55 gal reef tank ideas/suggestions

[flower]

I'm running a reef octopus bh2000 I think it's a great skimmer it's been my only source of filtration for almost 2 months. I've had zero issues with it and it makes good thick skimmate.

LOL...I'm sure if I purchased one, it would leak or break. I have lousy luck with HOB skimmers, I hate them. My parameters are perfect, I keep macroalgae, and I don't run a skimmer at all. HOWEVER...I don't need one, I'm not running a reef anymore.

 

[Dflo]

Now obviously I have some time before adding any fish and corals but what do you recommend for that size tank. The only definite fish are a pair of ocellaris. Corals something good for beginners

 

[mauler]

LOL...I'm sure if I purchased one, it would leak or break. I have lousy luck with HOB skimmers, I hate them. My parameters are perfect, I keep macroalgae, and I don't run a skimmer at all. HOWEVER...I don't need one, I'm not running a reef anymore.

That's understandable but anytime your taking water out of the tank there's a possibility of it leaking. Also just because you hate them doesn't mean you should say all of them are bad

 

[flower]

That's understandable but anytime your taking water out of the tank there's a possibility of it leaking. Also just because you hate them doesn't mean you should say all of them are bad

True, true...I only went through 5 of them...there are lots more to select from. LOL...For the record, I never said they were all bad...I said "I HAVE NEVER FOUND A HOB SKIMMER WORTH A DIME"

 

[mauler]

Then you picked the wrong ones I know a lot of the hob skimmers aren't great but some of them well worth the money

 

[flower]

Then you picked the wrong ones I know a lot of the hob skimmers aren't great but some of them well worth the money

LOL...yep..5+ different ones. Coralife was the worst (that was the leaker, I had nothing but grief for 2 years with it), the Bac-Pac was useless and never collected skim, the small Tunze just decided to stop doing anything after about 6 months, I remember something called a Cyclone, it never collected skim either, then I went to eBay for some off the wall brand (never worked at all), and at one point I had a HOB filter with a small skimmer attached, that was a joke.....nothing worked like it should. I liked the in-sump Octopus sss1000, that was a great skimmer...like I said, the HOB types just didn't work for me.

So here is the real problem, how many skimmers does a person have to purchase to find that one good one? There are folks who used the same brands as myself and had no issues. I was told I could get them to work if I tweaked them...well, I'm a firm believer that a piece of equipment should work like it's supposed to, without my having to "tweak" it to get it to work from day 1.

I'm not a fan of HOB skimmers, and I opted to go without one altogether rather then use one. Saves me money and aggravation. You may like your HOB skimmer, but if you ever had an in-sump one, you would know how much of a piece of garbage in comparison it really is.

It's just my opinion, and like all opinions, a person can take it or leave it. I do believe it's fair to at least mention the problems I've had with them to somebody thinking of a filter system...go sump or some other method. The HOB skimmer thing was why I loved my sump so much, I didn't have to deal with that anymore. Having to use a HOB skimmer is big drawback to me when selecting a filter system. IMO, that was the only thing wrong with using a canister or HOB filter, it forces you to have a HOB skimmer if you want to use one. With a reef, even soft corals for beginners, I think you really need one.

Frankly...2 months is not enough time to evaluate a HOB skimmer, it's barely broke in by that amount of time...I don't want to highjack the thread, lets get back to helping Dflo figure out what he/she would like to do.

 

[Dflo]

Thanks everybody for all of your advice so far. I picked up a stand pretty cheap on Craigslist and went with Marineland emperor 400 hob filter. Got 45 lbs of live rock and 60lbs of pink Fiji sand going in later tonight when get home from work.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Dflo,

That's a great hang on back filter - I have maintained an emperor 400 on a freshwater tank that I service and it has been running for 15 years now, non-stop and without an impeller replacement. Great little HOB filter.

Your doing great! keep up the good work, listen to all of the opinions on the forum and evaluate them at your own risk.

I have an octopus HOB skimmer for up to a 105g tank that I am not using - and will probably not be using in the near future. Let me know if you are interested in trying it out.

You won't need a skimmer for the first three to six months anyway - your system is just getting established and its working in to try to stabilize itself and establish a working sandbed. A skimmer is great for maintaining low levels of dissolved organic solids, but in some cases simple water changes and adequate water flow is all that is necessary for some corals.


You asked what are some low level, beginner corals - and I think that zoanthids, mushrooms, polyps, xenia, anthelia, and other soft corals are a great start.

 

[Dflo]

Wow that would be great thank you. I was leaning towards the reef octopus everyone was talking about when I get one. My skimmer in my 72 went out recently and was thinking about getting it for that for now then move it over after I upgrade my FOWLR tank which looks like will be in a month if things go right

I got the base rock down tonight when got home from work then sand. Just finished getting the water in and just set the other rocks in for now. Will work on aquascaping when the water clears up. So far really liking the filter and pretty quiet. I actually have this tank in master bedroom. Looking forward to waking up and seeing a hopefully nice tank here down the road. Next purchase will be a light here in a few weeks. I'm leaning towards Current 48" led with built in timer. Sounds like this will do the job with what I am looking to have in my tank. I do have a 48" Coralife Aqua Light Pro that came with the 72 when I bought that. I think needs some ballast replaced in it for the white bulb. Can tap on the light some and it will flicker. I wouldn't mind getting rid of it since it's just setting in other bedroom

 

[Dflo]

Messed around with aquascaping some this morning not very happy with it. Think going to try to find a couple more good size pieces.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Thanks for wearing cloths in the photo.

If you break up the rock work into islands it may look better. I would also get rid of the PVC. But that's just me.

 

[Dflo]

Didn't even notice that good thing for boxers lol. Sorry about that

Def worth a try and see how it turns out

 

[Dflo]

What are your thoughts on this Seth

Had a long round piece and used that to connect the 2 islands until could figure out something better

 

[Dflo]

What is a good power head recommendation? Also for lighting since I can't hang any I was looking at Current Marine LeD with timer built in

 

[snakeblitz33]

Looks better. As long as you like it.

I've never used those LEDs. I've heard that they aren't powerful enough for corals though.

 

[pegasus]

I will apologize up front, but I have to be honest, the tank looks barren. In my opinion, you're very limited on options because you don't have enough rock. If you doubled (or tripled) the amount of rock you have, you'd be surprised at the aquascaping possibilities that would present themselves.
I just bought a pair of Jebao RW-8 powerheads, and I really like them. I bought a pair of WP-10 a year ago to see how well they would hold up, and they passed the test. I have more trouble with my Sicce Voyager 3's than the Jebaos. Other than an occasional cleaning, they haven't required any maintenance. The new RW series appear to be even better, but they've only been up a couple of days, so it's too early to tell. Very impressed so far. A pair of RW-8 is probably all you'd need in a 55, and you'd probably have to run them at one of the lower settings. Each powerhead has a range of 800-2000 GPH, which is more than sufficient for your tank. It's always better to have too much than not enough. Did I mention they're not super-expensive? Just a suggestion.

 

[snakeblitz33]

The jebao powerheads are great variable speed pumps.

Usually a good LFS will sell different types of base rock that you can buy for under $3/lb. it would add additional filtration, hiding spots and like Pegasus said, more aquascaping possibilities. But what you have is a good start.

 

[Dflo]

No need to apologize I appreciate everyones input. I'm planning to add more rock just wanted to get some in to help with cycling.

I think I will check the RW-8s out heard several people recommend those

 

[kopczynski]

Those lights will grow coral, if you stick to lps and softies. There are certian sps that will live but probably not some of the more delicate ones. Im running one on my tank at 65% and i have, zoanthids, Xenia, sinulara finger leather, a Duncan, a hammer coral, a meat coral, toadstool, and a red monti cap.