55 Gallon Advice

[Triggerobsessed]

As I mentioned in a previous topic, I have just received a 55 gallon tank from a friend. So far my planned stocking and equipment list is...


1 sharpnose puffer
1 yellow tang
1 flame angel
1 gold-stripe maroon clownfish
30lbs. of live rock

Filtration
1 fluval 305 canister filter (rated for 70 gallons)
1 merlin fluidized bed (rated for 250 gallons)
1 whisper 60 power filter


Any more ideas on fish or equipment... is this set-up lookin ok so far?

 

[enjoiskater158]

just make sure u get a heater, and a powerhead or 2, will you have a sump and or skimmer?

 

[Triggerobsessed]

I hav a heater and 4 powerheads. Instead of havin a sump i bought the fluidized bed. Do u think it would be ok if i added an Auriga Butterflyfish to the fish list? Would the angel and the butterfly fish get along?

 

[enjoiskater158]

they will eat corals but so will your puffer so im guessing your not getting any corals so that shouldnt be a problem but you would have to find one that eats frozen foods cause other wise it will most likly starve unless you want to feed it corals lol.

 

[Triggerobsessed]

The plan for the tank is fish-only with a little live rock. If feeding the butterfly is goin to be a problem, then forget the butterfly lol. Im lookin at other fish and like the Harlequin Tusk. My lfs has had one for a while, and has marked the price down. I hear that this fish is hard to feed in the beggining, but will eventually accept frozen food. Is this correct?

 

[nynex]

If I were you I would forget the canaster filter and the hang on back filter.
Your livestock require better filtration then that. Plus I would put more then
30 pounds of live rock in....atleast 50 pounds. Plus live sand or crushed coral.
Plus you Need a Protein skimmer as well. Which you did not mention.

Get a 20 gallon long tank to put under the cabinate and make a wet/dry plus
refugium. Its super easy. You get much better filtration then from a canaster.

In the first quarter of the 20 gallon..silicone some plastic in to hold the bio balls
and a protein skimmer, then use the rest of the tank for a refugium. The fuge
should have live sand,live rock rubble and algae growing in it. The algae feeds
off of the thngs you want to filter out.

There is a dealer on ebay who is selling the complete kit to convert a tank
into a wet/dry/refugium. You get all the plastic and the bio balls. You will need
a light for your fuge. A flood light will work just fine. Plus silcone 2..which you
can get at any hardware store.

You will have to get an Overflow box...you can get those on ebay for about
$40...

Trust me you will be much happier with your filtration then from a canaster.

 

[Triggerobsessed]

If I were you I would forget the canaster filter and the hang on back filter.
Your livestock require better filtration then that. Plus I would put more then
30 pounds of live rock in....atleast 50 pounds. Plus live sand or crushed coral.
Plus you Need a Protein skimmer as well. Which you did not mention.

Get a 20 gallon long tank to put under the cabinate and make a wet/dry plus
refugium. Its super easy. You get much better filtration then from a canaster.

In the first quarter of the 20 gallon..silicone some plastic in to hold the bio balls
and a protein skimmer, then use the rest of the tank for a refugium. The fuge
should have live sand,live rock rubble and algae growing in it. The algae feeds
off of the thngs you want to filter out.

There is a dealer on ebay who is selling the complete kit to convert a tank
into a wet/dry/refugium. You get all the plastic and the bio balls. You will need
a light for your fuge. A flood light will work just fine. Plus silcone 2..which you
can get at any hardware store.

You will have to get an Overflow box...you can get those on ebay for about
$40...

Trust me you will be much happier with your filtration then from a canaster.

I do have a protien skimmer, and i hav already purchased the canister. Im not really a big fan of sumps tho i know that they are extemely efficient. Do i need even more filtration with the fluidized bed and the live rock? I just dont want to worry about flooding or anything like that from the sump(especially a home made sump) . I will however up the amount of live rock. I want as little equipment as possible on this tank. Would a set-up like this be ok without a sump?

 

[nynex]

You chances of flooding are almost none...Why arnt you a fan of sumps?
They are pretty much a must have for a saltwater tank. Canaster filters
and Power filters are designed more for Freshwater.

Your overflow box sits just at the water line...If the power went out,
All that would drain into the sump would be the water at the line.
it cant drain once it is below the overflow box. Plus your sump would hold
that amount of water. Plus you can do like i did and go to target and
by a square 18 gallon rubbermaid container and set the sump inside
that...so if the sump did overflow, it would overflow into the
rubbermaid container. The chances of a flood are 1 in a million.

There are so many benifits to a sump.. Way better filtration with Bio
balls and you can put live rock in too, you can put your protein skimmer,
and heaters right in the sump. Plus have a refugium. Its up to you...but
I think after you get it all set up and see the filtration your canaster gives
you...or lack of...and then see others with the Wet/Dry/Refugium and see
how awesome their tanks look. I think you will be wishing you did it
different.

I did start with a Canaster too...A fluvel 405. I had it 1 week and took it
back and now I have a 125 gallon wet/dry/refugium..There is a huge difference.
But its up to you....good luck...

 

[Lynden]

Just to point this out, most Puffers do not eat corals unless they are starving. Canthigaster puffers are actually reef-safe if reasonably well fed.

A sump is certainly something to be reccomended, but it is not necessary. Also, as Mynex pointed out, the chances of a well-designed sump flooding is one in a million. Refugiums are also benefitial and can save money by reducing the frequency at which water changes are needed to be done.

-Lynden

 

[Triggerobsessed]

i went to my lfs and looked at the sumps they had there. The guy however told me that sumps are known to leak during power outages. I dont want to take the chance of having a leak since the tank is on the 2nd floor of the house. I was looking at the enheim canister filter with a wet/dry filter built in. I thought this filter would make up for the lack of a sump. Any advice on a system other than a sump.

 

[Lynden]

So the sealing of the sump is magically going to come undone when the power goes out?

I'm sure the canister will work fine (though canister filters are much more likely to leak than a sump), but nitrates may begin to climb quickly if the canister is not cleaned every 2 weeks or so. The info above can also apply to your fluidized bed filter.

-Lynden