Hello all my name is Mike and I'm a new member here on this site. I have been out of the hobby for roughly 12 years,but I'm eager to get up and running again. I stopped in my local LFS and met a fellow member who referred me to the site. Plans are to setup a 55 reef,nothing crazy,just want to get my feet wet with some shrooms,polyps, and some leathers. I will probably have a ton of questions,but if someone can point me to an area where i can read some archive threads related to 55 reefs that wouldbe great. Current equipment so far: 48 Coralife PC with lunar lights, Emperor 400, Coralife Skimmer 65, older aquaclear powerheads,but looking at the Korlia? Not sure how many I would need, and looking for a heater watts?. The only thing I worried about is the location for my tank will be in my finished basement,BUT it gets pretty cold down there,any suggestions? Sorry for the long post,looking forward to becoming part of the community!
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New to the club!
- Thread starter Mike35019
- Start date
welcome.
my understanding is that 55s are hard to aquascape with liverock due to their width. yes, it is possible to do but a 40 breeder or 75 is wider giving more room for rock. i would loose the emperor filter. they only collect detritus and become nitrate factories.
my understanding is that 55s are hard to aquascape with liverock due to their width. yes, it is possible to do but a 40 breeder or 75 is wider giving more room for rock. i would loose the emperor filter. they only collect detritus and become nitrate factories.
Hi Mike and welcome to the club! when I first set up I tried the emperor filters and was very disappointed. great for fresh water but not the right setup for salt. I know others don't use a sump but it is a far superior way to do a salt setup.plus you can put your skimmer under the tank heaters carbon and so on and your display will look a lot neater.
Welcome to the club . I guess this hobby is an addiction,you relapsed after 12 years,theres no hope for any of us is there ;D
I would also recommend a sump for its added water volume,equipment space and filtration possibilities like a fuge . Besides this great site and club ,reef central has some really good info . Welcome again .
I would also recommend a sump for its added water volume,equipment space and filtration possibilities like a fuge . Besides this great site and club ,reef central has some really good info . Welcome again .
ds4x4 55: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=12548.0
fishboy12 http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14130.0
Inqy's 55: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14592.0
sur4die 55: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14117.0
saltwater4life: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=6328.0
I'm not a fan of PC lights, but they will work. I would try and get some koralias instead of using the aquaclears. You could keep the aquaclears to mix saltwater/move water during changes etc. Do you plan on a reef ready 55 or not? also what kind of tank were you thinking of? fish only? with corals?
Anyways -welcome! we're glad you found us.
fishboy12 http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14130.0
Inqy's 55: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14592.0
sur4die 55: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=14117.0
saltwater4life: http://www.njreefers.org/joomla/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=26&topic=6328.0
I'm not a fan of PC lights, but they will work. I would try and get some koralias instead of using the aquaclears. You could keep the aquaclears to mix saltwater/move water during changes etc. Do you plan on a reef ready 55 or not? also what kind of tank were you thinking of? fish only? with corals?
Anyways -welcome! we're glad you found us.
Thanks for the replys, I'm running the Coralife Lunar Aqualight Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 4X65 Watt, 48 inch. As for the powerheads,should I go with (2) Koralias # 2 or #3? Also would a 250 watt heater be adequate for a tank in the basement which is rather cold this time of year? Another question is it ok to use lava or dead base rock to use as a small foundation before i add nice LR?
think of it the other way also...besides not having enough heat - you could cook a tank.
One single heater getting stuck could be bad for a tank.
Two heaters (at half the wattage) have a lesser chance of BOTH getting stuck - and if one does get stuck - it cannot do as much damage.
personally i've never had a heater get stuck but in this hobby i guess better safe than sorry.
One single heater getting stuck could be bad for a tank.
Two heaters (at half the wattage) have a lesser chance of BOTH getting stuck - and if one does get stuck - it cannot do as much damage.
personally i've never had a heater get stuck but in this hobby i guess better safe than sorry.
base rock will work try to get as porous rock as possible
