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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / May 2007new reef tank advice
Ok...I have narrowed down some pieces of equipment to set up my new 55 gallon reef tank. The things I do know I need and will be getting are: 60 to 70lbs live rock Precision Marine HOT-1 protein skimmer 2 Hydor Koralia circulating units Proper lighting level for corals and maybe one anemone Now for the part I don't know. I was considering a canister filter...someone advised against that. I thought about a refugium, but my only reason for doing so would be algae control, but I don't know if I want to mess with all of that. So besides the live rock, the skimmer, lighting and calcium based sand...is there anything else? Would someone recommend a canister filter? Is a refugium a must? Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? You should have a 4 deep sand bed with your life rock placed on top.The LR will go though a cycle where your ammonia levels will spike, this is normal. Keep the water circulating and wait until your Ammonia and Nitrites are zero before you add any fish/ corals to your tank. (This may take several weeks). A canister filter is fine just make sure its big enough for your tank. You want a filter that will turn the water at least 3X the tank size. (50 gal tank you want a filtration of 150 GPH minimal) A refugium is nice but is not essential at first. Before you begin, get a book and read up on a reef tank so you dont make too many mistakes and kill your stock. > Ok...I have narrowed down some pieces of equipment to set up my new 55 > gallon reef tank. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? I have a 46 gallon reef/fish tank with a Fluval canister filter that seems to do fine. You have to keep up with filter maintence though and keep the filter cleaned frequently. Susan :) > You should have a 4 deep sand bed with your life rock placed on top.The LR > will go though a cycle where your ammonia levels will spike, this is [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] >> >> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? If you put a few rocks on top of the sand that won't be a problem, but if you start stacking the rock on top of the sand, that's not a good thing. Instead put base rock on the glass, and put sand around that, and then stack the live rock on top of the base rock. Otherwise you will have avalanches when things start digging under the rocks. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com Peter Pan wrote on 5/10/2007 3:49 PM: > You should have a 4 deep sand bed with your life rock placed on top.The LR > will go though a cycle where your ammonia levels will spike, this is normal. [quoted text clipped - 28 lines] >> >> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? I don't recommend a canister filter, but they are not the end of the world, and they are easy to remove should you later decide that you don't like it. Some people like canister filters, but I have never liked them. Another advantage of a sump, is that you are able to put all of you equipment down in the sump, so that when you look in your reef tank, all you see is the reef, and nothing else. But, no you dont' have to have a sump, but for any large system, it just makes sense to have a sump. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com ONJ wrote on 5/10/2007 10:49 AM: > Ok...I have narrowed down some pieces of equipment to set up my new 55 > gallon reef tank. [quoted text clipped - 18 lines] > > Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? >I don't recommend a canister filter, but they are not the end of the world, >and they are easy to remove should you later decide that you don't like it. [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > Wayne's Pets > Wayne@WaynesPets.com Well other than getting the equipment out of the way...why else would I go with a sump? My plan is a hang on Precision Marine HOT-1 skimmer, live rock, live sand, hydor koralia #2 circulators(one at first...maybe two)...and that is it. > ONJ wrote on 5/10/2007 10:49 AM: >> Ok...I have narrowed down some pieces of equipment to set up my new 55 [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] >> >> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? > Well other than getting the equipment out of the way...why else would I go > with a sump? One other reason is that it increases the effective size of the system. George Patterson If you torture the data long enough, eventually it will confess to anything. The larger the tank, the more practical a sump is, and the smaller the tank, the less practical a sump is. Now imagine if you owned a public aquarium sized tank. I bet you would have a sump then :-) A 55 gallon tank is not very big, but it is what I would consider just big enough for a sump, any smaller, and I would not go with a sump. Since you already have a tank, I bet it's not predriled with a built in overflow. If it were with an overflow, I'd say put a sump down there, but since it's probably just a plain tank you might want to go with a canister filter for now, since you like them. But if you ever upgrade to a bigger tank, then be sure and get a tank with a built in overflow, and a sump. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com ONJ wrote on 5/15/2007 2:40 PM: >> I don't recommend a canister filter, but they are not the end of the world, >> and they are easy to remove should you later decide that you don't like it. [quoted text clipped - 40 lines] >>> >>> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? Well...I am taking a good look at the sumps now...but I don't want to drill any holes in my tank. Is there a sump setup or website you can refer me to that possibly does sumps without drilling? > The larger the tank, the more practical a sump is, and the smaller the > tank, the less practical a sump is. Now imagine if you owned a public [quoted text clipped - 61 lines] >>>> >>>> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? > Well...I am taking a good look at the sumps now...but I don't want to drill > any holes in my tank. > > Is there a sump setup or website you can refer me to that possibly does > sumps without drilling? You can use an overflow box and a return. http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=CR1511 http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=FT0011 I have this on one of my tanks. It works fine. If you keep it clean, it's not unsightly, but it's really ugly if you allow algae to grow on it. I just got a 29 gallon that I plan to drill. Wish me luck. :-) --Kurt Ok...let me put it this way...because of the research I have been doing, I like a particular brand of counter current venturi type skimmer that is HO, but it can be modified to stand alone under the tank cabinet. That I know I will purchase alone with Hydor Koralia circulator(s). So, if I get a sump for whatever reason, what purpose will it serve for me. What would I do with it? I do have a 15 gallon tank I could use I guess. >I don't recommend a canister filter, but they are not the end of the world, >and they are easy to remove should you later decide that you don't like it. [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] >> >> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? > So, if I get a sump for whatever reason, what purpose will it serve for me. > What would I do with it? > I do have a 15 gallon tank I could use I guess. Try it without and see how it goes. I think the advantages are: 1) Place to hide all the equipment. 2) Usually have a Surface skimmer - prevent an oily film from collecting on surface of tank. 3) Wet/Dry setup with bio balls or similar. 4) coarse filtration on the return 5) Increase effective volume. 6) Possible refugium partition. I think sumps got started because of the wet/dry filter systems. These need space for water to dribble over the bioballs which is inherently a gravity type system. To prevent floods, it was engineered as under the tank with enough volume to avoid overflow if the return pump turns off (power failures, etc.). You could also do this above the tank with a single pump, or even a two pump system if you don't mind the risk of a flood if the return pump stops and the other keeps going. I had a wet/dry filter until I ditched the bioballs (too much nitrates), but I still use a sump for all my heaters, skimmer, reactors, etc and to create flow from the return pump. I also have some coarse filter material in the return that catches loose hair algae and uneaten Nori. Is it required? Not at all. --Kurt Depending on your stand, you might not even be able to get a 15 gallon tank under it. 55 gallon tanks are so narrow. Wayne Sallee Wayne's Pets Wayne@WaynesPets.com ONJ wrote on 5/15/2007 3:37 PM: > Ok...let me put it this way...because of the research I have been doing, I > like a particular brand of counter current venturi type skimmer that is HO, [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] >>> >>> Or will the things I have settled on so far do the trick? |
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