tank filtration questions??? help please

hi guys, im new to the forum, ill post an introducing thread later but for now i have some questions, ive done a bunch of research and heard mixed opinions,

my plans are to have a reef/fish tank with mostly soft corals

ok here goes

i have a 55 gal tank

-Rena xp2 canistar filter

marineland stealth 200 watt heater

hagen aquaclear powerhead 400gph

2 24'' aquaglow 15 watt i think? light tubes

45 lbs of caribsea livesand

around 25lbs of cured live rock

purified/distilled water i think?? (its culligan from safeway in the 18.5l jugs)
with oceanic salt mix


ok so ive set it all up and everything all done properly but my question is mainly with the filter...

is it a good filter to use with a reef tank??

should i remove or add anything to the filter??

what should i do to it regularly maintence?? etc etc


ALSO another question is the lights, i think i would need somthing more powerful?? what would be a good reccomendation?



I have had the tank running for about a week with this setup at 78 deg and everything seems to be ok, but i havent tested the water yet,

i am running the xp2 filter stock the way it comes from the factory ready to go with all of the foam filters etc etc



please let me know asap as i have already set everything up and need to keep it going/growing properly.

i welcome any reccomendation please let me know if you have anything for me that i should do.

thanks alot
taylor

 

and HEY! Welcome to 3reef! no intro post necessary, you just did it!

 

hehe thanks alot.

i havent tested yet but i will do so on monday when i buy the kit
i plan to get more liverock when the lfs gets a new batch in
i have a stick on thermometer as well as a digital one

and as for the t5 bulbs?? what about the hagen power glo?? 2 24'' 24 watt each the t5 high output ones will they do for now?

and o i forgot to add i also have a tetra whisper 60gal air pump

and as for whats running in the filter, i have the foam pads different densitys, the bio chem zorb and somthing similar to the bio chem stars except there circle shaped...

sorry for my stupidity in trying to describe what exactly is in it its just im away in new york been here for about 5 days so some small details are becoming forgotten hehe, and im suffering from some short term memory loss due to a bad concussion :s

also how long should i have my lights on for per 24 hour period??

and thanks again guys for the help

 

Welcome to 3reef, btw you are a few months away from adding any coral...Got to get that water tested, you will also need in addition to the (ammonia,nitrate,nitrite,ph) a magnesium, a calcium, and a alkilinity test kits. You will also need a hydrometer or a refractometer to test the salinity of the water. and yes, just like cuttingras said better lighting (T5's or MH ig you gots the $$$).

Take it slow, really slow and everything will come out nice in the end. I have probably killed about $800 in fish for not waiting, so now i am taking it SLOWWWWWWWW(real slow). Wait for your tank to cycle and be patient, read through these forums. For like filters go to the filter section and look through articles in there(there are plenty); same for lights and almost anything else you might have in mind, read and learn!!! Take it slow.

 

yea thanks for the advice, i am making sure to try and take it slow although its hard but yes i do know to wait till it cycles and until the water is purfect not to add any corals or organisms, and i bought a test kit that tests everything you mentioned so ill be doing that monday,

also i have a cheap hydrometer (deep six) plastic one and im wondering where should i take the water sample from??

ive tried the top of the tank to the middle and they seem to have different readouts?? is that because the salt proably wasnt fully disolved yet??

thanks again guys

 

And a protein skimmer, AquaC Remora is the only one I'd recommend on a 55. Yeah Tundra, I was gonna add that but I figured let's get him through the cycle first before overwhelm him LOL I would also put a cheap little damsel in your tank or chuck a piece of table shrimp in there to help get the cycle movin along.. Until you are done cycling you don't really need to worry about turning them on but a few hours a day won't hurt. Do you have actinics and daylights? are they on separate cords? When your cycle is done you'll want to run them separate if you can and do like 10-11 hours actinic and 4-6 hours daylight. kinda like sun rising, mid day, then sundown.

not stupidity, stupidity is NOT asking the questions! you're doin fine!

 

welcome to 3reef!!! i would go with T5's but do some research first, in case you are getting eager which i think everybody does when they start out, do not add any fish or corals, let your tank mature for a looong time and the best thing you can do is research, and listen to people on 3reef ;D we have all been there at some point and are here to help

 

Well, as for the lights just look at this, I have about 130 watt in my 20 gallon tank. You have about 34 in yours and lets just say i dont ahve enough in mine...

As for the light period, later on you will want to have your actinic 03 lights on for a peroid of like 15 hours and also the 10,000K/12,000K or MH for a period of 12 hours. so somethihng like actinic 5:30 am till 8:30 pm and the daylight (10K,12K, MH) from like 7:00 am till 7:00 pm.

For now, you will only want to have your actinics on until like about 10 weeks have passed by.

btw, i am in no way shape or form and expert in marine/saltwater/freshwater, but what i am telling ou is things i ahve learned in the time i have been dealing in setting up my tank.

Everyone here is very knowledgeable, helpful, and very nice.

Take your time, read, learn...

 

Don't get what will do for now, take the time save the money and get what you'll want! if you dont it's just wasted money down the road.

if you want t5HO lights i would look into a Tek light or Aquactinics.
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He's got those already, if I read the post right. Also Tangster can hook you up with lights too and the Co. he works with is a 3reef sponsor! send him a pm, when you are ready.