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tjg2007 · Jan 18, 2009

I have been keeping Freshwater fish for a little while and have decided that I am now ready to make the salt water plunge. I am going to be starting off with changing my 55g tank to salt once I get a larger tank to house the fish that are growing up in there now. It will be probably close to a year before I actually make the switch.

What I am doing right now is research. I am looking to try and find all of the equipment I will need to start a FOWLR tank. The only things I know for sure right now That I need to get is the skimmer and better lights.

For the light I am considering getting this one,

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13822+16770&pcatid=16770

Would this give me enough light to possibly add an anemone or some leather and mushroom corals later?

On the skimmer front I have come up with 2 different skimmers,

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+19685&pcatid=19685
and
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4392+13924&pcatid=13924

I have been told that the Coralife is excellant and have heard the same thing about the Turboflotor. Another question I have is if I put a skimmer rated for a 125g tank on a 55 will it cause any issues?

I am trying to get a jump on buying the equipment now so I can get it a little at a time so as tro spread out the expense a little. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

AC2020x · Jan 18, 2009

I am pretty much a noob to saltwater as well as I'm starting up my first tank now, but I can tell you that your set-up is looking nice-- for sure both of those protein skimmers should be good for your tank and shouldn't have any problems with it. As far as the lights go I'm not positive if they are strong enough-- at least for most anemones-- I have been recommended with going with T-5 lights in the past that have multible reflectors-- but i'm not exactly positive-- if they will work they are a really good price!!!

skene · Jan 18, 2009

OK. Since you have no quick intentions of starting a tank, let me start by saying.... what you need to do is really get a list going on what you intend on doing with the tank.
Will it stay FOWLR or are your intentions of eventually changing over the system to a reef tank?
If staying a FO tank, then you do not need any expensive lighting at all. Any simple halogen lighting will suffice.
If you plan on adding mushrooms or leathers, then you will still be fine with halogen lighting.
If you plan on an anemone, then the lighting needs change. Anemones need intense lighting, so what you want to invest in is metal halide or MH. They can be kept under compact lighting or even T5 lighting, but you must remember that the less intense the lighting will be, the more prone the anemone will be to moving.

The key to SW tanks are sort of like a carpenter.... Measure many times. Cut once.
The moment you decide that things are not how you like it, you would be more upset on the costs to upgrade at later dates, when you can get something good to start with and call it a day.

Skimmer will not be needed for a FO system as long as you are doing your regular water changes. Even with something like mushrooms or leathers, they will be fine without one.

tjg2007 · Jan 20, 2009

Once the tank has matured I would definately like to add an anemone and mushroom and leather corals. If the T-5 fixture isnt enough for that does anyone know of a 48" metal halide fixture that doesn't cost four or five hundred dollars? I just don't think I could get my wife to sign off on a light that costs that much. I looked at some of the retrofit kits and DIY type set ups and I just don't have the confidence to try that on my own.

Reefscape · Jan 20, 2009

Unless you can fall on a good priced halide unit on ebay or craiglist, you will expect to pay good money for a worthwhile 4ft halide unit, as these comonly house 2 lamps for this length...

fsn77 · Jan 20, 2009

Welcome to the marine side of the aquarium hobby!

There are pretty much two definites when it comes to marine tanks...
1) Time is both your friend and your enemy. Just about everyone gets impatient, but going about things slowly and really looking into planned purchases can ultimately save you time, money, and headaches. Taking the time to research purchases can also prevent you from needing to buy new/better equipment and ending up with a closet full of useless junk. It's often said that nothing good happens quickly in this hobby, but a lot of bad things can happen quickly. Or, worded differently with respect to corals... It can only take one day of doing something wrong before you'll need several months for a coral to recover.
2) Everyone has their way of doing things. There are many roads that lead to the same finish line when it comes to the marine hobby. Some methods do seem to work better than others, but what's considered the best way to do most things has changed over time, and will likely continue to change.

Those things said, if you have any plans to put any kind of photosynthetic coral in your 55g, I would suggest buying nothing less than the 4 x 54w T5 HO unit in the link you provided. Anything less will be inadequate to do anything other than light up the tank just enough to see what's inside. I wouldn't even bother with that light, to be honest, if you have a desire to have corals. I would look at some of the more reputable brands that build fixtures that are higher in both quality and performance. The Tek fixtures (see www.reefgeek.com) would be one of the more reasonably priced product lines that still provide good quality and performance.

If you want an anemone, take a serious look at metal halide lighting. The majority of anemones require high intensity lighting, and I believe it's hard to put a strong enough T5 fixture on top of a standard 55g to sufficiently light the tank for an anemone (the tank is just too narrow front to back). Some of the 6 bulb T5 fixtures might be good enough, but a 2 x 250w metal halide (MH) fixture or set of retrofit kits would be better. I think it'll be hard to find a good MH set-up for less than $400, unless you find a deal on something used. Even then, be prepared to replace the bulbs, which can run anywhere from $60 - $90 or so, depending on brand and color temperature.

I would not buy the Coralife skimmer. I've heard as many complaints about them as I have compliments. They seem to be touchy and some people have had a difficult time eliminating the problem of microbubbles from the skimmer getting in their tank. I don't know anything about how the Turboflotor performs.

The ratings on skimmers tend to be too high. Those ratings are best considered to be for a VERY lightly stocked tank of that size. Generally, most people cut the rating in half for a better estimate of what size tank it'll really handle.

How are you on flow for your tank? While it's a FOWLR, there won't be as much required, but additional flow will be needed once corals or an anemone goes into the tank.

Feel free to ask lots of questions... There's a lot of good people that frequent the sw forums that can provide you with many ideas / suggestions. Good luck!

tjg2007 · Jan 23, 2009

I have not yet looked at flow for the tank yet. I am trying to nail down the lighting and skimming first. Like I said this project is still several months away just trying to get some of the more expensive items with tax returns.

As far as the flow goes though I was looking at possibly getting 2 Koralia 2s. This seems to me like it may be too much movement for a 55g but if it is I can always take one out and get something smaller.

Sorry took so long to reply so much to do and so little time.....

ToeJam · Jan 23, 2009

Just 2 Koralia #2's will take some very good placement and even then I think its not sufficient.

Ive always told people with 55g to get 3 of them and #3 types .. the ocean is very turbulent

The reason I say its not sufficient as stated an many threads here by me. It's the purpose of flow. To prevent stagnant areas so detritus doesn't settle. Trying to keep it in the water column to be skimmed. Or keeping foods in the column to be eaten by the corals.

Also I agree with using Craiglist. Its where I found a 72g bow with stand for 100bucks locally. Your best deals on lights will be from other marine tank users upgrading and selling old equipment.

Anenome thrive in light and love certain flows.. they will find there spot they like once things are set up. The idea they need MH lighting is a bit overkill. They need as much light as I'd say for Soft corals. Supplement some feeding with Krill and Silverbacks and they will grow like a weed. I had an anenmoe in a 29g Bio Cube with PC lights. He grew fast...had to sell him cause of his size... the nice part about t5 or MH lighting and higher watts is they may split and you can have things to sell or trade with. They can do fine under decent lighting for softies...but do best under high end lighting.

Everyone here has some pretty good suggestions for yah. There isn't much to add except on lighting. You may want to find out what the costs would be to build your own hood and get T5's or MH's on it.

What kills us on prices with lighting is ballasts. There really isnt any way around it. You will be pushing nearly 500 bucks or lil over with lighting if you want LPS or SPS...you seem to want to keep it at Softies and Fish so its not an issue.

I need more T5 knowledge myself. I think maybe going the T5 in a home made hood may be more cost effective while at the same time having the amount of light and coverage across the entire tank with light.

Im glad you are taking your time. It pays off to look for bargains...plan out things slowly.

Kiel'thalin · Jan 23, 2009

At this point in the game, I would invest time into planning your filter system. Are you going to stick with hang on back (HOB) items, or invest in a sump setup? Many, many people prefer to use a sump if you have the room for one. A sump is simply a tank that has dividers that sits in your stand that consist of an overflow to get water to the sump and a return pump to "return" the water back into the display tank. All the filtering takes place there and lets you hide a lot of things. You can make it yourself easy enough or you can buy one that has been manufactured. The only real issue is you tank does not have an internal overflow. That leaves you with external overflow that many people have trouble with them. I suggest if you choose a sump make it as big as possible that fits in the stand.

tjg2007 · Jan 24, 2009

I looked at doing a sump but I dont really have much room in my stand. I also looked at the HOB refugiums with built in skimmers but the majority of the reviems and such I found rated them kind of low. I also thought about pushing the project back until I can get a larger tank that is predrilled. I have seen that the stocking going just from 55 to 75 gallons is tremendous. I don't know for now I am just going to keep up my research and see what happens.


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