I'm not so sure if I need a skimmer?

[CichlidFreak425]

Okay I'm finally out of the FW tanks..and I'm ready to jump into a salt tank. I have a 55g with 2 backpack filters and a FW light. I know I'm goin to need a new light and I'm gonna go with a Marineland Canister filter. I'm not so sure if I need a skimmer? I know a lot of the general SW info like cycling and stuff like that. I'm trying to get more detailed info for reference. I'm about to move so it will be the first of November before I get to set it up but I want as much info as possible.. Thanks.

 

[Jaketit]

Throw away everything but the tank. JUst kidding. I started mine about a year ago with just some general knowledge on sw, WOW was that dumb. I made so many mistakes along the way but I'm learning read these threads everyday and you will learn a bunch. I started with a marineland canister also and some fresh water lights and now over time and money lots of money Im getting there. Good luck and have fun. Ask a lot of questions and absorb

 

[Beengirl]

I have a skimmer on my 55. I would recommend having one on tank that size. It'll help keep algae in check and water params good. The 55 was my first SW tank too, great size to start with. Good luck! Read LOTS of stickies on here and lots of researching fish and tank requirements. And get ready to get addicted, cuz SW is SO addictive!!

 

[CichlidFreak425]

My brother has a SW and it has jus drive me away from FW. But I am throwing away everything and starting fresh with the whole setup. I wanna do a FOWLR tank. Light suggestions..? And for my "nemo" I wanna do anemone. But other than that I don't plan on doing too much coral. And after I get most of the stuff down I have a 95 I'm gonna upgrade to. But the budgets only allow for a 55 now. Haha. As far a LR and sand, how much # of each..? And what size light?

 

[Liberty]

Look at LED set up, no heat. There are some good cheep ones out there.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Could I jus make an LED light....? Out of LED strips..?

 

[Beengirl]

My brother has a SW and it has jus drive me away from FW. But I am throwing away everything and starting fresh with the whole setup. I wanna do a FOWLR tank. Light suggestions..? And for my "nemo" I wanna do anemone. But other than that I don't plan on doing too much coral. And after I get most of the stuff down I have a 95 I'm gonna upgrade to. But the budgets only allow for a 55 now. Haha. As far a LR and sand, how much # of each..? And what size light?

Why would you throw everything out? SW gets really expensive really fast, so save money where you can. Just scrub out the tank well with vinegar and rinse REALLY well. Spray paint the back while its empty, much easier that way. You won't need any of the decorations. If you get LED lights, you'll need 3w per bulb to support an anemone. The ones that are 1w per light wont keep anemone alive.
You can have as little or as much sand as you like, or you can go bare bottom. If you're going to have any sand burrowing or sifting fish, you'll need at least 3" of sand. That'll be about 70-80# sand for a 55. For LR, to save $, you can get 80% base rock and seed it with some LR. It'll all become live over time. You can get all base rock too, the cycle will just take longer.
Once you get the tank started cycling, you can use that time to read up on liveaquaria.com and research tank size requirements for the fish you like and want to put in your tank after its done cycling. My 55g took about a month to cycle, and I used all LR and LS, just to give you a time frame of how long your cycle might last. Good luck and welcome to SW!!

 

[CichlidFreak425]

The reason I'm throwing the filters out is Bc they're covered in calcium. The heater is some generic off brand and idk if I trust it.. The hoods are broke. The light is not good at all. I am gonna run 2 marine land LED lights on. Since the tank is separated at the top. And where would I get base rock...? My LFS? And I am gonna put a snowflake eel in it as well as a goby or 2. Like I said, mainly a FOWLR tank with some anemone and maybe 1 or 2 coral. As far as water testing.... What would I need? Btw thanks for the tips so far

 

[obscurereef]

I think the goby will be a nice treat for the eel ! As they have poor eyesight, and most gobies are pretty small, there's no guarantee that the eel won't have a nice lunch. Why just one or 2 corals if you are buying an expensive light to keep just a couple corals and an anemone alive? I'd say go with more corals, many are not expensive, especially if you buy small frags. Once you put in the anemone (invert), and corals, I wouldn't consider it a fish ONLY with LIVE ROCK. I got all dry BRS pukani rock for my tank and LOVE IT. So porous and lightweight so you get more than what you would with other base rocks or live rock. I'd recommend buying a 1 lb of dry base rock per gallon of water from BRS or Marcorocks. LFS rock will prob. be more expensive. Good luck!

 

[CichlidFreak425]

What kind of nem do clowns like to swim in and mate in....? I've seen what it's called but can't remember the name to save my life... And also what are some good corals to do in a 75 and coral friendly fish..?

 

[Pryzz]

What kind of nem do clowns like to swim in and mate in....? I've seen what it's called but can't remember the name to save my life... And also what are some good corals to do in a 75 and coral friendly fish..?

They vary with different clowns. Although some will host a different type. They can also go to corals instead of Nems. My clowns hosted my hammer coral as soon as they went in the tank. Go to the live aquaria site that someone suggested. It's got lists of reef safe fish and their tank size requirements.

Edit: Oh and clownfish do not need an anemone to thrive and reproduce.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Okay so I'm doing a 75 instead of a 55. And instant ocean makes a skimmer.. It's in my price range but idk if i should get that or save a little more and get a good one from my LFS. And what's the difference between a hydrometer and a refractometer... ?

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

What's ur budget for a skimmer??

 

[CichlidFreak425]

The instant ocean one is 120.. I could possibly go up to 200..

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

I have a reef octopus bh1000 on my 55 that is going on my 75 in 2 weeks. You can find them for about 175-190 online. Awesome HOB skimmer.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Thanks alot for your help

 

[Flaxon-Waxon]

If you do end up getting a reef octo let me know there's a couple tweaks you can do to make it more efficient...

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Definitely will do. I'm planning on getting the ls lr and filters and everything before I set it up.

 

[spoonman]

If you are keeping corals, skip the marineland "reef capable" lights. They are not reef capable. Look into leds on e-bay. About $160 each.

 

[CichlidFreak425]

Okay thanks. And today I'm going to get some LR and some more sand I'm just gonna put the LR in a bucket with 1.022 water and let it do it's thing until I get my 75 up and rolling.