New Tank, help me out

well i know i'm not gonna be able to set it up for 500-600 i was playing on spending 1000-1500 on it but thats what i have to work with atm and i can get the rest by the end of cycle .

as far as power heads what do they hook up to and whats a decent one pretty much what i wanted to do was buy everything i need to start cycle fill the tank and wait a month till i can get more funding

 

since your going to spend some money take some time and do some research. give yourself some time to find out what you want. as for powerheads there are many brands but you will want 40-50x turnover rate so for a 55g you want around 2300-2750gph flow

 

Koralia makes good powerheads. Read man read. Talk to people in your lfs. Get friendly with the staff. Go there when it's slow and go when its busy. When its slow ask questions when its busy just listen and learn. Write down all expenses your gonna go through. A salt water tank is heartwarming and heartbreaking. It's heartwarming for those that take the time to learn and go slowly. It's heartbreaking for those that don't. Good luck.

 

thanks

 

You are going to need a bigger heater, probably 300watt. Perhaps keep both in the tank incase on goes out!

 

In a 55 reef tank i would go with at least 200watts of t5, this will be good for fish and soft corals, be sure that this is all you want as hard corals sps, clams are more light demanding and if you want to keep any of these then i would recommend metal halides...

As Packleader mentioned, the t5 you got would be good for fish only..

 

I would increase your lighting as well, atleast a 4 or 6 bulb t5 ho setup. That way you should have lil in the way of restriction of corals mb just some sps you can get. A skimmer would be nice, helps alot with the waste. Youll need some live rock as well. Power heads are a must, you can spend alot or alil, but the cheap ones break easy. THey have nice mod kids, easy as sin to hook up. You throw them on your smaller power heads to ramp up the flow they put out, worked great for me. Also cheap.

 

Read read read!!!

PM me you email address. Ill forward you some material that I have that will definitely help and drive you in the right direction. I know its helped me along my journey.

You can also follow my first post, just started a few days ago. I think im heading in the right direction.

http://www.3reef.com/forums/new-hobby/my-first-marine-tank-62161.html

 

If your not going to go with a RO/DI unit. I suggest you get one of these before you make that decision:
Pocket Size TDS Meter - FreshWaterSystems.com

It reads the mount of stuff in the water. A RO/Di unit will put out 0ppm. (parts per million). Test your tap, distilled, and Brita water and see what the readings are and you'll see its not as good as you think.
I tested Poland Spring water, (which I love to drink!), and its at 30ppm. I ALWAYS test the water I am putting in the tank before I use it.
Just a suggestion, and a cheap one at that!

 

think i could get this TDS meter local?