Brand new to saltwater

Hey I'm new to 3reef and saltwater. I have decided to setup my first saltwater tank soon and have some questions. Is it possible for filtration in my tank to use just a protein skimmer and LR? I've heard this can be done. Another thing the tank I'm planning to get is a 55gal so what lighting is suggested for this size of tank with a few corals and fish in it?

Thanks, Landon

 

Thanks, will I need a skimmer running during the cycling process?

 

i would say no. i didnt add mine until after the one year mark

 

if you run a skimmer while its cycling you will be stripping out the food for the bacteria, but it has been done both ways.
what i would do is run the skimmer so it pumps water through it but close of the venture so it doesnt suck air, then after your cycle is done run skimmer full on for a week. before adding livestock.

 

So i could get away with cycling the tank with just LR, sand, and some powerheads?

 

Hey jhawkor. I'm just starting out too, this has been a great forum so far. Good luck with your tank, sounds like where I started last week. Since then I've about tripled my budget and gone a bit over already... *sigh* good thing Visa has my back.

My understanding is that is all you absolutely need for the first week-10 days, after that you'll want to start skimming, add a clean-up crew (snails, crabs, maybe a star). you'll also need lights before long. If you're planning on adding more rock or a refugium any time soon keep in mind those will also re-cycle the tank, and too much can crash an established system. that's why I went ahead and set it all up.

I am going with a 14K HQI on my 58gallon reef, and split actinics. I plan to do SPS and clams eventually, and the dappling effect you get from point-source lights makes the tanks much more attractive IMHO.

Right now I am cycling with a pair of 48" day-light florescent bulbs, just so I can see the rocks and make note of any life that comes out of them.

Also, thanks blkburban for the info about skimmers, I'll shut mine off while I cycle. I noticed the skimmer would produce a bit more foam than usual when I added the "stability" product to the tank, that was probably it going right back out... doh.

-Doug

 

welcome to 3reef

 

Thanks for the info Doug. I plan on starting out with about 80-90 lbs of LR in a 55gal tank which should be plenty. I'll start the cycle with just the uncured LR, sand, and a couple powerheads. After awhile I'll add the skimmer and go from there. Also I don't plan on having any type of refugium on this setup simply because it's too expensive right now. So does this sound OK everyone?

 

Thank you.