Saltwater tank project

[Friendly shark]

Sweet! I'm about to start my 55 gallon project. I live on a tropical island (Okinawa Japan) so I have excellent access to coral/fish etc. what I don't have immediate access to is affordable equipment. Does anyone have good links for filters etc stateside. I was thinking an fx5 with led lighting a sump and protein skimmer with wave maker etc. anyone have any opinions on brands for the aforementioned gear. Thanks in advance. Friendly shark out.

 

[kevdogg]

You should avoid the canister filter, its freshwater technology that really isn't helpful for salt water. Over time it will cause nitrate issues if not cleaned regularly. I had 2 on my tank and ended up needing to clean them weekly. You should be using live rock as your main source of filtration. It provides all the surface area needed for the bacteria to grow.

As far as the other pieces, check out;
bulkreefsupply.com
aquacave.com
thatpetplace.com
drsfostersmith.com (also checkout the sister site liveaquaria.com very useful for deciding what fish will best fit in the tank)
marinedepot.com
lifereef.com

I have personally used all of these with great success.

As far as the skimmer goes Reef Octopus is a good brand that is suggested a lot on the site.

I hope this helps.

 

[reefnoob]

You can also try petmountain.com. They might not carry all the stuff from the best brands but they do have good prices for what is on their site.