Completely new........

[Searchlights]

Hey guys! First post here and I must say there is quite a bit of good info on here. But as the title says, I'm completely new in the saltwater game. I do have quite a bit of experience in freshwater fish and especially freshwater plants over the years. (I know it probably doesn't help much lol) But I recently just received a drilled 55 gallon from one of my family members for free. So that being said, I could use all the info and help you guys can give me. Here's what I'm looking at picking up now. Let me know if it's a good idea, or a mistake lol...... It already has an overflow box pre-installed (My cousin said he installed it from a kit). I was looking into getting an Aqeon Proflex sump system and adding a skimmer from SC Aquariums that I've read really good reviews from. The thing that kind of confuses me though is the flow rates. The overflow box is 700 gph and the sump would be rated up to 1000 gph. So how powerful would my return pump need to be? And also, would a refugium be necessary? And as for lighting I already have a quad T5 HO lighting system with a built in timer from my freshwater plant days that I plan on switching out the bulbs for 2 10k and 2 actinic. I plan on doing a 1 inch sand bed and I plan on using 20 percent live rock and 80 percent dead rock for the cycle. My questions with that is, would I be able to eventually graduate to growing corals with my lighting setup? I also have no idea of what fish/inverts to put in it, which i need advice on lol. I also planning on picking up an RO unit instead of buying it the from the store.. I also plan on picking up the salt mix, refractometer and all the other supplies online. if I'm missing anything please let me know! Thank you guys.

 

[LuciDog]

If you shoot for a pump rated 1000gph it should do the job. Just plum in a gate valve to adjust as needed.

A fuge is only necessary if you plan to need it in the future. If you see yourself ever owning any species that require one, your better to set it up now. It's also handy for keeping macro algae in the system, but out of sight

Your lights will be fine.

When it comes to fish, pick your one "must have" and work backwards on your stocking list, checking compatibility. Then you don't mistakingly add a fish now, to find out later that it isn't compatible with that dream fish you've been waiting for.

Live aquaria is an excellent source for learning about species, compatibility, and overall requirements.

 

[FF337]

I personally would use 100% dead rock cleaned before use. I try to eliminate all possibilities of pest or hitch hikers. If I want it in the tank I'll add it.

Your list looks good.

Im gonna leave other people to comment on flow rates.

I personally use a mag 12 as a return pump for my 180 gallon sps tank. This returns water to the display and powers 2 reactors. And three vortech mp40wes power heads for tank flow

 

[Searchlights]

Alright sweet, thanks for the info guys. And 100 percent dead rock will work? I didn't know that lol

 

[stingeragent]

Dead rock will be live rock eventually even with no "live rock" being present. I'd personally put in some live rock from the get go. Sure you have a chance of hitch hikers, but you can just as easily get hitch hikers on a coral frag 6 months from now. I've started 2 tanks with nothing but live rock, and the only bad hitch hikers I've got came from coral frags ( GHA, bubble algae, grape algae, aipistasia)

 

[FF337]

It will eventually turn into live rock by accumulating bacteria and you'll add pods etc later on and it will provide a place for them to live.

 

[Searchlights]

And as for a must have fish, I am pretty partial to angelfish. But I'm not even sure there's a species you can keep in a 55 lol

 

[Searchlights]

Ok, so basically adding live rock just speeds up the cycle process with the chance to have some weird creatures come along with it? Lol

 

[FF337]

And as for a must have fish, I am pretty partial to angelfish. But I'm not even sure there's a species you can keep in a 55 lol

Some dwarf varieties might be okay. But know some can be coral nippers. Many have success with keeping them and not having issues with them nipping coral. It's a gamble but can be limited due to research on species.

Good luck.

 

[Searchlights]

Some dwarf varieties might be okay. But know some can be coral nippers. Many have success with keeping them and not having issues with them nipping coral. It's a gamble but can be limited due to research on species.

Good luck.

Hmmmmm I may just stay on the safe side. I assume most beginner fish are clowns? Or would you recommend something else? I've had my fair share of beginner mistakes in fresh water. I'd like to limit them if possible in salt water

 

[CStrickland]

Running 1,000 gph through the sump on a 55 is way overkill. The skimmer should be rated for tank size + bio load (how much waste the fish produce). Something like "rated for a heavily stocked 50, lightly stocked 20 gallon"
If you give some details about the overflow and the skimmer we can help you figure out how to make it work. Also, when choosing a pump you have to account for "head loss" if it is pushing against gravity, so it helps to know how high the tank is above the sump. Many pumps rated for 1000 gal will push far less at a couple feet above the water.

For comparison, I run ~400 gph through the sump of my 55.

 

[CStrickland]

Hmmmmm I may just stay on the safe side. I assume most beginner fish are clowns? Or would you recommend something else? I've had my fair share of beginner mistakes in fresh water. I'd like to limit them if possible in salt water

here is a link to some fish that are good for beginners in the sense that they are harder to kill by mistake. http://m.liveaquaria.com/product/aq...fm?c=15+1926&s=ts&count=24&start=1&page_num=1
But you need to pay attention to the info on there about whether they are aggressive by nature, have a specific diet, need a certain sized tank etc. All of those factors will determine whether they suit your tank. SW fish are a little wilder than fw ones, it's important to pay attention to what they have adapted for.

 

[Searchlights]

Running 1,000 gph through the sump on a 55 is way overkill. The skimmer should be rated for tank size + bio load (how much waste the fish produce). Something like "rated for a heavily stocked 50, lightly stocked 20 gallon"
If you give some details about the overflow and the skimmer we can help you figure out how to make it work. Also, when choosing a pump you have to account for "head loss" if it is pushing against gravity, so it helps to know how high the tank is above the sump. Many pumps rated for 1000 gal will push far less at a couple feet above the water.

For comparison, I run ~400 gph through the sump of my 55.

Alright, here's what I've got. Here's the overflow box that's already installed http://www.glass-holes.com/700-gph-Overflow-Box-Complete-Kit-gh700kit.htm

Here's the sump I was looking at http://m.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23752 (I was gonna get the model 2)

And here's the skimmer. http://www.scaquariums.com/mobile/Product.aspx?ProductCode=SCA-303

Maybe i just went a little overboard with the filtration lol. In freshwater, the more filtration the better, so I assumed it applied in SW as well.

 

[stingeragent]

Your T-5's should be fine for softies/lps/ maybe even some SPS. As for your overflow gallonage, your overflow is the limiting factor. If you have a 600 gph overflow, and a 200gph return, your overflows are only gonna drain 200gph ( I'm not calculating head loss, or anything else here). You really only gotta get concerned if your return is higher than the overflows. If you have a 600gph overflow, and a 700gph return pump, your gonna be putting in 100 more gallons an hour than you can drain, in other words a flood. I'd try to match your return close to your overflow, and put a valve on the return just to be on the safe side. Can always dial it back if necessary. If you go under on the return you won't have to worry about flooding. Your drains may get noisy though.

Edit: Plumbing size also plays an important factor. Using a 500gph return pump with 1/2 in pipe is way different than using a 500gph return with 3/4.

 

[CStrickland]

I didn't know they still made atman skimmer pumps, and that sump's not really doing anything that a $50 tank with some $5 baffles glued into it wouldn't. Maybe shift the sump end of the budget over to a decent skimmer? I'm no expert, but the Reef Octopus, and Bubble Magus Curve skimmers seem to have happy customers.

The thing with skimmer reviews is you kinda want to look for people who have had other skimmers to compare it to. That's easier on a forum like this than, say, amazon where for all you know this is the first skimmer the reviewer has had, so of course they are psyched to see all the nasty stuff it pulls. Y'know?

 

[Searchlights]

Alright, so match your overflow close to your return. Got it. And i have a spare 40 breeder I could use as a sump. I've never really looked into making one myself though.

 

[oldbones]

Making your own sump is easy. Local glass shop will cut you some baffles cheap, have them sand the edges. Cut them about 1/4" short , leaves plenty of room for silicone. Make darn sure you find "aquarium safe" silicone.

You will want three main chambers. First chamber will receive the drains and house the skimmer. This is a constant level chamber set by the baffle height. The other two chambers will be your refugium and your return chamber. These can be arranged according to preference, do a little reading you'll see what I mean.

You want the working level in the sump to be low enough to hold any water that will drain down when you lose power or the return pump quits for any other reason.

 

[oldbones]

A Sicce Syncra 2.5 would work well for your return pump. Other choices might be the Jebao DCT3000, or a Reef Octopus RODC 3500. All three of these pumps have adjustable flow. The last two are DC, will use less power and run quieter and cooler.

 

[Mrs. Music]

A diy sump is a piece of cake. Just search diy sumps on this site. A 20L would be a great sump size and petco has their 1$ per gallon sale going. I have used acrylic baffles in glass aquariums. There are also BRS videos on how to diy a sump. Good luck! Lots of fun heading your way. You have saved yourself lots of headaches by coming here first.

 

[Searchlights]

A Sicce Syncra 2.5 would work well for your return pump. Other choices might be the Jebao DCT3000, or a Reef Octopus RODC 3500. All three of these pumps have adjustable flow. The last two are DC, will use less power and run quieter and cooler.

Alright sweet, I'll look those up