need some help!

[humblefishie]

i have gotten a 55 gal. tank 3 fish and a lr on a sand bed about 2-3 in. ive been doing alot of research and reading on here which has helped a good bit but i still got ?s

i have a penguin 3/1 filter/protein bio wheels a powerhead which im going to get another 1 tomorrow, the light is a flor. marine 48in light and a good heater. i could use sum suggestions for helping turn it into a reef tank. thanks everyone!

 

[morval]

to make a sucessful reef you should plan out what you want to keep as there are different requirments for each animal. you will need plenty of live rock, the right lights for corals and a protien skimmer is a huge benefit, a sump/refugium is also a good addition.
so do you have an idea of what you plan on getting?

 

[mr. limpid]

I agree with Morval. i have the worst setup for corals but they are all surviving. I have power compact's for lighting at the rate of 5.5 watts per gallon and the addition of the protein scimmer.

 

[humblefishie]

im planing on getting another 20-25 pounds of lr in next week or two. im going to the lfs tomorrow to look around for a protein skimmer and sump/refugium any suggestions? im picking up a sun glow bulb which is good for fish coral and rocks. the plan is a coral banded shrimp some snails, hermit crabs,mandarin dragonet and a diamond back goby, then some corals is the hopes for the tank right now.

 

[subielover]

Depending on what corals you want, I would go with a 2x150 watt current sunpod. It is a metal halide so you could keep whatever you wanted, given if your water parameters are acceptable.

 

[humblefishie]

ill look in on the sunpod light when im out. dont those get hot? i have a closed lid because of the little guy that likes to jump at night would that be a problem? and for the corals i have yet to decide on which ones exactly. the water is good all test are where they should be. is there any special testing kits for corals and if so any suggestion? thanks again!

 

[mr_x]

i suggest you add all the live rock you intend to, before adding additional livestock. each time you add live rock, the dead things that are on it will have to rot away, which will cause ammonia to be present in the tank. ammonia is harmful to anything living.
a well established tank can handle the addition of a piece or two of live rock here and there, but a new tank will not be so forgiving.
can you post the model # of the pengiun filter you have? i'm not coming up with anything when i google "penguin 3/1 filter/protein bio wheels".
is this a simple hang on filter, or is there a protein skimmer incorporated somehow?
the "sun glow bulb which is good for fish coral and rocks" is a single bulb you will be installing in a single bulb fixture that came with the tank, correct? this will not sustain any corals. you will need to decide what types of corals you will want to keep, and purchase a new light fixture to meet those corals' requirements.
most corals are photosynthetic, and some need powerful lighting to thrive.
don't get the mandarin until you've had all the rock in the tank, and it's been running stable for atleast 6 months or more. most say a single mandarin requires 100 pounds of live rock in an established tank to survive.
good luck!

 

[humblefishie]

i plan on getting the rock and cureing it by itself for two weeks befor putting it in the tank. and the filter its a hang on the back filter it has carbon filters and two bio skimmer wheels on it. i dont plan on the mandarin till ive gotten the tank how i like it. i plan on taken my time so not to watch my money go down the drain.

 

[mr_x]

excellent outlook. 2 weeks would be pushing it. i'd let the rock cycle for 3 weeks before i would test the water, and then i'd put it in the tank only when there was no visible nitrite or ammonia.
a hang on the back protein skimmer wouldn't be a bad investment. look into octopus hang on skimmers.

 

[humblefishie]

i plan to look around at the stores tomorrow and see what they have to offer. thanks for the feedback