new tank suggestions

[john]

I am setting up a new tank, and I would love some suggestions on equipment. I am not entirely positive on what I would like to have in it, but I don't want to be limited by my lighting or anything else if at all possible. I also need things that are not too expensive. This is what I have so far: 55g tank (I haven't actually picked it up yet, but I don't believe it has a hood at all), an emperor 330 filter and a bak pak cpr protien skimmer. Does anyone have any suggestions for lighting, etc? Thanks in advance for the help!

[Ram_Puppy]

John,

an important part of planning your lighting is knowing what you want. For instanct, bright Metal Halide lighting for SPS corals, is not wholly suitable for a Lionfish, which is a nocturnal hunter, bright lights in a tnak like that usually confine the fish to a shaded area during the day, and there have been cases of blindness reported.

What are the dimensions of your 55, is it a 13" front to back show tank? If you measure it, you can probably find a nice wooden canopy and stand at one of the fish stores around town, or order one from any of them. If the tank is acrylic, make sure the stand has a solid top (no holes like for glass tanks)

THe Filters are a good start, though current thinking moves away from the ermperor and it's 'mechanical' filtration these days, most people will tell you to get an overflow and put it all in the sump, get rid of the emperor and go with the skimmer only, you can filter with carbon by simply tossing it in a media bag and floating it in the sump. (That is for reef tanks) I personally have been unable to break ties with mechanical filtration, even on my reef tank I still run a canister filter (MAgnum 350).

My advice, and I think everyone on the forum will back me up, if your not quite sure what you want, take a day and visit as many fish stores as you can find, go to san antonio and austin since your smack dab inbetween us, and explore. Grab a couple good books, such as The Concientious Marine Aquarist, and perhaps the Natural Reef by Tullok, or Anthony Calfo's new book (goes into great depth on sumps and refugiums). And of course, visit here, and talk to us, there are some truly great minds on this board, young and not quite as young (was that tactful?) everyone from shark keepers to turtle keepers (your tank is to small for both by a long shot :) ) and people keeping gorgeous nano reefs in 1 gallon cubes to multi hundred gallon aquariums, and even multi thousands in the case of JIm NOrris, so there is tons of info to pull from here.

Go ahead and set up your stand, get your canopy put up, and fill the tank up with water, if you have a sump, or want to get your tank drilled or have an overflow built so you can have a sump (talk to dan for overflows) then get it all set up and taken care uf, Dillution is the solution to pollution, more water volume, the better.

The best filter you can invest your money in? Live rock, Protien Skimmer, and then probably live sand... if you hav any more questions, just ask!

[Ram_Puppy]

OH, and for hang on tank skimmers, Aqua C Remora's can't be beat, for a tower skimmer under the tank, you need a matts monster, I don't know if matt is started back up making them since his move or not though.

[GaryP]

John,

You actually might be better off waiting to pick up a complete system from someone here rather than trying to pick up components piecemeal. This can be a much less expensive way to get into the hobby. Later on you can do some small upgrades as your budget allows. You can usually sell the old equipment here to help cover the costs of the upgrades. The most important thing, as Ram Puppy said, is to figure out what livestock you eventually want to put in there. There is no "best" answer for any system, but I'm sure you came to the right place to get some help in setting up a system.

There is usually someone selling an excellent system, sometimes with livestock, every couple of weeks or so on here. The advantage is that you can see it set up and running and have a good idea what sort of results and species it will support.

HTH,
Gary

[john]

I actually already bought what I have from this site. I was thinking of starting an LPS tank, but I also would like a lionfish. I have heard that lionfish are not reef safe though, and from what Ram Puppy said, they need less light. I appreciate the help though!

[Ram_Puppy]

John, sounds like your already on the right path. IMHO, a 55 is not large enough for most lions (ok for dwarfs, but definately not volitans, and your cuttin it close on radiatta and antenatta). Lions predate on small invertebrates, like crabs, shrimp, and of course, they will eat anything they can get in their mouth, this includes most small fish, the biggest problem with them in a reef system however would probably be their copius waste productions. So, having said that, the other half of your wants, lps (and sps can easily be bundled up in that) you will need metal halide lighting. I believe the average goal is 6 to 8 watts per gallon (though that is not truly a good measurement, the PAR put out by 40 watts of Power COmpact is far different than the PAR put out by a halide.

Off the top of my head, I would say two 250 watt metal halides would be a great starting point, with some VHO actinics, you could go 14K or 20K, both offer a more 'blue' appearance and peak in the NM range good for creating good color in your corals, 10K bulbs will provide more growth. THis should provide you with plenty of light to grow SPS, LPS, anemones, you can do softies on the bottom of the tank, anemones, and clams under lighting like this as well.

However, I still caution you, research and planning are the key, do your homework befor eyou put a single living creature in your tank.