new to saltwater 55 gallon set up questions

[coffeetwitch]

Ok im backing up. I said i was going to plan to get the deluxe package for the continious siphin. But what is the purpase of the aqua lift pump?

 

[huma-huma]

Skimmer is a place to spend the money.. My skimmer will be the first thing upgraded on my tank, its the only aspect that bugs me. I was so mad last week when my guy at the lfs was showing me his skimmer, it took him 10 seconds to properly adjust...I wanted to kick him lol

 

[carey]

Ok im backing up. I said i was going to plan to get the deluxe package for the continious siphin. But what is the purpase of the aqua lift pump?

The pump takes the place of you sucking on the tube to get a siphon. lol It keeps the siphon going with no air pockets until you unplug it.

 

[coffeetwitch]

So i will have to have it pluged in 24/7? I was hoping it would only be needed to start the flow. And you say this system is better than those with the j-pipe?

If the money is in the skimmer so be it. Thankfully sweety pie is a part of this too so we can buffer the cost of some of the equipment between us.

Also on a side note. I know im a horable speller. When im at home the computer catches most of my errors. My phone does not. For those of you suffering through my posts im sorry and i thank you.

 

[carey]

Yeah it has to stay plugged in. It's a new fangled kinda overflow lol. I had alot of trouble keeping siphon with the regular eshopps one so after a week I had enough and went with the one we're talking about. It's totally up to you, just sharing my troubles I had with the j tube. Most people on here most likely use the j tube configuration and have no issues. But me, nope, nothing but trouble. Plus I like not having to worry about it. lol

The skimmer, if you are gonna keep corals will be invaluable. Theres some areas you can skimp on but not a skimmer in my opinion. You have some time to save up for one too, don't feel rushed into it. You can add the skimmer at any time and it won't be a pain in the butt to do it. I just had my skimmer out while I was doing tank maintainence. hehe....

 

[slitherbomb]

But why is the skimmer necessary? Won't the macro algae take care of what the skimmer does?

 

[carey]

Macro can only do so much. The majority of his organic material will be caught up in the skimmer. The macro is gonna absorb some excess nutrients and trates but not to the extent that the skimmer would I believe.

 

[huma-huma]

The skimmer removes excess fish waste and particles, essentially the heavy particles. As carey stated, to maintain corals, you have to have good solid water quality...and it has to be consistant...the skimmer helps with this aspect. Wish I had a picture to show you of the waste water it produces, its impressive

 

[hackteck]

lets put it this way a skimmer is a great thing to have but their not totally needed if you keep up with proper water changes and tank maintenance plenty of people dont use them i never would though lol

 

[carey]

I don't have one on my cube or pico (duh of course) and they do pretty well with just water changes. I swear the skimmer on my 55g was the reason I was able to maintain 0 trates for so long.

 

[slitherbomb]

Idk, I'm most likely not going to ever use a skimmer, but then again, I'm also the kid who uses nsw.............

 

[carey]

Just that you use nsw would make me want a skimmer all the more. You have no idea whats in that stuff lol

 

[huma-huma]

Dang it!!! I'm telling my skimmer to take a steppin....it just isn't cuttin it lol

 

[carey]

Mine is still not set right. I shouldnt have messed with it after the big water change. lol Stupid thing. It;s soooo close but not quite where i want it.

 

[coffeetwitch]

Ha so here i am minding my own business ignoring work to read everyones advice and sweety pie emails me a craigslist ad for a 125 gallon tank with stand and a 210 gallon with stand. This hoby is worse than crack.

 

[carey]

You don't have to tell me! LOL I had one tank then all of a sudden i had 9!! In the blink of an eye.

 

[huma-huma]

If you think finding good deals on tanks on craigslist is tempting...just wait until your tank is all setup and established and you know all the equipment like the back of your hand....10x's worse lol. I did however find a 400g 10footer on cl the other day for 400.....if only I had the money

 

[coffeetwitch]

I know this is off topic but we started with her little brothers 55 that had 5 fish in it. He moved to st louis and we got"stuck" with it. Now 2 55's 1 75 and soon to be 1 125. All in our little living room. Weve joked about getting lawn chairs , throwing away the couch and mounting the tv on the wall so we could fit more tanks in it. Whats the point if you cant watch them and tinker.

 

[huma-huma]

Hahaha mineaswell just build a wraparound tank to cover 3 walls

 

[coffeetwitch]

Yeah. I wouldnt know where to start with a 400 gallon. What would a person put in something like that? Ha depending on who you talk to a single goldfish?