55 gallon salt

[zebvance]

I am posting this for a friend. He just moved into a new place so he wont have internet for a little while and until he could get some he asked me to post this for him.

He just bought a standard 55 gallon and Is going to try out salt It will be FOWLR. And he gave me a list of stuff to ask MFK

1. Filtration- He is thinking of going this weekend and picking up a 30 gallon tank to make a sump.
He wants to know
---- whats the best design for this


---- Should he do a submersible pump or a drill it and go with a external. (the reason he questions this is because he doesn't know if the heat given off by the submersible will be a problem)

---- should he add a canister?

2. Lighting--
------ how many watts are needed
------Is there a such thing as low light corals
---he was looking at a 260 watt light on ebay for 140 or this light( http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-4x54W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-Extendable-p/52305.htm) which is 216 watts for 100. Is this enough wattage and what are yall opinions on these lights.

3.Skimmer- Whats a good one for cheap

----- And suggestions on a in sump skimmer

4.Rock-- How much?

--- can he go with lets say 30% of the rock being live and the other not live to save money.

---- Will the live rock seed the dead rock?
---- How long will it take?

5 Coral-

---- What are some good beginner corals?

6. Flow rate--

---- How many GPH should the sump and skimmer be.

---- Wave makers/power heads-- How many how many gph?

7. Inverts-- He wants to get some crabs, starfish, and shrimp for sure but what else should he get? Clams?

----are there inverts to watch out for that will damage the coral?


I think that is it and let me know if there is something im missing?

 

[BIGgourami]

He is thinking of going this weekend and picking up a 30 gallon tank to make a sump.
He wants to know
---- whats the best design for this
a simple three stage is usually sufficient, first being mechanical sponge material, second bioballs or some other bio media, and third as a bubble-remover/ space for heaters, skimmers, etc

---- Should he do a submersible pump or a drill it and go with a external. (the reason he questions this is because he doesn't know if the heat given off by the submersible will be a problem)
heat shouldn't be an issue, unless he lives in the florida keys or something

---- should he add a canister?
he can do anything he wants, a canister wouldn't be a bad thing (as long as he didn't let it get dirty, they can actually trap TOO much debris and start to become nitrate factories) but it's not necessary


------ how many watts are needed
technically none, but whatever he'd want to do... a two bulb standard flourescent would be more than sufficient, a 10,000K daylight and an actinic bulb for that "marine" look
------Is there a such thing as low light corals
yes, but then it wouldn't be a FOWLR a T5 light, which is fairly cheap, would allow him to keep many of the lower light corals, and if he decides to get a higher end light, he could even keep hard corals
---he was looking at a 260 watt light on ebay for 140 or this light( http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-48in-4x54W-T5-HO-Light-Fixture-Extendable-p/52305.htm) which is 216 watts for 100. Is this enough wattage and what are yall opinions on these lights.
more than necessary for what he wants to do but not a bad price

Whats a good one for cheap
coralife makes great ones, they get a bad rap but a seaclone 150 would probably be fine considering he has a sump and LR
----- And suggestions on a in sump skimmer
no experience with them sorry, but i believe the coralifes are in-sumps
4.Rock-- How much?
Approx $100-140?
--- can he go with lets say 30% of the rock being live and the other not live to save money.
absolutely
---- Will the live rock seed the dead rock?
yup
---- How long will it take?
to become live enough to act a bio filter? about 6 weeks, so see algaes and such migrate over? probably about year
5 Coral-

---- What are some good beginner corals?
shrooms for sure, most zooanthids and other polyp type corals, and most leather corals, euphyllia has been very unfussy IME

---- How many GPH should the sump and skimmer be.
in total you'll want about 4-500 GPH of flow between the pump for the sump and any/all powerheads
---- Wave makers/power heads-- How many how many gph?
wavemakers are unnecessary for this tank, a few hydor koralia PH's totaling the above would be adequate


He wants to get some crabs, starfish, and shrimp for sure but what else should he get? Clams?
stick to crustaceans and snails for now, clams are more delicate and have high food and photosynthetic needs, echinoderms are sensitive and require a considerable amount of forage to thrive
----are there inverts to watch out for that will damage the coral?
depends a lot on what kinds of coral you get, watch any arrow crabs he gets and certain hermit crabs

I think that is it and let me know if there is something im missing?

off the top of my head i can't think of anything :|

 

[zebvance]

off the top of my head i can't think of anything :|

thanks for all the Info!! I guess I misunderstood what FOWLR meant. He does want corals.

 

[BIGgourami]

yeah, Fish Only With Live Rock

as opposed to a Fish Only, with synthetic decorations or dry rock, or a Reef tank, with corals

 

[zebvance]

so would the lighting be enough for corals?

 

[BIGgourami]

4x54 T5's should be enough for most, except the most light hungry corals and clams

 

[zebvance]

4x54 T5's should be enough for most, except the most light hungry corals and clams

how much would you say they need?

 

[nonstophoops]

how much would you say they need?

They would need some metal halides most likely or some equivalent high intensity lights. They(being most hard corals and clams) are not beginner corals at all anyway, so I would skip and not worry about them. Get some easy corals like the stuff Guaromi listed and keep those alive first.

I think Guorami covered most of what you were asking quite well, I am going to just add a few things.

1. An external pump would most likely be more expensive to install than a submersible with the cost of the pump, the tank drilling, and plumbing. The external do generally last longer too. The submersible is what I would do however, it will be cheaper, easier to setup, and you don't have to worry about leaks.
2. Skip the canister. If you set up a good sump like you plan the canister will be providing nothing more than water flow, which the powerheads and overflow will be doing anyway. Without very frequent time consuming maintenance(every few days), canisters do more harm than good. They produce lots and lots of nitrates without these cleanings which you do not want to deal with.
3. Very important! Do not skimp on the skimmer. Of all the things you spend money on this is one of the most(if not the most important). For a 55 gallon, a Aqua C Remora would be perfect. They are easy to use(pretty much plug and go) and work very well.
No offense to Guorami, but Seaclones are not good skimmers. He even said it would be "fine considering he has a sump and LR." Meaning the skimmer isn't good but it will be covered up by the fact you are doing the rest of it right. Get a skimmer that really performs and is rated for up to 2 times your tank size.
4. Live Rock wise, you can not put a price on how much rock you need. If you are going to seed base rock with some Live Rock, then don't buy cheap stuff. Get high quality very porous rock. You put enough rock into your tank to help with filtration and provide a landscape for corals, but not too much as too block water flow and leave no swimming room for fish.
5. Water flow(GPH). What Guorami is suggesting would do, but don't hesitate to add to that. There really is no such thing as too much flow(depending on corals choices I suppose, some need less water flow, but they can be put in lower flow areas of the tank). I fully agree that Koralia's would be great for powerheads. I think 4 Koralia number 3's would be excellent, but 2 would probably do the job.

Sounds like you and your friend have a pretty good plan in place already. Keep us posted on the progress of the tank and any other questions you may have.

 

[zebvance]

They would need some metal halides most likely or some equivalent high intensity lights. They(being most hard corals and clams) are not beginner corals at all anyway, so I would skip and not worry about them. Get some easy corals like the stuff Guaromi listed and keep those alive first.

I think Guorami covered most of what you were asking quite well, I am going to just add a few things.

1. An external pump would most likely be more expensive to install than a submersible with the cost of the pump, the tank drilling, and plumbing. The external do generally last longer too. The submersible is what I would do however, it will be cheaper, easier to setup, and you don't have to worry about leaks.
2. Skip the canister. If you set up a good sump like you plan the canister will be providing nothing more than water flow, which the powerheads and overflow will be doing anyway. Without very frequent time consuming maintenance(every few days), canisters do more harm than good. They produce lots and lots of nitrates without these cleanings which you do not want to deal with.
3. Very important! Do not skimp on the skimmer. Of all the things you spend money on this is one of the most(if not the most important). For a 55 gallon, a Aqua C Remora would be perfect. They are easy to use(pretty much plug and go) and work very well.
No offense to Guorami, but Seaclones are not good skimmers. He even said it would be "fine considering he has a sump and LR." Meaning the skimmer isn't good but it will be covered up by the fact you are doing the rest of it right. Get a skimmer that really performs and is rated for up to 2 times your tank size.
4. Live Rock wise, you can not put a price on how much rock you need. If you are going to seed base rock with some Live Rock, then don't buy cheap stuff. Get high quality very porous rock. You put enough rock into your tank to help with filtration and provide a landscape for corals, but not too much as too block water flow and leave no swimming room for fish.
5. Water flow(GPH). What Guorami is suggesting would do, but don't hesitate to add to that. There really is no such thing as too much flow(depending on corals choices I suppose, some need less water flow, but they can be put in lower flow areas of the tank). I fully agree that Koralia's would be great for powerheads. I think 4 Koralia number 3's would be excellent, but 2 would probably do the job.

Sounds like you and your friend have a pretty good plan in place already. Keep us posted on the progress of the tank and any other questions you may have.

Thanks for you valuable input. I am worried about heat with a submersible pump though. I do live in Texas and I don't want to have to by a chiller. can some one let me know how many degrees will the water rise to with a submersible pump?

 

[zebvance]

Also can somebody tell me what species of zoanthidsare are toxic?