suggestions?

hi all. so here is my story. about a month ago i bought an established tank. was told it has been up for about two years. i checked into his background by asking around and he seems to be a good guy. anyways, so i got 35-40 lbs of live rock. i plan on adding more as i can. shooting for about 75lbs. there was a sump but it broke. there was a protein skimmer but i really dont know how he had this thing hooked up but it sucks. it is just a seaclone anyways. i changed out all the live sand. so i basically put in 40 lbs of new live sand. since the sump was trashed an aquaclear 110 hob filter has been used. then i added another hob filter, just some old hob that is rated for a 55 gallon tank. the aquaclear has a sponge and carbon. the other just has carbon. just added a koralia 1 and it came with an aquaclear 30 powerhead. i plan on addind a koralia 2 and taking out the aquaclear. also got a sump/refuguim in the making once i talk to my glass guy so i can get rid of the two hob filters.

i have taken an interest in some of the diy projects i have seen. i have already made the 1" pvc overflow. havent glued it all together yet though. yea that only costs me like 8 bucks ;D going to use a mag 9 return pump witha ball valve to control and match the overflow. now i plan on making a protein skimmer that i found on this site Reef Workshop - DIY Protien Skimmer.. found a beckett protein skimmer injector assembly to go along with this setup. but one question i have would be what sive pump would i need to power this skimmer?? the site doesnt really say what he is using. any suggestions on what size pump i should be using??

really fighting off stocking the tank right now. the tank came with two blue damsels. only thing i did my was 10 hermits and 10 snails. a pepermint shrimp and an emerald crab were also added to the ccleanup crew.now i am seeing lots of little tiny snails that i think were hiding in the rocks. found a few stars also. its really cool to look at the tank and see little feather dusters and tube worms sprouting.

hoping to eventually get 2 black and white clowns, a flame angel, and some kind of goby. any suggetions on that? after i get some new lights i hope to get some star polps and xenia and who knows what else

thanks for looking and taking the time to read this. i figured it was time to write something and not just lurk in the background. i would like to think i have learned a lot reading as many of the threads as i can everynight. and hoping to learn more.

 

Hi Grasshoper

Goby - cant suggest one, cant recall having ever kept any , but 2 clowns with a flame angel - great choices


Steve Wright

 

Welcome to the reef!
I didn't see the size of your tank? Maybe something along these lines for a skimmer pump- CPR Accela BakPak Replacement Pump.

 

As far a skimmer pump is concerned, it depends on the size of your tank and how much you want to skim. People have used anywhere from a maxijet 1200 to a Mag 7. The more powerful the pump, the better it should skim, but the downside to that is that you may be over skimming by taking out trace elements and other beneficial things.

What type of lights did you get? and what size tank?

 

thanks for the replies. and its a 55 gallon tank. i want to be able to skim a good bit but not overly to much. dont want to get to crazy;D and i havent gotten any lights yet. still deciding what will be the best route. t5's or cf's

 

T5s if you want corals and as many of as high a wattage as will fit on your tank
then you will be less limited in the species you can provide adequate lighting for
just IMHO

Steve

 

T5 without a doubt.