55 Gal Beginning

I am brand new as well and starting a 55 gal. After all the reading, I selected the Vertex IN-100 protein skimmer. It was $198. All the reviews and everything I found was very positive about the Vertex. Octo's are similarly priced or slightly less. You might look into that as well.

 

thx will do

 

Good start, and I agree that truly was a must buy. I agree Octopus and Aqua C both have bulletproof reputations. For HOB I swing towards the Aqua C's though based mainly on the way they look.

 

I love my Aqua C Remora Pro with a Mag 3 pump

 

I have heard many good things about them

 

I have a 55 and started with an AquaC Remora HOB, nothing to complain about, it's about the easiest skimmer to operate and setup. What are you thinking about lighting? I started with a 4 bulb Nova Extreme with the gull wing reflector, it worked pretty good, although I could keep easy sps, like montis, they brown out pretty quickly. I now have a 6 bulb Tek Fixture and my sps and clam are very colorful and growing well. If you go with a 4 bulb fixture, I suggest a 4 bulb Tek fixture, but either way, make sure it has either individual reflectors or individually contoured reflectors.

 

Just a little noisy at first from the air injection chamber.....easy fix take a papertowel and fold it and stick it over the top of the injection tube.

There customer service is great too

 

well i have already ordered the Wave Point HO T-5. It has 4 bulbs with individual reflectors. 2 actinics and 2 12k sunlight bulbs. It claims that the reflectors amplify the light 14x. Someone i know uses this fixture and loves it. it makes that tank look nice. So, we will see.

 

I have heard that as well about the customer service. that itself makes me want to buy it! lol. i hate crappy customer service.

 

Nice looking start, and welcome to the forum. That overflow box looks sketchy to me, I would look for a better one on craigslist if possible. Great choice on lighting, what are you planning to keep? If you 2 ever find your self an hour and a half south and are looking for frags, feel free to hit me up.

~Will.