55g Startup Help Please

[Kawaii]

We are looking to startup a 55g tank for fish and maybe some live rock. We have a 55g tank that is 48" long with the standard lighting that came with it- two 18 watt bulbs.

This link has a bunch of things to start up a tank but what of these things do we really need?
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_reef_tank_packages_set_up_60-90_gallon.asp?CartId=


If we opt not to put in any live rock, how difficult would it be to maintain levels? We currently have a 29g eclipse reef tank that has been fairly easy to manage.

 

[rjwilson37]

Is your new 55g a reef ready tank, or do you need one of the overflow boxes, because you really want to run a sump. The sump makes water changes a breeze as well as top off and more water volume for a more stable system.

You want the better or best lighting, you can pay now or pay later... because you will want to do some cool things as well as having a nice looking tank. Lighting helps make the tank look much more beautiful, so you should get good lighting to bring out the colors in your fish and corals as well as keep them healthy.

In-Sump best skimmer is what you want, but a Euroreef CS80 is awsome and cost less than that best skimmer in your link. You can use the Mag 7 return pump which is awesome and you can get by with a Maxijet 900 and a Seio 1100 for your water movement. That is inexpenisve and will give you some great flow to keep the water moving around in your tank.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=ER1231

 

[Kawaii]

Would we need that just for fish?

 

[adpgibso]

i have a 55 gal with only a 40watt bulb on it with fish only.

I also have a 29 gal with over 120 watts of PC on it alone.

Let me tell ya, I would def. invest in some MH, PC, or even T5 just to get that much more "beautiful" look. The 55 gal looks very inferior to the bright blue 29 gallon. It's well worth it!

 

[TekCat]

For FO, you would need some sort of bio-filter(wet/dry or bio-wheels, etc..) They could become troublesome in future.

IMO, FOWLR is the way to go. Besides getting bio-filtration benefits of LR you wont have to get plastic decorations Aquascaping with LR (IMO) beats any artificial structures that you might put in.

If you don't want to go with overflow/sump route. May I suggest getting AquaC Remora protein skimmer. You can hang it on the back of the tank. And have very good reputation.

Your existing lights are quite adecuate for fish. Fish, snails, crabs, and shrimps don't care about lights.

 

[rjwilson37]

If your going with FOWLR right now, then just go with the better everything which is the middle of the line. If you scrictly go with the lower end stuff, then you have no room to try some things in the future.

Here the first 3 pictures are of my 55g starting off which was very few corals and then towards the end with corals. Then the 4th picture is of my new tank, with a more open look for the fish to swim but still having corals. This can give you a glimpse of the different type of lighting.

plain pc lighting

T5Lighting

Still T5 lighting

My current tank which has Metal Halide lighting

 

[rjwilson37]

A 4 bulb 48" T5 lighting hood from ReefGeek.com, would do wonders for your tank and you would have the flexibility to do almost anything you wanted in the future and have a great look. The T5 lighting is just under Metal Halide lighting for the performance, then one step lower is the VHO lighting then the lower is Power Compact lighting, then the lowest is just plain Flourescent lighting.

 

[jimbo045]

Live rock is key. You can run it all with just live rock, and a protein skimmer. Like me on my spare 55.