55g equipment list

[jroush21]

i am planing on changeing my 55g to a saltwater fish only with live rock and i need help on my shopping list right now i have on it is
20 gallon long for my sump
over flow box http://www.aquacave.com/detail.aspx?ID=2849
protien skimmer http://www.marineandreef.com/Marineland_In_Sump_Protein_Skimmer_100_p/rml08130.htm
and a order of rock and sand http://www.marcorocks.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=62
and also the test kits, salt, power heads and heaters but that is the easy stuff to buy i would just like some experinced help to make sure im buying the right stuff and amount

 

[Jstdv8]

RO/DI filtration
Refractometer
powerheads like 2 #3 koralias
macro alage for teh sump
lighting...

 

[Original Fin]

As someone who recently set up their first SW 55, I would say this:

Upsize the overflow box to at least a 600 or larger. You can always tune it back with a valve, but if you intend to run the 300 wide open, it's going to make a lot of noise due to the size of the cascade in such a small box.

Can't comment on that particular skimmer, but you are in the right size range..2x the volume of your system is what's usually recommended.

Marco Rocks are good stuff. Get about 10 lbs of live rock, the rest can be dry. Shoot for 1-2x system volume.

If you ever treated your FW 55 with copper containing products, get some advice in the advanced forums on how to safely clean it out. Glass absorbs and releases copper in amounts sufficient to kill liverock. Hobby grade Copper test kits are only good for telling you if you have a problem. If it registers at all, it's too much for inverts, LR, corals, etc.

When it comes to lighting, I recommend T5HO 48"x4. It's not needed for FOWLR, but trust me, you will want to try your hand at corals sooner than you think. Don't waste money on anything that isn't upwards reef compatible. JMO.

 

[Original Fin]

RO/DI filtration
Refractometer
powerheads like 2 #3 koralias
macro alage for teh sump
lighting...

+1 on RODI and refractometers. Having your own RODI from the git-go is good insurance against recurring algae issues. You will see this again and again, but hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate, enough so to cause serious problems.

The usual test kits for cycle monitoring (no strips) plus Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphates. Quality test kits are worth it. You get what you pay for here.

 

[jroush21]

as for that link of rock and sand will that give me enough sand to have the proper depth and where did you get your T5HO 48''x4 lights at because i would like to have a reef but iwould first like to get my feet wet and i live kinda in the middle of no where so our fish store it the only around so they love to crank up the prices that is why im prob going to get all my supplies off line

 

[snorvich]

+1 on RODI and refractometers. Having your own RODI from the git-go is good insurance against recurring algae issues. You will see this again and again, but hydrometers are notoriously inaccurate, enough so to cause serious problems.

The usual test kits for cycle monitoring (no strips) plus Alkalinity, Calcium, Magnesium and Phosphates. Quality test kits are worth it. You get what you pay for here.

I agree totally with the above. Second most important is probably protein skimmer. Third most important is a controller for your heater; these often fail in the on position. Ranco is good, but there are others.

 

[auburngrad]

your sand depth is what ever u want, but there are some guidelines u should read in the stickies. the sand depth calculator link is on the home page on the left side. you should strive for 1- 1.5 lbs of rock per gal but with the std 55 being narrow u will be limited. i purchased most of my hard goods from pet solutions, they had some really good pricing on heaters etc.

 

[Original Fin]

as for that link of rock and sand will that give me enough sand to have the proper depth and where did you get your T5HO 48''x4 lights at because i would like to have a reef but iwould first like to get my feet wet and i live kinda in the middle of no where so our fish store it the only around so they love to crank up the prices that is why im prob going to get all my supplies off line

You have plenty of time to make that decision. No need to run anything special for now as long as it's going to be a FOWLR for a while. When you make the transition, the best advice I can give is to stay away from the no-name Ebay fixtures that ship from abroad. There's a bunch of junk that will pop up first when you do a search and it will look like a great deal price wise. It's not. If you don't see the big name e-tailers selling it, you're taking a risk.
There are a lot of good fixtures to be had in the 250-400 range. Better fixtures have individual reflectors.

 

[jroush21]

alright well tomorrow im goin to the city to look at the stores there and see if there is anything good but its prob just goin to be a looking trip and the next time i head up there ill buy i dont wana start this till after the new year

 

[Original Fin]

alright well tomorrow im goin to the city to look at the stores there and see if there is anything good but its prob just goin to be a looking trip and the next time i head up there ill buy i dont wana start this till after the new year

Might try checking out the reef clubs forum and ask the one that's closest to you where they go and what they think. They may even have a deal on a good used one, but you'll have to take that kind of talk off line till you hit the 50/90.

 

[sslak]

RO/DI
Refractometer

Clean Buckets!
spare pump/spare heater for mixing water

 

[rayn]

Not so much a addition, but make sure you have the sump in the stand before filling the 55 up. Some 20l won't fit in the stand without from behind or cutting a brace and reinstalling it. Fit the sump first, then the DT, then fill. You'll be happy you did.

 

[wbdevers]

+1

make sure you have the sump in the stand before filling the 55 up

I've got a 55 that I set up w/o a sump and am now regretting it. I'm in the process of building a sump and because I'm not modyfing my stand it will be smaller than I would have liked, but hindsight is 20/20. If you can drill the tank, go ahead and do it now. That would be your best option, but if not go with a larger overflow. The one I'm getting is 1200 gph.

I'm running 4 T5's--2 blue, 2 white. I retro fit mine.

I used 40#'s of LS and it covers my bottom at about 1-1.5 inches.

The best advice I can give is to listen and heed all of the outstanding advice that people give here. Years and years of experience--best source of info is experience and it's free!!!:thumbsup:

HTH, best of luck and welcome to the addiction!

Wes

 

[Original Fin]

+1 I've got a 55 that I set up w/o a sump and am now regretting it. I'm in the process of building a sump and because I'm not modyfing my stand it will be smaller than I would have liked, but hindsight is 20/20. If you can drill the tank, go ahead and do it now. That would be your best option, but if not go with a larger overflow. The one I'm getting is 1200 gph.

I'm running 4 T5's--2 blue, 2 white. I retro fit mine.

I used 40#'s of LS and it covers my bottom at about 1-1.5 inches.

The best advice I can give is to listen and heed all of the outstanding advice that people give here. Years and years of experience--best source of info is experience and it's free!!!:thumbsup:

HTH, best of luck and welcome to the addiction!

Wes

Agreed, except for the drilling part. Not possible on a standard 55 as they are all tempered glass.
My sump was much more difficult and complicated than it needed to be because I waited till after the display was up to add one. You won't get anything deeper than a 10G in the standard OEM stands. I fit two in mine and connected them with a bulhead, but I did crack a tank trying to do it. 10's are so thin, it's real easy to crack/shatter them while drilling. And I now have to be super careful when working around the bulkheads as any little bit of added stress could blow the sides out.

 

[Original Fin]

Also, if I can just pass along something I wish I did differently...If I could go back, I would not do the standard 55 again.
48" width is perfet for me and gives the most lighting fixture options. 21" Height is good too. Getting much deeper than this can make getting your arm to the bottom tricky, and you would need higher power lighting too. What I have a problem with is the narrow depth of 12.5". This is really limiting when it comes to aquascaping and sump design.

I know you are wanting to work with what you've got, but it wouldn't hurt to check out Craigslist for something with more reef suitable dimensions. There are usually some killer deals in the 75-125g range.

 

[wbdevers]

Original Fin, I had heard that from someone else a short while back but forgot about it. Why is that with the 55's, do you know? I wonder if the dimensions lend to some kind of odd stressing on the glass.

My freaking door openings are only 10" wide and a friend gave me a 10gallon with rim. I pulled the rim off and the bloody thing was still 1/4" too wide. This is why I'm building a sump. Going to build out of acrylic. Picking up the plastic today and the other supplies should be here end of this week, begining of next.

jroush21, have you considered having a sump made? They can be pricey, but they will maximize size and fit for your stand. You will get just what you want that way. Just food for thought.

 

[wbdevers]

+1 on size. Wish I had started with a reef ready 110. Don't know if the better half would have gone for that though!:lmao:

 

[tkeracer619]

If you ever treated your FW 55 with copper containing products, get some advice in the advanced forums on how to safely clean it out. Glass absorbs and releases copper in amounts sufficient to kill liverock. Hobby grade Copper test kits are only good for telling you if you have a problem. If it registers at all, it's too much for inverts, LR, corals, etc.

This is a urban legend and not true at all. Simply rinsing the tank with vinegar and warm water is all you need to do and should be done any time you start a tank. Copper will not leach out of the glass or silicone and copper is not the end all for a reef tank. Salt mix has copper in it.


Eshopps IME are horrible. Look at a lifereef overflow. I am not a fan of HOB overflows as they will often cause floods. The lifereef is about double the cost of the Eshopps but is worth it many times over.

Some 55g tanks can be drilled. A lot of times it is just the bottom pane that is tempered. I have drilled a couple 55s on the back pane. Might look into it before you spend money on an overflow.

If you have to run a HOB then IME this suggestion is a requirement. Take an auto top off float. Something cheap like autotopoff.com and hook your return pump up to it. Mount the float in the display so it is not shutting down the return pump but IF there was a problem with the overflow not overflowing and the tank starts to fill up with water the float switch triggers the return pump to cut off. I cannot tell you how many times this has saved my butt and kept water off expensive wood floors.

As far as skimmers go I think you can find something better in your price range. While I am sure that skimmer you linked will skim so will a pump stuck in the side of a 2 liter bottle. Look at something like this, it is a bit more but many people have used it and have proven its worth as a skimmer. Check out the xtreme 120 cone @ http://www.swcskimmers.com/All skimmers.htm

 

[Original Fin]

This is a urban legend and not true at all. Simply rinsing the tank with vinegar and warm water is all you need to do and should be done any time you start a tank. Copper will not leach out of the glass or silicone and copper is not the end all for a reef tank. Salt mix has copper in it.


Eshopps IME are horrible. Look at a lifereef overflow. I am not a fan of HOB overflows as they will often cause floods. The lifereef is about double the cost of the Eshopps but is worth it many times over.

Some 55g tanks can be drilled. A lot of times it is just the bottom pane that is tempered. I have drilled a couple 55s on the back pane. Might look into it before you spend money on an overflow.

If you have to run a HOB then IME this suggestion is a requirement. Take an auto top off float. Something cheap like autotopoff.com and hook your return pump up to it. Mount the float in the display so it is not shutting down the return pump but IF there was a problem with the overflow not overflowing and the tank starts to fill up with water the float switch triggers the return pump to cut off. I cannot tell you how many times this has saved my butt and kept water off expensive wood floors.

As far as skimmers go I think you can find something better in your price range. While I am sure that skimmer you linked will skim so will a pump stuck in the side of a 2 liter bottle. Look at something like this, it is a bit more but many people have used it and have proven its worth as a skimmer. Check out the xtreme 120 cone @ http://www.swcskimmers.com/All skimmers.htm

Well, that's why I advised seeking further help in the advanced section. I am admittedly no expert. If they all concur with urban legend than I guess he's good to go. All I know is I read this advice over and over again.

I'm sure there are some 55's w/o tempered glass, but all the ones I've seen are at least bottom tempered, and many are on all sides. Sometimes you have to contact the manufacturer to know for sure. In the case of the OP, since he is already in posession of the tank, he can figure it out for himself if he has a pair of polarized sunglasses and a smart phone or similar small LCD display.

I do like the return pump suggestion though. You do need to have some sort of failsafe for DT overflow. In my sump design, there is simply not enough water volume to overflow the display or sump. If the overflow loses siphon, or clogs, the level will rise to within half an inch of cresting the rim before the return pump chamber goes dry. My ATO is on a float valve, so it would take an awfully long time for 1/4" drip to fill the void that the return pump would have long since failed running dry. Granted, burning up a pump is not the best failsafe, but it's still prefferable to a flood. Any burn up toxins would be localized to the dry return chamber.
I will still noodle the idea of incorporating a DT max level float into my system as an additional failsafe. Not crazy about having a float visible up there, and wondering if my snails and urchin could cause it to false?

 

[tkeracer619]

The float I linked has a guard over the actual float. No snails or whatnot could get it. It still might require cleaning depending on how high up you can set it.

I wouldn't rely on a pump to burn up for a failsafe. I have had a couple pumps run dry for days and still work LOL. It really is a good option to put the float on the display. Too many variables with a HOB. I don't trust them. Not even the lifereef but If I had to choose one to trust it would be the LR.

Yeah the copper urban legend makes its rounds daily. It stems from the same people who think a drop of tap water will kill your tank.