55 gal setup?

[aceheart1976]

my dad is wanting a 55 gal setup without the sump....
im wondering if my suggestion to him would be suitable:
i told him to just start off that he would probably need 2 hang on filters like an aquaclear 300, and probably atleast 1 smallish powerhead.

just out of curiousity, what else would he possibly need besides LR and sand? and keep in mind this is a non drilled tank and he does not want to drill the tank(since the tank is one of my spare freshwater breeder tanks)

thank you for any information

[JOZEFEK]

Protein skimmer Test Kit

[aceheart1976]

i have the tetratest laborett test kit, and i was also thinking of a smallish hang on skimmer too

[JOZEFEK]

Coralife Super Skimmer 65gal and Fresh water test kit can be used in salt water tanks

[cdentii1]

The tank does not have to be drilled for a overflow, and a sump will have more benefits than you would probably realize Just get a hang on over flow box (NO CPR!!!!!!!) and either another smaller tank or plastic container and return pump and you are there. Heck a trip to HD or Lowes and a couple of E-Bay purchases you wont have much more into it than the 2 aquaclear 300's. check out this thread it contains a lot of useful information.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1

[aceheart1976]

thank you for your help so far we will probably make some decisions this weekend for his clown fish/reef tank

[JOZEFEK]

good luck

[teena]

i had a 55g not drilled, no sump, i had a aqua c remora hanging on the back, look on the for sale form you may can get a good deal on a used one there,

[bteagle93]

wait, so all you used was the remora and im guessing sand and live rock? how did that work for you?

[bteagle93]

wait, so all you used was the remora and im guessing sand and live rock? how did that work for you?

[aceheart1976]

im listening to all pointers i can get and also thinking of starting up a huge tank myself, 125gal or bigger with a nice sized sump but still looking over some things to figure out the plumbing and other things like electronics

[Jerry W]

While a sump is nice, it's not a necessity. I agree with a mid line hang on skimmer like a Remora Pro. I'd suggest at least two powerheads. Maxijet 900 or 1200 would work well. With a decent amount of live rock, good flow, and regular water changes, you can keep the water in good conditiion.
You mention it's to be a reef. What have you thought about in terms of lighting as this will likely be your biggest expense. I would also strongly suggest on investing in a good RO/DI unit. If you plan to stick with the hobby, it will be money well spent.
Good luck!

[aceheart1976]

for lighting im going to go with compact flourescents, probably 25wat 6500k's
eventually when im finished building my house i will probably get an ro/di unit and install it in my large tank "closet"
and we have thought about the powerheads but wasnt sure what size to get for the tank he wants to set up or how many of them lol

[slapshot16]

I agree with Jerry W.

I have sand, live rock, Remora Pro, heater and two max jet powerheads in my 55. No sump. Weekly or bi-weekly 10 gallon water changes and you are good to go. I use RO as well.

[stingythingy45]

Originally posted by cdentii1
The tank does not have to be drilled for a overflow, and a sump will have more benefits than you would probably realize Just get a hang on over flow box (NO CPR!!!!!!!) and either another smaller tank or plastic container and return pump and you are there. Heck a trip to HD or Lowes and a couple of E-Bay purchases you wont have much more into it than the 2 aquaclear 300's. check out this thread it contains a lot of useful information.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...5&pagenumber=1

I have a 55 as well with a CPR Reef 2 skimmer on it.
Why no CPR overflow?I've heard there's been trouble with them.Does anybody have a reccomendation for a brand for overflows?

[aceheart1976]

/we still deciding on what or how to do this
my thoughts are a decent skimmer, 2 powerheads and decent lights so far

[Trigeek]

My advice is to figure out what y'all want to put into the tank. Different types of corals require different needs in terms of lighting and flow. Research what you want to put into the tank and then find the most efficient way to achieve the parameters needed. Research the skimmers thoroughly before buying one and you may find a good one in the used goods forum.

Skimmer advice: Check out the HOB Deltecs.

Lighting: T5s will give you more of a choice of photosynthetic creatures in your tank over powercompacts, thoguh you can do well with a lot of corals with PCs.

Flow: Check out the korallias.

A sump isn't necessary but it is helpful in many ways and an overflow box can solve the "not drilling" problem. Some pros of a sump:
-increased water volume
-ease of adding stuff including top-off water
-easier water changes
-place to add macroalage which can help with nutrient export
-place for a skimmer, heaters etc. that you won't see hanging in the display tank
-place to use activated carbon or phosphate removal stuff
-easy to plumb
-can be inexpensive (can use a 20g long tank you find at a garage sale or form a local reefclub, or go really ghetto and use a rubbermaid container or make one out of acrylic). Check out melevs reef (melevsreef.com) fo some great info on plumbing, sumps and all things reef!!

IMO, the money is best spent on 1)lighting 2)flow 3)skimmer (you can place less emphasis on the need of a skimmer if you don't stock too much in terms of fish or heavy eaters)

You can make your own liverock and seed the liverock with cured pieces or critter kits (kits you can buy to seed your liverock and sandbed with pods, worms etc.) You don't have to spend a bunch on sand, but if you have a sandbed research how to set it up properly.

Read, read, read!!! The most important thing a reefer can get is knowledge!
Hope this helps.

[aceheart1976]

that helps alot trigeek, but my dad or myself doesn have a lot of extra cash right now and as far as i know he is only wanting a few clowns and some nice colorful corals and i think my mom wants a shrimp or 2 also loland colorful corals, probably zoos and other softies along with an anemone for the clowns

[MimicTang]

Dont use aquaclear many of mine didnt resume function after a power

[aceheart1976]

mimic, i have that problem on my african cichlid tank and im running 2 aquaclear 300's on it and its a 75 gal setup. sometimes they will start back, sometimes they need to be re-primed back up

[cdentii1]

Originally posted by aceheart1976
that helps alot trigeek, but my dad or myself doesn have a lot of extra cash right now and as far as i know he is only wanting a few clowns and some nice colorful corals and i think my mom wants a shrimp or 2 also loland colorful corals, probably zoos and other softies along with an anemone for the clowns

Most (not all) colorful corals and all anemones require High intensty lighting and IMOP and experiance nothing less than metal halide lighting for them to thrive, I am not saying that you cannot keep a anemone under T5 or P/C however they will do much better under M/H.

[MalHavoc]

Is a different tank an option? I hate 55 gallon tanks - they are sized very poorly and are quite narrow, making it difficult to aquascape. A 40 gallon breeder or a 75 gallon tank is a better size (18" wide, as opposed to 12").

For general startup advice, read these threads:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1031074

[aceheart1976]

i have 2 55 gal tanks already. so right now thats the cheapest option for my dad and mom. and for the lighting, these compact flourescents im planning on getting for them looks to be more intense then MH's that i have seen. i have seen a few tanks with the compacts in them and everything the people put in them strived very well

but thank you for you opinions, and im not going against anything anyone says

[cdentii1]

Originally posted by aceheart1976
i have 2 55 gal tanks already. so right now thats the cheapest option for my dad and mom. and for the lighting, these compact flourescents im planning on getting for them looks to be more intense then MH's that i have seen. i have seen a few tanks with the compacts in them and everything the people put in them strived very well

but thank you for you opinions, and im not going against anything anyone says

Careful with the lighting debate as that is most likely the number one topic for arguments and for an administrator(s) to close thread(s). I also use P/C lighting as a supplement to the M/H and in my fuge

[aceheart1976]

wasnt trying to start a debate, just my personal opinions as to what i have seen
but as of right now i think we are going to go to a bigger tank, 125 gal+ with a nice sized sump. so things may change alot