No BIO-wheel and other concerns

[tony3]

I wanted to thank everyone for their excellent advice and support. Here is a quick summary of my situation:

1. This is my first tank.

2. My tank will be a fish only tank to start out with, but I would like to add some living rock, coral, and live plants later.

3. I would like to have a clownfish (Nemo), a Blue Tang (Dory), and a fish that looks like a shark (I hope this does not minimize how serious you take me, because this tank is really for my son -- but I am extremely committed to creating the best possible habitat for my fish). His 3 year birthday is in a month, and we hope to have the tank ready for at least one of these fish on this birthday.

4. The tank is a 55 gallon acrylic with a Magnum 350 canister filter, Red Sea's Prizm skimmer, 200W Visi-therm heater, light, cover, and 40 pounds of medium crushed coral.

Now I have a few more questions about setting up my tank:

1. I returned the BIO-wheel, because it would not fit on my tank. Is my current filtration system good enough, or is the BIO-wheel required. I do not want to add living rock yet, but I would like to add a significant amount of dead coral and rocks to provide more surface area for the good bacteria to grow. Is this OK, or do I need more bio-filtering? Does adding an air pump help? Is there anything that I can do? I may be able to fit a small BIO-wheel on my tank now, do you have any recommendations?

2. I have leveled my tank stand, and I put a very thin rubbery material between the tank and the stand. I was told that this will help ensure that the tank is perfectly level and relieve any stress points caused by an uneven surface on the stand. Is this a good idea, or will it cause other problems?

3. I would like to start the cycle process with the "raw shrimp" technique, because it seems to be the most human way without chemicals. How many shrimp do I need, and how long do I leave them in there?

Thanks again for helping me out!

 

[BillyZ]

3. I would like to have a clownfish (Nemo), a Blue Tang (Dory), and a fish that looks like a shark (I hope this does not minimize how serious you take me, because this tank is really for my son -- but I am extremely committed to creating the best possible habitat for my fish). His 3 year birthday is in a month, and we hope to have the tank ready for at least one of these fish on this birthday.

As far as a shark look-alike for a saltwater tank that isn't actualy a shark I am unsure of what to recommend. Hit your local library and check out a marine atlas. Any of these books are a great place to start. (and not just for fish) If you want this ready to go in a month you need to keep in mind how long cycling may take.

4. The tank is a 55 gallon acrylic with a Magnum 350 canister filter, Red Sea's Prizm skimmer, 200W Visi-therm heater, light, cover, and 40 pounds of medium crushed coral.

I think you're off to a good start for a FO setup.

Is my current filtration system good enough, or is the BIO-wheel required. I do not want to add living rock yet, but I would like to add a significant amount of dead coral and rocks to provide more surface area for the good bacteria to grow. Is this OK, or do I need more bio-filtering? Does adding an air pump help? Is there anything that I can do? I may be able to fit a small BIO-wheel on my tank now, do you have any recommendations?

LR would certainly help a great deal in filtering. Why did you want to hold off on this, is it budget or another reason? A lot of people go with a FOWLR setup (fish only with live rock) that uses LS and LR and those alone perform 90% of the filtration needed but your cost is a little bit more because of the LR.

I put a very thin rubbery material between the tank and the stand.

I've never seen this done personaly, but I also don't see it causing any problems...

3. I would like to start the cycle process with the "raw shrimp" technique, because it seems to be the most human way without chemicals. How many shrimp do I need, and how long do I leave them in there?

for a 55 gallon FO you shouldn't need more than 1 medium sized cocktail shrimp (about 1" to 1-1/2" diameter)