Starting A Stockpile For A Reef Tank

[guidedbyechoes]

hello all

like the title says I'm over time buying all the necessary components for a reef tank. Its going to be a 55 gallon tank containing some LPS, polyps and mushrooms (and if in a year after its setup maybe an ananome, but most likely not.) The ones I want to keep are in the low to moderate lighting group. I will list them if needed. Not sure what the wpg is for that. It will have a 30 gallon sump/refigum as well.

Fish I plan on keeping:

2 osc clowns
1 carpenters flasher wrasse
green or spotted Mandarin
flame angel( more research needs to be done if I shall keep this one or not)

Things I need some specifics on. Does the wpg rule still take effect when using metal halides or is 5 wpg, 5 wpg regardless of the type? How much lighting will I need for the cheato algae to grow? What foods are needed to sustain copepods.

I know I will need a skimmer. Are there any that should be avoided? I will also require at least 3 power heads and a pump for the sump return but what sort of turnover rate should I shoot for? Also I will need the device that turns them on and off at random

I know I need a min of 55 lbs live rock and that some of it can be base rock that gets seeded by the adjacent live rock. I'm am planning on using sand instead of coral. And what depth should I shoot for? Do I still need to employ the egg crate rock stability method akin to what one would do with cichlids?


Of course I will also need salt, an RO unit, a thermometer and a clean up crew(this is what I am most unsure on) I will finalize that after the tank starts cycling.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

nothing at all?

 

[n3ont3tra]

To answer your questions.
The wpg rule is crap. Don't listen to it. 5wpg of PC's is much different than 5wpg metal halides. For softies like you mentioned, you could probably get away with PC's but T5's would be a nice step up, especially with individual reflectors.

PC's are sufficient for chaeto, as far as i know.

You don't really NEED a skimmer, but it's nice to have. If you have a sump it will give you more options for skimmers than if you don't. For flow rate, the general rule of thumb for reefs is 20gph x the tank's volume. So for your 55g you would want at least 1100 gallons per hour.

You don't need a wavemaker, but you can get one if you want.

For sand you generally want a depth of about an inch or less. Unless you have burrowing creatures like some types of gobies or jawfish. You don't need egg crate but, if you want it go for it.

 

[guidedbyechoes]

To answer your questions.
The wpg rule is crap. Don't listen to it. 5wpg of PC's is much different than 5wpg metal halides. For softies like you mentioned, you could probably get away with PC's but T5's would be a nice step up, especially with individual reflectors.

PC's are sufficient for chaeto, as far as i know.

You don't really NEED a skimmer, but it's nice to have. If you have a sump it will give you more options for skimmers than if you don't. For flow rate, the general rule of thumb for reefs is 20gph x the tank's volume. So for your 55g you would want at least 1100 gallons per hour.

You don't need a wavemaker, but you can get one if you want.

For sand you generally want a depth of about an inch or less. Unless you have burrowing creatures like some types of gobies or jawfish. You don't need egg crate but, if you want it go for it.

Thanks. Any specific hardware to check out? So basically I would need 3 power heads at 400 gph roughly for the main. And another the same or higher for the sump return.

 

[ox5477]

In my 55G, I have a K3 and K2 (Koralia)... these are about right for a 55G and are decently priced. Maxi-Jets are the cheapest that a reefer should look into and are pretty reasonably priced for the flow out of them. If you want to spend some extra money for quality, Tunze brand powerheads are the way to go. I am actually looking into some nano streams for my new 90G possibly, but I'll prob end up going with 2 or 3 koralia 4's.

For a return, a mag drive or ocean runner pump are prob the most common internal pumps. If you want to drill your sump for a return pump, then there are alot of good external pumps as well. INternals will add extra heat to the water and but dont need special drilling. The externals will remove the heat the pump creates from the system and are easier to service overall but need a drilled sump (usualy a pain for the typical hobbiest).

Just a word of advice as well... after setting up my 55G, its extremely hard to aquascape effectly due to its short width.... hence my upgrade to the 90G. If you do not have the 55 already, I would recommend looking into a wider tank. It will be much easier to aquascape and give much more room to place corals... just my two cents

Ox

 

[ben1987]

i would skim it tbh. i have ran my tank with and without a skimmer and i wouldnt go back after seeing how much gunk it tapes out and how clear it looks now. The corals look 100x healthier too

 

[guidedbyechoes]

i would skim it tbh. i have ran my tank with and without a skimmer and i wouldnt go back after seeing how much gunk it tapes out and how clear it looks now. The corals look 100x healthier too

If I wasn't going to keep corals I would skip it, but I've seen what they can pull out so its a necessity.