly water changes

High End
Power heads - 1 Vortech MP40W ES Propeller Pump by EcoTech Marine - AquaCave
LIghting - 2 Aqua Illuminations SOL Super Blue Modular LED Lighting System - AquaCave
Skimmer - Reef Octopus SUPER SRO 1000INT In-Sump Protein Skimmer - AquaCave
Overflow Box - CPR CS90 SIPHON AQUARIUM OVERFLOW BOX by CPR Aquatic - AquaCave
Sump - Just use the 29 and build your own. YouTube - Reef Tank D.I.Y. Sump part 1
Return Pump - Sicce Syncra Water Pump Model 2.0, 528 GPH - AquaCave
Heater - Finnex 300W Deluxe Titanium Heating Tube - AquaCave
Media Reactors - 3 Phos Ban Media Reactor 150 by Two Little Fishes - AquaCave 1 for GFO 1 for Carbon 1 for Biopellets(need optional screen)
Carbon - 1.5 Pounds- Half Gallon Premium ROX 0.8 Aquarium Carbon - English
GFO - 1.75 pound (453 Grams) Bulk GFO "High Capacity" Ferric Oxide - English
Biopellets - Two Little Fishes NPX Bioplastics
Controler - Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper LITE System LEVEL 3 (PLUS) - AquaCave

and more. dosing pumps for 2 part, a calicum reactor, or kalk reactor. maybe a chiller.......

The last one is a version of what I am running on my 120 gal now. virtually no maintence. monthly 30% water changes.

I know there is stuff I forgot....
 
Ok here is what I decided, will start my 55gal aquarium since I can't return it anymore, then please send me a list again on what's all the stuff I will be needing to get it going coz even though I won't put corals right away and let the water be establish 1st but for sure there will be soft & hard corals later on.

Question is.....As soon as I get the set up ready to run, can I put the rock right away together with the sand??? Also how long I have to let it run before I can put some corals on it? Lastly, instead of refugium is there any other similar thing like it that I can get that is least expensive??? Please help me through posting the stuff I will be needing and include their purpose in my tank as well (still ignorant in reefing) thanks!
 
you don't need a refugium. it's just another component that helps clean the water. you also don't need GFO, bio pellets, media reactors, controllers. those things just may or may not make your experience easier.

you will want to add the rock and sand, then cycle the tank. you will need an ammonia source. usually, uncured live rock has enough die off on it to start a cycle, but if not, many people have had success tossing in a raw cocktail shrimp and letting that rot in the tank for a little while to raise ammonia levels. then you wait it out. i would say about 3 weeks to a month, and you are ready for livestock.
you can add corals as soon as the cycle is over.

you will need strong lighting for corals. mushrooms and zoanthids generally are moderate lighting corals, but any stony corals/clams/anemones will need stronger lighting. i listed what you should use on the previous page. a 2 lamp t-5 fixture will not do.

also, use a reef grade salt mix. this should be closer to natural sea water and will allow you to keep a moderate amount of corals with just weekly water changes. every element you need in the water to keep photosynthetic corals is right in the salt mix.
 
So what should I be buying to start it running then??? overhead? sump? filter? I will really buy a nice light for it coz I really want those nice stuff on my tank to keep them alive and healthy. I saw something on ebay that I posted a link, its pretty cheap and its a combination of little refugium/protein skimmer just not sure if its right for me? here is the link for that HOB refugium/skimmer

Refugium Protein Skimmer Filter Combo Coral Reef 55g - eBay (item 110646412186 end time Mar-09-11 17:29:22 PST)
 
Wow nice catch thanks! what else will I need beside lighting of course?? Mr. X help!!!
 
mr_X said:
you don't want the bio ball set up. it's going to eventually work against you.
Click to expand...

Is this because of anything related to the nitrates? I just recently read something on that. I just purchased and successfully set up a wet/dry sump for my 40g breeder that cycled about two weeks ago. It's running fine but the water level in the sump isn’t near high enough for me to insert a heater...I did a lot of research but I'm finding I'm running into a couple small issues. I'll post photos after I get off work, perhaps if the bioballs are not a good thing I could take them out and have the water level high enough in that section to insert a heater. I bought the sump at the LFS, it's basic but it works. Has a compartment with a filter pad, then bioballs, egg crate, going into the second section for the return pump.

Also, I'm still running my power filter. I know there are beneficial bacteria inside the filter media so I didn't want to just remove it. Could I take the filter pad from there and put it near/on the filter pad in the sump? I'm just trying to free some room up to make the display tank not have a bunch of extra stuff in it.
 
dlwn88 said:
Is this because of anything related to the nitrates? I just recently read something on that. I just purchased and successfully set up a wet/dry sump for my 40g breeder that cycled about two weeks ago. It's running fine but the water level in the sump isn’t near high enough for me to insert a heater...I did a lot of research but I'm finding I'm running into a couple small issues. I'll post photos after I get off work, perhaps if the bioballs are not a good thing I could take them out and have the water level high enough in that section to insert a heater. I bought the sump at the LFS, it's basic but it works. Has a compartment with a filter pad, then bioballs, egg crate, going into the second section for the return pump.

Also, I'm still running my power filter. I know there are beneficial bacteria inside the filter media so I didn't want to just remove it. Could I take the filter pad from there and put it near/on the filter pad in the sump? I'm just trying to free some room up to make the display tank not have a bunch of extra stuff in it.
Click to expand...

yes. it's because the bio balls don't finish the job.

i copied this-
I assume you are using some sort of 'wet/dry' system and thats where your bio balls are. Water from your tank is sprayed or trickles over them creating a high oxygen enviroment This creates almost ideal living conditions for certain bacteria that break down amonia/amonium to nitrite. These same conditions are good for another set of bacteria that utilize nitrite and leave nitrate as waste. These 'trickle filters 'are very effecient for this part of the 'nitrogen cycle' . These filters are not however good for the final step in the 'cycle' which is to convert nitrate to nitrogen gas. This requires another set of bacteria that do not thrive in the oxygen rich enviroment of your trickle filter. Thus the water coming from these filters are high in nitrate.

not to mention that bio balls have a lot less surface area than live rock does.
i would remove the bio balls and use live rock in there. do you have live rock in the display? if so, you don't need the bacteria that is on the filter media.


underthesealover said:
So what should I be buying to start it running then??? overhead? sump? filter? I will really buy a nice light for it coz I really want those nice stuff on my tank to keep them alive and healthy. I saw something on ebay that I posted a link, its pretty cheap and its a combination of little refugium/protein skimmer just not sure if its right for me? here is the link for that HOB refugium/skimmer

Refugium Protein Skimmer Filter Combo Coral Reef 55g - eBay (item 110646412186 end time Mar-09-11 17:29:22 PST)
Click to expand...


na..you don't want that. if you want to buy a HOb refugium, do so. there are some decent ones out there, but get a good protein skimmer. that one is about worthless.
 
mr_X said:
yes. it's because the bio balls don't finish the job.

i copied this-
I assume you are using some sort of 'wet/dry' system and thats where your bio balls are. Water from your tank is sprayed or trickles over them creating a high oxygen enviroment This creates almost ideal living conditions for certain bacteria that break down amonia/amonium to nitrite. These same conditions are good for another set of bacteria that utilize nitrite and leave nitrate as waste. These 'trickle filters 'are very effecient for this part of the 'nitrogen cycle' . These filters are not however good for the final step in the 'cycle' which is to convert nitrate to nitrogen gas. This requires another set of bacteria that do not thrive in the oxygen rich enviroment of your trickle filter. Thus the water coming from these filters are high in nitrate.

not to mention that bio balls have a lot less surface area than live rock does.
i would remove the bio balls and use live rock in there. do you have live rock in the display? if so, you don't need the bacteria that is on the filter media.
Click to expand...

I'm fairly new as far as how wet/dry and sumps work, I only know the basics....below is a photo of almost exactly what I have, will the water level remain high enough to support a live rock if I take the bio balls out? Why is this method so popular then if the nitrates are an issue. I've seen a lot of LFS's use this too. I read you can keep the nitrates down if you rinse the bio balls properly once in a while, not sure if that' true though.

I already have live rock in my display so since your advice hasn't ever failed me I'll go ahead and remove the power filter sometime later on.

BhMiJOwBmk_KGrHqEH-CUEsLJy88zuBLIC6_Fe2_12.jpg
 
Mr_X you forgot about me I think. huhuhu lol. Anyway, Please I need your gracious advice to help me through this I set up my mind to a 55 gal tank and I can go for a HOB refigium and protein skimmer combo that i have seen on email, I posted the link the other day just waiting for your answer on how do you think of it? Let me know and thanks!!!
 
Dlwn88- those are best used for fresh water and fish only tanks. i haven't seen too many LFS's that have super efficient systems. that fish place/that pet place, which boasts "the largest pet store in the world" actually uses giant bins of bio balls and fluidized bed filters for filtration, along with a giant skimmer of course.
what i would do with that wet dry is remove the eggcrate under the bio balls (and the bio balls) and try to glue in an 8-10" partition or two between that area and the return pump. then fill the old bio ball section up with your protein skimmer, and call it a day.

underthesealover- i do not like that protein skimmer refugium combo thing you posted. i think it's a waste of money. get a good quality protein skimmer.
 
Ok, so what will I need is a protein skimmer, like 2 over heads? heater, proper lightings of course and live rocks. probably like 70 pounds of them? what else am I forgetting?? pumps?
 
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