Next Piece of Equipment

[chpolack]

I have a 55 gallon reef tank that has been running for about 3 months now. I have about 8 fish in the tank along with corals and invertebrates. Everything is doing fine, but I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions for the next piece of equipment I should get for my tank. I have a protein skimmer along with all of the other essentials, but are there any "must have" accessories to a tank? I've looked at calcium reactors but I have no experience using them and it seems to me they are a hassle to use and expensive. I also have to deal with a lack of space issue.
The tank is a long 55 gallon corner overflow tank, manufactured by DeepBlue Professional. I also have a Sicce Voyager 3 inside the tank. Below in the stand, I have a CoralVue Reef Octopus NWB-110 Skimmer, along with a heater and Sicce Syncra 2 to pump the water from my sump. The sump is a single chambered setup (water level constant throughout) with a bioball trickle filter and sponge.
As for livestock in the tank I have 8 fish along with about 10 other small corals including LPS. In the future I would also like to add an anemone, so I am wondering if there is another piece of equipment I could add to make the environment more stable and allow for more growth of the anemone. My previous tank was a 14g Biocube, and my several attempts at having an anemone always ended in the shrinking and death of the anemone. I want to be sure that I will be able to successfully keep one if I were to put one in.

 

[chpolack]

I also have one 48" DeepBlue SolarMax HO Double T5 fixture (one daylight, one actinic) 108 watts total.

 

[acrylic51]

Upgrade the lighting.....

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChPolack http:///t/391172/next-piece-of-equipment#post_3467740
I have a 55 gallon reef tank that has been running for about 3 months now. I have about 8 fish in the tank along with corals and invertebrates. Everything is doing fine, but I would like to know if anyone has any suggestions for the next piece of equipment I should get for my tank. I have a protein skimmer along with all of the other essentials, but are there any "must have" accessories to a tank? I've looked at calcium reactors but I have no experience using them and it seems to me they are a hassle to use and expensive. I also have to deal with a lack of space issue.
The tank is a long 55 gallon corner overflow tank, manufactured by DeepBlue Professional. I also have a Sicce Voyager 3 inside the tank. Below in the stand, I have a CoralVue Reef Octopus NWB-110 Skimmer, along with a heater and Sicce Syncra 2 to pump the water from my sump. The sump is a single chambered setup (water level constant throughout) with a bioball trickle filter and sponge.
As for livestock in the tank I have 8 fish along with about 10 other small corals including LPS. In the future I would also like to add an anemone, so I am wondering if there is another piece of equipment I could add to make the environment more stable and allow for more growth of the anemone. My previous tank was a 14g Biocube, and my several attempts at having an anemone always ended in the shrinking and death of the anemone. I want to be sure that I will be able to successfully keep one if I were to put one in.
What light do you have?
Do you have power heads?
Phosphate reactors are a more essential must have item, than a calcium reactor.
Since you have corals, a duel phosphate and carbon reactor would be ideal. The carbon prevents coral chemical warfare and polishes the water to crystal clear, and the phosphate reactor holds GFO which is great at removing all the phosphates from your system which is deadly to corals.
I personally no longer even like anemones. You have to cover the power heads which slows the flow and gathers crud to clog it up. They take super strong lights, and sting every critter that gets near it, they do eat fish and shrimp. They move and kill corals too, and they seldom plant themselves in a nice easy to see spot. IMO they are just not worth all the hassle.

 

[snakeblitz33]

I agree with Acrylic, if you are going to get an anemone.
Flower is right too, a BRS duel reactor should be right up your alley. The combination of carbon (being run correctly in a reactor) and GFO (also in the reactor) will keep your water clean and clear, and is definitely not that much of an expense compared to a calcium reactor.
Calcium additions can be made by calcium chloride and alkalinity by baking soda, dissolved in the correct proportions, and magnesium sulfate (epsom salt) can be done the same way. Read up on Randy Holmes-Farley two part recipes.
On a side note, if you do small weekly water changes or one large 50% water change every month calcium, alkalinity and magnesium additions shouldn't be a problem at all in the average reef tank.

 

[chpolack]

Will upgrading the lighting cause a significant rise in temperature? Will I need a chiller as well or just need to top off the tank more often?

 

[acrylic51]

Upgrading lighting might not necessitate a need for a chiller.....A lot of things can/will come into play as to whether you need a chiller or not.....So first you need to decide which route of lighting your looking at and give a little more info as to how your system is designed.....Meaning canopy specifics, sump setup, any cooling fans already.......What's your temp in the house....What does the tank temp currently run at....Also how close your lighting system would be to the water surface also would play into the equation IMHO......

 

[chpolack]

I have a glass canopy setup that would likely need to be replaced if I were to replace the lighting. The glass completely covers the top of the tank with only a small area on the sides for cords, and the light sits directly on top of that. Any suggestions for canopy setups or lighting types and companies? I'm fairly new to the hobby so I'm not exactly sure where to find the best value at a reasonable price.

 

[acrylic51]

Definitely will want to get rid of the glass tops.....Most DIY their own canopies, but I'm sure you could buy 1 from the LFS if you wanted......
What lighting types are your looking at......What is your price range on lighting......

 

[chpolack]

I'll probably end up getting a quad t5 light, that seems to be fairly strong while being cheap and not too hot. Any manufacturers of these fixtures that I should look at?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by ChPolack http:///t/391172/next-piece-of-equipment#post_3468180
I'll probably end up getting a quad t5 light, that seems to be fairly strong while being cheap and not too hot. Any manufacturers of these fixtures that I should look at?
I went with the linkable T5HO made by Acuaticlife...each unit has two bulbs...an actinic and a 10.000K bulb. For a 48' tank, a unit to fit costs $119.00. So to upgrade will only cost another $119.00 even if I purchased all three at once it was cheaper than other lights. They run cool and look great. I have 1 unit on my seahorse tank, and 3 units on my 90g reef. I have spent thousands of dollars on lights, and I tell you these are the best I have ever had.
I have two units of Metal Halides in the garage 2 X 175w + 2 X 96w actinic with the ballasts that go with them. If you live in the area..I wll give them to you, they are so huge heavy there is no way to ship them unless you want to pay the price of a new unit.