New 55 gal reef tank.

[Hondachico]

I currently have a 35gal hex tank and now I am going to uptake to a 55 gal reef ready tank from my lfs. I sort of have an idea what I need for the bigger tank but wanted to see if anybody had another ideas for me any suggestions are greatly appreciated. This what I have in mind:
-55 gal tank with corner overflow and all black silicon
-2 koralia 750s one on each side
-10 gal refugium under cabinet
- about 3-4 inch sand bed
- 50-70 lbs of live rock to make nice caves
- 216watt t5ho moon lights,two 10k,two actinic

Anybody have any suggestions?

 

[redsea]

Hello!

For your refugium, I would recommend separating the tank into three sections. The first section would include a protein skimmer, and maybe a sock for your water to pour through. The middle section would include some live rock, and macroalgae like chaeto. The chaeto will help to absorb unwanted nitrates. The third and final section would simply include a return pump to push the water back into your aquarium.

If you are not interested in making a sump yourself, there are a variety of pre-made ones out on the market. I personally have a pre-made one from Eshopps in my 125 gallon.

 

[Hondachico]

Ok thanks for the info it was really good, one question do you think that the 10 gal refugium will be good enough for my 55 gal.

 

[redsea]

Ten gallons would be the lowest size I would go. What I have heard with sumps is to go "as big as you can". IMO, I think you should be okay with a 10g, but I also think it is the absolute bare minimum.

 

[Hondachico]

Yea my lfs told me to get a 20 long, I just wanted to see if they wanted more money out of me or if it was the truth

 

[redsea]

Also, another benefit of having a larger sump is that you will have a larger water volume overall. The more total water you have, the more leeway you have to make a mistake (meaning the effects of making a mistake will not be as bad as they would have been if there was less water).

 

[Hondachico]

Cool that's good to know, how about my water flow with the two koralias you think it's good

 

[Sniperhank]

For a fuge, I would agree with your LFS. A 20 long would be your best bet, as would any long tank. This will give you the necessary room for everything you would need/want to put into your sump.

Also, for your fuge I would skip the LR and sand and go bare bottom with some cheato. If you have as much LR in your DT as stated above there will be no added benefit from a couple rocks in the fuge. As for the sand, the only benefit would come from a deep sand bed and in a 10-20g sump there just isn't enough room to go this route. By going the barebottom route, it will make the sump easier to clean.