Need Help!

[tapwater]

Hello people right now I am new to the saltwater scene (3 months) and I have a 55 gal. tank w/ a tomato clown, a Florida congi aneneome,3 damsils,10 turbo snails, and 3 tiny hermit crabs.I have about 20 pounds of LR and a piece of tonga branch.The tank has a penguin 350 big wheel filter,a aqua clear 300 filter that I had just had laying around so I put it on,a heater of course,thermometer,a bubble stik,a sand bottom,and crushed coral on top of that.I know I need more LR but my quetion is can I put any types of corals (small/large )in here without a skimmer or sump.I am trying to catch on to this stuff by reading as much as i can what are the jobs of a skimmer,a sump and why would I need them.
What are my boundries that I can put in the tank w/o a skimmer or sump?
I have brown/red algae in the tank and someone said to clean the front and side walls but not the back that will eventually turn into good algae as the tank matures is this true.
I was thinking about adding a small yellow tang but I don't want to lose any of the fish I have if they are aggresive.Any ideas of what to add that non-aggressive and colorful or cool?
thanks guys (man my one finger is tired from typing)

 

[Craig Lambert]

A skimmer is the best piece of mechanical filtration you can add to your tank. It removes disolved organics from the water. In-sump skimmers generally out perform any skimmer you can hang on the back of your tank. You can also place your heater in the sump. Your tank is very young, and you have a sizeable bioload already. I think it's too large for a 55G with so little rock, and no protein skimmer. The last thing I would do if I were you would be to add a yellow tang. They expell 92% of their intake, and he will be a fertilize factory for more algae. Your tank is also too young for an anemone or corals imo. What are your ALK, Clacium, and Magnesium levels and how are you maintaing them? Your first chore is to learn how to keep them stable. How often are you doing water changes, and how much? (I hope you're not using tap water as your name suggests).

Here is some reading for you:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074

 

[LePep]

Hi, what kind of lighting do you have? Anemones and corals, specially stonies need lots of lights. I would start by adding more live rock, 1 or 1.5 pounds per gallon and also buying a good hang-on protein skimmer.

Hope this helps.

 

[tkeracer619]

I would

-add more flow
-add a bit more rock
-remove the Crushed Coral
-remove the freshwater filters, they can be nice when you want to run carbon, but thats about it.
-get a skimmer
-and use RO/DI water

A sump is a great way to hide all your equipment and contain a refugium where you can grow some algae to keep the water cleaner. A skimmer removes poop from the water before it breaks down.

 

[tapwater]

help

help

48" 4x65W Coralife Aqualight CF hood, 2x Actinic and 2x 10,000K, -Straight Pin


those are the lights i have.how do you check your calcium,magnrsium,and alkaline.i have a saltwater master test kitthat measures high ph,amonia,and two different nitrates which are all good.