A confused noob with an empty tank :(

Note: you can skip the story and go straight to the point below the dotted line.

So let's start with last nights purchase.

It's a 55G tank, with the hoods, lights, some type of bio wheel filter, and a small device which I forgot what it was. (See photos)

My goal for this tank is to, in the long run, be as low maintenance as possible. Limitations, or rather factors would be that the tank is in my room/office - so I'm not really trying to have a laboratory with huge sumps or anything below the stand. If it's a must, I will - but if I can avoid it I would like to.

Anyways, for $90 I picked up the above list. I sort of feel it was an OK deal.. but considering the massive amounts of cleaning I had to do I am not so thrilled - but I did that to myself.

Now the tank sits in my room, empty. I was at Petco (to get the stand you see below) and was going to buy a bunch of stuff to get set up. Luckily I didn't.

I've read so many sites and articles about getting set up and cycling, and so forth. I want to buy the right equipment but everyone has their own opinions on whats good and what's not.

---------------------------

Some sites are saying I should get a canister filter and a protein skimmer. Some sites say all I really need is a good protein skimmer. My friend says to get a good wet/dry system with a built in protein skimmer or make my own protein skimmer. What should I do, and which products are recommended (I don't like buying twice)?

Water. RO/DI water is a must, RO is recommended. I can buy it from my local LFS. Or as a friend suggests: Wait for high tide and bring a lot of 5 gallon buckets to the inlet. What did you guys do?

Once I get these filter and skimmer setup, water in, most places suggest to throw in the substrate. I want sand and live rock. Once I have this in and set up, what do I do next?

Oh! I also need to get a better lighting setup obviously. The covers on my tank only allow for two bulbs, one on each side. Do they sell covers that allow me to have an array of lights and timing devices? Can anyone recommend a setup to go for?

Once I get to the point where I'm testing the water constantly and ready to throw in the coral I'll be back. But if you guys can help me get started and clear things up I would very much appreciate it.

Thanks for all your input!



(sump conversion anyone?)


(What is this?)

 

You'll need a protein skimmer, if you want this to be low maintenance. You don't really need a biowheel or canister filter. I'll come back to this point in a minute.

I have a Spectrapure MaxCap RODI unit. You really do need RODI.

Mostly, for lighting, you need a fixture that doesn't work with a normal aquarium hood. They have too small of a window for the reef fixtures to use. You can get a sheet of acrylic with a hinge, and use that as a cover, and have the fixture above that.

Now, if you really want this to be low maintenance, you'll want a sump. A sump is possibly the best thing you can have, since then you can have a refugium. Refugiums take out a whole lot of nitrates and phosphates, making it super easy to keep algae out of the tank.

If you go with a refugium, the skimmer may as well be in the sump as well, since the HOB skimmers aren't exactly pretty. They usually stick up above the rim of the tank, and many don't work as well as their in-sump counterparts.

I'm only suggesting this because having a tank with a HOB skimmer and no fuge isn't exactly going to fit with your low maintenance requirement, at least not nearly as well as you may imagine.

 

Thanks for the advice!

What type of maintenance would be required with a HOB skimmer and such? If I have to do the extra work to avoid a sump then I guess I'll do that.

Otherwise I'll see what I can do about buying more tanks.

 

HOB skimmer wouldn't be extra work over an in sump skimmer, but it would look bad. They stick up over the edge of the tank, and the cup of a skimmer fills with one of the nastiest substances imaginable.

The maintenance issue becomes the lack of a refugium. The refugium drastically reduces the maintenance of a tank. It takes more effort to set up a tank with a sump, but the payoff in maintenance is big.

 

I see. What's the smallest size sump I can get away with?

 

Usually bigger is better. I would think 20g would be a good size for a 55g tank. That gives you plenty of room for overflow, and a decent sized fuge.

On my tank, I just installed a 17g tank as a fuge-only sump. It's about a 65g tank.

 

What I would do is, go with a refugium and in sump protein skimmer. If you can, drill the tank for an overflow. Your other option is to use a HOB overflow box. The benefit to a drilled tank, or reef tank, is that it is less maintenance IMO. Also, you can setup a auto top off system in the sump much easier then on the tank, and it will look nicer too. All an auto top off system does is pump RO/DI water from a reservoir, a bucket of some type, into the sump to replenish evaporated water.

As for lighting, that depends on what you want. If only fish, then what you have is fine. If corals, then you will need stronger lights.

 

Thanks. Yeah I won't be able to drill the tank since it's been tempered.

What I'm wondering if this - do I need to build the sump first before I do anything with my tank? Right now it's empty.

If I build the sump I minus whale add the refugium and such as well. I'm kind of lost as far as what my next step should be for this empty tank.

 

It's much easier to do the sump while you have an empty tank. If you have any trouble, there's no livestock to worry about while you troubleshoot.

The sump is usually done in a single tank, with pieces of glass to divide it into sections.

Usually, the bottoms are the tempered part of the tank, not the whole tank. You can use polarized sunglasses and a laptop or other LCD screen to check.

 

Good stuff, i'll check it tonight.