okay and uv sterilizers? I have no idea what took look for when shopping for one of these lol any help?
OK NEW THOUGHTS NEED INPUTS :)
- Thread starter Garrett.turbo
- Start date
okay i found this protein skimmer http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+13924&pcatid=13924 which one do you guys think i should get, or does anyone have anything to recommend for my 55g?
I have the 125gal version on my 75gal reef tank. It works very well. I recommend it. You would be able to get away with using the 65gal version on your 55. Although the 125gal skimmer would be better. But if money is on a budget the 65 would work just fine
My two cents on what you need to get this tank ready is skimmer, lights, live rock, dry rock, substrate, and water pumps. If you aren't doing a sump I assume you are setting up a closed loop system with an hob filter. I would encourage you to remove that filter that comes with the hob clip on a light and stick some chaeto in there. That will help your skimmer as I will consume whatever nutrients the skimmer doesn't get. It also provides a breeding ground for crustaceans.
okay thanks guys, so I dont need a uv? or can i just wait till later to purchase one? THe saltwater fish store that opened up only has fake rock but they have them in there tanks so theyre still getting all the stuff they need to be live rock which im going to buy, they also have everything else I need that ill be buying except the protein skimmer which ill buy off drsfostersmith.
You do not need a uv sterilizer. They kill beneficial things in the water like plankton and phytoplankton. My LFS has uv's in their tanks too but I think she just runs them so she can tell people to buy them.
Lol thanks guys, im going to start buying things when i get back from vacation 2 weeks from now, this way itll be right inbetween 2 pay days so I wont be broke for a week lol.
I think I have my stock list figured out this is what I threw together for right now
Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
some sort of Angler
Kaurderns Cardinal
Green MAndarin
spotted madarin
An eel if at all possable
Possably a lion fish
cleaner shrimp
what do you guys think?
Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
some sort of Angler
Kaurderns Cardinal
Green MAndarin
spotted madarin
An eel if at all possable
Possably a lion fish
cleaner shrimp
what do you guys think?
You have a few issues here, but some are great choices. The clownfish, wrasse, cardinal, and cleaner shrimp are all great options for a 55 gallon tank. As far as the rest of your list, you are a few issues.
The angler and lion fish are both going to eat anything they can fit in their mouth, namely most of the other fish you are wanting to keep.
You can't have 1 mandarin, let alone 2 in a system that small unless you were to find an ORA that has been bred and trained to eat prepared foods. The copepods that they feed on naturally would not exist in high enough numbers to sustain one in a 55 gallon. Even then there are issues, the ORA's have been known to revert from their trained diets once introduced in the home aquarium. To successfully keep a mandarin that is not eating prepared foods you would need a well established tank (Years) of at least 75 gallons (preferably more) with a ton of live rock (2+lbs/gallon). I don't know of anyone in my area that has successfully kept one in a tank smaller then 125 gallons, and that 125 had been running for 5 years when he added it. I know they are beautiful, but please for the sake of the animal skip on this one.
There is an eel you could keep, a snowflake would probably work fine. Are you wanting to do FOWLR or full reef on this tank?
