Setting up 55, have filter questions

[mike35019]

Hello all, my name is Mike and I'm new here to this board. Finally after 5 years i'm going to set up another salt tank, but I have a few questions. First off the tank is a 55gal and will have a community setup of fish and inverts.
As far as filters go, I was going to reuse my aquaclear 500. Will this filter serve me well, or is there a better one out there.
Will I need a protein skimmer? I didn't use one before, but a lot of people on this board run them.
I'm not using an undergravel filter this time, or crushed coral. Instead I bought 40lbs of the sand with bacteria on it already thats supposed to jumpstart the cycle process on the tank.
I know that there has been some changes in this hobby over the last 5 years. That is why i'm looking for some feedback/update on what works best today. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Mike

 

[92protruck]

I guess the first question is are you going to have live rock or not? That would make a big difference in how much filtration you need.

 

[mike35019]

I intend on putting some live rock in the tank porbably make a cave or something approx. 15/bs give or take

 

[dmc888]

Well the emp 400 is my favorite hang on back style.
I had it on my 55g then upgraded to a 125g wetdry.
Wetdrys have many advantages over hob styles.
More biological filtration,multiple mechanical filtration(3 filters on mine), higher oxygen levels, and more water volume.
Many people here have an emp. 400 on their 55g and are happy with it.
Since i have many fish i needed to upgrade.
Also have a 10g refugium.
So i have close to 70g total volume.
Instead of 55 gallons.

 

[92protruck]

agreed. Many here like the emperor/penguin/marineland for HOB filters. Go for higher rating like the 400 on your 55. You'll need a couple powerheads (maxijet 900's). Most will recommend a skimmer Aquac remora or cpr bakpac. 15 lbs of LR could be just one rock (my 60 lbs order consisted of three rocks - 20 lbs each). I would try to go for more LR as that is the best biological filtration and used with the emp 400 would be a good setup.

 

[jonny bolt]

Yeah, chuck the Aquaclear and get the dual-biowheel Emperor or Penguin filter. I agree you should get more live rock too. You may be able to get away with not using a skimmer if you dont have a heavy bio-load. I currently am not running one, but I only have 2 fish right now. When I get more I will definitely run a skimmer.
Getting the live sand was a good choice. It'll help alot. You could also use Bacter-Vital to help cycle your tank. It's probably the only thing out there that actually works when it comes to "speeding up the cycle". I know 7 people who have used it when starting up tanks, and out of the 7 (including myself), only 1 fish has died in any of the tanks. And that was because my friend bought the fish from a LFS and the tank it was in already had a dead fish lying in the sand, but my friend bought it anyway. It was surely doomed.
Good luck and have fun!

 

[mike35019]

Thanx for the feedback guys.
How much does the emperor 400 sell for? Would it be cheaper buying it online somewhere? Any suggestions?
Mike

 

[jonny bolt]

ive seen it online at [Illegal Site Reference]for like 30 bux or somethin.

 

[snipe]

Just about any online vendor sales them also a well known auction site has many to choose from. If your doing a 55 I wouldnt worrie to mutch about wet/dry or stuff like that you can add a refurgium if you wanted.
I would do a hang on filter, Hang on skimmer, A couple powerheads 2 to 4, Good titanium heater, Some good lights "at least get 50/50 bulbs reg flourecent bulbs just dont look good on salt tanks. Around 1lb of rock per gallon, Around 60 to 80 lbs of sand and a 3 cocktail shrimp to cycle the tank. I wouldnt use cures in a bottle to rush the cycle if you rush it then you wont have a really good colony of bacteria in there and your fish can suffer cause of it.

 

[mike35019]

Will I really notice a difference between the aquaclear 500 and the emp 400? A protein skimmer would be new to me, but shouldn't I start the tank get it cycled, then add the protein skimmer? I have 2 power heads already and a double strip light with 2 50/50 coral life bulbs. My local LFS sells the tapwater filters for $40, they connect right to the sink and go through a tall long narrow filter, they say it takes all the crap out of the water, no hair algae or brown.
As for the tank cycle, could someone explain the process of using cocktail shrimp? I never heard of this before, but if it is strongly suggested I will most likely use it. DO you still throw a few damsels in as well? Wow a lot has changed since my salt tank back in 99'...lol Thanx for the help!

 

[dmc888]

Yeah no rush on the skimmer.
Easiest way to compare the 2 filters are the specs.
The emp does 400gph,30-90g,plus has large media containers,adjustable flow, biowheels.
Could use both filters also.
That filter is probably just a carbon filter.
The best would be ro or distilled water.
Basically you need ammonia to build up to start the cycle.
The dead shrimp does a good job at that.
About 3 large shrimp no fish.

 

[jonny bolt]

Yeah, you want the bio-wheel on the Emperor filter. The Aquaclear is better suited for freshwater tanks in my opinion. I actually used to use them in all my fresh setups.
I personally did not do the "shrimp thing" to cycle my tank. I cycled with my live rock, Araga-Max live sand, and used Marc Weiss's Bacter-Vital to cycle my tank. I would not recommend any "bottled cycling" besides Marc Weiss's stuff. I have seen it work on 7 tanks so far, and out of over 2 dozen fish spread between the 7 tanks, only 1 has perished.
Like I mentioned earlier, if you cycle the tank well, and have a low bio-load in the beginning (only a few fish), you dont really need a protein skimmer right off in a 55 gallon tank. BUT, as you add to your community of fish, you should start to consider the purchase of a good skimmer.

 

[snipe]

If your going FOWLR you can go completely filterless but I would go ahead and start looking on getting the skimmer. Even for FO tanks ppl say get one and they are really recommended for reef tanks.

 

[mike35019]

I went to the local fish store tonight to pick some more things for the tank, and was looking at the skimmers. They had a seacove 100 setup doing a tank. It looked fine and was quiet. WOuld this be a good skimmer for my 55gal? I know that others have said to get a aqua c or bak pak. Will I really see a difference?
Also when filling my tank up with water, what do you guys means by RO, or the diifferent acronyms for filtering the tap water? Whats the best way to take all the phosphates out?

 

[92protruck]

tap water is not recommended. Use RO (reverse osmosis) or better yet RO/DI (di-ionized). Distilled water would be a distant third choice. You can buy an RO/DI unit to make your own or buy it from the walmart or grocery store. Do a search on skimmers and read about them and make a decision. It is a matter of opinion and you will find 90% say aquac or bak pak for hang on skimmers. Those with the SeaClone will tell you it is just fine.

 

[jonny bolt]

I use tap water and Start Right. Although I understand the science behind it, I personally dont buy into the RO/DI hype. A salesman is always going to try to sell you something even if you dont NEED it, its there job. And people who read alot on the net will always recommend what they read. I've learned this over the years. I personally have had no problems with tap water and Start Right, and until I do have problems, I wont change my regiment. For me, it just doesnt constitute the purchase of such equipment. I also have a friend with a 55 who has been using tap water and Start Right for almost 3 years now, and he's lost 1 fish since he started the tank. Ofcourse, any persons experiences can be different.
It's basically a money thing, if you have the money to spend, by all means, get everything everyone tells you to buy. If not, get the things that are needed, and forget about the ones that aren't.

 

[snipe]

The RO/DI "hype" thing you talk about isnt a hype. The ppl are saying that the water isnt good for salt tanks. Not because it will kill fish it wont. Though some things in it will kill inverts and corals. But that it will cause huge amount of diatom algea blooms that is why ppl use RO/DI units not because the water kills fish.

 

[plumbjohn]

yea what Snipe said. I first started out with tap water then bought an ro unit and stored water in a 38 gallon trash bin. No more ugly brown diatoms and lower nitrates as my tap water was high in these. Also lucked out as the water coming out of ro unit had a ph of 8.3 where tap water was 7.2. Good luck.

 

[jonny bolt]

Again, I understand the science of RO/DI. But for some people, it is hype. Properly treated and conditioned tapwater works too. I have a tank, and my friend has 2 55's, we both treat and condition our water the same way, and neither of us have ever had a problem with diatoms or algae. How do you explain that? As I mentioned before, evryones experiences are different at any given time. For me, I just have not seen enough problems with my water to constitute the purchase of said units. When and if things go awry, then yes, that purchase could be considered.
But why piss the money away when it is not needed?

 

[mbrands]

Originally posted by Mike35019
15/bs give or take
Mike,
You might want to consider having more LR. It is a great form of filtration and 15 pounds isn't much in a 55. I've got about 80-90 in mine.
Good luck with the new tank!