55g Plan so far

[shnabbles]

Ok people PLEASE let me know if you see anything i wouldnt necessarily need with a reef tank and im open to ANY opinions.
55 Gallon Tank and Stand
Seaclone 200 - Filter
Emperor 400 - Heard from 1 guy on this board that i should have both. Is this correct?
Refractometer
Water Test Kit
Heater
I know there are still a couple things im missing thats because i havent decided on what i exactly wanna go with.
I know i want 50/50 LS and Reg Sand, Id rather go alot of base rock and alittle LR to keep price down to make wife happy, and im still undecided on lighting.

 

[mr.smiley]

If you are going to get reef tank then you will need a sump. If not and you want but some fish and not corals in the the tank then thats fine.

 

[shnabbles]

I want fish and some anenomies no corals.

 

[mr.smiley]

Then it should be fine. *didn't you already post this before?*

 

[shnabbles]

Im making alot of posts making sure i will have all i need.
LFS told me all i needed was a Seaclone 100, 200 watt heater, thermometer, 2 some kind of bulbs i cant read his writing lol and Salt... when he factored up what it would cost he didnt even add in sand or any kind of rock

 

[jenn-e]

Powerheads
Good Lights if you want an anemone

 

[shnabbles]

I knew i needed a power headed i just havent decided what kind or how many i would need.

 

[mr.smiley]

Originally posted by Shnabbles
Im making alot of posts making sure i will have all i need.
LFS told me all i needed was a Seaclone 100, 200 watt heater, thermometer, 2 some kind of bulbs i cant read his writing lol and Salt... when he factored up what it would cost he didnt even add in sand or any kind of rock
All you need is a seaclone 100. But you might wanna take the seaclone 200...........it does alot better good then the 100

 

[shnabbles]

With the 200 would i still need the emperor 400 filter?

 

[mr.smiley]

How many anemonies do you want? How many fish are you getting? What kind?

 

[shnabbles]

I dont know how many anenomies or fish yet... All the fish will be reef safe though... Right now im just seeing all i need to get the tank cycling.

 

[mr.smiley]

Well if you are going to have 4 anemonies and like small fish then you would need the emporer and a very good protein skimmer for the anemonies(seaclone 200 will work good)

 

[yellowtail]

also with anemones your going to need METAL HALIDE lighting which can be very expensive

 

[shnabbles]

Im actually trying to figure out the lighting now.

 

[montidanae]

well anemones are alot harder then corals, they are sensative and very edgy, most only live a few years in captivity, when in the wild they live hundreads, they need STRONG lights, on a 55 Metal halides will be needed to sustain almost all anemones, some lowerlight anemones like Bubble tip anemones can do well under VHO (very high out put) bulbs, you will need live rock for filtration and cover for fish, usualy lights for you tank can be bought on ----, just make sure they are right for aquariums, some bulbs may look the same and say they do the same, but dont have a high eough PAR ratin gor liughting color for inverts such as anemones, anemones also need a very mature tank at least 6 months, 7-8 months is best for them though, corals on the other hand are alot easier (depending on what kinds you get) if you just want an anemone for clowns to go into, clowns dont need anemones most will host in other corals, and sometimes other rocks (like mine)

 

[montidanae]

anemones need very clean water also, a good skimmer live rock (recomended 1 pound per gallon), Refugiums also help int he filtration of reef tanks, also they provide zooplankton and other crustations that anemones/fish eat.
a seaclone wont work, you will need more filtration, research filtration depending on what kind of fish you want and how many.
more then one type of anemone dosent work, anemones oftern "slip" in turn there are 2, this is ok, they asre the same anemone just a clone, but a differnt kind of species, there will be Chemical warefar going on, the clowns can decide which they like, so they go in one, get the build up of stinger cells produced by the anemone, then go into the other one, stinging that, and keep spreading the cells.

 

[shnabbles]

Do corals need the metal halide?
Im trying to keep costs down can coral thrive on VHO bulbs?

 

[montidanae]

depends on teh corals, i used to have 4 110w VHO's i had 2 10k and 2 super actinics 03, and my soft corals and the few LPS corals i had lived good, but didnt really start to "take off" untill i got my MH,s if you order the MH's off ---- only a little more expensive then VHOs, i got mine off ----, dual 250w with ballast reflector (sucky) and bulbs (sucky) and it was like $200, ready to go, but i got Hamilton 14k bulbs they are great if you do go MH, get the 14ks they are awesome, but at 70$ a pop, their expensive, but all MH bulbs are alot.