Newb incoming...

[Rainer]

Hey all, first off I just wanted to say awesome forums and website! Ive been late in posting I know but couldnt take a break from absorbing all the great knowledge to be had here.

A little about me... I had a saltwater tank a few years ago for a breif time until I had to make a sudden move and sell all my stuff except the tank. It is a 55 gal, 48" long, 12 1/2" deep and about 20" tall.

My fiance and I are putting the tank together and so far our plans are to make a decent FOWLR, but eventually make a reef tank out of it. However were not sure how to pull off the whole sump/refugium thing with the space i have available. Anywho we have our first pic up for anyone who wants to see my empty tank :)

So far we've ordered a Nove extreme t-5 top from Dr Fosters by recommendation of a few people here and a Koralia 3 powerhead. We plan on ordering some live rock from reeftopia on tuesday and have some live sand already coming from ebay.

Anyway thats where we stand at the moment, more to come :^: We dont know a whole lot about reefing so any comments/suggestions are always welcome!

 

[yote]

Welcome to the reef and the addiction.
I'll bet that by the time your tank cycles,you'll be adding corals.:mrgreen:
Post and questions you come up with.Somebody will have the answer.

 

[yote]

From the pic,it looks like you've got a canister filter hooked up.If so,you'll want to give it a good cleaning at least once a week to control nitrates.
If you can get some pics of the inside of the stand with some measurments,Somebody will probably be able to help you get a sump going.
You DONT have to have a fuge to keep a successful reef.

 

[bobby]

Yote gave you good advice. Here is the pic up for you.

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[Rainer]

thanks for that pic :)

yea ive got a fluval 305 hooked up atm, however I plan on using it only on a as needed basis once I get my live rock in. Ive been wondering, is there any chance that my stand/aquarium wouldnt take the weight of all that rock? I mean water and up to 110 lbs of rock ? Not to say my stand is weak, it seems pretty well built.

 

[yote]

Your rock will displace some of the water.But it'll still be good and heavy.But your stand should hold up.

 

[reeffreak]

Beautiful stand and good luck.

Although not necessary,a sump/fuge with a GOOD skimmer is the way to go.If you can't get something to fit under the stand,they do make refugium that hang on the back.

 

[putter]

Welcome to the site, I'm sure your going to find the advice great and the people friendly.:mrgreen:

 

[Rainer]

My next purchase is gonna be a skimmer, anyone have a particular one to suggest for my setup ?

also i put up pics of the space under my aquarium, the approx dimensions of the left bottom space :

26" wide, 10 1/2" deep and 12" tall (to be able to reach inside, although i guess i could get rid of the drawer and fix the drawer door on a hinge or something)

edit: also I didnt plan on anything hanging on the back, If need be i may be able to scoot it away from the wall a tad before i get rocks and stuff in it

 

[yote]

This is the skimmer I use.
Aquarium Protein Skimmers: Coralife Super Skimmer Needle Wheel Protein Skimmer
It'll get the job done,but wont break the back.

 

[Rainer]

ahh i like that it can be used hang on or in sump. wonder how much room ill need to make behind my tank for it to hang there

also, noob question......what exactly does a skimmer do? lol

 

[yote]

If you go with the CSS65,you'll need about 6".8" for the 125.
A skimmer pulls the dissolved organics out of the water before they can break dowm and comprimise water quality.

 

[Rainer]

heh thanks

ok was able to ease it way from the wall, got about 6.5 " of clearance now, may go ahead and order the skimmer, or do i really need it at this point in my aquariums life?

 

[Bifferwine]

Damn! I got here too late and missed doling out good advice! Everyone else seems to have gotten to it first ;)

Nice looking setup so far.

You will probably want more than one powerhead. If you want to save some cash, MaxiJets also work really well and are a fraction of the price of Koralias. In a 55, I'd have two or three powerheads.

Welcome to the site! I hope you enjoy your time here.

 

[Rainer]

heh, see you got in some good advice, guess ill grab a couple of those maxijets to suppliment

Thanks :bounce:

 

[fatman]

Yum, virgin glass. Not a single hole, YET. I would go with a sump and an in sump skimmer. You can hide your heaters in the sump, add top off water there for evaporation replacement and the return water, can , if planned right, circumvent the need for any in tank power heads which aren't really pretty to look at. And unless you buy good power heads (expensive) you cannot get the flow rates without high velocity like you can with outside return pumps. You can get a pretty good external pump for the price of 2 Koralias or two good external pumps for the price of just one Vortech Pump. Course I am writing all this based on the great chance that like most people you will not long stay away from corals. With a sump you will need an overflow or two, but that is dependent on your deciding on a sump. Hang on skimmers, in general are not very good, the Aqua C's hang ons are good, other than that the forums members will have experiences and opinions enough to help you out. You really can not hardly over skim so think bigger rather than just good enough.

 

[Rainer]

I wouldnt know the first thing about trying to drill holes in my glass.... and with "this" tank setup im not sure with the small space available it would be feasible to put a sump down there.

However, I do have big plans for another tank after I gain some experience running this one.

 

[yote]

All you really need for a sump is a little 10 gallon tank.That would fit in your space.All you'd have to do is silicone in a few baffles.Then you'd either need a HOB overflow or get the tank drilled.

 

[Rainer]

CPR CS50 Overflow/Prefilter: Premium Aquatics

is this something i could use as HoB to get water into my sump? then just need an insump or external pump to get the water back up in the display?

If so that wouldnt be too bad, if only i could find a use in there for my nice canister filter, although i dont want to have to clean it out once a week.

 

[yote]

That would work just fine.You can use something like a mag pump that sits right inside the sump.Then all you'd have to do is plum the pump back up to the tank.I personally used 3/4" vynal tubing for the return.