new to saltwater 55 gallon set up questions

[slitherbomb]

You put in a shark and a green moray eel.

 

[huma-huma]

I'm pretty sure shamu is on your list of possibles for a 400g tank lol. I'd section it off in half and make one half predator and the other coral/community

 

[coffeetwitch]

so i need to go through this thread and reread the suggestions and make a list. and given some of them setting up a solid 55 gallon fowlr is going to be expensive enough, i dont think i want to spend the money necessary for anything larger than a 75 gallon build let alone skimmer, pumps ,overflows live rock for a 125 on my first salt water tank. but then again i could use the 55 im working on now as a refugium for it.

 

[huma-huma]

Imo go as big as you can afford, the main reason is because the bigger tanks don't spike quite as fast as smaller tanks...also you can make little mistakes on a bigger tank without too much damage. 125's honestly are not bad at all. Just the initial price of equipment is kinda high, afterwards its really just salt and ro water (plus some minor things)

 

[kurtyboh]

See youre saving money on that already. You also said youre savvy with the diy, so you can save a bunch on lights with a kit or pick your own parts, not all stores sell pieces like that but youll find several as well as instructions if you look. Some people also make their own overflow out of pvc, up to you as to how far you want to take it.

 

[coffeetwitch]

this is true. but a little harder to swallow $400 after saving for the most skimmer i can afford for a 125 gallon vs $200 for a 55. i know that it is better to spend it now vs paying for a start up on a 55 only to look into sweety pies eyes over a tasty romantic dinner and say... "honey, we should have gotten a bigger tank." and have to spend that much more... ha, screw this **** hobby, ill see what the boss says tonight when she gets home from work.

 

[coffeetwitch]

i can do diy but im still very new to saltwater so i would need plans and drawings. kind of why i would like my hand on the store bought items first to get a feel for them... sad i know.

 

[coffeetwitch]

I'm pretty sure shamu is on your list of possibles for a 400g tank lol. I'd section it off in half and make one half predator and the other coral/community

even with a 125, how novel would that be to put a glass wall in the middle of the tank. treat the two halves as completely separate tanks and build each up... i like your way of thinking sir.

 

[huma-huma]

Hahaha it'll work out not to fuel your fire, but I had bought a 55g about a year ago with all intentions of going sw....well obviously it kept getting put off...then my "boss" stumbled across a 125 sw full setup...it came with everything and I mean everything....for 300 bucks.... When I used the 55 to hold the live rock during setup....I am sooo glad I didn't commit to the 55.... Don't get me wrong, 55 is still a decent sized tank. But my 125 is absolutely overwhelming in person.... And its got one heck of a calming effect. Just take your time and think it through

 

[kurtyboh]

You can differ some cost as well, you were planning on fowlr for a while in the 55 so push back the purchase of a skimmer for a while. Same thing with lights if youre doing it yourself, youll prob want 12 bulb fixture for reef but if you left space between can put 6 in till you get corals.

 

[huma-huma]

Ohh and here's a tiny hint.... Say you want to build a refugium/sump but aren't sure how...go to your lfs and snap some shots of a prebuilt...nothing wrong with taking some pics....I do it all the time

 

[coffeetwitch]

i can honestly say i have learned more in the past 2 days talking to everyone in this thread than the 2 weeks trying to make sense of it all on my own. maybe a 125 is the way to go.... also. cheapest sw set up i have found down here is $1200 all inclusive. seems the going price for just tank and stand here in springfield is $3 per gallon (cheapest)...

 

[kurtyboh]

I dont remember the name of the site but there is one that will return results of all craigslist, select the staes you want and if you save enough it may be worth a days drive...
There are literally thousands of plans for sumps, loads of instructions on making your own lighting, look at some put tigether a diagram of what you think is best after seeing a few and post in the diy section. Same with the lights, ask for pics if you dont understand. Youll have it in no time

 

[coffeetwitch]

SearchTempest - The EASY way to search Craigslist

 

[huma-huma]

Just keep your eye open and you gonna have to be obsessive about it for a bit. You'll know the right setup when you see it. Up here in pa, its not uncommon to pick up a tank for 100-150 or stand included for 200-300.....but that's up here. I personally wouldn't pay 1200 for a 125 setup but that's just me. Your best bet is to spend a bit of time comparing a 55 to a 125.......in my tank for instance, I have a huma-huma trigger, niger trigger, and imma be adding a black volitan and dog faced puffer.....you can't keep these in a 55.... Your options truly do open up.... And in terms of operating costs... A bucket of salt is 50 bucks roughly and lasts me 3 months...that's doing weekly pwc because the tanks newer..once I get down to bi-weekly..a bucket will last 6 months....not too bad

 

[abdhalim2]

hye coffeetwitch....
if u can have the 125gal tank, why not...just go with that...but the bigger is your tank, the more initial costs u will bear...
btw, can i know what is inclusive in the 125gal that offer to u..???
all equipment..?? sorry if this already mentioned earlier...

Thanx

 

[coffeetwitch]

well its still up in the air about the 125 off craigslist. and that all inclusive offer was yet another craigslist ad. it looked like a nice set up but way more than we could afford all at once like that. not too sure that its still listed. just commenting on how prices differ from area to area

 

[slitherbomb]

We have great offers for tanks and stands here. There are huge tanks too, for cheap at about $1- $1.50 a gallon.

 

[coffeetwitch]

very lucky you... i would gladly pay 150 for a 125, i have a cichlid tank that i would love to move to a bigger tank... ha we even joked around with a 125 ram tank... but i digress. i suppose this is the natural progression of things... i think i will just start collecting all the parts for the 55. and if the right tank comes along we will get it. i feel confident that i can start this project now. finishing maybe another thread...

 

[coffeetwitch]

And i thought i had it figuered out... I am going to run a skimmer in my refugium. Carey you mentioned earlier that your skimmer was before your refugium. Huma-huma you mentioned yours was after. So which one is it? Skim it before the fuge and remove what it can, or after to get what the fuge doesnt.