Brand new 55 Gallon for a reef

[topQuark]

My wife and I recently purchased a 55 gallon aquarium (un-tempered so we cannot drill) which we intend to make into a reef system. We are mostly interested in keeping clown fish and some anenomes in there, as well as some soft corals and perhaps some pretty clams.

We have not purchased anything other than the glass tank itself, but are in the process of deciding what to get. I don't know anything about sump systems, so mainly because of my ignorance I have thought seriously about making this a "hang-off-the-back" reef tank.

I am totally sold on the idea of live rock and sand, and I have considered adding about 85 lbs of live rock and 50 lbs of live sand with an additional 15-30 lbs of substrate.

For lighting I have heard that power compacts are best, and for keeping anenomes that I should consider a 4x96 Watt system.

For a protein skimmer I am seriously considering buying an Aqua-C Pro (which will hang off of the back).

For mechanical and chemical filtration I am considering a canister filter, but unsure which brand would be best. We're not millionares, but spending a couple of hundred dollars on one good filter is a definite possibility for us, the only questions are: which canister, how powerful and what should we put inside of it. I have heard about trying to filter the tank volume anywhere from 5-15 times per hour.

With the skimmer on one side of the tank and the canister hose on the other, will current be an issue? I have considered buying some smaller maxi-jet powerheads which I could use in conjuncion with some tubing to place behind the live rock so that good circulation near the back of the aquarium would be assured. I have also considered buying some additional Maxi-jet power heads to use in conjunction with a Red Sea wave timer/simulator to get some real random current action going, but I'm also afraid of creating currents which are too strong for the life in the tank.

Water quality is a concern I have... we heard that any copper will be very harmful to invertebrates, and I think that our apartment complex probably uses copper pipes. Should I install some kind of water filter that I use between the tap and the tank? What would you suggest? Would it be okay to start setting up the tank before getting the water filter?

Heaters I'm not so concerned about... I think I'll get two 60 or 80 Watt heaters and put them inside the tank itself along the back.

So if anyone has some nice suggestions about our proposed tank setup, we would really appreciate hearing about them. Thanks!

[Chuck S]

Hmm Where to begin.

The first step would to ditch the canister filter idea. They are no good for a reef. They are detritus traps. I would instead go with an overflow like a CPR and get a smaller tank like a 20-25 gallon for a sump. That is the cheap way. You would probally pay about the same for a good canister as you would for an overflow and a cheap 20 gallon glass tank. You then plumb from the overflow to the sump and then from the sump back to the tank. I would put the outputs in each back corner at a 42% angle pointing towards the center front of the tank. You can then place everything like skimmer and heaters etc in the sump.

As far as lighting most people I know prefer VHO over PC's because of color rendition. I run 4x110watt VHO over my 55 and I keep a nice mixture of SPS LPS and soft corals in there. You can even keep Bubble Tip anemone's.

I could go on and on but about 85 pounds sounds right on rock. Some people will tell you 2 inches on the bottom for sand. I prefer a 4-6 inch sand bed. Your house water should at least be filtered with a DI unit. They make one sold at most LFS that is simply a DI catridge to run your tap water through. I started out this way. I moved up to RO/DI later.

Start slow and take your time. First thing is to get all the mechanical stuff ordered and put together the tank with all the plumbing. When that is done you can fill your tank with sand. Then fill it with water till about 6 inches from the top. You then buy your liverock and arrange it in your tank. Skim well and about a month later after testing for ammonia,nitrites and nitrates your levels should fall except for the nitrates. You can then buy a fish or so. Stocking a reef tank takes time and patience though. Resist the temptation to buy lots of stuff and rather piecemeal things giving time to see of things do well and adjust.

Now this is a short version and I suggest you read one of the great books out there available on setting up a reef tank.

[topQuark]

Thank you very much for all of your suggestions! This will be
our first marine/reef tank, but we do have experience with fresh water tanks.

I'm not familiar with overflows... what exactly is a CPR?

[topQuark]

Okay, I found the CPR overflows on MarineDepot.com.

So for the water filtration you're saying we should just buy one of those "Pur" filters at Walmart which you attach to your kitchen faucet? Is this considered a "DI" filter?

Aside from the skimmer and heater, what type of chemical or mechanical filtration should go into the sump? Could you recommend some product which is listed on MarineDepot.com, that way I could look at it and read about it? Thanks!

[Chuck S]

You do not need chemical or mechanical filtrations. Live Rock is natural filtration. You need nothing more than that.

For a filter for your water you do not want one of the Pur filter's. The filter I am talking about is a DI cartridge sold in Fish Stores. It has a house that comes out the bottom and attaches to your sink faucet and the water is pushed through to the top hose and purified. They are about 40 bucks with replacement cartridges for about 20 bucks. They use themselves up quickly. This worked for me until I was ready to invest in an RO/DI unit. You can get a decent RO/DI unit for about $175-$200.00