Equipment suggestions

[RPuffer]

So im new to the whole salt water sene, have various FW chiclid tanks but no salt. I have a 55 gallon that im wanting to convert to salt. Whats a good protein skimmer at a decent price for that size tank. All im wanting to keep is maybe a clown,tang, and maybe some other smaller fish as far as stock goes with some LR included. I have a emperor 400 that would be available for some sort of filteration along with the LR. I talked to a guy at one of my lfs and he said i would come out better buyin the LR online at http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03 ... arent_id=7 rather than gettin it in town. Has anyone bought from here before or should i just try and find a better deal here?

[ralphie]

First off, WELCOME

Glad you found us and joined

Tang in a 55 gallon long term is generally not a good idea, since it will eventually outgrow the tank.

What do you plan on substrate for the tank? For example, most people either go bare bottom to have increased circulation or a sand bed that has sugar sized grains of sand to aid in nitrate reduction. For example, for my 75G tank, I purchased all of my sand from Home Depot for around $5 for 50 lbs. I would recommend staying away from any kind of crushed gravel in there, since it will require too much to keep it clean.

For a skimmer, how about a BakPak. It is a Hang on the Back type of skimmer. Here is thier Website where you can post questions. I also have put my heater in there, thus reducing the clutter in the tank.

Remember with buying online, you have to take into account the shipping costs. How much live rock were you thinking of getting? For a reef tank, you want 1 1/2 to 2 lbs per gallon, but I have seen reef tanks with less though. I have also heard some good things about Tampa Bay Saltwater. FYi, I setup my tank with dry base rock initially and then added live rock after the initial cycle. After a few months, I can not tell where the live VS the dry base rock is anymore. This was also a lot cheaper this way.

[RPuffer]

I thought tangs stayed fairly small, shows how noob i am to this. As far as substrate goes, I have pool filter sand in my FW tanks and was hopeing to use the same in the SW tank with the help of some seeding from the lfs. The guy there said i should get anywhere from 30 - 55lbs of LR depending on load. Thanks for the recomend on the skimmer, ill have to check it out

[KDodds]

Tangs are a family about as variable as cichlids, just with a higher starting size. Kohl's tangs are about the smallest of the regularly available species, and they top out around 7". Others can go over a foot, some to 2 feet or more. A decent entry level skimmer to the BakPak, for your comparison, is the AquaC Remora. Anything less expensive than these, while attractive, are not likely to be worth it. Every time I've gone looking for rock, Drs. Foster & Smith (liveaquaria.com) always comes out to be the least expensive, with shipping. You can probably get a box (45lbs., standard) of Walt Smith Fiji rock for around $150, shipped. Tampa Bay Saltwater might be cheaper per pound, but it's a denser rock, that often turns out to be more expensive per volume. I'd personally rather have the more open Fiji rock anyway. If you're not planning on going with a deep sand bed, the HOB filter won't be enough, IMO. If I were to do a 55 in this fashion, I'd want at least an Eheim 2026 (or comparable) canister. You will, as well, need more circulation than the filters alone can provide. Powerheads can accomplish this inexpenisvely enough. I'd go for 2-4 PHs in the 200-300gph range.

[RPuffer]

Wow, yeah i need to rethink the tang subject. As far as the small hob filter i have, i was thinkin that it could add some sort of added benefit towards the filteration process? I already had a couple powerheads in mind for circulation.

[KDodds]

Definitely the HOB could help (I'd use it for chemical filtration only), but shouldn't be your primary filter unless you're planning on a DSB.

[ralphie]

As KDodds suggests, I would use the HOB filter for running a bag of carbon in. It would be easy to change out then.

How deep of a sand bed are you planning? If you go with a deep sand bed, that would aid in filtration. Plus you would then get critters, such as worms, snails and craps to keep it clean for you. A deep sand bed should really require no maintence on your part.

[RPuffer]

Well it all depends on what will work better for me. If your sayin a deep sand bed will help the filtration, i dont see why i wouldnt go that route. Now your sayin deep sand, how deep is deep?

[KDodds]

For best results, a minimum of 3", but 3-6". The only thing with a DSB is that you have to research it, know what you're getting into, and be willing to "reseed" when necessary, as well as stock animals that will not prey upon the organisms in the sand bed. If you want to keep it more simple, I'd suggest an overpowered canister.

[ralphie]

What are you stocking plans? Only fish? Or fish with some inverts such as snails, crabs, shrimps, worms, etc? If you we knew what you plan on stocking, it would help.

For example, in my reef tank, the fish are sometimes the least interesting. People like the snails, crabs, worms, shrimp and urchin at times more than the fish.