hkirchen

I have been trying to sort through all of the information out there on basic setup requirements for a saltwater aquarium. I want to avoid buying things that will not be necessary or a duplication of something else!

Let me tell you my end goal for my SW aquarium: I have not purchased anything yet!

55 gallon tank with refugium(to promote pod growth)

CUC:
2x skunk cleaner shrimp
1xElectric Blue Hermit Crab
or
2xDwarf Zebra Hermit Crabs
3xDwarf Blue Hermit Crabs
Some Margarita Snails(not sure how many)
Some Turbo Snails(not sure how many)
any other snails?

Is this enough, or any other suggestions?

Fish Wishlist:
1xPurple Firefish
1xBlue Chromi
1xBangai Cardinal
1xClownfish(not sure which type)
1xWrasse(striped)
1xGreen Mandarinfish(to be added after significant pod colony develops)
*this fish is ultimate goal, and I want to gear my setup to make the environment perfect for him!

My main questions are these:
1. What would be my setup list for equipment? I read the article on basic requirements, but after doing other research, I decided I wanted a refugium. I am not very handy, so I found one on a website that has everything included http://www.aquamartonline.com/01617_1_2_1551.html

It seems to have a protein skimmer already in it, as well as the refugium. Would I need another protein skimmer, or is this one sufficient?

2. Any other suggestions on where to look for refugiums or combination equipment that would save duplication?

Thank you so much from a fish newbie who has fallen in love with aquariums!

Heather

hkirchen

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I will be getting around fifty or so pounds of live rock as well!

Sorry, I had a brain fart!

Thanks,
Heather

travie

I've learnt the type and amount of clean up crew will ultimately depend on your tank needs. The snails and hermits will depend on types of algae and how much. You are better off understocking the Clean Up Crew so that everything will food to eat.

Your stocking list sounds alright. The chromis needs to be in a school though.

You will want to make sure the skimmer is rated for your tank size and not just the size of the refugium.

au01st

Go with 3 chromis or a pair of clowns. I now have 3 chromis in my tank, and I call them The 3 Amigos because they all swim around together.

You will be surprised at how little 50lbs of rock actually is. I have 70lbs of rock in my tank (75 gallon, same length/height as a 55, just deeper) and it is barely 1/3 the way up the back wall, so if you're trying for a reef look, you'll probably need more.

You didn't mention anything about lighting. If you're going with live rock you'll need lighting that can support the stuff on the rock, if you use dead rock and want a "fish only" tank, no corals, then standard fluorescent lighting will be fine.

You're also going to need some powerheads for more water movement. You want 15-20x turnover per hour with circulation, so 800-1100 gallons per hour. I think in combo with the refugium setup, a maxi-jet 1200 should suffice.

You'll need a heater, 250-300 watts will work.

You'll also need a way to get water down to the refugium, so you need an overflow box if you're not buying a "reef ready" tank and then the misc plumbing to go with that.

I think you would only need one skunk cleaner, not two.

For snails, a mixture of astrea, nassarius, nerite, cerith, and turbo, probably 10-15 hermits.

caseyholland

I think you have a good goal, I believe that if you are going to have any type of schooling fish you should have at least three. The mandarin is great. I have had a few, but it takes a while before a tank is ready, as they aree very sensative. But it sounds like youve already researched that. I think that lighting and water flow are extremely important. As far as the skimmer, you cant overskim a tank, so you can have more than one , or a very powerful one without hurting anything. you dont really need two if you skimmer is already strong enough.

Peterpiper

You may want to look at this chart on marine compatability
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/c...lity_chart.cfm

Matt

Chromis are good fish and i have 3 aswell and they also follow each other around. LOL.

From Matt

nemo addict

everyone i know has 3 chromis most start of with more like i did and everyone seems to end up with 3 (magic number for chromis) as said above try for 2 clowns if haveing a firefish make sure you have a lid as when startled they do jump ,, cardinals also prefer to school and can be very reserved if kept singlely , as above also mentioned (advised by me) to add clean up crew as needed there is no strict rule to a clean up crew as they are added to clean certain problems ,, and can also cause problems if not enouh food supplied and also eat at different rates 2 turbo snails will not eat at the same rate so if you have 2 lazy ones then buy a 3rd you will also need powerheads to which i dont think was on your list ,,,
also with the skimmer i would go for a good branded one rated over your tank size,, there are plenty of HOB fuges on fleabay complete with pump and light ,, as the one for the fuge is probley not rated for your tank and is more of a sump then a fuge ,,
is your tank going to be drilled as if not you will need a over flow box for the above equipment

hkirchen

What do you mean drilled? I do not understand. Are there over flow boxes that are premade, or are they something I would have to build? I am not handy with building things!

Thanks,
Heather

caseyholland

there are overflow boxes you can buy, but sometimes people build it into the tank, and this requires you to drill a hole into the bottom of the tank.

hkirchen

Thank you! I do not know how to build anything!

Heather

nemo addict

http://cgi.ebay.com/Continuous-Sipho...1%7C240%3A1318

there you go a overflow box

hkirchen

Thank you!

Matt

LOL. Dont worry i am not very handy myself but my grandpa is

We all have our ups and downs in things