[Josh]

Even though I'm still building up my 10 gallon, I just got hooked up with a 55 gallon for a killer price and I need your experience guidance. Let's not get too expensive, but what are your recommendations on filters, skimmers, lighting, etc. Also, what are some basics i need to know to get started in reef keeping? Thus far, I've only kept saltwater fish[-sleep], and have no idea where to start with corals and such. So, help me out. What do know?

-Josh
It's time to have some fun

 

[rscdragon]

First, I would recomend getting a sump. you could turn the 10 into it. as far as lighting. it will depend on the type of corals you want to keep. The skimmer, depending on the amount of money you have to spend onnthe tank, buy the best that you can.

hope this helps. I know there are a few more things, but i will let someone else chime in.

 

[hjmtv]

I have to agree with rsc, hardware all depends on what you want to house. I think lighting should be your first order of business followed by a great skimmer. After that you can think heater and powerheads. That would complete a bare-bones system. Give us a little more direction on what you want to keep and I'm sure we can recommend more specifically. Good luck.

 

[tikki50]

I would agree, a sump would be in order and start doing ALOT of research into what you really want. Remember if you use cheap equipment you get what you pay for. I use a remora skimmer and couldnt be happier. I also use PC lighting, I tried to save some cash here but its not worth it. My suggestion is Metal halide seems like thats what everyone suggests because of the amout of light it gives off. Of course Im assuming that your wanting a reef tank. What would really help out is if you listed everything you have right now. If all you have is the tank then you need a good shopping list. Another piece of equipment I suggest looking at is an RO/DI unit they are on ebay for a 100 bucks and Im currently looking into one you will need this for CLEAN water. If you use tap water you will most likely have alage problems. I have been purchasing water from stores, etc and it gets costly quick. Here is a great site I suggest you read about the Bullet proof reef system. I followed their guidelines and have had good success thus far. In less than a month I have coraline on my glass, powrheads, rocks, etc. They have a good step by step process on what to do.

http//www.garf.org

Enjoy.

 

[greenb]

I would suggest getting the tank drilled first if not already. One less worry you'll have about flooding.

And everything above it good advice. If your handy you can do a lot of things DIY and that'll save you a ton of money.

hth
bob

 

[Clayton]

Double check to be sure that your tank doesn't have a tempered bottom before trying to have it drilled. You can't drill tempered glass. It'd shatter.

I personally think that sumps are fantastic, but you can have an awesome tank without one. I see two benefits off-hand with a sump that affect the health of your tank (there are other benefits as well, like hiding equipment). The first is that you can find a higher quality skimmer for in-sump use than you can for hanging on the tank. The second is that you can do a refugium in the sump. Refugiums are really sweet, but not a requirement. And you can skim a 55 just fine with an AquaC Remora that will hang on the back of your tank. It's not as good as say, a Euro-Reef, but it'll take very good care of you and your tank (and it's more cost-effective).

If what you want is an affordable tank that looks really nice, consider keeping it simple. You need good lighting, a good skimmer (not a Prizm, not a SeaClone, probably not a BakPak which is good but underpowered for this tank), good water motion, and plenty of rock. Those are the big things to consider.

-Clayton

 

[greenb]

Yeah most likely you won't be able to drill the bottom of a tank. But you can/should be able to drill the back side of the tank and use an overflow box that way. You only really need to consider this if you go with a sump.

Good catch Clay!!

 

[Clayton]

Thanks. And that's a good point that you made as well. We frequently get around that little problem by drilling into the back if we need to. Overflow boxes are such a pain that, if you want to do a sump, it's nice to have your tank drilled. If you take your tank to a place like a glass shop to get it drilled, I'd pick up the bulkhead first and show it to the person who's doing the drilling. A one inch bulkhead needs a hole that's bigger than an inch. I think it's like an inch and a half. Also, if you fall in love with the idea of an overflow box, there's a new one out by CPR that's supposed to solve all of the problems that the older styles had. I haven't played with one much yet, but that's what I hear.

-Clayton

 

[mhltcob]

it depends on the bulkhead but most of them require 1 and 3/4" hole for a 1" bulkhead.