I'm in need of advice in starting a 55 gallon saltwater tank. I want as busy of a tank as I can muster using colorful fish that won't prey or harass each other. I mean to implement as many different varieties as possible including invertebrates. Any advice would be appreciated.
New to hobby
- Thread starter C. Barton
- Start date
lapin
Member
Look at nano fish. I would place no more than 1 small fish per 10 gallons to avoid aggression. When researching fish and inverts look at full grown size vs the small ones you will buy. Leave room for expansion. You will need to decide it you want a high flow or low flow tank. With a 55 you dont have much room to implement both. My $.02
billdogg
Well-known member
My first suggestion would be to think about another size tank. Although 55's are readily available and fairly inexpensive, for just a little more, and taking up the same amount of wall space, you can get a 75 or 90 which will allow much more leeway in decoration and choices of fish.
If you look on craigslist, you can easily find a setup for much less than a 55 purchased new.
Do yourself a huge favor, and plan on having a sump with whatever size you choose. It is the perfect place to put all the junk you don't want to look at in the Display Tank (DT) such as heaters, a protein skimmer, etc. It will also allow for more volume. More volume directly relates to the overall stability of the tank.
Start looking at sites like liveaquaria for the types of fish you want, and pay attention to the needs of those fish. As mentioned above, adult size must be considered. That striking juvenile panther grouper (white with black polka dots) that is 2" today will easily hit 12" within a year and will eat anything that fits in it's mouth. Others, for instance many of the clownfish are very colorful but can (will) become very territorial and make adding other fish later very difficult. Many fish can coexist with shrimp and crabs quite easily, and in fact some (think shrimp/goby paring) will live together in a small cave in your rockwork. Others will happily eat all your shrimp the first day they are in the tank.
I'm not trying to discourage you in any way. Plan now for what you want your system to be and you will save yourself a lot of trouble, money, and lost creatures.
If you look on craigslist, you can easily find a setup for much less than a 55 purchased new.
Do yourself a huge favor, and plan on having a sump with whatever size you choose. It is the perfect place to put all the junk you don't want to look at in the Display Tank (DT) such as heaters, a protein skimmer, etc. It will also allow for more volume. More volume directly relates to the overall stability of the tank.
Start looking at sites like liveaquaria for the types of fish you want, and pay attention to the needs of those fish. As mentioned above, adult size must be considered. That striking juvenile panther grouper (white with black polka dots) that is 2" today will easily hit 12" within a year and will eat anything that fits in it's mouth. Others, for instance many of the clownfish are very colorful but can (will) become very territorial and make adding other fish later very difficult. Many fish can coexist with shrimp and crabs quite easily, and in fact some (think shrimp/goby paring) will live together in a small cave in your rockwork. Others will happily eat all your shrimp the first day they are in the tank.
I'm not trying to discourage you in any way. Plan now for what you want your system to be and you will save yourself a lot of trouble, money, and lost creatures.
Reefiez
New member
a good advice i had before i started was to work backwards to the tank.
list out the fishes you MUST have, then look at their tank requirements.
liveaquaria is a good place to start in terms of researching tankmates, tank sizes, any flow requirements (ie, pipefish low flow, achilles high flow).
limiting yourself to a 55g at the start is probably a poor way to start, as you might end up overstocking your tank or stocking it inappropriately.
list out the fishes you MUST have, then look at their tank requirements.
liveaquaria is a good place to start in terms of researching tankmates, tank sizes, any flow requirements (ie, pipefish low flow, achilles high flow).
limiting yourself to a 55g at the start is probably a poor way to start, as you might end up overstocking your tank or stocking it inappropriately.
on the spot
Active member
A sump as noted will be a good place to spend some money. Extra volume to dilute the waste will be appreciated.
consider how you will keep the water "clean". This might mean a better protein skimmer than you really planned on, or maybe an algae scrubber. Lots of life will require attention to this detail on the front end.
Good luck to you. I look forward to reading about your new tank.
flawedexistence
Member
Tank size
Tank size
I would consider the larger tank also unless there are space considerations.
Tank size
I would consider the larger tank also unless there are space considerations.
monkeysee1
Member
Yep. Get as big a tank as practical for your room and your budget will allow.
If you stick to your 55 then consider only small fish (2-3 inches, 4 inches max). Fish this size include yellow tail damsels, Blennies, Bassletts, Cardinals and Dottybacks. Small gobies would be nice. A cute Pygmy Angel COULD also work in a 55. Research compatibility thoroughly.
Invest in a good skimmer ( I highly recommend Reef Octopus) good LED lighting (think Radion) if you want LPS and/or SPS and decent powerheads ( think Vor Tech).
Final suggestion: get a CUC geared towards the size of your tank. Reef Cleaners is very good. Look them up on line.
That's MY advice.
If you stick to your 55 then consider only small fish (2-3 inches, 4 inches max). Fish this size include yellow tail damsels, Blennies, Bassletts, Cardinals and Dottybacks. Small gobies would be nice. A cute Pygmy Angel COULD also work in a 55. Research compatibility thoroughly.
Invest in a good skimmer ( I highly recommend Reef Octopus) good LED lighting (think Radion) if you want LPS and/or SPS and decent powerheads ( think Vor Tech).
Final suggestion: get a CUC geared towards the size of your tank. Reef Cleaners is very good. Look them up on line.
That's MY advice.
Last edited:
jphayes921
New member
55gal build thread
55gal build thread
See my 55 gallon build. Was my first tank as well. Did all of it on the cheap since I did not have a huge budget and I like a lot of DIY stuff. I need to update, but it turned out pretty good I would say. All my livestock is healthy, and really have not had any issues with my setup. Of course I want larger and will eventually spend the 1-2k on a large tank, but this got me into the hobby.
http://166.78.194.232/forums/showthread.php?t=2642743
55gal build thread
See my 55 gallon build. Was my first tank as well. Did all of it on the cheap since I did not have a huge budget and I like a lot of DIY stuff. I need to update, but it turned out pretty good I would say. All my livestock is healthy, and really have not had any issues with my setup. Of course I want larger and will eventually spend the 1-2k on a large tank, but this got me into the hobby.
http://166.78.194.232/forums/showthread.php?t=2642743
PeteStarks
New member
The best advice I can add to this build is to get a drilled tank with an overflow box. You will end up with a sump system at some point and that requires you to have a way to drain the water down to it, right?
You can buy a hang on back overflow box that will serve this purpose, but they have a couple of drawbacks. The main being how they depend on suction to properly drain and it's possible for the them lose their prime over time from air bubbles, causing your tank to over flow. Even worse, you can have a fish get sucked through the baffles of the box causing a death AND an over. Both have happened to me and I would never recommend anything other than drilled for peace of mind. Rip my poor little puffer...
You can buy a hang on back overflow box that will serve this purpose, but they have a couple of drawbacks. The main being how they depend on suction to properly drain and it's possible for the them lose their prime over time from air bubbles, causing your tank to over flow. Even worse, you can have a fish get sucked through the baffles of the box causing a death AND an over. Both have happened to me and I would never recommend anything other than drilled for peace of mind. Rip my poor little puffer...
