refugium, sump, or QT?

[Erty]

ok guys, i'm new to the whole hobby and i've been actively reading as much as i can about just about everything. i just got my saltwater tank a few months ago its been cycled and i have 4 fish. currently inside my tank i have the following...

55 gallon tank
60-80 pounds of live rock.
1 heater
1 korelia 2 for water cirulation
1 korelia 1 for a little bit more
a 450 fluval canister filter
1 Eibli angelfish
1 clown tang
1 diamond goby
1 hifin banded goby
3 emerald crabs
5 blue legged hermit crabs
2 turbo snails
1 bumble bee snail

i've come to the conclusion i pretty much need a sump refugium and QT tank but i can't figure out which is most important. [moderator edit] i'm not even 100% certain i need the sump. i'm also considering getting a protein skimmer because i don't have one atm. i want to eventually work my way up to a reef tank.

my question is, in your experiences which should i be looking for first?
A) sump
B) Refugium
C) QT Tank
D) Protein Skimmer
E) screw all those, you need a ______

thanks in advance for the help!

 

[dannyb]

Ahh, You def need a protein skimmer with that load.
How big is your tank? Im guessing 150g at least with a clown tang in there? If so, You'll need more flow.
In order i'd get first..

WAIT TO GET MORE FISH.

Protein skimmer
QT Tank
Sump/Refugium

 

[thominil]

Take the tang back to your LFS. Grab a QT as it is more important if you plan to add more fish. You can add an HOB skimmer if you really want one, but if you keep up on the weekly water changes religiously, you should be fine. If you go for a sump, make your own that way you can stick the fuge IN the actual sump setup itself. For option "E" go grab yourself a 220g tank and use that 55 as the sump/fuge.

 

[dannyb]

Ahh i just seen it was 55g. Eeeep, Take that tang back. Clown tangs need a massive amount of room to swim about. I think atleast 7ft long.

As stated above, Go QT first if you plan on adding fish but i think you should get a protein skimmer for that size tank.
Anything under 30g you could get away with weekly water changes but anything above i think you should get a skimmer.
Then last, Sump/Fuge.

 

[Mitchell0605]

Nice scream/screech Danny. Agreed on the tang. Clown Tangs are one of the hardest tangs to keep, and having him in a tank too small for him doesn't help.

Get a QT tank before a skimmer. As Thom said for now, religious PWC's will accomplish the same thing. When you get more fish definately buy a skimmer.
As Thom also said usually 'sump' is synonomous with 'refugium' because most people put them in the one tank.

Thoms option E was quite good too....

 

[melosu58]

Added water volume is always a good thing. I would consider a sump or a fuge first and then a skimmer next. I agree with the others about the clown tang.

 

[cmor1701d]

I'm with Mike, but I would say A B C & D(all of the above, starting with sump with a fuge portion. I just use my return section as my fuge and put an eggcrate covered with screen material around the return.

Info on the clown tang

Minimum Tank Size: 150 gallons Care Level: Expert Only Temperament: Aggressive Max. Size: 1' 3"

 

[Erty]

thanx guys for all the responses, its kinda weird that everyone is saying take the tang back and that it gets 1' 3" and such because i did a little research on it, and i found somewhere that said it only got to be about 5-6" at biggest and thats also what my lfs told me before i bought it. i talked to the seller quite a bit and she said this tang i have stays small and this site also says that it does Saltwater fish - Clown Tang, she also said the yellow eye, and the scopas tang stays small as well. if all this is false i would definately take her back tho, shes already getting on my nerves anyway lol, i cant stand the fish who just sit in the corner going up and down up and down all day and have no idea how to stop it.

thanx for all the advice guys, i was also considering making my sump with a fuge in it anyways, and i was def going to do it myself. it looks like the general consesus is a protein skimmer tho?

 

[melosu58]

its kinda weird that everyone is saying take the tang back and that it gets 1' 3" and such because i did a little research on it, and i found somewhere that said it only got to be about 5-6" at biggest and thats also what my lfs told me before i bought it.

Sorry, you got some misinformation. I would trust Liveaquaria way before the others.

Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Clown Tang

 

[dannyb]

i talked to the seller quite a bit and she said this tang i have stays small and this site also says that it does Saltwater fish - Clown Tang

That website says "Approximate arrival size for Clown Tang."

They do grow, Alot.