What do you need to set up a 55g tank?

DclownD

DclownD

Large Fish
#1
Jul 11, 2006
477
1
0
Syracuse, Ny
#1
besides tank and stand?
i ask as when tax time comes... i want a pretty solid plan... i know i love to jump the gun on stuff... id like to build a reef

i was thinking 55lbs of live rock
80lbs of sand
4 40w bulbs
protien skimmer(what kind though?)
3 power heads
2 150w heaters
Hob filter maybe or a canister?

my plan for fish is:
bubble tip anenome
clown fish(maybe 2)
2 neon goby
one goby shrimp pair
some easy corals at first


any good ideas.. id love everyone to help me brain storm for the next several months... and one more question what is cheato and where would u put it? would a refugium work?
 

DclownD

DclownD

Large Fish
#5
Jul 11, 2006
477
1
0
Syracuse, Ny
#5
no they dont keep anenomes in the systems... but they do keep corals in them... so maybe the anenome would need more light... on that i do not try to dispute you... but garf has kept corals under said lighting.. hmm i will take ur thoughts into consideration... but now onto some of my other questions if u have any answers?
 

kevin4052002

kevin4052002

Large Fish
#6
Jul 14, 2005
433
3
0
Tampa, FL
#6
You will need more than 4x40w. You might be able to get away with 4x110w VHOs, but halides would be optimal.

Chaeto would be best if you could keep it away from fish (as they might eat it), in a refugium.

An AquaC Remora or Urchin would be great if it is in your budget. (Protein Skimmer)

You won't really want a HOB canister, unless you want to polish the water every now and then.

You could get away with just 2 SEIO M820s/1100s.

I would go with atleast 75lbs of rock, if it is Fiji. Lorna has some nice Marshall Island, and its a nice porous rock, try some of that.

I think the best setup you could get is a corner-drilled 55, and have a sump/refugium below the tank. It might cost a little more, but it makes everything a lot easier. If you did it this way, you could possibly eliminate a powerhead, or all of them. Then you could go with an AquaC Urchin, and it would be completely hidden.
 

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OCCFan023

OCCFan023

Superstar Fish
#7
Jul 29, 2004
1,817
5
0
35
New Jersey
#7
the 4x40 may sustain some very low light corals but an anenome would be pushing it.

As Kevin said if you havent already purchased the tank then trying to a get a drilled tank would make your life much easier and the tank much cleaner (equipment wise.) The sump will also make a nice addition to the flow from the return pump.

A refugium would be a very beneficial addition to the tank and could easily be plummed into a sump or HOT model (I dont know if Brahm (AresGod) still has his but he was selling his)
 

W

wayne

Elite Fish
#9
Oct 22, 2002
4,077
3
0
#9
I would be very, very wary of taking the GARF rec and not reading the fineprint.

They start with 4 x 40, but upgrade to 4 x 110VHO after 6 months or so, as they start to add a lot of livestock. They also have a heck of a lot of LR in there tanks so the corals are up on top in onlya few inches of water.

I have kept photosynthetic stuff under 3 * 40 NO, and if you are careflu you can keep most anything, including well coloured sps, but it requires the water to be absolutely pristine, to avoid colouring dispersing light, and I mean more pristine than most people can manage. For a bit of slack in your system. I would go with basic MH fixtures - I prefer MH to PC as the bulbs last longer ,are more stable and you only need one or two rather than a mess of fussy PC lighting that laso has less PAR.

You won't need 2 heaters, one willl be enough, nor a hob or cannister. You might at least consider getting the tank drilled and a sump adding. As far as skimmer , AquaC is the obvious choice, second hand or new, doesn't make much difference, 2 hand Deltec if you see it (very small chance haha). The upside of a sump is you can put al your kit there, and in sump skimmers give way more bang for the buck than HOB's.
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#10
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#10
Just a side note to the excellent advice that you are receiving........Don't even think about an anemone until your tank is well established, 6 months to a year. They require exceptional water quality and high light demands. Most are destined to perish as they are difficult at best. Even the easy ones bta's are moderate at best....

Good quality rock, nice and porous a deep sand bed of 5 inches minimum of nice sugar sand and a protein skimmer are all the filtration that you need. A sump/refugium with cheato or other macro algae is a nice addition.

My best advice to you ........... go slow and read everything you can get your hands on.......
 

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