Just wanted to say thanks to this site as my wife are currently working on our 55g to saltwater. I'll post pics here today of the current setup, no fish in it YET, but soon grasshopper, very soon!:thm:
My first salt tank: 55gals.
- Thread starter ChunkyMonkey
- Start date
whoops, guess I could do some posting about it.
It's a 55 gallon
60 pounds live sand
30 pounds live rock(buying more, want at least 60)
Fluval 405 canister filter with the surface skimmer attachment
I am picking up 2 Koralia #3 powerheads and hang on back skimmmer tomorrow as well as the Fluval E300 advanced heater. Would two #3's be overkill, and just go with a #2 and #3? As far as stocking I wanted to go with something not like the typical clowns, but still browsing the threads to see what's out there that would be compatible with my tank size and flow. Would love to add coral later within the year, but we'll see how it goes.
My wife is going nuts watching surf the site for ideas and researching requirements and such. Never thought I'd move over to a salt setup.....Spending the money definitely isn't a myth, lol, but having a blast.
I know it's just a start, but does it sound on track?
It's a 55 gallon
60 pounds live sand
30 pounds live rock(buying more, want at least 60)
Fluval 405 canister filter with the surface skimmer attachment
I am picking up 2 Koralia #3 powerheads and hang on back skimmmer tomorrow as well as the Fluval E300 advanced heater. Would two #3's be overkill, and just go with a #2 and #3? As far as stocking I wanted to go with something not like the typical clowns, but still browsing the threads to see what's out there that would be compatible with my tank size and flow. Would love to add coral later within the year, but we'll see how it goes.
My wife is going nuts watching surf the site for ideas and researching requirements and such. Never thought I'd move over to a salt setup.....Spending the money definitely isn't a myth, lol, but having a blast.
I know it's just a start, but does it sound on track?
Alright, just picked up these:
and
About to do a water change so I had to pick up more salt:
Will get some picks of the 55 in the morning, just charged the camera tonight for photos and my oldest kiddo is asleep, and I will NOT "wake a sleeping giant," lol.
and
About to do a water change so I had to pick up more salt:
Will get some picks of the 55 in the morning, just charged the camera tonight for photos and my oldest kiddo is asleep, and I will NOT "wake a sleeping giant," lol.
I agree 2 #3's at the least....and like usual I don't recommend canister filters. Nitrate production factory. Long story short fellow reefer and I had similar experiences. removing the canister and seeing our tests show nitrates fall and stay down vs past with canister was evidence our canisters were doing what others told us. Producing more nitrates.
The reason is the crud its trapped in the canister by design. It breaks down and bam more nitrates.
Skimmer & Live Rock should take care of filtering. The powerheads job is to keep things suspended in the water so the skimmer has time to remove them before they break down.
Up to you on the canister but as frequent posters know...I always pound on them for being not good in the long run.If it was all you had then sure, but since you have a skimmer I think going without it is better for the tank.
After your cycle look into clean up crews for the tank and even consider investing in a Phosban reactor by twolittlefishies company.
You look good to go like Ace mentioned..
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Great, thanks guys! I apologize for my ignorance in understanding the concepts of the skimmer and filter. I thought I needed both. Mainly, I didn't have room for a sump setup like I've seen on bigger tanks or even those similar to mine. So I can actually remove the canister filter COMPLETELY? without any substitute?
As for the cleanup crew, they're definitely first on the list after cycling. Was trying to look into the different shrim p and such. Please feel free to provide a link to prefences in y'alls(sorry, that's the Texan in me, lol) clean up crews. Thanks again guys. I have some insight to a killer 300gal complete setup with 6 hours runtime for a good price, but I want to see how this goes. Otherwise I'll just make that 300 a Malawi Cichlid setup, lol to match my 100....
As for the cleanup crew, they're definitely first on the list after cycling. Was trying to look into the different shrim p and such. Please feel free to provide a link to prefences in y'alls(sorry, that's the Texan in me, lol) clean up crews. Thanks again guys. I have some insight to a killer 300gal complete setup with 6 hours runtime for a good price, but I want to see how this goes. Otherwise I'll just make that 300 a Malawi Cichlid setup, lol to match my 100....
Do you think that HOB skimmer is big enough to handle the setup by itself? Another site stated I may have issues with it.
Okay, about time I posted tank shots, lol.
Live rock isn't in the final position, still trying to figure out what I want in terms of the layout.
Someone is excited about his aquarium:
The Fluval 405:
Those aren't scratches on the glass, just my bear claw smudges, lol
Full tank shot. You can see both powerheads in place(let me know if you think they should be elsewhere), the CPR back pack skimmer, and the contents of the tank. I haven't put the skimmer attachment on the Fluval yet. The powerhead on the left is on the back glass and bouncing off the front center glass. The powerhead on the right side glass is slightly at the surface to keep it movin'.
Live rock isn't in the final position, still trying to figure out what I want in terms of the layout.
Someone is excited about his aquarium:
The Fluval 405:
Those aren't scratches on the glass, just my bear claw smudges, lol
Full tank shot. You can see both powerheads in place(let me know if you think they should be elsewhere), the CPR back pack skimmer, and the contents of the tank. I haven't put the skimmer attachment on the Fluval yet. The powerhead on the left is on the back glass and bouncing off the front center glass. The powerhead on the right side glass is slightly at the surface to keep it movin'.