How's my setup? Want to be sure before I start.

[ticalien]

Hi,
I've been reading through posts here for the better part of the last month and I'm finally ready to begin posting. One thing that I've noticed is that there's no universal answer to setting up and maintaining your tank. I've read a few books and from what I've seen here I feel like my setup will be sufficent for a FOWLR setup, but I would value everyone's input. What I've currently aquired was given to me by my mom who bought the equipment and never set it up, 5 years later it's in my possesion. Eventually I would like to add some coral into the tank and would like to get things setup correctly the first time around rather than having to patch things together afterwards. Here's what I've got now:
- 55 gallon aquarium
- 2 Penguin 550 powerheads (rated 145 gph)
- 50 lbs. Dolomite substrate
- 12" x 48" PennPlax Clear-Free UG Filter
- VisiTherm VTH250 Heater
This is of course leaving out water test kits and other tools that I'll need that aren't physically part of the tank and I'm aware of that.
A couple other questions that I have:
- How much light is too much? The location I'd like to put my tank doesn't get beat on by the sun, but there is a good amount of sunlight that comes through the windows is this something I should be concerned about?
- What type of salt should I get? Instant Ocean is readily available at my LFS, but I've read a few posts indicating it might not be the best option.
Thanks for taking the time to review my setup, I'm really looking forward to getting started.
Tom

 

[vito525]

*Ditch the UG filter Idea Doesn't work for Saltwater tanks

 

[ricks280]

tom, the ugf not required, run a skimmer and l.rock ( 60lbs) you than have to work out your sump and overflow before you start checking your lights i run a 55 with no sump
just lr, 2xp/heads,skimmer & penguin bio wheel system ,it has been up for two years and so far no problems it stocks 7 fish, 2 corals , star,& 2 large anemones. hope this helps u a bit. -rick.

 

[ticalien]

Thanks for the feedback I suppose I'll abandon the UGF and move to a protein skimmer and sump setup. That said, maybe someone can suggest a good skimmer and power head for my 55g tank. I'd like to go with overkill with the expectation that I will eventually upgrade to a larger tank once I get some experience under my belt. I've done some searches on ----, but am unfamiliar with the brand names and reliability.
Thanks a ton for your help!

 

[msd2]

Originally Posted by ticalien
Thanks for the feedback I suppose I'll abandon the UGF and move to a protein skimmer and sump setup. That said, maybe someone can suggest a good skimmer and power head for my 55g tank. I'd like to go with overkill with the expectation that I will eventually upgrade to a larger tank once I get some experience under my belt. I've done some searches on ----, but am unfamiliar with the brand names and reliability.
Thanks a ton for your help!

Personally I would go with a few seio 620's for circulation to start. Will give you great but gentle flow. If your doing a fowlr a sump might be overkill, you can try it w/lr (lots of it) to start and see how it goes. For smaller tanks I have only heard good things about the remora skimmers. I personally use a euroreef, if u want excessive and are certain u want to go sump then thats the way to go. Not to discourage u from going the sump route its just a considerable more amount of setup and I expense and if u don't need it...
Never can have too much light esp. if u wanna go reef so I wouldnt be too concerned about that. Maybe the temp of the water if u go crazy but not the actual light, esp if u think u want to get into sps'.
I have tried oceanic salt and the quality is not consistent enough, ca is all over the board. I have since gone back to instant ocean and it works for me.
One suggestion that will save you lots of energy and possible problems is getting a DI/RO unit for water. I do not suggest using tap water and lugging 20 liter containers to the local fish store for water gets old quick.
Also dont skimp on the test kits, there are the cheapo's like red sea but get the better ones such as salifert. They are considerably more accurate, easy to use/read, and consistent in quality. If you want great kits i really like LaMotte and they have been the most accurate I have found so far, but that was a few yrs ago.

 

[snipe]

Heres a good starter for ya.
Marine Reef Starter Kits.
* Take the guesswork out of mix-n-matching essential system components
* SAVE when you buy the kit instead of ala carte
* Kits include heater, thermometer, filter, skimmer, lighting, water pump, salt, and power strip/timer
Start off right with quality aquarium fundamentals. Our most popular items selected for your convenience and compiled to create a great starter system for Marine Reef aquariums. Each piece of equipment is appropriately sized and carefully matched to accommodate up to six different aquarium sizes – no need to calculate wattage or flow rate. Aquarium not included
Everything in picture is included.
Its price for a 55 gallon is. $1,274.79
You would want to replace the skimmer and get test kits. It also comes with 3 maxi jet 1200 powerheads and a wet/dry filter. Like I said everything is included that is the pic.

 

[msd2]

hmm id politely disagree w/the starter kit. First it seems overpriced for what your getting. Secondly its not very well designed for a reef. The lights appear to be good, but the rest I have to question. I know that powerstrip/timer in the pic is prone to problems, others have reported issues, A wet/dry filter can easily turn into a nitrate production area, and the skimmer looks like a cpr which I did try at first which was junk.
ala carte if he is a good shopper and a bit DIY he can get it all for considerably less.
PFO light canopy-550
er skimmer 270
sump-80 (with 30 gal capacity and baffles)
refractor, salt, therm, 75
so roughly for 965 dollars its a a pretty damn solid setup that with some mods could easily handle a larger tank if he decides to go bigger in the future. And if he is DIY'er the light hood could 350 with componets that are basically plug n play.

 

[snipe]

The wet dry being a nitrate factory is a load of crap if ophiura was here umm boy you would get an ear full lol. It really isnt that bad. $600 lights $40 salt $100 refracto $300 wetdry with all equipment needed that is over $1000 right there!
The only thing in the pic I would replace is the skimmer. It is a seaclone "not good" but as far as price

 

[msd2]

Originally Posted by Snipe
The wet dry being a nitrate factory is a load of crap if ophiura was here umm boy you would get an ear full lol. It really isnt that bad. $600 lights $40 salt $100 refracto $300 wetdry with all equipment needed that is over $1000 right there!
The only thing in the pic I would replace is the skimmer. It is a seaclone "not good" but as far as price
LOL well okay whoever ophiura is a discussion is fine, an earful is a waste of energy and nobody learns or listens. If your willing to explain to me how I am in error please do but my experience has been that unless you maintain it very well (wet/dry) it has been shown time and time again to produce nitrates. I started out with one myself and had chronic high nitrates (+20) and through my local reefers and the old reefers on here I setup a sump/fuge and the readings have never been better (0 after two weeks of starting the fuge). All other variables were held constant pre and post fuge (aka light duration, amount of lr, quantity of food). I do not know a single person that runs a wet/dry on a reef, I do know several that run them on fo tanks and it works great for that application. Didn't say it was bad but if your going to spend this kind of money why not get the best you can. And if you shop around on the web you can get the prices u listed for considerably less for some things. For 300 bucks I can build one hell of a nice sump and fuge system that will be far superior to a wet/dry in many ways, such as much larger water volume, lower maintenance, increased nutrient extraction, respite for injured/docile fish, areas to house reaction chambers, and a skimmer. Im not here to get into a pissin contest or seeing who is "full of crap", just presenting a viable option and my own experience.
Oh thats also one other suggestion I have find a local reef club, a source for good info, great frags and group buys to get stuff you need cheap.

 

[snipe]

Ophiura is a mod here and im sure the mods know what there talking about or they wouldnt be a mod lol. Bigger water volume isnt better expecially on a 55 there just inst enough room. If you take care of a wet/dry properly it wont produce I nitrates at all ever. I know many ppl who run them and never have a problem. So if your getting nitrates it isnt the equipments fault.

 

[msd2]

Originally Posted by Snipe
Ophiura is a mod here and im sure the mods know what there talking about or they wouldnt be a mod lol. Bigger water volume isnt better expecially on a 55 there just inst enough room. If you take care of a wet/dry properly it wont produce I nitrates at all ever. I know many ppl who run them and never have a problem. So if your getting nitrates it isnt the equipments fault.

Can you expand on why additional water volume is not a value for a begining reefer especially? The added water volume allows for more stable water conditions, temp, and more room for an ooops factor. The smaller the system the more dramatic effect added volume will be. Example say a 20 gal fuge is added to a 55 gallon tank. That is a net increase of water volume of 36%. So your saying that a tank that is 36% larger will not take longer to change temps or have the ablity to buffer better? Secondly if you read what I said intially that a wet/dry can easily become a nitrate producer, I didn't state it was a nitrate factory. I did share my experience with one that was maintained but still nitrates were high (by my standards) in the water. If everything else is held constant it is probable that the equipment removed removed was the source of the nitrates. lol, maybe we can agree to disagree on what is a better method
Anyway hopefully this has given ticalien some ideas to bounce around and points out that there are a dozen different ways to get to where you want to be with pro's and con's to each.

 

[snipe]

No im saying a bigger fuge or sump is a bad idea because there is no space to put it on a 55 gallon tank.

 

[ophiura]

LOL.
I guess I'll just say this. My opposition is to people who say this without any background on what is going on with the tank:
You need to toss those bioballs they are a nitrate factory
There is no doubt that wet/dry filters produce nitrates. This is what they are designed to do, and their perceived downfall is ultimately their efficiency. The question is do they cause nitrate problems and in this case I would say inherently, no. It does not make nitrates out of nothing. Nitrate issues have several factors to consider, and everything should be reviewed (feeding, stocking, maintenance, export mechanisms). Plenty of people run very successful tanks with wet/dry filters.
IMO, for a totally new hobbyist, or for a FO system without any or much LR, a wet/dry filter is the most forgiving, and can get you out of some sticky newbie mistakes. It can be an insurance policy. For other systems, a refugium or some combination may be a better choice. But a wet/dry does need to be cleaned properly, etc.
Again, my primary disagreement is blaming a wet/dry for nitrate problems, and randomly telling people to remove bioballs when that may have a catastrophic impact on the tank. It is a matter of analyzing the situation, and trying to find all the aspects that are contributing to a nitrate issue...that may include the bioballs, but almost certainly includes several other issues as well.

 

[ticalien]

Thanks for all the opinions guys, you've definatly opened my eyes to this unique world. I've decided to go with a simmer/sump setup as that seems to be the most condusive to a FOWLR setup. Additionally, I'm looking toward the future when I want to add some corals and other advanced items to the setup.
Thanks again as usual many different points have been brought to my attention.

 

[snipe]

I told you lol. I just couldnt put in to words. I guess my brain has taken it all in and reads back to me
wet/dry good
lol.

 

[kaotik]

lets not start with the "I told you so's."
Whats good for one person may not be good for another.
In THIS hobby especially!!!

 

[snipe]

If you read the "I told you" was part of a "WHOLE" post. If you read ophiuras post it makes alot of sense.

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by kaotik
Whats good for one person may not be good for another.

And that's the truth :yes:

 

[cichlidfor]

In my 55 gallon tank I have 100 lbs of sand 50 of it live. Altough I only have a deep sand bed for nitrate reduction and for my tank to be filled with different types of isopods that are benenficial.