Advice on setup

[kdr78]

Hi all,
I've been wanting to set up a saltwater tank for years, and am finally pulling the trigger. I'm stationed in Okinawa so I figure its now or never. I've considered some wild capture, and getting some from the LFS. Ive been reading/lurking on here for years, and would like some advice on the set up I am looking at. I am going to do a 55 gallon tank. Primarily fowlr, I may look to add some smaller corals later down the line such as zoos. But for the time being, some hermits, snails, a couple of clowns, a cardinal, maybe a flame angel, candy cane shrimp, etc. I'd like to get some decent LED lamps that would be able to support this down the road so I am not buying things twice.

The tank came with a emperor penguin 350 and 200 bio wheel. I've read not to use the bio wheel portions as if they stop they can kill off the tank, is this still the correct line of thinking? Will these be sufficient with a skimmer? Do I need to look in a different direction for filtration?

For a tank this side, am I going to need/want some wave makers or powerheads?

Any recommendations about lighting?

I was looking at ordering the CoralVue BH-100 Octopus Skimmer. Thoughts?

We keep the house at 68-70 year round, so I'll have to invest in a pair of heaters for it.

I was looking at the jaebo wavemakers rw-8 180-2100 gphfor it, but not sure if this is necessary, or overkill?

Thanks guys, go easy on me.

 

[Goldmund]

Do you own the tank already? I think a lot of people regret going with a 55g because of the lack of space front to back. You might consider a 75g or 90g tank, better dimensions without taking up that much more room.

 

[Pigpen17]

Do you own the tank already? I think a lot of people regret going with a 55g because of the lack of space front to back. You might consider a 75g or 90g tank, better dimensions without taking up that much more room.

That was my first thought as well. I went from a 55 to a 65 and the extra 6" front to back was an amazing difference. I would go higher gallons to get more room, or go down to a 40 breeder size. I have never had one, but I walk by them all them time and think, "That's a damn good sized tank!"

 

[texdoc77]

The tank came with a emperor penguin 350 and 200 bio wheel. I've read not to use the bio wheel portions as if they stop they can kill off the tank, is this still the correct line of thinking? Will these be sufficient with a skimmer? Do I need to look in a different direction for filtration?

If you have live rock and will be running a sump a biowheel filter is not necessary, however, that said plenty on here use HOB filters and canisters without issue

For a tank this side, am I going to need/want some wave makers or powerheads?

Good waterflow is a must, but less important for Fowlr than for a reef tank, however, since you plan on adding corals in the future I would go ahead and get good water movement

Any recommendations about lighting?
Again, this depends on how long you wait to start coral. The FOWLR tank does not need strong lighting, the strong lighting is to help the coral make food via their xooanthelae (SP?) and lighting can be expensive. This might be a place to wait until you are sure you want to do coral

I was looking at ordering the CoralVue BH-100 Octopus Skimmer. Thoughts?

No experience, sorry

We keep the house at 68-70 year round, so I'll have to invest in a pair of heaters for it.

Yes

I was looking at the jaebo wavemakers rw-8 180-2100 gphfor it, but not sure if this is necessary, or overkill?

In a 55gal you can get away with a couple powerheads on each side pointed towards each other. I have a mixed reef and do this controlled by an apex and it is completely fine

Thanks guys, go easy on me.

I bet you get into this and decide adding corals is easier than you thought and begin doing that sooner, with that in mind you might go with the better equipment right off the bat, also go ahead and give us your proposed build such as sump or no sump and that kind of stuff, and also check out the "setting up sticky" (looks like maybe you have) and welcome

 

[Duke4life]

We keep the house at 68-70 year round, so I'll have to invest in a pair of heaters for it.

I wouldn't invest in heaters until you see what the temperature of the water is once in tank 1st. We keep our house the same as you year round as well, the tank is about 8 degrees warmer than what our house is. I have a couple heaters I can add just in case but haven't used em yet.

 

[kdr78]

Thanks for the info guys. I bought a light set up today, hopefully I did ok. I bought a Marineland Pro Lighting 32982. It has 4 T5HO bulbs, 2 MH, and 3 LEDs, but the LEDs don't work. I'm going to open it up and see what's going on. I only paid $150. Wasn't real looking for lighting just kind of fell in my lap. Thoughts?

 

[texdoc77]

Thanks for the info guys. I bought a light set up today, hopefully I did ok. I bought a Marineland Pro Lighting 32982. It has 4 T5HO bulbs, 2 MH, and 3 LEDs, but the LEDs don't work. I'm going to open it up and see what's going on. I only paid $150. Wasn't real looking for lighting just kind of fell in my lap. Thoughts?

That light set up is a few years old and according to some QA I saw on their website, marineland no longer supports them. That said it appears to be more than adequate for what you want to do and as long as it continues working it looks like you got a good deal. Concerning the LED lighting, they appear to be for moonlight simulation only which was all the rage a few years back and is still very common, but probably not as "mandatory" as was originally thought. $150 seems like a good deal and the lights should be programmable.

A couple of other thoughts. The one place to "look for a deal" is NOT the lighting. I'm not saying you have to spend $1000, but in the long run I suspect you will eventually change out those lights. The fluorescent and MH bulbs have issues such as maintenance and heat that newer and not much more expensive LED systems do not. As the price point comes down for LED and the industry really explores this and innovates, you will see fewer and fewer NEW T5 and MH set ups. Think of it like digital cameras. When they first came out they were a novelty and the majority of the industry rebelled against it. However, with the advantages that were in place eventually SD cards and megapixels became the standard.

Bottom line, you got a good deal on lights a few years old, but I suspect you will eventually replace them. My current thoughts are to buy things that can be used later on for larger or different sized tanks. That may not apply to everything, but can to lighting. You might consider the lighting options from rapid LED or orbit.

Ok so this was one of those times I thought I was going to give a quick reply and really went long, sorry for the TLDR... Happy Weekend!!

 

[Shawn O]

From what I keep reading from those with T5s and MHs, you'll need to replace the T5 bulbs at least once per year and IIRC MH ballasts will need replacing, although not as frequently. Someone with MHs will probably chime in soon enough. Since you're not doing corals yet, you could get away with the current T5 bulbs. I'm betting they're beyond coral growth usefulness, anyway. You won't even need to run the MHs at this point since a FOWLR just needs enough light to view the fish. If you can't get the LEDs to work and realy want them for moonlighting, most auto parts stores sell purple and plue LED strips that can be wired up with a wall wart. +1 on the 55, sucks for pretty much anything but fresh water tanks and as a sump under a tall stand.

 

[CStrickland]

If the light doesn't work right I'd return it. You can go real cheap for fowlr lighting, but their colors will look nicer under a mh than a cheap fluorescent bulb. The lights I put on my 55 are 2 $80 Chinese LEDs and they grow everything. Its separate things, growing vs showing

I don't see any info about your water source?
If you are thinking corals down the road you ought to use proper water from the start because metals like copper can be absorbed by the rocks.

Even without coral you need to move the water enough to keep it oxygenated, like fresh air for the fish. I have a couple $12 "sun-sun" power heads in my tank that work fine. They are big though.

Have you given any thought to a sump?
It's a game changer for the tank, and it's hard to recommend a skimmer until you decide that. Most 55s can't be drilled, at least in the U.S. they are tempered glass. Besides being narrow, that's a major downside. Coralvue is a good brand though, I'm looking at buying a reef octo sro in the next few months. My tank has run fine without for 11 months, but I think it will be better with as I get close to my max number of fish, and want nicer corals. My filtration is the live rock and a filter sock.

 

[kdr78]

So someone on base has a sump for sale, but I'll admit I am a bit clueless when it comes to sumps. What would you guys recommend? Using the two HOB filters that I already have and live rock, or should I invest in the sump? The long term plan is to use this for a year and a half until we move, then look for a larger tank on craigslist when we get to our next base (as long as this set up is successful). Its a 5 chamber sump, 25 gallons, 2 large sections on the opposite ends, two small one and one medium in the middle. They want $80 for it. Thoughts?

 

[kdr78]

Also, if I do go the sump route, should I drill the tank (isn't it just the bottoms that are tempered?), or use a HOB overflow?

 

[kdr78]

Just saw the sticker that says all panels are tempered glass do not drill. So much for that. So.... Overflow or stick with the HOB filters?

 

[Sounds Fishy]

Since it is your first aquarium I would stick with the filters you have to start with.If you discover it is something you want to replace,when or if you decide you can't seem to manage the bio load then go the route of a sump and worry about the overflow and return plumbing.I have had more than a few marine aquariums run very well with just power filters,under gravel filter,and a skimmer.That was the typical set up back in the 1970's.The thing is,it works well in an aquarium like your setting up.Later on ,after you become addicted to the hobby,I am sure,like lots of us.... You will have urges to go out and get a new arrangement with more technological advances , bells and whistles....it is part of the hobby.On your first set up,get to learn,and understand what you are doing and why,(I am still learning and I have been doing that for the better part of 40 years with marine aquariums).The future of what you develop the hobby into, starts from there.It never ends.

 

[lifeoffaith]

Yeah, invest your money in some good liverock instead. I've run several great tanks without a sump. I just made sure to have water movement and lots of live rock and do regular water changes and cleaning. I do plan on setting up a large drilled tank in the future (after I move in the next couple of years), but for now I'm living with my 24 gallon Aquapod (which is not easy by the way, since I had a 120 and a 46 that I recently sold to make the move easier that ended up getting pushed out a year or two).

 

[kdr78]

Question about the HOB filters. Should I be using the filter inserts, or ? I have read a few places where people fill them with live rock (not sure they would get enough light?), carbon, skip using the bio wheel portions? How much water flow should I be looking for in powerheads?

 

[kdr78]

Anyone?

 

[CStrickland]

Your flow will depend somewhat on your coral, sps like more. I have 40x tank volume and it's working nice (3x 850 gph heads in a 55g) but mine are all tucked into the rocks so not like a direct blast.

As far as the filters, idk cause I don't use them. But if I had one around I'd prolly run it with floss inside for a while after I change my water cause vacuuming the sand makes the water cloudy sometimes. Trapping a bunch of crud and holding it in a high flow area raises nitrates in the water, it's hard to think of anything that won't do that. Some people like to try to grow pods in there, to me it seems excessive unless you have a mandarin (you can't have a mandarin yet). Mo' clutter mo problems, I like simple.

 

[Rutrag]

I would use the filters you have without really changing anything to start. If you decide to use GFO later on, then you might use that sandwiched in polyfill. I would put live rock rubble in one personally as I feel it will turn into a difficult to maintain detritus trap. As far as the powerheads, use the fan type (Korallia is a prominent brand in the U.S. And the Jeboas offer a lot of features for the price point.). A pair of RW-4s would probably be good for a 55.