Help with shopping list!

[shari2shop]

I have done tons of research *LOL* but there is so much to still learn!!
I an planning on setting up a 55 gallon FOWLRLS.
I have made a 'shopping' list of the things I need to start buying. Would someone PLEASE look at my list and see if I have forgotten something!!! Any advice or suggestions ould be greatly appreciated.
My shopping list:
1) Krylon Spray paint- Flat finish, dark blue color (for back of tank)
2) 50 pounds of aragonite play sand (Southdown or something like it)
3) 5 pounds of live sand (Do I need more to seed the play sand?)
4) Container to do 55 gal tank of Instant Ocean Salt. (I know I will need more for future water changes)
5) Distiller Water (50 gallons! Oh MY!!!)
6) Hydrometer (I guess they are all about the same, just get a good brand?)
7) Heater
8) Net (or 2!)
9) Thermometer
10) Protein Skimmer (Still can’t decide which one to buy - so expensive!!) L
11) Power heads (probably 2)
12) Live Rock - 55 pounds or so (get this in near future as I have further research to do!)
13) Test kits
Oh my!! 13 things!!! That does not sound good!!!

In put please!!!
Shari

 

[birdy]

your list looks pretty good to me, I am a bit worried though about the biological filtration. You have a few options if you have a live sandbed and at least 55lbs of LR to start then that should be enough filtration, but if you are going to go a little bit less expensive (which is not a problem) then you would seed a dead sand bed with LS (which takes a bit of time). And with LR you can do the same seed some baserock with LR, the problem is that you will have to wait until your LS and LR is all seeded so that it performs the biological filtration part of your tank. What might be an option is to get a power filter with biowheels or a cannister filter and use the biological part of the filtration until your LR and LS can handle the bioload. I hope this makes sense.
My input on a protein skimmer is not to skimp, I bought one that was less expensive and now I am replacing it. If you are looking for one that hangs on the back I would really recommend either the cpr bak bak (this one includes biological filtration which could solve the above problem) or the aqua C remora.

 

[lesa]

Hang in there your list will grow each day

 

[shari2shop]

Birdy ~
Do you think 25 pounds of live sand would be enough to seed the play sand????
I think I will add the cannister filter to my list!!! Is it okay to get a moderately (or even cheap) priced once since I won't need it after everything gets seeded with the live stuff??? (Of course I would keep it in case I needed to run Carbon.)
Would it be okay to set my tank up with everything EXCEPT the skimmer for 2 months??? I have an anniversary the first part of October and a high dollar skimmer would be an excellent present from my husband! Would I need to wait until after I have the skimmer to add the clean up crew and fish (of cousre after my tank has cycled!) ???
I will definatley do some research on the cpr bak bak and the aqua C remora skimmers. Thanks!!!!
Lesa ~ I am so afraid that my list will grow!!!! I just hope to buy some stuff along the way so that I don't break the bank all in one month!

 

[birdy]

yes I think 25lbs would be a good amount to seed with, a cannister sounds fine I would still get one that is rated for your size tank. As far as a skimmer you should be fine waiting a couple months, it usually takes a month for a tank to cycle anyway and I don't usually run a skimmer during the cycle, there are many people who don't use a skimmer at all (but I don't recommend it).
shouldn't be a problem adding a cleanup crew and a couple fish after the cycle without a skimmer.
and your list will grow, but it is a good idea to start buying things as you go, (but keep your reciepts in case you change your mind). One thing I would recommend is a QT tank, some people do not QT there fish before putting them in the tank but I highly recommend it. There is nothing worse than having to pull out 100lbs of LR out of a tank to catch a fish with ich.

 

[yae4volcom]

Hey shari2shop. I am also going to set up a 55 gallon FOWLR. I've made a list for mine too.
55 gallon acrylic tank
CPR Bak-pak 2R
Emperor 400 hang-on filter
50-55 lb fiji live rock
VHO lighting 440 watts
80 lb southdown sand (dsb)
2 maxijet 900's
Suction cup heater
Test kit
Salt-o-meter
A net
Algae scrubber
I'm going to skip the LS for now and see what happens. Tell us how your tank goes.