Starting a 55 gallon aquarium

[jozefsanders]

I am completely new to Salt water tanks but have lots of freshwater tanks and am looking to explore something a bit harder to do I am just wanting all the advice you can give me and what I need to buy. Thanks


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[ImACoolguy]

Well you will probably want a sump. I'll let the experts chime in on that.

You want 1-2 pounds of live rock per gallon.

Powerheads, a skimmer, a refractometer, bucket of salt, a saltwater liquid test kit, etc.

Determine if you want it to eventually be a reef. If so, base your stocking and lighting off that. Not all fish like coral just like not all like plants in freshwater.

Same applies if you want inverts, not all fish like them and they might get eaten.


Caleb

 

[cgthebeast]

Alright, first thing first welcome to the salty side!
All right now it's time to decide what type of salty tank do you want. Fish only, FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or a reef.
Now if your just starting out then I recommend the fowlr, as live rock is your major source of filtration. With bigger tanks (20g an up) imho a sump is a way to go as it gives you more water volume, a place to put all your a major equipment, an it more customizable to fit your tank. You can always go with hob filter if you rinse your media out regularly also, but this also cuts down options an doesn't control algae as much as it has no place to grow at besides your display tank.

Okay after deciding your filtration, it's time to decide what kind of bottom you want, a shallow sand bed, a deep one, or a bare bottom. These also their own cons an pros also your own personal taste. I usally go with a shallow sand bed as it has less of chance to trap pockets of gasses an other things. Also some animals need a deeper sand bed in order to be kept so your stocking list is also a factor

Now if you go with a reef, then lighting is the upmost importance besides water quality. This is not needed right off the bat as your tank needs to mature to have a reef tank.

Now equipment wise, powerheads,
A quality heater, lights, salt, skimmer, sump or a filter, assorted media like carbon, purgen, gfo, reactors, ri\di unit

Now if you go with a sump
.filter socks
In sump skimmer
Stuff to build a alage scrubber if you want

Then you have misc. items
Like airline tubing
Throw away cups to thaw out frozen food
Various scrubbers
A paint scraper
Extra buckets
Spare parts for your ro unit
*edit

A rodi unit is the upmost importance in the salty side as it can stop major issues in te tank



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[jozefsanders]

Thanks for the answers I was just wondering what sized sump I would need


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[cgthebeast]

I've been looking at a 20 long for the one I'm setting up but really it all depends what you want to get out of it such as a place to culture pods of nutrients export


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[Sniperhank]

The biggest possible is the answer to your question. A 20 long is a good sump and what I utilized to make the sump for my 55reef.


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[jozefsanders]

I am fairly new to aquarium words what does '20 long' mean is it the gallon size or the length


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[keegster803]

So long is a type of 20 gallon tank. They make 20 talls, 20 highs, and 20 longs. The longs look more like 10 gallons, height wise


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[ExoticAquarist]

What is the difference between tall and high? I thought they were the same.


~ExoticAquarist, signing out

 

[cgthebeast]

Nope, they all hold 20g but there built different some taller some longer

Like a 20g long takes away fight in order for length

 

[Reefer James]

Make your sump the as big as you can fit. If it's bigger than your display that's even better.

So time to do everything before water. GFCI Outlet. Weather cover. DJ Power Strip. Timers. Surge Protectors. Refractometer. Test kits for Nitrate, Ca/Mg,Kh (Red Sea), and maybe phosphate. I would recommend running at least two circulation pumps. Ideally one is on full time and the other is pulsing randomly. An affordable option would be two Jebaos. One of their pump modules has the ability to hook up battery back up. The benefit of battery back up is your tank gets filtered because of water continuing to move through live rock in the case of power outage. I would also recommend having a Backup-UPS to run everything through and keep the a circulation pump connected to the battery. Not the whole tank, just the smallest power draining pump haha.

I personally would get my coral food now... It also grows coralline purple algae that looks beautiful. I would recommend a 2-part buffer like B-Ionic or Seachem Fusion. The alkalinity should be considered the buffer for all sakes and purposes. I wouldn't have alk lower than 4 meq/l and I always do 5 meq/l KH at a min in every tank I run. Ca around 450-500 and Mg above or at 1400. For Magnesium I would recommend using powder, as any liquid would contain ammonia (except aquavitro ions).. Yes the 2-part will have small Mag but not enough to raise levels noticeably. It's just to maintain ionic balance. Good liquids are Seachem, Red Sea, Brightwells, and Sicce in that order IMO, IME. So like I mentioned, its better to establish the tank with coral parameters from the beginning as this will grow coralline and it won't be as much of a drain on the tank later on when you start dosing. Water changes as only method of supplying elements does not work.. Most people who attempted this ended up with a closet of dead unspoken corals and a dosing regimen

Consider setting up a reverse cycle refugium. This is a separate tank or section of your sump that will grow macro algae and provide save haven for pods that fuel the display as food for fish.

As well as a food source for display tank, it will also make efforts towards nutrient control and pH stability. With more room and more macros the more the refugium works for these 2. I only use Cheato, Calerpa, live rock and no sand. If I used sand it'd only be for mangroves and would be 6 inches deep.

Get the biggest protein skimmer you can fit.... If you can get two skimmers do it... You can run one wet and one dry..

auto top off is very nice. The Tunze are the best and only two to consider imo. (Skimming wet with ATO will require salt additions most likely)

Light is an important area. I could talk all about this one hahaha. What is your budget for light alone and what are your goals for corals? And this is a tank from the beginning with proper planning, so theres no reason what soever to stick with the easiest corals... Keep the tank clean from beginning and automate as much stuff as you can with back up redundancies.

Let me know if you have question, I may be able to be of help.