What should I change?

[fishnet]

First off, I'd like to thank all the experienced folks who have been helping all of us newbies here. I've been doing a lot of reading and learning.

I'm the proud new owner of an existing 55 g tank. It was handed down by a family member who just didn't want it anymore. And the more I learn and read, the less convinced that this setup is very good... and perhaps not even sufficient, let alone good.
Here's the setup I have:

55g FOWLR
?? lbs live rock (some might be scoria rather than reef rock -- it just looks different
?? lbs crushed coral substrate
Heater (not sure what brand, but the tank stays at about 78 F)
AquaC 500 (?) Hang on Back filter (similar to what you'd find with a freshwater tank, with a physical filter and bags of carbon, etc.)
Coralife Protein Skimmer (but not like anything I've seen... it is a hang-on-tank model that isn't powered by a pump or anything -- it's just a canister with an airstone in the bottom and a collection cup at the top, i've emptied the cup of protein slime once so far)
10,000K 50/50 lighting
In tank airstone for display (but I turned it off)
Fish: pajama cardinal, false percula clown, yellow clown goby, purple goby (?), white goby with orange stripes
Inverts: 5 turbos, 1 astrea, 4-6 blue legged hermits, 1 peppermint shrimpWhat I think I've learned so faritch the crushed coral for live sand (using the convoluted process to ensure that you keep existing bacteria, etc.)
Use a wet/dry sump filter, at the very least
Use a refugium, if you can
Get the best skimmer you can afford
Be sure to have at least 2 powerheads to ensure water flow / current

I had the LFS check my water chemistry and they said everything is fine, with the nitrates a little high. I have since added the inverts and did a 20% water change.
I have a 20g freshwater tank that I could convert to a refugium, but my 55g stand isn't big enough to hold it. I could try to see if I could put a 10g under there, but I'm not sure if that's big enough for a refugium. Plus, my tank isn't drilled, so I think I'd need to get some sort of overflow tank or get into some creative plumbing (what I'll probably need to do with a sump filter anyway).
So... assuming a limited budget, what should I change and in what priority? :help:

 

[kdfrosty]

I would say switch the CC out for LS, and add LR. enough LR will eliminate the need for some filtration such as a wet/dry. I would also strongly suggest the use of a sump/refugium if at all possible.

 

[fishnet]

Help me understand the word usage here...
wet/dry is or is not the same thing as a sump? I thought a wet/dry was trickle through bioballs into a holding tank (the sump) that you usually put a skimmer/heater in. Return flow goes from the holding tank/sump to the display tank. Is that correct?
The refugium essentially is a similar setup minus the bioballs and plus the macroalgae, crushed coral/live sand, and other delicate critters. I'd also need to be concerned with lighting and baffles inside the tank.
Is my thinking correct? Plus, in either of these cases, I need a way to get the water out of the display tank... is that the overflow tank? What if my tank isn't drilled?
I'd love to do the refugium, but I'd need to get a new stand.

 

[mr_bill]

You won't need to get your main tank drilled if you have an overflow box instead. Water flows into the box and then travels through a siphon tube to another box on the back of your tank where it travels down a tube to the wet/dry.

 

[evilbob22]

Yes, an overflow is how to get the water to the sump (or whatever) without a drilled tank. Overflow "tank" isn't quite the right word though... I suppose it is a tank, but it is much smaller than even 1 gallon. (People DIY them using specimen containers... you know, the small plastic containers that hold your purchase at the LFS before it gets put in a bag...) It has two chambers, one in the tank and one hanging on the back, with a tube or tubes connecting them. There is a hole in the bottom of the outer tank with a pipe sticking up through it. The other end of the pipe goes down to your sump (or whatever you have). The way it works is 1. water falls over the side of the inner chamber, trying to fill it up. 2. the tube(s) act as a siphon and move water from the inner chamber to the outer chamber. 3. when the outer chamber fills up past the top of the pipe, it drains down.
You are basically correct on your wet/dry vs. sump vs. sump/refugium thinking. A sump is a generic term for any tank outside of your main tank that holds equipment. A wet/dry is basically a mass produced sump with a built-in chamber to hold bio-balls. A refugium is a tank that provides a refuge (that's why the name) for things to grow in peace. Depending on what you want the refugium to do, it can be pretty simple (although most are setup to grow macroalgae, so they have better lighting).
It's scary to try to read because of it's size, but (almost) everthing you ever wanted to know about sumps and refugiums can be found here: https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/showthread.php?t=146156 There is a good picture of a DIY overflow in post #817 and a diagram of how the overflow works in post #803 (both on page 17). DSkidmore also has a work in progress, that is shaping up to be a very good introduction, at http://dslinux.dyndns.org/~denise/aq...tureindex.html

 

[fishnet]

Thanks for the heads-up on the overflow box and the huge posting... it will be well worth my time. Is there a preference between DIY and a purchased product (beyond one's pride of creation?).
I definitely want to change my filtration to either the wet/dry sump or refugium, but probably not anytime soon. Plus, the plumbing is a little intimidating.
The first thing is that the crushed coral has to go. I wish our local Home Depot carried the dry stuff.

Should I keep my CC for my refugium or change that to LS as well? Will the macroalgae grow in CC?
ALSO: Has anyone seen the type of skimmer I have? Is it effective?

 

[evilbob22]

Besides pride (as you said) DIY can give you two things: a better pricetag and designed exactly the way you want. I agree though, if I was in your shoes, I'd probably forget about sumps and overflows and plumbing for now. You'll need better flow to keep the harder corals, but I don't think that is a priority at the moment. It sounds like you have enough to keep the "easier" stuff (shrooms and leathers at least, probably zoos and some others).
I'm not sure what to do with the CC... do you want mine from my old 55?

I may have actually had the same skimmer in my 55... Instead of a pump, it uses a powerhead to get the water into it. I have to say it is a billion times better than no skimmer. I personally didn't have any trouble with it except for the top popping off of the collection cup sometimes until I weighted it down (assuming it is the same one...)
How about water? Are you using RO/DI? (Do you know what that is?)

 

[fishnet]

Yeah... I haven't ventured into the world of shrooms or leathers yet. Are they really "easier"? Don't I need special lighting? I don't want to overcomplicate matters until I'm comfortable.
My skimmer runs on an airstone. Just a plastic cylinder with a collection container on top and an airstone. The bubbles don't really make it all the way to the top (should they?). Perhaps I need to adjust the height (if I can...).
Oh yeah, water. I forgot to mention in my asset list that it came with a DI cylinder from Aquarium Phamaceuticals. I've used that so far. From what I've read, this is pretty good, but more expensive in the long run since the RO system can remove most of the nasties and the DI part of a RO/DI unit just finishes the last bit, making the expensive DI filter last longer. As it is, I wonder how long my DI unit will last, since it has to remove all of the nasties itself.
How about water testing? I have stuff for pH, Ammonia, Nitrate/Nitrite, and specific gravity (a little levered device). What else should I have? It also came with a jar of tablets for maintaining the rare earth elements, etc. (I forget the name right now) The instructions said to toss in one tablet for every 2 gallons and just let them dissolve -- and put in more when they are gone. Seems a little too easy and cavalier to me, but perhaps I'm overcomplicating it.
Thanks for the offer on the CC. I think I'll take a pass.

Thanks for being so helpful. Not bad, for an "Evil" guy.