Skimmer size vs tank size

Fish are friends not food · Aug 5, 2015

Hi I've taken the plunge and turned 1 of my fresh water tanks into salt water. Its been running for 3 weeks now with only 2 deaths... 2 clowns I got after cycling the tank for 1 week. My tank is approx 50 - 55 gallons (not sure)... I have 2 clowns, 5 chromis, 1 bi color blenny, 1 fire fish goby, 1 cleaner wrasse, 2 cleaner shimp, 1 fire scallop, 4 small hermit crabs, 1 piece small coral. I was told to add a protien skimmer now, that I have more fish.

My question is, can I use a 45 gallon Fluval PS1? Or do I have to get the bigger expensive kind? I like that the fluval as it is a smaller hanging skimmer, compared to the bigger ones, which I don't have the room for.

Thank you,

ITreeferVA · Aug 5, 2015

Just my 2 cents. you shouldn't have any fish in there until after the cycle which could tank a month to more to complete. with all those fish you are going to have a massive ammonia spike resulting in utter chaos! Anything done fast in this hobby is not a good thing. a skimmer is the least of your worries right now.

Russ265 · Aug 5, 2015

i think ITReefer hit the nail right on the head.
do an ammonia test.

if all it took was a week, we wouldnt even talk about cycling times.

Tahoe61 · Aug 5, 2015

Yes stocking far to fast for the age of the tank. SW and FW are two completely different hobbies, stocking rules for FW do not apply to SW.

So do you have a sump?

twilliard · Aug 5, 2015

I Read this and said OMG!
Welcome to R2R but water change water change as you see your Amonia spike and nitrites.
Watch for disease outbreak of the fish.
If you didn't QT your fish watch for ich
Good luck!

Fish are friends not food · Aug 5, 2015

Thanks so much for the replies!!! I "cycled" for a week with 30 lbs of live rock, and was told by 2 different stores it's ok to add fish, which were my first 2 clowns... 1 died after a week, 2nd died after 2... I've had my water checked every week, and was told I actually need more fish to cycle because with a 50 gallon, there isn't enough activity in there. So I added 4 fish (2 clowns, 2 goby) for week 3, and Saturday I added the 5 chromis and wrasse. Now in week 4. I have done 2 small water changes, but was told to wait or not change too much according to the saltwater guy in my local fish store, "now you have enough fish to cycle the large tank" He did tell me to not add anymore for a few weeks. I will do an ammonia test right after work.

Russ265 · Aug 5, 2015

Fish are friends not food said:
Thanks so much for the replies!!! I "cycled" for a week with 30 lbs of live rock, and was told by 2 different stores it's ok to add fish, which were my first 2 clowns... 1 died after a week, 2nd died after 2... I've had my water checked every week, and was told I actually need more fish to cycle because with a 50 gallon, there isn't enough activity in there. So I added 4 fish (2 clowns, 2 goby) for week 3, and Saturday I added the 5 chromis and wrasse. Now in week 4. I have done 2 small water changes, but was told to wait or not change too much according to the saltwater guy in my local fish store, "now you have enough fish to cycle the large tank" He did tell me to not add anymore for a few weeks. I will do an ammonia test right after work.

lol.
i can cycle my 265 with a single damsel. the bacteria arent going to not come because i didnt add "enough" for them to be interested.

you will just have a smaller bacterial load.
go slowly...

ITreeferVA · Aug 5, 2015

Please never go back to that fish store again! You came to the right spot! there is a ton of information and experts on this forum to help you get started, and lead you in the right direction from here on out. I am sure you may be able to keep things living but it may be a headache with tons of water changes etc to keep the spikes down and to hope no disease fires up, just use this as a lessoned learn and read read read

Harold Green · Aug 5, 2015

You've posted an excellent example of a lfs employee who has little knowledge of what he's speaking about. With a large amount of live rock that has little or no die off it's possible to have little or no actual cycling but for the average set up it takes as long as six weeks and during that time you should be using some method to add ammonia to the tank. It's necessary to grow the bacteria that is the actual cycling of the tank. Normally the tank is considered cycled when you can't monitor any ammonia, nitrite and only a small amount of nitrate. At that point it's considered safe to add a fish and after a week or two another fish up till you reach the bioload the tank is capable of supporting. Using fish to cycle a tank is one of those things that used to be common but has fallen out of favor for better methods that don't harm fish. On this forum you'll be able to find many different ways to cycle a tank, when and how many fish to add and most of them will work far better than the advice you were given. As IT posted, stay away from that store until they can hire someone who actually knows how to set up a marine tank. Good luck and don't get discouraged, we've all been there learning how.

Fish are friends not food · Aug 5, 2015

Thanks for the encouragement, and thank you all for the tips! I've held off for 3 years before making the jump to salt. I got lucky and found time to head home during my lunch break. My ammonia lvl is 1.0 NO2 No3 is 0.0. I will monitor daily and will have water ready for changes. I do have a lot of live rock

and plan to add more. Starting to get algae too. I was about to add an abalone and urchin this wknd to help eat some. I guess I will hold of now.

Russ265 · Aug 5, 2015

Fish are friends not food said:
Thanks for the encouragement, and thank you all for the tips! I've held off for 3 years before making the jump to salt. I got lucky and found time to head home during my lunch break. My ammonia lvl is 1.0 NO2 No3 is 0.0. I will monitor daily and will have water ready for changes. I do have a lot of live rock and plan to add more. Starting to get algae too. I was about to add an abalone and urchin this wknd to help eat some. I guess I will hold of now.

as expected.
do a 50% wc asap

consider donating livestock til cycle is done

with 0 no2. you are the beginning stages of cycling and have 2-3 weeks left

Fish are friends not food · Aug 5, 2015

OK will do!

Fish are friends not food · Aug 5, 2015

So back to my original question LOL

would a 45 gallon protien skimmer work for my 50 gallon tank? It's on sale, and wanted to know if I should buy it? Thanks Fluval PS1

ITreeferVA · Aug 5, 2015

you should usually take that number divide by 40 or 50% and with a big bio load that's increases for a 50g tank I would say a skimmer rated for 75 up to about 120 depending on stocking selection

Russ265 · Aug 5, 2015

way back when skimmers were new, people used the 2x rating.

now a days it is rare to find a skimmer underrated. they are pretty accurate.

just my .02

Cment · Aug 5, 2015

I agree with all the above, donate the live stock and let the tank cycle for at least 4 weeks. When you think its done give it one more week before adding anything back. Its not always accurate but typically at the end of your cycle youll see a "brown dusting" over the tank so keep an eye out for that. The one and only time Ill suggest API test kits are for cycling and you could get one to know for sure. To your original question, look into an SCA 301 skimmer if you have a sump rated up to 65g and I feel is one of the best bang for your buck for your size tank. A skimmer is one of the most important pieces of equipment so buy right once....

Russ265 · Aug 5, 2015

Cment said:
I agree with all the above, donate the live stock and let the tank cycle for at least 4 weeks. When you think its done give it one more week before adding anything back. Its not always accurate but typically at the end of your cycle youll see a "brown dusting" over the tank so keep an eye out for that. The one and only time Ill suggest API test kits are for cycling and you could get one to know for sure. To your original question, look into an SCA 301 skimmer if you have a sump rated up to 65g and I feel is one of the best bang for your buck for your size tank. A skimmer is one of the most important pieces of equipment so buy right once....

when you get a handle on marine aquaria you can question the pertinence of a skimmer.

otherwise this is a good piece of advice

Harold Green · Aug 5, 2015

I'm a believer in having a skimmer close to 2x the tank capacity. Not only will it help keep the water quality up it will also add oxygen to the water so you're not so reliant on just the tank surface. A too large skimmer can be adjusted to work on a smaller tank but there's no way to push a small skimmer up to taking care of a larger tank.