MY 55gal TANK PICS...NEED ADVICE PLEASE!

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 09:57 AM

ok so this is my 55 gal bow front..i have about 3 inches of live sand and about 60-70lbs of live rock..i have a HOB CPR protein skimmer and also running a fluval 305.

do i need to run both the fluval and the protein skimmer at all times?

also would it be ok to run 2 20000k florescent bulbs ..i was planning on getting an anemone for my clown fish

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an411 · 11/12/2008, 09:58 AM

How long has the tank been up and running for

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 10:17 AM

tank has running as is for about 6 weeks..live rock came from a tank that is about 1 yr old...just added the 1 clown fish, a yellow angel and a coral banded shrimp last night..

an411 · 11/12/2008, 10:30 AM

I would wait a little bit to add an anemone at least till when the tank hits the 6 month mark. But that is my personal opinion. in regards to the lighting are they Power compact florescent?

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 10:33 AM

umm..the lights came with the tank...stock i guess..just wanted to upgrade the bulbs

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 10:35 AM

the bulbs say....ALL GLASS AQUARIUM 20 watts

an411 · 11/12/2008, 10:35 AM

I would think that T5 or MH lighting I think are sufficent for anemone. Not sure if power compacts are powerful enough to keep them. I would really check to see what type of lighting came with the tank. should say brand name on the bulb maybe try to do a search or post a pic on here probably can tell just by the look

EllieSuz · 11/12/2008, 10:57 AM

I'm pretty sure you can't just add a more powerful bulb to an existing fixture without blowing up the whole shebang. Anemones require a mature tank and while the definition of "mature" varies, at least six months is a commonly accepted rule of thumb. How do you use your Fluval? Cannister filters have little use in saltwater set-ups unless it's only to increase flow and possibly contain some carbon. The various filter media that are standard with these cannisters can harbor high amounts of nitrate unless cleaned frequently. One more thing. The Clownfish would probably have been an adequate first addition to your tank, along with the shrimp. You need to be very carefully about adding multiple fish to the tank. The bacteria within the rock needs time to adjust to the new bio-load. OK, two more things; your tank is too small for a Tang. You are moving too quickly to stock your system. Please take the time to research your purchases.

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 11:04 AM

i dont have a tang.....i have a yellow angel....i know a tang is too big for a 55 gal...

and i thought u could uprade a regular florescent bulb that came with the fixture to lets say a...10000k or 20000k florescent....im not trying to put a t-5 or metal halide bulb in a stock fixture

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 11:08 AM

well i have the regular media in the fluval along with some carbon...i was told to just change one of the media trays once every month...and yea i heard about them and nitrates..would i be able to just run the protein skimmer without the fluval? how would that affect my tank

chuggy · 11/12/2008, 11:16 AM

you definitely need to run both 24/7 it would also be wise to take the primary sponges out of the fluvall and add some live rock rubble to one of the baskets. What are you using for flow in the tank? besides the fluvall output

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 11:22 AM

so take all the sponges out of the fluval? yea i have about 30 lbs of live rock i took out of the tank a week ago i can break it and put it into one of the baskets....as for flow...i have the return line for the fluval slightly elevated out the water about an inch so it just splashes in...and the protein skimmer....it has been working good..i dont have any stagnant areas and my sand is clean

an411 · 11/12/2008, 11:24 AM

10k or 20k bulb isn't an upgrade its a color shift. 10k more yellow 20k more blue if its the same wattage bulb you can switch it.

nychris351 · 11/12/2008, 11:33 AM

oh ok yea i was reading the 20k stimulates the deeper part of the water..guess i will get 2 of those then...

chuggy · 11/12/2008, 12:08 PM

Imo you need more flow than what you have i would add 2 koralia #2 or #3

lordmbsa · 11/12/2008, 12:44 PM

well you gotta look at what you wanna keep in the tank then go from there in my 30 gallon i have about 7 korllilia power heads and 5 of em are the biggest ones they make i got all that flow for sps so i cant realli have any leathers but are you gonna go sps in the future and how many fish are you trying to add to the tank?

chuggy · 11/12/2008, 12:50 PM

how did you fit 7 ph in a 30 gallon

lordmbsa · 11/12/2008, 12:58 PM

lol with the right rock formation u can do any i have one top right corner one on bottom right corner under skimmer and one top left one in bottom left corner and on up top in the middle and one under the middlebase rock i just took one out due to zoas getting beat up so i have six but wen i put them in my ten gallon next to my bed i will have six again lol

lordmbsa · 11/12/2008, 12:59 PM

my buddie had 8 power heads in his 20g lol and they where all hidden but maxi jets are smaller so he was lucky

11/12/2008, 09:57 AM	#1
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	MY 55gal TANK PICS...NEED ADVICE PLEASE! ok so this is my 55 gal bow front..i have about 3 inches of live sand and about 60-70lbs of live rock..i have a HOB CPR protein skimmer and also running a fluval 305. do i need to run both the fluval and the protein skimmer at all times? also would it be ok to run 2 20000k florescent bulbs ..i was planning on getting an anemone for my clown fish [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG] [IMG][/IMG]

11/12/2008, 10:57 AM	#8
EllieSuz Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Rochester, NY Posts: 3,858	I'm pretty sure you can't just add a more powerful bulb to an existing fixture without blowing up the whole shebang. Anemones require a mature tank and while the definition of "mature" varies, at least six months is a commonly accepted rule of thumb. How do you use your Fluval? Cannister filters have little use in saltwater set-ups unless it's only to increase flow and possibly contain some carbon. The various filter media that are standard with these cannisters can harbor high amounts of nitrate unless cleaned frequently. One more thing. The Clownfish would probably have been an adequate first addition to your tank, along with the shrimp. You need to be very carefully about adding multiple fish to the tank. The bacteria within the rock needs time to adjust to the new bio-load. OK, two more things; your tank is too small for a Tang. You are moving too quickly to stock your system. Please take the time to research your purchases. __________________ "You can't learn this hobby one question at a time." (Mr. Tuskfish) Eileen Current Tank Info: I'm out of the hobby, but used to have a60 gal. reef, refugium in sump, Internal Mag 9 return, SC 302 skimmer, two Maxi-Jet 1200's modded, four bulb T5 Lighting, Reefkeeper Lite Controller with three PC4's, Little Fishes GFO reactor.

11/12/2008, 09:58 AM	#2
an411 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Derby CT Posts: 2,861	How long has the tank been up and running for

11/12/2008, 10:17 AM	#3
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	tank has running as is for about 6 weeks..live rock came from a tank that is about 1 yr old...just added the 1 clown fish, a yellow angel and a coral banded shrimp last night..

11/12/2008, 10:30 AM	#4
an411 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Derby CT Posts: 2,861	I would wait a little bit to add an anemone at least till when the tank hits the 6 month mark. But that is my personal opinion. in regards to the lighting are they Power compact florescent?

11/12/2008, 10:33 AM	#5
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	umm..the lights came with the tank...stock i guess..just wanted to upgrade the bulbs

11/12/2008, 10:35 AM	#6
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	the bulbs say....ALL GLASS AQUARIUM 20 watts

11/12/2008, 11:04 AM	#9
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	i dont have a tang.....i have a yellow angel....i know a tang is too big for a 55 gal... and i thought u could uprade a regular florescent bulb that came with the fixture to lets say a...10000k or 20000k florescent....im not trying to put a t-5 or metal halide bulb in a stock fixture

11/12/2008, 11:08 AM	#10
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	well i have the regular media in the fluval along with some carbon...i was told to just change one of the media trays once every month...and yea i heard about them and nitrates..would i be able to just run the protein skimmer without the fluval? how would that affect my tank

11/12/2008, 11:16 AM	#11
chuggy Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: 44143 Posts: 2,300	you definitely need to run both 24/7 it would also be wise to take the primary sponges out of the fluvall and add some live rock rubble to one of the baskets. What are you using for flow in the tank? besides the fluvall output

11/12/2008, 11:22 AM	#12
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	so take all the sponges out of the fluval? yea i have about 30 lbs of live rock i took out of the tank a week ago i can break it and put it into one of the baskets....as for flow...i have the return line for the fluval slightly elevated out the water about an inch so it just splashes in...and the protein skimmer....it has been working good..i dont have any stagnant areas and my sand is clean

11/12/2008, 11:24 AM	#13
an411 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Derby CT Posts: 2,861	10k or 20k bulb isn't an upgrade its a color shift. 10k more yellow 20k more blue if its the same wattage bulb you can switch it.

11/12/2008, 11:33 AM	#14
nychris351 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: BROOKLYN Posts: 319	oh ok yea i was reading the 20k stimulates the deeper part of the water..guess i will get 2 of those then...

11/12/2008, 12:08 PM	#15
chuggy Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: 44143 Posts: 2,300	Imo you need more flow than what you have i would add 2 koralia #2 or #3

11/12/2008, 12:44 PM	#16
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	well you gotta look at what you wanna keep in the tank then go from there in my 30 gallon i have about 7 korllilia power heads and 5 of em are the biggest ones they make i got all that flow for sps so i cant realli have any leathers but are you gonna go sps in the future and how many fish are you trying to add to the tank?

11/12/2008, 12:50 PM	#17
chuggy Moved On Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: 44143 Posts: 2,300	how did you fit 7 ph in a 30 gallon

11/12/2008, 12:58 PM	#18
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	lol with the right rock formation u can do any i have one top right corner one on bottom right corner under skimmer and one top left one in bottom left corner and on up top in the middle and one under the middlebase rock i just took one out due to zoas getting beat up so i have six but wen i put them in my ten gallon next to my bed i will have six again lol

11/12/2008, 12:59 PM	#19
lordmbsa Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: pine hill Posts: 505	my buddie had 8 power heads in his 20g lol and they where all hidden but maxi jets are smaller so he was lucky