New 55g reef setup help?

If you have a 20 gallon tank laying around why not use that for a sump and save some money? Also your better off with a refractometer than a swing arm.

 

As for the pump, I had a quietone on my 55 but I used a 3000. You can dial the flow down with a valve but cant make it stronger without replacing the pump. You may need more circulation if you go SPS than a 1200 can support.

 

The reasons i would choose t5 over CF-

My understanding is not that they are more "energy efficient" they are more "efficient" due to the fact that you dont have essentially half of the lamp shooting light at itself. With T5 you can get a single lamp reflector (SLR) that drastically improves your efficiency as far as getting as much usable light as possible into your tank. Since t5 is more open, and not pointing light at itself, it also runs cooler that cf.

I really dont know much about CF so i cant speak to its advantages over t5 if there are any.

You want a sump if you can to increase water volume which makes keeping params easier.

I dont see any mention of live rock. That is what will act as your main source of Biological filtration. That and a skimmer should pretty much do it for filtration. Most of the people on here also run some sort of chemical filtration as well....like carbon.

I dont know much about that skimmer. I think that CPR products tend to be ok...but the skimmer is pretty important.




Another question that is important is what your goals are for the tank, fish only, FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or reef. This will affect some of what i wrote above


Did i mention not to skimp on the skimmer? You will thank us later. Spend a few extra on a skimmer that is rated for atleast 1.5 - 2x your total water volume (TWV). It gives you more room for error...

 

i switched the skimmer to marineland pro and i'm doing a reef tank i placed the order just waiting for the stuff to get here

 

Master Liquid Test Kit Saltwater $17.59 x $17.59
Good kit to start off with, when you get into corals, you will want to get the reef test kit too or look into individual test kits
CD-116658 Hydrometer 1.000 to 1.030 specific gravity $7.19
This is what I started with, but soon bought a refractometer, much easier to use and much more accurate
CD-14143 Quiet One Pumps Model 1200 $27.99 x 1 = $27.99
This pump won't cut it IMO. At best you'll probably get 1/2 the flow b/c of head height. I run a Rio 2100 on my 55, that's rated at 796gph
CD-18773 Thermometer 2-1/4" x 1-1/2" $7.99 x 1 = $7.99
CD-27331 Coral Pro Salt 55 gallons $19.99 x 1 = $19.99
You'll be wishing you got a bucket soon
CD-29129 Koralia Water Circulation Pumps Pump 2 $37.59 x 2 $75.18
These are good pumps, but I would have gotten two 3s, the 2s should get you by, but IMO they don't push as much water as I would like. Again, I have a K1 and a MP40 on my 55 averaging about 50x turn over per hour
CD-32893 Eshopps Wet-Dry Filters WD-100CS $189.99 x 1$189.99
I would have skipped this and saved the money, just use the 20 gal you had laying around, that's what I have as a sump.
CD-70086 Eshopps In-Sump Protein Skimmers PSK-75 $119.99 $119.99
CD-71381 Marineland Visi-Therm Heaters 300W $22.89 x $22.89
CD-71397 Arag-Alive Hawaiian Black $19.99 x 2 = $39.98
Merchandise Subtotal = $528.7

I don't mean to have this sound hypercritical, but I'm just telling you what I've learned from my experience starting out. I wish somebody would have told me some of these things so I could have saved some money.

 

Absolutely. The swing arms blow. Refractometers are cheap and accurate once calibrated. Much better money spent on one of those.

 

UPDATE: I have everything but live rock and my light (coming on the 1st) damn turkey day
everything is setup and running.Now I have a couple questions

*Whats the best way to go about dialing in the overflow box height.
* My pump seems to be leaking back into sump via outlet, the flow out of the outlet head is weak sauce.
* I bought my water premixed from the store everything is looking ok on tests, now when i get live rock thinking are gonna go haywire?
*The u pipe in the over flow box is not 100% full is that ok? if not how to get it 100% full


i have more questions just cant think right now any other comments or concerns feel free

 

Start it all the way down then slowly move it up until the water level is where you want it. I like my water level just above the bottom of the tank rim.

How do you have it hooked up. If you have flexible hosing try putting a plastic hose clamp on it.

It depends on the condition of the rock. If it is fully cured and remains wet between the stores tank and yours, you might see a small or no cycle. If it is not cured or doesn't stay in water during transit, you will have a lot of die off and will see a few weeks of cycling.

Sounds like you may not have enough flow. Suck out the air pocket with some airline tubing. If you have enough flow the water will push any bubbles through.

What overflow and pump did you end up getting?

 

i got the eshopps 400gph wet/dry sump and the quiet one 300gph pump, had another question for my skimmer i got the marineland pro 100 where should the knob be

 

look at 4x54w or 6x54w T5's.. I have both 4x65w pcs and t5s.. t5s bulbs last 18-24 months, PCs bulbs last 6-12months... so if you went with PCs 4 bulbs in the next 6-12months for replacement will cost you $120-150 bucks shipped. T5s will pay for it self in that time...