Starting a 50 gallon Reef Tank

[BrianO]

I am looking to start a reef tank. I have done FO tanks in the past.

I am starting out with a 50 gal tank. What other equipment would you suggest for one starting out. I know everyone has their favorites but I am looking for some pointers on where to start first.

Thanks
Brian

 

[Brenden]

Do you mean equipment needed to upgrade from a FO? What types of corals do you want?

 

[BrianO]

I will be starting new. I sold my tanks when we moved from Florida to Tennessee. They were FO tanks so reef tanks is completely new to me.

I will probably start out basic zoo, mushrooms, xenia, anemones, etc.

 

[Brenden]

75-100 lbs of LR, a skimmer, at least 5 WPG of light for the anemone, 2 heaters (redundancy) A sump is a good idea. Do sand or BB for substrate. I would stay away from CC. 750-1000 GPH of water flow.

 

[BrianO]

thanks for the tips

 

[Amy83820]

You'll need to wait a year for the anenome. They are very demanding and need a stable tank and some pretty intense lighting. You should be ok with everything else you want...

 

[BrianO]

ok thanks Amy.

 

[dermer]

get lots of lr 100 plus lb a good protien skimmer a couple power heads i run 2 marine land 330 filters cus i dont have a sump and my system is going great and has been up for 5 months or so i also have a bta that is thriving and has all ready split once so to me that means it is oing just fine i do have mh 10,000k lighting though and that is the key to it all it the lighting and the flow