Starting 55 gal FO need help

igotaweinerdog · 12/27/2007, 07:25 PM

Alright so i decide to change my 55gal into saltwater. now i need some advice. should i get a wet-dry filter or get a canister.

also any advice on either of them?
also can i use a regular play sand bed that I already have in there or should i get live sand or crushed coral.
any advice on skimmers.

also im trying to keep my costs down as much as possible. thanks

bertoni · 12/27/2007, 07:35 PM

I just use live rock as the basic filtration, along with a protein skimmer. An inch of play sand on the bottom of the tank is fine. Crushed coral will work, but it requires a lot of boring hand maintenance.

There's no objective data on skimmer performance, and every skimmer has proponents and opponents. I guess I'd look at a CoraLife SuperSkimmer or perhaps one of the Octopus products. Remora Pro skimmers are also fairly popular. Deltec has some extremely expensive skimmers, if you want to go high end.

poppin_fresh · 12/27/2007, 08:25 PM

I would skip the wet/dry and the canister. You could use the play sand that you have, but it should be well rinsed.

I would also do some more research before you dive in. If you have Itunes, I would get the Talking Reef podcasts for some great beginner info. Its a lot of good info to listen too for free.

12/27/2007, 07:25 PM	#1
igotaweinerdog Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Davis, CA Posts: 15	Starting 55 gal FO need help Alright so i decide to change my 55gal into saltwater. now i need some advice. should i get a wet-dry filter or get a canister. also any advice on either of them? also can i use a regular play sand bed that I already have in there or should i get live sand or crushed coral. any advice on skimmers. also im trying to keep my costs down as much as possible. thanks

12/27/2007, 07:35 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I just use live rock as the basic filtration, along with a protein skimmer. An inch of play sand on the bottom of the tank is fine. Crushed coral will work, but it requires a lot of boring hand maintenance. There's no objective data on skimmer performance, and every skimmer has proponents and opponents. I guess I'd look at a CoraLife SuperSkimmer or perhaps one of the Octopus products. Remora Pro skimmers are also fairly popular. Deltec has some extremely expensive skimmers, if you want to go high end. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/27/2007, 08:25 PM	#3
poppin_fresh Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Vermont Posts: 1,982	I would skip the wet/dry and the canister. You could use the play sand that you have, but it should be well rinsed. I would also do some more research before you dive in. If you have Itunes, I would get the Talking Reef podcasts for some great beginner info. Its a lot of good info to listen too for free. __________________ PBITAWA! Current Tank Info: None now. Past- 180g w/ 100g basement sump and 20g 'fuge. H & S skimmer, T'5s & Tunze