New to the hobby and need basic help

a 29 high tank usually make a nice size sump for a 55, thats what i have and all you would have to do is silicone a couple baffles in...look up diy sumps on this site there is a lot of different arrangements... i could post a picture of my sump if necessary

 

Forgive me but what us a refugium and how much do powerheads run for

 

a refugium is a place for micro organisms and macro algae to grow that keep them sheltered from other fish. as for powerheads dpending on how much you want to spend they could be cheap or a lot....2 koralia 3 evolutions should be good for a 55 and would be about $40 each new or if you can find them used like $20 otherwise if money isnt an issue you could get a tunze or mp10

 

So a refugium isn't needed so tell if this sounds good I have my55 gallon tank and my magnum filter which in gonna put a hang on back attachment on it then get a submersable protein skimmer and 2 power heads plus the heater and some t5 lighting...so once that happens I think about coral and live rock how much is that and what kinds are good to have

 

While your thinking about all this equipment without a sump, visualize the skimmer an pump and heater all inside your beautiful display tank

 

what kind of live rock all depends on what looks good to you and live rock from pet shops are usually bewtween $5-$12 depending on where you are...your best bet for rock is to get dry rock and seed it with a piece of live or find someone breaking down an old tank from a local reef club and selling it for like $2 a pound also the amount of LR is all dependent on what looks good to you...normal recommendations is 1-1.5 lbs per gallon but some use more some use less...i have about 55 in my 55 and want probably like another 25 and corals again arent expensive if you find a local reef club....alot of the guys around me give away free frags or trade stuff for them or offer them pretty cheap....i would highly recommend a sump...its cheap to have and it will give you more room for rock and coral in your main tank

 

first off imho you should sell the 55 and get something shorter and more depth front to back to give you a bigger footprint to work with and less water for wattage to have to penetrate.
Make sure all electrical is on a gfci outlet or breaker.

off the top of lmr20's head: a lil edit.
these are just rough prices at my lfs.

You'll need good lights for a reef (LED, T5, or MH).you would want atleast 100 watts minimum for that deep of a tank.Coralife dual t5 ho $150.

A sump (and all the necessary plumbing)aqueon pro flex series around $150.

An overflow to get the water to the sump (you can go HOB or drilled)
as a beginner you should not try to drill the hole on your own and an overflow is easy to install.eshopps around $90.

Return pump to get the water back to the DT this size will have to match the gph for the overflow.Eheim,aqueon, there are a couple more i just cant remember but dont get rio or mag drive.do your research on these for lift,heat and quiet.

Skimmer the reef octopus models are very nice.

Pumps for flow.hydor koralia evo series best circulation out there.you will atleast 2 525s

Test kits no strips and dont skimp on this many have learned the hard way on that.Also check the expiration date on the kit.I prefer the red sea kits.you will need the nitrate,nitrite,ammonia,ph,alkalinity,calcium, Magnesium this will be about $110 for all but you will get alot of tests out of this.

Sand atleast 1lb per gallon.$25 for 20lbs

Rocks base rock is cheaper than live rock but get a few lbs of lr to seed the base rock with same as sand atleast 1lb per gallon.Lr $6-8lb.Br $2-3lb

Heater use 2 heaters to make up the size of your tank just in case of a failure and it puts less load on each unit.

RO/DI unit to make water.This can be purchased later.these units take up extra room that some people to have space for so the other option is getting water from the lfs.ro/di .20gal salt 1.00gal
Salt (duh lol)

Hydrometer or refractometer $8-$100

Food frozen and pellet $5-$15

Net $3

thermometer $1-$15

Surge protector with timer $40

algae scrubber $5-$15

Gravel Vacuum $9-$75

thats all i can think of at the moment anyone please feel free to update this list.

 

^
good update and recommendations!

I would say if you wanted to save on the sump you can DIY there are a lot of threads about this.

And if you feel comfortable with it I wouldn't be afraid of drilling. You can even probably have a store do it without costing much. Half the fun for me was planning/building the system and it was my first time too (Glass-Holes have whole kits for this at about $100 with instructions. Seems geared towards beginners)

Just make sure you research the helpful threads all over this site before you rush into doing anything. Theres many ways to do things and you'll figure out what works for you

 

If you want to start a reef tank for the least amount of money the following is the minimum I'd go with:

1) Sand - doesn't need to be live, but needs to be Aragonite

2) Live/Base Rock - Doesn't need to be live to start. You can get good quality dry rock from a lot of sources online (like Marco Rocks)

3) A protein skimmer - see below for more explanation

4) Lights - I'd go with either two or four t5s to start, realizing you can only keep low light corals with two and medium light corals with four.

5) Flow - A couple powerhead (Koralias are cheap, decent flow)


Things that aren't essential to start:

1) A sump. I will never have a tank without a sump for a host of reasons. But is it absolutely required to start? No.

2) If you don't have a sump, you don't need to buy a return pump, overflow or the sump itself.

3) An in-sump skimmer. Hang on Back (HOB) skimmers will work decently well in a 55.


I would get the sand and rock dry from a place like Marco Rocks (40lb of sand for $29 and 50lb of rock for $109). Then add in a little live sand and live rock from your local fish store to seed it.

For the skimmer and lights, scour Craigs List if you want to save some money. If not then look at Sunlight Supply Tek retro kits (you can get a 2-bulb set for $115) or some of the lesser priced 2 lamp fixtures (Current USA for $140). There are numerous HOB skimmers available for varying prices new, but less than $200.

The Magnum will help with flow and you can use it for media like carbon.