tank setup

[nbtx2002]

hello...whassup? I have a few questions I would like to ask...maybe u guys can help me out. This is my 1st time to try a saltwater setup. I purchased a 55 gallon tank & was wondering how I could set it up. I'm wanting to do a FOWLR.
Should I go with sand or crushed rock, or a mixture of them both?
What kind of lighthing should I get to light up my tank pretty good? It came with a light hood, probably not good enough to make it look pretty?
I have to purchase a filter next, & was wondering what would be good enough? My LFS suggested a bio wheel power filter 330.
When I finally get all the stuff I need, I was wondering what kind of water to use. LFS said I need to purchase some kind of water from them, but also said regular tap water with come kind of product would take out the chlorine.
I would appreciate it if you guys would leave some feedback for me. I'm really waiting on getting this tank up & going.

 

[karenjo]

I use a Penguin in my 55 gal reef
I am new too but it has worked well thus far.
Good luck

 

[flydan]

Hey,
Wow. Where to begin? I have a reef tank with no filter. I have a 20 gal refugium and a protein skimmer plus a couple of power heads. Once in a while I'll hook up a HOT magnum filter and run it with charcoal for a week. That's it. There are many different ways to keep your water clean. I'm not advocating my method, just letting you know what I use. If you go FOWLR and have a lot of messy eaters, by all means get a good mechanical filter.
As far a lights, with a FOWLR I would probably go with a double NO hood. Use one blue actinic and one broad spectrum such as a 10,000K.
Ask 50 people about sand beds and you'll get 48 different opinions. I like the LOOK of sand but if your going with some messy fish clean up will be easier with a bare bottom. The best way to do this is to first decide what's going in the tank and then build the tank around these critters.
Do not use tap water, I don't care how you treat it. You can test it for a month and everything is fine, then the city changes how they treat the water and your in trouble. You can either buy RO water or purchase an RO/DI filter unit.
Be very patient and go s-l-o-w.... There is nothing more frustrating than doing something too quickly and crashing your system.
HTH,
Dan'l

 

[nbtx2002]

What you use for the bottom?? Sand/coral??

 

[jcsurfn]

I would use sand. If you use sand and enough LR that will act as your filter.
Also do not use tap water. Like said above as much as you treat it you will still have trouble with it. I would invest in a RO?DI unit. It will be well worth it.

 

[nbtx2002]

I should go with a live sand bed or a dead sand bed?

 

[birdy]

you can use mainly dry sand and seed it will some LS, also your LR will help to make your sandbed live. Best IMO is a 4" DSB.

 

[nbtx2002]

sorry if this sounds dumb, but when you say "seed it" with live sand...that just means add some live sand with the dead sand?

 

[ophiura]

A penguin 330, while a fine filter, is not sufficient to filter a salt water tank of this size, IMO, though it would certainly help with circulation to some extent, and for running carbon.
You will also need power heads for additional circulation.
What sort of fish do you want to keep?
Do you EVER intend to keep any sort of corals, even anemones or mushrooms?

 

[birdy]

Yes, seeding just means putting the LS on top of the dry sand.
I use an emperor 400 for circulation and just in case I need to run carbon or phosphate sponge,
For filtration you will mainly have the DSB,and LR, you should get power heads for circulation (like ophiura said) and a good protein skimmer.

 

[nbtx2002]

ok this is all I've invested so far....I got a ocean view aquarium products 55gal tank & a hagen 15" radiant 200w heater. I want a good set up not one that I might have to replace later, cause it might not be good enough. Not like just top of the line stuff, but something that will handle little more than a 55 gal tank. At 1st I was wanting to do a FOWLR, then started looking around & wouldn't mind getting into a reef set up. What all would I need to purchase to get this tank set up for a reef aquarium?

 

[birdy]

For a reef, it is basically the same except you may want to go with more like 2lbs of LR per gallon, some differences with reefs compaired to FOWLR is the Lighting, maintenance and the type and amount of fish you can keep.
What you may want to do is set up you tank as a FOWLR right now, with plans to make it a reef later. You do the DSB, the LR and wait on the lights, get the basics down then move up to a reef.
You also may want to consider setting up a sump underneath your tank, it can house the heaters, skimmer and you can set up a refugium with calupera (this helps with nitrates and nuisance algae).

 

[nbtx2002]

ok the hood that came with the tank kinna sucks...it only has 2 ballast for light like 18"long. Should I upgrade & if so what would you reccomend me changing to?