Planning out my first tank

[Galactus]

Hello everyone!
I am new to the boards, and the hobby for that matter. I have been lurking around the boards and have been impressed with how helpful and nice everyone here is.

I have a fair amount of experience with various freshwater fish. I kept my first tank of goldfish at 6 years old and now almost 22 years later I am finally ready to make the leap to marine tanks.

I have been researching and planning this tank for a while now and will soon start the process of putting together my set-up. I have a 55 gallon tank and plan on setting it up with LR (45 - 55 lbs.) on aragonite sand (some live to help kick start the cycle.) I have a bio-wheel filter, its an older version of the Marineland Emperor 400 I also have another HOT power filter of similar size available if needed. I have what I consider to be "normal" florescent tank lighting.

I plan on keeping it fairly simple; a goby and two other nice looking or interesting fish, and some inverts to take care of algae and detritus. I am thinking of a Sleeper Gold Head Goby (or similar sand sifter,) a dwarf angel (Flame or Coral Beauty probably,) and maybe a butterfly (not certain on the third fish and would love suggestions.)

As far as filtering goes will that bio-wheel be enough on its own or will I want to run the power filter along with it? Will I need a protein skimmer? I plan on buying my LR at a LFS or the Foster and Smith outlet store (it's within driving distance) and a guy at the LFS said that since there won't be a lot of die-off on the rocks and I don't plan on keeping coral or anemones that I wouldn't need a skimmer but I'd like a second opinion to be certain. Will I want a powerhead for extra water movement?

Do I need a new lighting set up? Or can I just buy new bulbs for the canopy that I have now?

What test kits are recommended? Is something like this one ok?

Sorry for the overload of questions, I just want to make sure that the setup will work well and my new fish are happy.

Thanks in advance for all of your advice!

-Widge

 

[blackheart]

welcome!!! (no banner)

 

[blackheart]

the first thing i would say is get a 75, JMO but 55s are to skinny

Dont use a bio wheel because on nitrate build up

you need new lighting

The fish you mentioned eat coral and for me coral is the best part of the hobby. Do some more research on your fish

IMO you will need a protien skimmer for sure one rated for at least a 100 gallon tank mine is rated for a 250


In a 55 you will need at least 120 lbs of live rock

Buy all the test kits you can get your hands on

Hope this helps!!!
By the way this is all just my opinion

 

[Galactus]

Thanks for the welcome and advise blackheart!

I don't plan on this tank being a reef tank. I do agree that coral is awesome and when my budget allows I plan on eventually buying a 125 or so to start my first reef. This tank I plan on being more of a FOWLR. From the sources that I have read I was under the impression that 1 lb/ gal is a good amount of LR. Do I need more for a FOWLR or is that more for something I would build into a reef?

Keeping in mind that I am on somewhat of a budget what would you suggest for filtration and lighting?

Thanks again!

 

[blackheart]

Well its tough i would look at the used equipment forum. I think that the halides help the fish as well as the coral but you dont have to go that way. Fish would be fine under just PC. I would still not use the bio wheel unless you want nasty algae all over the tank. Maybe get your self a phos-reactor and run chemipure and rewa-phos through it for your filter. Then get yourself a nice used skimmer. Most people who upgrade skimmers will give you a very good deal on a well taken care of piece of equipment. Lastly I think live rock is important for the health of once again fish and coral. Your fish will graze on this live rock use it for housing and if you have no coral then it will be the whole land scape of the tank. Also live rock acts as a natural filter. I have to recomend 1.5 lbs per gallon i use at least 3 LBs per gallon without including the 40lbs in my refugium.

look around on here http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=2

Good luck

 

[Galactus]

Will I have the same algae inducing problem with the regular power filter that doesn't have the bio-wheel? I am definitely looking into skimmers now and have started trying to find info on phos reactor filters. I am having trouble finding a good description as to what a phos reactor does exactly. From what I can tell it is mainly a chemical filtration unit, what advantages does it have and how exactly does it work? (If you can point me to an article I'd appreciate it.)

Out of what we've talked about what combination of filtration would you suggest?

Thanks again!!

 

[BradsOcean]

dont use bio wheel...nitrate build up

 

[blackheart]

I would use what i do use

A phos-reactor with chemipure in it and one with rewa-phose in it and a protien skimmer. Remember that live rock will also serve as a filter in your tank.

as far as i have read you can put both medias in the same phos-reactor

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_filters_kent_marine_phos_reactor.asp?CartId=
you will also need a small pump to run it

what happens is the water is forced with a pump through the filter media (rewa-phos and chemipure) and put back into the tank with the other tube. you will need a rio 500 to or something similar to run this.

and yes you could use you filter to run the chemipure and such but for 50 dollars this option is much MUCH more efficient

 

[Galactus]

Cool, they aren't very expensive either. That makes a few things to buy before I am ready to start but I'm liking the advantage of not having the huge HOT filters and it will probably be a quieter tank as well. I assume that I will want to add a powerhead or two for water movement as well since these two probably won't be moving as much as the power filters would have.

One last question; would I be able to run these in line with each other? Of course this depends on which skimmer I get but I am still shopping around for that.

Thanks so much for your help! I am feeling much more confident about the filtration now. Unfortunately this means that I am a little farther away from actually starting the tank but I want to make sure that I do it right the first time.

 

[Reilly Stv]

if the tank is not reef ready, (and you are new to this stuff) you might want to wait! You really want a kick @ss skimmer and most people use a fuge....your will end up spending 1000 bucks in the next year or so, and then you will realize that the equipment you just bought will not be applicable for the dream 125!!! i reasearched for over a year, and pieced together my system...(just added water 6 weeks ago) Spent a small fortune!, but I will be content with it for a long time (i hope)

 

[blackheart]

he will always be able to use a phos reactor i think it is a good buy for any tank any size. But you are right about the skimmer which is why i recommended a used BIG one but it is his own choice.

 

[jeeperrs]

Galactus, soon you will learn to not ask for recommendations ha-ha as you will probably get a million responses on what you need. I am setting up a 75 gallon now and the idea I used in buying my equipment is "what would I need for a 210" lol. I wanted to have a lot of room to grow with my tank so I have spent the last 2 months just buying equipment It sucks having to do it this way but at the same time I am going to have a system that will grow with me. Finally, by the end of the week I will be able to add my water to my tank and put my rock in. It is sad that I am excited to be at the point to look at just rock ha-ha. I must say also that having patience allows me to save more money to put into the tank, which allows me to get bigger and better stuff Well, that is my two cents

 

[ThomasinKind]

Use wetwebmedia or buy the "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" for most of your general questions. These are GREAT references and will answer most any question needed for a FOWLR setup.

For a FOWLR you'll be ok (a 55gal is a little tall/awkward so it requires more light and some smart aquascaping) with just "regular" lights - you may want to upgrade if you decide to keep any type of organism that needs high light levels.

I would not keep a Butterfly in a 55gal (all would outgrow it and many are not really beginner fish).
Wait to add the Flame or Coral Beauty until after your tank has matured some.

You will want a skimmer. You can do without it, but it's MUCH better to have it. As stated previously, lose the bio-wheel. Natural filtration methods (LR and LS) are much easier/safer and you can use the skimmer in conjunction with them and be golden. Buy a good skimmer that is rated for a larger tank. Keep it simple and you'll be much happier (and less poor, hehehe).

 

[Galactus]

Thanks everyone for the supportive responses! As I said above I don't plan on this being a reef tank. I also don't plan on getting rid of this tank when I do start a larger reef tank. I'm not saying I plan on skimping on equipment. I'm just not going to spend $1000 where $100 - $200 will do the job just as well.

Thomas, thanks for the fish info. How mature should the tank be before adding the angel? What would you suggest as a third fish? I know there are a lot of options so I am interested in what other people have enjoyed keeping as well as what is easy to take care of and beneficial to my tank.

Again thank you all for your advice.

 

[ThomasinKind]

Well, if it were me I'd start with some green/blue chromis (say 3 total, they need to-/should be kept in a group). They are hardy, generally peaceful and quite pretty IMO.

If you're not planning on keeping shrimp/other similar inverts, hawkfish can be really entertaining. The flame/scarlet hawk is my personal favorite. Make sure you have various places it can "perch."

Everyone seems to love clownfish and tank-raised stock are availble.

The goby will need a good (well established) sandbed that it can sift for food in. You can probably find some local hobbyist who are willing to trade/give you a cup or so of their established sand [check out the "more forums" link at the bottom for club listings]. This will help with getting enough 'pods' and other 'micros' established that will supplement your feedings.

Again, I highly suggest that you look over the FAQ's and articles on wetwebmedia.com and buy a copy of the Conscientious Marine Aquarist (it'll save you $$$ in the long run).

You could also check out fish on liveaquaria.com (they've got a "compatability chart" that a lot of people really like). Just know that many places list a "min tank size" that is not always good to go by. It's always better to understock and keep species that won't be harmed by the size of your tank.

If you're concerned about $$ (who isn't - I'm a social worker hehehe), thoroughly research everything and spend your $$ where it counts. Simple setups are not bad and don't let anyone convince you that you must spend an enormous amount of $$ to have a successful tank. Like someone above said, you're going to get numerous (sometimes opposing) opinions about what you "should do". That said, certain things are pretty much universal and that's where research becomes very important.

If you're still with me (ha ha - wow can I be long-winded): Good luck and remember to have fun.

 

[Galactus]

Thanks for the heads up on the chromis.

So after cycling the tank I put in 3 green blue chromis and after it has had time to mature (sand and rock) add a sand sifter goby and a dwarf angel (most likely the coral beauty.) Does that sound like a tank that would work? I haven't found anything that says it doesn't as they all seem compatible.

What about cleaner inverts? Are attack packs a good thing to have?

 

[Lahn Doe]

I think you should post in the 'fish only' section. Most of the advice seem to assume you want to start a reef tank.

 

[blackheart]

yes sir that sounds like it would be fine and dandy no probs and once you feel ok with what you have you might even be able to add a couple more fish than that but just remember to TAKE IT SLOW that is the main point SLOW

PS: SLOW

Oh and yes you will need plenty of snails turbos are the best at eating in my opinion. Also hermit crabs and a cleaner shrimp for the fish.