NewB Here!! Advice/Help Needed

[viczwife214]

Hello everyone, I am new to these forums, so please be gentle!

I am in the process of purchasing all the items so that I can set up my 55 gallon tank. *Fish & Live Rock*

Here is the list of items that I currently have:

SeaClone Protein Skimmer
Fluval 404
Dead Rock *about 2 crates full*
1 package of Biozyme
Salt
1 Bag of Live Sand
5 Bags of Marine Sand
Submergible Heater
Hydrometer

There are other items which I plan on purchasing, but I decided to get an opinion on certain items that are still needed for my tank.
I plan on changing the hood of my tank, since it looks very OOGLY and old fashioned (plus its broken). So I will be needing a new one.

Questions:
What are the other items that are needed?
What power head will do the trick and how many are needed?
What type of lighting would be best for a live rock/fish tank?

I want to successfully set up my tank and cycle it so that I can have a healthy and beautiful tank.
(PS. Don't want to break my pockets for very expensive items, if a more reasonable priced item will do the job)

 

[stevefromga2000]

i just ordered some aqua clear powerheads, but i'm not sure about which are the best. everything i read about those, it seemed like they were worth the price that i paid for them. i would definitley get the lighting that you need soon. you shouldn't need a really powerful lighting system since you are doing FOWLR. once you start doing corals, then you will need to upgrade your lights. if you plan on doing corals later, you should think about just getting good lights now. after powerheads and lights, you should be alright. good luck and welcome to aquarium advice.

 

[melosu58]

LR and skimmer are the most important things you have there. Hopefully you have 75-100 lbs of dead soon to be live rock. You can cure it while you cycle the tank. Please do a fishless cycle!!!. Any questions just ask. And Welcome to AA

 

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!!

Please do a fishless cycle!!!

Please, please!

I would suggest an extra heater, for failover.
If you can, I would suggest a refractometer over a hydrometer, very easy to use and read, this is the one I bought:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=9957&N=2004+113761
Biozyme, is this for helping the tank cycle faster?
Possibly 2 PHs (power heads) one minimum. I got the Aqua Clear 30s.
This is the lighting I just bought:
https://www.thatpetplace.com/Produc...es/T1/F38EX+0434+0111/EDP/47986/Itemdy00.aspx
I had problems with keeping the pH up when I had my canopy.

(PS. Don't want to break my pockets for very expensive items, if a more reasonable priced item will do the job)

Hmmmm, your best bet here is to ask/trade/barter/browse. You can generally find pretty decent prices online.

Keep us posted!

 

[viczwife214]

Hello everyone, and thanks for the welcome! Thank you for all the advice so far

We are going to most def do a Fishless Cycle!!!

When we went to the pet store the guy told us that the Biozyme will help kick start the cycling process.

I am really excited about doing the FOWLR tank. This is a project me and the hubby have wanted to do for a long time now. We have a few books, but all about reef aquariums. With some of the research i've done about the reef tank, I really don't think we will get into that til we pretty much become well knowledged with the FOWLR tank.