Beginner help. 55 gal FOWLR and filtration ???

jimbinsc · May 5, 2012

I want to get in saltwater aquariums again. I have a 75 gal in storage that was FW so I need everything for it. I see this 55 posted for $150 and think it's a good deal. Do you? I know it needs more rock

"This is a 55 gal saltwater aquarium with crushed coral gravel and live rock. Comes with a stand, a rear hang filter, heater and water flow pump. It also has a two bulb high power light by GLO. The light itself is worth $250. First $150 takes it home"

The fish are moved into another tank per the owner. $150 for that is a lot less than setting up a 75 from scratch. Anything else I should look for or ask about when buying a used set up?
Another question what is the filtration requirement for SW? Is it 10x/hr?
Thanks
Jim

Steven R · May 5, 2012

IMO its not necessarily the turn over rate but how the water is treated.. You will have better luck with a sump to hide everything.. And a lot of the requirements depends on what you are trying to do with the tank.. With the glo 2 bulb you might need more once again this depends on what you would like to do with the system. But for basics if you were to put a ATI coral plus bulb and a ATI blue plus you would be able to keep a lot of basic LPS/SOFTIE coralsI would get rid of the HOB filter not really for SW. As per live rock you would need a lot more than what is in there.. If it were my tank I would throw a sump in the stand with your skimmer and a refugium with chaetomorpha. For flow I would put in two sicce series 2 and one sicce series 3 powerheads. for the substrate crushed coral is not necessarily that good unless it is really small grain and the reason for this is it traps detrius under the grains witch in turn drives you chemicals of the system(ammonia,nitrate).. Good luck and I hope you will be enjoying your possibly new family member in no time..

BarbH · May 5, 2012

One of the drawbacks that I have read about the standard 55 gallon tanks is that scaping with your rock can be a little difficult because of the depth of the tank. Not impossible but can be challenging. Any idea of what powerhead they have on the tank? You might need to add an addtional powerhead to make sure there is enough flow and no dead spots. For filtaration your rock will provide your biological filtration, you can use all live rock, a combination of live rock and dried rock or mostly dried rock. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. The other thing that you will want to look at is a protein skimmer, depending on if you decide to do a sump or not will determine the options of different protein skimmers you can use on your setup.

jimbinsc · May 6, 2012

Steven R said:
IMO its not necessarily the turn over rate but how the water is treated.. You will have better luck with a sump to hide everything.. And a lot of the requirements depends on what you are trying to do with the tank.. With the glo 2 bulb you might need more once again this depends on what you would like to do with the system. But for basics if you were to put a ATI coral plus bulb and a ATI blue plus you would be able to keep a lot of basic LPS/SOFTIE coralsI would get rid of the HOB filter not really for SW. As per live rock you would need a lot more than what is in there.. If it were my tank I would throw a sump in the stand with your skimmer and a refugium with chaetomorpha. For flow I would put in two sicce series 2 and one sicce series 3 powerheads. for the substrate crushed coral is not necessarily that good unless it is really small grain and the reason for this is it traps detrius under the grains witch in turn drives you chemicals of the system(ammonia,nitrate).. Good luck and I hope you will be enjoying your possibly new family member in no time..

Thanks Steven for the good info. How hard is it to drill a tank? It'd be easier, but less attractive, to do the overflow box and sump (I still have to learn about those). If I don't get the 55 and do the 75 what's a decent light for not too much money? It'll be a FOWLR first maybe reef later after I experience a bit. I'm thinking seriously about just building the 75 instead. My wife looked at Liveaquaria.com's beginner fish list and liked clowns, yellowtail damsels, and the blue/green chromis. Any issues with having those to start?
Thanks again, I have much reading and learning to do.
jim

Loki · May 6, 2012

IMO I would stay away from damsels. I would also just set up your 75. You will like it a lot better. The 55 wouldn't be the way to go if it were me. I would drill your 75 and get a sump. You can (if your willing) get a cheap tank that will fit under the stand and put some baffles into it and make a cheap sump. For lights see if you can find some used lights on a forum or Craigslist. If you ha e any questions about the lights ask here before you buy. There are a lot of people that say their lights a good enough for coral when they are not.

Welcome to the club!

Rockadile · May 6, 2012

My first tank was very much like this one. I had that same filter on it along with a HoB octopus skimmer and 2x korelia 3s. Worked great and was a beautiful tank. I already had the tank and stand and still had near 1200 bucks in it so that price is a steal.

revhtree · May 6, 2012

Welcome to R2R! Thanks for joining and please make sure and post often!

jimbinsc · May 7, 2012

OK, I'm scrapping the plans for the 55 and going with the 75. Here's what I think so far: I am not of unlimited funds, my other hobby, woodworking, sucks money as fast as fishkeeping will, but at least I can sell what I make to offset woodworking costs. I'm thinking a single Coralsun 50/50 40w 48inch bulb for the existing fixture, Penguin 350 (or Eheim 2215 canister, or both [advice wanted]) and a protein skimmer of some kind, sand and live rock. No sump to start with. I know it's not ideal, but will it get me started?
Question: What's a good place online to get quality live rock? I have an LFS but I don't think he ever has more than a few pieces, unless there's some corner of the store he's hiding it in since he usually has only about 10 or fewer saltwater fish at any one time too.
Thanks
Jim

Zeither18 · May 8, 2012

From my personal experience I would prob get the sump when u start. It is not very fun when you have everything set up and established and then decide and then have to remove all the inhabitans and place thedrill over the house in smaller tanks,drain all the water,remove all the rock and sand and then start all over again just to spend 15 min to drill a couple holes in the back and put a little glass or acrylic box underneath. But that's just my 2 pennies

jbanker · May 8, 2012

Well hello there! I am new to the forum though have been in this hobby for quite a long time now. It is only just recently when I found the forum and decided to join right in. I have a 75 gallon tank with me and I think that it is just an ample size for what I want to a actually have growing. I have a couple of clownfishes, angelfishes and a tad more of the usual ones.

Aside from this, I have a koi pond on my backyard which is really cool but hard to maintain, really.