Welcome to TRT!

Do you have Live rock in the tank? Tell us about your setup and it might help with getting more suggestions.

 

Thanks for the warm welcome. I have 60lbs of live sand (roughly 1.5inch sand bed), and yes, I do have live rock in the tank, currently only about 11lbs. I went a little over budget and now am sacrificing some things to make it happen. My pump will be here tomorrow for the sump though.

I have a 55gal (not plumbed) tank that's nearly finished with its initial cycle. This is my first aquarium (of any type) with the exception of those unsuccessful obligatory fresh water tanks we got when I was a kid that were done completely wrong. I'm pretty good at picking up things just by researching so think I'll have atleast mild success.

Currently it's running a power filter, simple fluorescent lights that came with the tank, a seaclone 100 protein skimmer (not working properly), a 200w water heater (not really necessary), and a hydor koralia 2 600gph power head.

I will be building a 10gal sump, still have not determined the proper design. I have about 6ft of head (possibly some more after i add the plumbing). The pump I've ordered is the ViaAqua 2600 (740gph, should get me near 300gph with my head). I have a eshopps pf-300 overflow (about 300gph).

My only priority, as you may have guessed, is of course being adequate, but also as cheap as possible. I do not have thousands to dump into an aquarium like some do, but prefer the "sweat-equity" route.

If it makes you feel any better, I do not expect my bio load to exceed 25" full grown fish. Gonna take it slow to begin with, then add more later, hopefully slowly add more live rock or even some base rock to keep it from looking so bare.

Edit: By *some* more live/base rock, I mean about 30-40 more lbs

 

Alright, posted a full listing of tank information (plus extra/useless information) here

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f7/55gal-economy-build-151439.html

 

Sounds good. another option is to buy uncured base rock and seed it with your already cured live rock. Takes a while but saves a lot of money.

Another option when you build your sump tank is to get a better skimmer and put it in the first chamber. If you have the budget, i would recommend a 20 G long tank instead of the 10 G. Only reason i suggest this is i made mine out of a 10 G and it has very little room. i can barely fit a nano skimmer in it but it was the only size that would fit under my 29 G standard. I have a deep sand bed in the second chamber and chaeto macro algae, even though i don't have enough flow through it to keep it happy. Good luck and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. The people on this site are great!

 

A 10gal vs 20gal tank doesn't have a huge price difference, from what I can tell, so I think I could afford it.. however, the space we have available is unfortunately limiting. I have learned that a refugium is a better thing to use for the sump because it handles nitrates and helps replenish the water. This is not practical for me for both cost reasons and space reasons though. Is there a hidden option #3 which will provide better filtration than wet/dry filter but without the expense and requirements (particularly the light, this sump will not be in an enclosed area) of a refugium?

Thanks for your input, I value it for sure. I'm still very new but learn well. I wish I could fit a 20gal sump but dont think so. I will measure the space I have available and check for that. If I could custom build the sump, I could probably make it deeper and fit it, but I don't think I would be comfortable with my craftsmanship on that one and certainly could not afford to have someone do it for me. Perhaps down the road I will be able.