Equipment Advice

[UnseenTric]

Hello Everyone.
I am new to this site and to the hobby. I am really interested in starting a tank up this summer and I took your advice on purchasing a recommended book "The consientious Marine aquarist". I was wondering if this book discusses brand name equipment? Since I am starting from sratch I don't want to buy any "junk". I have looked on your board but have been unable to find anything pertaining to this manner. Any advice on equipment would be appreciated. And, if it is in fact on the Message Boards maybe someone could point me in the right direction.
By the way I hope to set-up a 55 gallon tank, combination of mostly coral and a few fish. I've tried talking to my local pet store, but for some reason I keep feeling like they are trying to screw me.
Thanks for any time spent towards this matter

[Doug1]

Welcome Cephlapoda, If you haven't gotten your tank yet, let me recommend you spend a little bit more and get a 75(48x18x21) rather than a skinny, tall 55g tank.the extra 6" front to back is great for aquascaping and surface area. Ask anyone who has a 55. I would love a tank with a 48x24 footprint but the most common one is the AGA 120 and the price jumps quite a bit on the 90 and 120 tanks I love my 75, its great compared to the 29 and 55 tanks I used before

[UnseenTric]

How about as far as filters, protein skimmers, etc. etc.
Sorry I was a little vague in the original post....

[Scrooge]

I agree that "skinny" 55 gallon tanks are not suited for a reef. If you really want a 55 gallon tank look at the 56 gallon tub. Practically the same size tank but the dimensions are much better, being much wider from front to back. I have one and it is great for a reef.

As far as your question about brand names, there are just too many to cover. Your best bet is to make a list of what you are considering and post it to get some feedback on your choices.

[FishDaddy]

Hi Cephalopoda,

Please let me second Doug's advice on getting 75 instead of a 55. I have a 55 and will eventually move the reef to a 75. Having had freshwater tanks, a 55 sounded awfully big and it is a modest sized tank for a reef but its the shape that creates most of the drawback: the width is so narrow that it severely limits your options for lighting; hang-on equipment; aquascaping(you almost have to have a vertical wall arrangement); limited room underneath for a sump; and is a bit top heavy for the narrow base.
Most of the equipment that would be suitable for a 55 will work well on a 75; basically it would be the difference in about 20 lbs rock and another 50 lbs. sand or so.
It is difficult to be brand-specific as there are many good products and different ways to set up a successful reef. I would suggest looking through the Tank Specs forum of this board (go to box at bottom of page) and see what others use.
One product that is heavily favored is the Ice Cap electronic ballast for VHO or PC lighting. http://www.icecapinc.com/
4x110 VHO is a good lighting setup for a new reef. Metal halide lighting becomes desirable if you were to graduate to SPS corals or clams. This can be added later in combination with the VHO lighting.

As for equipment, a good basic setup for a 75 (I recommend a pre-drilled Reef Ready tank) would be 75-100 lbs. Fiji or other Indo-Pacific live rock; 4~6" sandbed (combination oolitic aragonite and some slightly coarser grains); lighting as mentioned; protein skimmer rated well above your tank size; two 150 watt heaters(I like Ebo-Jagers); a sump of at least 20 gallons, preferably larger; powerheads for circulation (I use Maxi-Jet 600's); timer for lights; Reverse Osmosis/Deionizer (RO/DI)for good water quality; and a host of miscellaneous other accessories, including a Turkey Baster! As with most hobbies, budget sometimes requires compromises and purchases over time, but the list would be a good target.

Before buying any specific brand or type of equipment, research the opinions of others by using the search feature of the board and then post questions. It is always "cheaper to do it right the first time"! Most of us have many $$$ in useless or inadequate equipment items in closets and garages.

Again, welcome to The Reef Tank!
Dick

[cath]

Hey Cephalopoda!

Glad to see you post! Why don't you browse at some of the sites listed here on TRT. They have good selections of quality stuff, and then you can compare prices. I'm sure you will find that the on-line sources are faaaar cheaper than the same item at a LFS. Then you can save save save $$$

Do as Scrooge suggested and post your idea. People here aren't afraid to mention brand names as good or bad! This group will be your buddies through the project! They sure have helped me make my 29 work.

Be patient, and take your time. You'll be much happier that way.

[ 05-01-2001: Message edited by: cath ]

[percman]

hey ceph. i personally dont disagree a bigger tank would be nice......BUT if that is what you want and have space for i say go for it.....55g is a nice tank size! i am having my first success in get this.....a 10g!!!! my 20g went down in flames. it all depends on what you want to spend and what you want to keep as far as how big of a tank you get in my opinion. filters......you dont need any......just get a TON OF LIVE ROCK and a very deep Live Sand bed.....live rock and live sand is the best thing since sliced bread! you are going to want to get a nice sand bed activator w/ tons of worms, sea bunnies and mini stars......keep the questions coming.....oh yea make sure you get a QUALITY heater.....a couple QUALITY powerheads and a nice salinity gauge..... you dont want your tank to get toasted because you bought a cheap 10 dollar heater and there goes 1000bux.....circulation in a sw tank is also key and quite possibly one of my most important things to manage is the salinity level........
keep the questions coming
Percman

[toefu]

it seems that most people are not really answering what you really want to know, but this is what i got from these guys when i asked the very same question you just asked.

but i'll base it on the fact that... you are inheriting a 55gal and are getting it free, and that cannot be changed..

most guys here reccommend the bakpak II CPR skimmer, (although i have a prizm, but then again i'm not running on 55gal)

gets atleast 1 lb of live rock per gallon of water...... meaning atleast 55 lbs of live rock. get live sand OR, get dead sand (cheap homedepot sand @ $3/50 lbs and seed it with live starters from ipsf.com... OR, if you're really down on money, get cheap dead sand from home depot and put live rock and wait a LOOOOOONG time.

a sump is VERY useful and very good to setup. but if not, make sure to buy some kind of power heads or something for water movement. Most people seem to like maxi jet powerhead/pumps... and all say to avoid RIO pumps like the plague.

for a 55 gallon, everyone seems to enjoy VHO lights, since i don't have VHO and haven't done enough reading on it.. i don't really know.. but lights will be the most COSTLY and important part of your tank, so sometimes you can't be cheap. (i personally have power compact fluorescents from ahsupply.com. they are not as costly as vho's, but then again, i don't have a big tank either.)

places like marinedepot.com and petwarehouse.com seem to be cheap places to buy from. and on occasion, i make small orders from petsmart.com using their $10 off $30 purchase to buy little things like maxi jet powerheads and mag pumps and heaters.

you'll find that places like petwarehouse and marinedepot sell QUALITY equipment at a fraction of the price as your lfs. (oh yeah, it took me a few minutes to realize back then that lfs=local fish shop too. still don't know what FWIW means.)

since your tank is moderately sized, most people would recommend getting an RO unit instead of lugging RO water from the grocery store. using tap water will only give you more green algae..

by this time you should realize that it's gonna cost alot of money..... and we haven't even bought corals yet.. just tellin ya.

and don't take what i say as being "correct" it's what i gathered from all of doug's, brooke's and whoever i'm missing like fishdaddy.. etc...

[Doug1]

FWIW, FWIW means for what its worth
You have gotten some pretty good basic ideas so far, Until you decide on a tank and what kind of inhabitants you plan on it is really hard to say Get Brand whatever skimmer or thingy.
Basically you start out with a tank, build or by a stand big enough to set it at the heigth you want to view and large enough to accomodate a sump should you choose one.
You need a canopy to mount the lights in, the little strip light things common to FW tanks aren't going to work, then decide which type of lighting you will be best served by.
OK you are this far, hopefully by now you have an assortment of quality test kits and a good hydrometer, plus Salt mix. Get an RO/Di and you are reay to make SW.
I could take up enough space to write a novel here but its late and i am still at work after downloading my assignment for MACO class. Let me end this with the suggestion to get at least one of the basic setup books I.E. Consciencious marine Aquarist by R Fenner, Natural Reefs by John Tullock or the new book by Mike Palletta,
Dr Ron Shimek has one out I believe, and if nothing else The Reefkeepers handbook by Robt Goldstien is very inexpensisve and still has a lot of valid info. An invest ment of a$100 or see may seem steep but taking a slow educated approach will save a lot of greif and $$$$ in the long run

[Drew]

For a 55 gal, you may be able to get by without a sump. But let me tell you, there isnt a day goes by I don't wish I had put a sump on my 45.
With that said...
I will only comment on what I have experience with.
CPR BakPak 2R - Decent all around skimmer. Its not the greatest, it can go for periods where it just wont skim, and shoots bubbles into the tank. However it is easy to setup, and pretty simple. Good price.
MaxiJets- I have 2 600s and 2 1200s in my 45. I like them a lot. I just recently put them on a wavestrip and they make a little noise, but the impeller may need cleaning.
AGA 2x55 watt Power Compact strip light - These lights are great lights for the price. I believe they are around $125 or something. The bulbs are around 9300k and a pretty powerful. I can keep softies and some LPS under them. But if you want more advanced corals, I will agree that VHO are best for your tank. Or possibly 2x175 MH or even 2x250 MH. But it could get hot...
Live rock from FFE - This rock is, just like many things in my tank, decent. It has good coraline, but lacking in other life. A few polyps but not too much. Nice shapes, and a good price.

Good luck with your new tank,
Drew

P.S. - I would also stay away from RIO return pumps.

[JJGeisler]

Greetings Cephlapoda,

Looks like you just got a cram course in equipment with a LOT of very good advice. I just went through a lot of the same research. Since I'm into DIY projects, one thing I advicate when putting your system together is to include a couple GFI outlets in your wiring. Powerhead, heaters, etc have been know to fail and a GFI is cheap insurance to protect your investment.....IMHO, FWIW....

[bill-e]

Here's my input.

First, you can read some product review articles on my site, listed in the sig line.

Second. I would never get a hang on skimmer for a tank larger than 30 gallons. All hang-on's are toys compared to even the cheapest in-sump models.

Third, install a sump.

Fourth (this is the hardest) Dont buy something just because it's cheaper. If you do that, in a year or two will will be able to add up all the money you wasted because you will have probably upgraded to what you really wanted in the first place.

Fifth: Go with 2x250w Iwasaki's and vho supplement. You will never need to upgrade.

Sixth: as stated earlier, get the 70 or 75 tank if you can. Buy it with the AGA corner overflow if you can. Heck, the 65 (36x18x24) or a 50 (36x18x20) is a better reef than a 55.

Last, send me $10 for the advice

[Doug1]

Definatly install a GFCI and plug in anything that gets wet, Having had a outlet meltdown that happened when my wife was home from work, I cant recommend this strongly enough