Wanna change from FOWLR to reef

Ok I have a 55g that was pretty much given to me around the end of December. I have been reading and taking care of my tank, and am pretty much hooked on this hobby. So I wanna go to a reef tank slowly of course. I have 8 fish, snails and a couple hermits. The tank is not drilled. Here is what I was thinking: 30g DIY sump, Eshopps overflow (don't have any place to put everyone while I would drill) Aqua C EV-180 w/mag 7,refugium w/chaeto and fiji mud, some foam block in the bubble trap and another mag 7 return, current nova extreme 4x54 HO t5+ blue LEDs and 2 Koralia #2s. Do I need a calcium reactor? I want some beginner corals, mushrooms, and a anemone. Which ones do you guys recommend? Any suggestions or advice are well apprieciated. sorry this is long. Oh yeah my fish are all reef safe as far as I know

 

You won't need a calcium reactor for a tank of that size and with the corals you want. sounds like a overall great plan, now you just gotta be able to afford all the equipment that you wanna buy. By the way aqua c skimmer's are good skimmer's, but if you plan on doing a sump I'd go for a different skimmer. I only see aqua c being used if you need a hang on the back. There are plenty of other better in sump skimmer's. Just get ready to empty your wallet ha ha

 

The AquaC Urchin would work great for a tank of that size and can be placed inside the sump.

With a new tank you don't want to run the protein skimmer too often anyhow or your coralline spores and pod growth will be extremely slow.

Calcium reactor should not needed for that size but if you are looking for the convenience there is always a kalk drip setup.

Shrooms like tongas, ricordias, yumis, leathers are all great starter soft corrals.

Anemoness on the other hand should only be introduced later when your tank has matured and has great buffering because they die more easily and will kill off everything when they do.

 

I am currently running a AquaC Remora w/maxi jet 1200. So should I stay with this one? I wanted to put one in sump to clean up look of the tank. So if the AquaC EV 180 is not good for a sump setup what would be a good sump skimmer. No Deltecs don't have that kinda cash lol! wish I did though

 

Hop on the SWC skimmer bandwagon!! I have yet to hear anything negative about them at all. What kinds of fish do you have in your tank now? 8 in a 55 (depending on type and size) might be a little much for anything more than a softie reef.

~Will.

 

The AquaC EV 180 is more than enough.

 

the aqua c is a great skimmer, I power mine off my mag 12 return pump, no need for 2 pumps in the sump.

 

I have 2 ocellaris clowns, a small sailfin tang that is in the process of being moved to a larger tank 240g long, 2 three stripe damsels, 1 blue yellow tail damsel, 1 green chromis and a tiger goby. So if I use the AquaC EV 180 w/mag 7 that one pump will run my skimmer and be enough for the return pump as well? The SWC skimmers look pretty slick. How do you know what size of skimmer to get? Can you have a skimmer to much for your tank?

 

The SWC skimmers are nice, the extreme120 should do well and allow you to upgrade to a larger tank later if you ever get the bug.
Not sure if a mag7 will work , you may need to bump it up to a Mag 9 for proper flow, as I said earlier I run a Mag 12 which requires me to restrict the return slightly, but not by much. You can see it in the pic I posted above.

 

I went AquaC's web site and they said you could run a Mag 9 or 12 and "overdrive" the skimmer. Does overdriving have any negetive effects on skimmer? So if I just have one pump a Mag 12 feeding the skimmer it makes enough flow to go through the skimmer,refugium and return back to the tank?