I'm new here. Need help building a 55 gallon reef tank

[njhcnwk]

Hi everyone,
I've been researching to no end rescently and i have lots of questions. I figured I'd turn to the "local" reefers for some answers. I hope this is the right forum to post this in. Basically, I'm building a 55 gallon reef tank. I have no experience in aquariums other than when i was a kid. I've been interested in doing a saltwater tank for some time and i figured this was the perfect time. My goal here is to build the most awesome 55 gallon tank i can. I currently have an Undrilled tank and stand. I am looking to drill the tank and run a sump. From what i gather so far for the overflow I have to drill (or get professionally drilled) a 1 3/4 hole to accept a 1" bulkhead fitting. As far as return goes i have no idea. I also have no idea how many gpm return pump i need, or the size of the hole and bulkhead fitting i need. I plan to run my skimmer and heater in my sump. I have no idea if i need a canister filter or not. Other than that I plan to run 2 Koralia 3 powerheads and i'm still up in the air over metal halides or T5 fixtures. My tank is 48x20x13. Any help and or guidance would be much appreciated on any of the topics mentioned above. Also, if anyone knows where I can get my tank drilled that would be great as well. FWIW, I live in Livingston.
Brian

 

[harryk]

Hi everyone,
I've been researching to no end rescently and i have lots of questions. I figured I'd turn to the "local" reefers for some answers. I hope this is the right forum to post this in. Basically, I'm building a 55 gallon reef tank. I have no experience in aquariums other than when i was a kid. I've been interested in doing a saltwater tank for some time and i figured this was the perfect time. My goal here is to build the most awesome 55 gallon tank i can. I currently have an Undrilled tank and stand. I am looking to drill the tank and run a sump. From what i gather so far for the overflow I have to drill (or get professionally drilled) a 1 3/4 hole to accept a 1" bulkhead fitting. As far as return goes i have no idea. I also have no idea how many gpm return pump i need, or the size of the hole and bulkhead fitting i need. I plan to run my skimmer and heater in my sump. I have no idea if i need a canister filter or not. Other than that I plan to run 2 Koralia 3 powerheads and i'm still up in the air over metal halides or T5 fixtures. My tank is 48x20x13. Any help and or guidance would be much appreciated on any of the topics mentioned above. Also, if anyone knows where I can get my tank drilled that would be great as well. FWIW, I live in Livingston.
Brian

First off welcome to the club. The hole I believe for a 1" bulkhead is 1.5", mag 9 would probably be a good return pump maybe something smaller. I wouldn't do a canister filter, you don't really need it in a SW tank, My light preference is T5's but it's up to you on what type of light you get. You can just get an overflow box and not worry about drilling your tank (just a thought).

How much live rock will you be putting in your tank? There are a lot of good people here that can help so ask questions.

Good luck
Harry

 

[ricwilli]

Welcome to the club......
I prefer an overflow box over drilling a tank like HarryK mentioned. Harry has also mentioned a good pump (Mag 9). They do tend to run hot but a good pump. I think it will be a little to much for the overflow (depending on the size of the hole you are drilling or the overflow box). If you go with this pump you can build a manifold so that you can supply other equipment with water. I'm also a T5 person so the lighting is something you will have to decide on your own.

Welcome again and ask all the questions you like. There will be others with different opinions. Just choose the best one for your setup. You should start a build thread on the "Tale of the Tank" thread. Good luck

 

[redfishbluefish]

Welcome!  First off, a one inch Sch 40 bulkhead needs a 1 3/4 inch hole.  But wait...what we did was buy an overflow kit from www.glass-holes.com.  It not only comes with the overflow, bulkheads and elbows, but includes the bit to drill the tank.  The units are small and take up little room in the tank.  Very happy with this overflow.

I'd also pick the Mag 9 and tee it off in the sump to divert excess flow back to the sump.

 

[njhcnwk]

Thanks for the info. I check out the glass-holes.com and it looks pretty good. I may take that route. I don't have alot of room so i was only planning on doing a 10 gallon sump sitting on the floor behind the tank. can i get away with a mag 7 pump? i'm trying to keep equipment cost down so i have more to spend on a light fixture.

 

[blange3]

Thanks for the info. I check out the glass-holes.com and it looks pretty good. I may take that route. I don't have alot of room so i was only planning on doing a 10 gallon sump sitting on the floor behind the tank. can i get away with a mag 7 pump? i'm trying to keep equipment cost down so i have more to spend on a light fixture.

If you have enough room to put the 10 behind the tank, why don't you consider trading the 55 up for a reef ready 75?

There's enough room in the stand to house the the sump and the extra width makes aquascaping and coral arranging much easier.

 

[redfishbluefish]

You could use a mag 7 and then go with the 700 gph overflow. With the 90g we have, we went with the 1500 gph overflow. Here's a pic so you can see how small it is:

Also, you could go to our tale of the tank and see the 90g build. The drilling of the tank is on the first page, while the installed overflow in seen in the third page:

http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=15806.0

 

[njhcnwk]

Thanks to everyone for all the information. I'm liking those glass-holes overflow kits so i think that's the direction i'm going to go in. I think i'll be purchasing my equipment in the next week or so so i figured i'd throw my choices out there for comments: Eshopps Reef Sump RS-75 (ill probably build one later down the road but looking to start somewhere and learn a little more first), Marine Pro 100 Skimmer, Mag 700 pump, 2 Koralia 3 powerheads. If any of these are junk or there's a better way to go without going to overboard on my wallet, definately let me know. Other than that, what else do i need to start my tank other than salt? I'm still undecided what direction to do in with the light so i was just going to start cycling the tank without one, I can do that right?

 

[dasstheboss]

Yes you can cycle the tank without lights. However depending on what you want to keep in the tank, the lighting requirements will differ. I suspect you might have read about this already but Metal Halides or T-5s would be suitable if you want to keep SPS corals but if you're only interested in softies, then go for a smaller t-5 (less bulbs) or even PC depending on your budget.

If you want to get an idea of what kind of corals you want to keep, go to liveaquaria.com and check out the corals there and the lighting requirement. If the lighting needed is high then you should have MH or T5. If not other options should suffice.

Also I am not sure of the sump you are using. Here is the sump that I am looking at for my 30G reef I am soon to set-up:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+18997&pcatid=18997

Compared to other sumps this one seems cheaper and more versatile. About the skimmer, I have no comment because I have never heard of that brand before but if you ask me, I would say instead go for the Eshopps PSK 75 from Fosters and Smith. It seems to have a good review and is a plug and play skimmer meant for beginners.

 

[mfisher2112]

Welcome aboard!

I started out with a 55 a few years back, so I can share some experiences.

1st, I quickly found the narrow front to back space in the 55 a pain in the behind, and it wasn't long before I found a 90 reef ready to upgrade to. Length wise, the foot print is the same, but the additional depth and height allowed for so many more options for aquascaping and livestock.

But, I did notice you are trying to keep cost down, so I can understand the 55 choice as a starter. But, if you are buying the tank, check the price differences on the 75. Sometimes the price difference is negligable, and the additional depth will be alot easier to aquascape.

As for overflow? I was never brave enough to try drilling a 55. Especially with the risk of tempered glass shattering, so I used a hang on back with a durso standpipe and aqualifter pump. I know many will tell you about siphon issues and floods etc, but I ran the tank successfully for about a year without a single issue. If you set it up right, you will be fine.

Lighting? Well, this all boils down to: 1, personal preference; 2, initial and recurring cost; 3, heat and electric. I ran T5s on my 55, and I was able to keep all forms of soft corals, and even successfully kept a clam in the sand. T5s generate a TON less heat, use a TON less electric, and provide nearly the options that MH do. Additionally, when you upgrade the tank (notice I said WHEN! LOL!) you can always add MH and keep the T5 for supplementation if you so desire. Starting with T5s, in my humble opinion, is never a waste of money because even if you decide you want more or different light later, the T5s can be used for supplementation to the MH.

Circulation? The koralia 3's are perfect. I ran two of them in my 55, they provided a ton of flow, were easy to direct and redirect as necessary, and they transferred easily to my 90 when I upgraded. Overall, they are excellent pumps for the money, and I have a few of them that have been running for a couple of years now, so they have proven to be pretty reliable as well.

Sump? Well, if you are placing the sump remotely (IE behind or beside the tank), consider going with a 20 long tank instead of the 10 galllon. A 10 gallon tank provides a very small footprint, especially for a skimmer and other equipment holding area. You will also be topping off evap alot more often in a small tank running a larg pump like that. And depending on the length of plumbing, you may have to run a mag 9.5 to overcome the head loss from pumping the water a longer distance. The 20 long tank is only about $25 at petsmart and other stores, and it will give you the option of baffeling off the sump to provide for a refugium as well. I ran my 55 with a 20 long baffeled off with a refugium, and had plenty of space to run the skimmer, the heaters, and occassionally reactors for carbon or GFO, and I used a mag 9.5 as a return. This also allowed me to utilize the flow from the 9.5 from the sump as additional flow in the tank.

The one thing I learned from setting up the 55 as a my first saltwater reef tank was allow room for growth.

Good luck, take it slow, enjoy the process as much as the result, and I hope this helped at least a little!