New to SW 55g

[josed86]

I am new to SW, I've had FW all my life but think it is time to take the plunge. I have a 55 gallon undrilled tank. I'm planning on a FOWLR I believe it's called, fish and live rock. Thinking of clowns, tangs, trigger fish, butterfly fish, fox face, anemones, crabs, shrimp and maybe lobster, etc.. I've been looking everywhere online for a wet/dry system and skimmer. I've been looking into the Eshopps wet/dry filter and skimmer, from what I have seen they are good for the price. I would really like some opinions on those products. I plan on starting within the next 2-3 weeks. Also, approximately how much live rock and live sand will I need?

 

[carey]

Hi welcome to the forum!

Unfortunately a 55g is too small for tangs. :-(
In order to get anemones you will need some awesome lighting, what do you have in mind?

I have a eshopps refugium and it's good quality and sturdy, i like it very much. Not sure about their wet drys though.....I also have an in sump skimmer from eshopps, their psk 150 and I'm pretty pleased with that as well. You will need an overflow box to get the water from the tank to sump btw if you didn't already plan on that.

Also as far as live rock and sand, I would aim for between 1.5 lbs per gallon and 2.0 lbs per gallon. Since your'e doing a FOWLR you can get away with less rock than a reef tank. As far as sand, I would say about 75 lbs should be good.

 

[josed86]

As far as lighting I'm not sure which direction to go yet. Right now I have the florescent lights the tank came with. Are there bulbs I can use in the lamps that will be good with anemones?
I really wanted some tangs but I guess I'll have to go with something else.
As far as the overflow box goes, the Eshopps wet/dry kit comes with an overflow box and everything needed, except the pump itself.
So about 70-75 lbs of live rock and 70 pounds of live sand would be good for my setup?
Thank you for the advice and response.

 

[carey]

There aren't any flourescent bulbs you can put in there that will support a nem. They are one of the most light needy creatures you could pick! lol i had to wait a few months and upgraded to a 6 foot tank in order to get my tangs. I just didn't have the heart to put them in my 55g, was way too worried about stressing them out and them dying on me.

Good deal on the overflow box, wish my refugium had come with one lol, I had to buy it separately. And yep, I would think 70 lbs of rock should do the trick. You can buy say, 50lbs of base rock from ReefCleaners.org | Clean Up Crews and Macro Algae and the other 20lbs of live rock. You will save a small fortune and the dead base rock will become live in no time at all. after a month or two you won't even be able to tell the difference.

 

[josed86]

Thank you very much about the info on base rock, I didn't know about that. The aquarium shops I have been to charge around $6-$7 lb for live rock, so $2.10 for base rock is a nice difference. Can't wait to get everything set and and be able to add the fish..

 

[carey]

Patience in sw is a virtue. lol It seems everything takes forever but it's all for the best.

 

[josed86]

Would this light fixture be good for anemones?
48" T5 HO Aquarium LED Light Hood Marine Cichlid 216W 4x 54 Watts Lamps Odyssea | eBay

 

[oO BRIGHTY Oo]

+ 1 on not getting a tang, I have first hand experience of putting the tang in too little water and I think I nearly got as stressed out as the fish! But yes just take your time and enjoy!

 

[carey]

That light in my opinion would be the bare minimum required. The odyssea fixtures aren't that great but they are an ok entry level fixture. I used one on my first sw tank and it did a good enough job.

 

[josed86]

I am on a budget and if I can get something that will be good for anemones and will last about 2 years, it would be good for me, until I can get something better. Is this one better?
48" 216W 4x54 T5 HO Aquarium Light Marine Reef Fish Tank Fluorescent Actinic LED | eBay

 

[carey]

If you want a budget entry level light thats 48" this is a better brand and several people on this forum have them

4Ft/4Bulbs fixture

 

[josed86]

Thank you, what about the moonlight?

 

[josed86]

I know you guys had mentioned that putting a tang in a 55g isn't a good idea but last week I went to a fish store and saw a hippo tang a little more than an inch long. Would that still not be good for my tank?
I found a 100 gallon on craigslist that I want to go see this weekend. This is the description on the ad "Beautiful 100 gallon salt water aquarium with all fish, 1 large blue hippo tang, 1 medium yellow tang, 1 large pather grouper, 1 large zebra eel 3 1/2 ft., clow, all the rocks, lights everthing included you move"

 

[redsea]

Unfortunately, I would still say no. It will grow quicker than you think, and you may not have a tank for it yet. Unfortunately, I bought a 55g tank that came with a Blue Hippo, and now I am upset because I feel like I am stunting it's growth. I am working on upgrading, but I can't find a tank on CL.

 

[joy13]

A few things to get information on before you actually go check it out the type of light, filter and any powerheads. If it has a sump ask if the tank is drilled. Check out the rocks for pests. I saw a tank for sale on craigslist that boasted anemones and yes it had anemones it looked like a aiptasia ranch. About the grouper it will need a 300 gallon tank. Check for scratches on the tank that can be a bargaining chip.

 

[josed86]

These are the pics they posted on the ad.