Hello. My first tank

Hi. This is my first saltwater aquarium. My long term goal is a reef tank. I'm currently going through the cycle phase. About two weeks into it.

My setup
55 gallon (48x13x20)
2 - 30-60 Aqua-Tech filters
Cheesy lights that came with it
A generic heater
Crushed coral bottom
50/50 live rock/limestone

Life:
Emerald Crab
Hermit Crab
Peppermint shrimp
2 Clown's
2 Damsels
3 snails
3 anenome's from the Gulf of Mexico
(these things came with it and have faired fine so far...)

I am logistically unable to add a sump - I'll try to make do without.

In a few weeks, I plan on getting new lights and a protein skimmer (moneys is always a holdup :-/).

Some help on the light would be appreciated. I'm set on T5; MH are just outside of what I want to deal with. I've narrowed down to two light choices.

48 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 8x54W T5HO with 4 Lunar Lights and 48 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 4x54W T5HO with 4 Lunar Lights

I think these cover my wants - all in one convenience - built in moon's.

There's a big price difference here (that's not really my concern though). 8x54 just seems a bit excessive. I'm a beginner and really only plan on going beginner reef route (still a huge selection!). Part of me feels I can really do just fine with the 4x54 setup. Additionally, the 8x54 is 14 inches wide compared to my 13 inch tank and I wonder if that'll get in the way (things like my filters and protein skimmer will/are all hang(ing) off the side. Thoughts? Does anyone have experience with these models and would like to comment on them?

Another question I have, is once I add the protein skimmer, do I still need 2 of those Aqua-Tech 30-60 filters? Is more better or is it overkill?




Thanks! Love this site.

 

+1 Mission is always right, dont rush things take your time, your gonna need it.LOL Its hard not to get carried away and throw every cool looking thing you see at a lfs in there all at once. Remember the ocean wasnt built in a day, nor should your tank.LOL

 

Yeah, I agree! The way I got this tank was a friend of mine was moving and I happened to stop by when his tank was half drained - he was throwing it out!!! So I asked for it and we just lifted it as is (1/3 full of water) and put it on his air ride truck he rented and brought it over... (he's a really big dude) The only thing I added (other than more water!) was the live rock, crushed coral flooring and the shrimp my wife insisted we get!

Which brings up an interesting question I had - would this tank already be considered 'established'? He had it setup for about 18 months. I opted for the 'no' answer and decided to add the live rock and some more crushed gravel to the bottom and let it cycle... Maybe I should've dumped it and started from scratch - but too late now. So I'm in the process of giving it another month before I do much of anything (other than add the lights/skimmer in a few weeks).

Knowing this back story, what do you think?

 

Welcome to 3reef, and the hobby! now, you said your friend was going to throw it away? were the clowns in there while he was going to dump the tank??? give him a kick in the rear if they were..... and i agree with mission as well, but i would say if you want to start this hobby off right, you really need to bring all of the living animals you have in there to a LFS, replace the crushed coral with regular sand(many advantages) and start the whole process over so you can learn how to do things and make mistakes, people might disagree but i believe you have to make mistakes in order to learn.

 

Howdy! and welcome to 3Reef! nice tank btw, and thanks for sharing

 

welcome to 3reef, for lights you may want to look at a 6 bulb T5 array, such as the sunlight supply tek series or their other series, Tangster from AAT one of the sponsors here has them on sale I beleive as well.

 

Yup. Aragonite sand is my favorite. There are many modes of thought here. But I, also, would be tempted to start over.

And read through the forum here. Read about stuff that has nothing to do with you. It will eventually.

 

Oh, since you are getting things second hand, look at all the hardware. Anything submersibe, look at close....especially powercords. Replace the heater right off. I would get a Stealth 200W submersible. One you can adjust, not the automatic 78 degree kind. I got my whole set up second hand. Everything. I have ditched about 75 percent of what I bought. So look at everything close. It may be junk (dangerous) or just plain substandard.