mraeric

Hey all, I recently acquired this 55G acrylic tank:

I'm thinking about a modest DIY sump with a chamber for a protein skimmer, refugium, and return section. Given the fact that this tank is 55 gallons, what size main tank would be appropriate given this size? I'm wanting something around 75-125 gallons, but if this sump is too large (is that even possible?) for that system, I'll probably just sell the thing, since I don't really need it otherwise.

Thanks for any info!

-Eric

OOO! And if you have a skimmer, you usually want to wait a few weeks to 'break it in' and fine tune the skimming. Obviously pristine water conditions and quality are a must for anything more delicate than fish. So that could increase wait time as well.

From the reading I've done, it seems that the general recommendation is to wait until you have all of the fish you would eventually like in the tank to have been in the tank for a while before adding corals/other stuff. Just because adding a couple fish can add to the bioload of the tank so quickly that the mild changes in water parameters can have an adverse effect on invertebrates. I'm not even close to an expert though, so I'm sure someone else can answer the question a little more specifically than I can.

Update: Talked with UPS today. They are looking into it and said they would let me know if they figure out what happened. They DID deliver it to my front door though, which leads me to believe it was taken by someone. I also notified Barnes and Noble online and they replied back pretty quick saying they would send me a replacement copy immediately and if the original shows up I can just send it back to them. So that was pretty hassle free honestly. THIS time I'll leave a note on my door telling the UPS driver to leave the package at the front office though.. haha

Thanks Mama! That's very sweet of you. I'll pass for now because it will just make it that much more exciting when I finally DO get the thing in my hands. Now it's like a quest!

And thanks for the advice from everyone. I've never had a package stolen or misplaced before so this is new to me. I was hoping it might turn up today after perhaps being delivered to the wrong apartment number, but nothing has turned up yet. I'll wait another day or so and then put in a ticket to UPS and see where we go from there. Thanks all!

Hey Guys! I'm bummed so I thought I'd share my frustrations with the lot of you.

So I ordered The Conscientious Marine Aquarist through Barnes and Noble online and it was to be delivered today. I've been so pumped about reading this book! So the package was tracked via UPS and delivered at 12:30pm today. I get home from work... and there isn't a package at my door, nor does the front office have a package for me. I look in the UPS delivery notes online and it says Delivered, Location: FRT Door. I can only imagine this means it was left on my doorstep and someone stole it.

Anyway... I'm hopeful I will be able to get another copy, or at least get my money back, but that seriously ruined my day. The worst part is, I really doubt that whoever stole it will actually be even remotely interested in it. Maybe the world will right itself and in stealing my book, this person might become an active aquarist and conservationist. *sigh*

A 50 g acrylic sounds like a good sump-to-be.

Haha... The thought had crossed my mind. I have a 29 Gallon glass aquarium that I was thinking about turning into the sump for my eventual system, but 55 Gallons couldn't hurt! I would just need more space in the cabinet for it. Larger fuge for sure.

If you can wait long enough you can usually find something at least reasonable. However, my rule of thumb is if you know you are going to need it eventually, snag it now if the budget permits. It seems like frequently either 'my' items just don't come around when I am looking for them, or they just got sold 2 minutes before I signed on . Of course, if you are not absolutely sure you're going to stick with a 4 ft tank, I can understand the hesitancy.

Bill

Definitely! I'm fairly certain that I'll be going with a 4ft tank. What I really need to research more is the type of light(s) I should be going with based on what I want to keep in my tank eventually (which I'm not even 100% sure of at this point). I'd like the ability to keep SPS so I think it would be smart of me to have lighting that could support them, even if I take my sweet time building up to having them in my tank. Regardless, I need to learn a lot more about MH vs. T5 or some combination thereof before I buy anything. I'm especially confused about all of the different 'colors' of light and I need to find out how blue I like my light. I have no reference points yet, but I'll get there!

I'll definitely start buying equipment as I see it become available over the next several months. Thanks for the good advice!

-Eric

I'm glad to see awesome lighting can be found second hand at a reasonable price! I'm not quite at the 'buying things' stage yet for my eventual reef setup (still too much stuff to read up on and learn about), but lighting is one area that is relatively expensive, so I'm glad there are options out there. This sounds like what I'll eventually be looking for when the time comes.

I did just get a free 55g acrylic tank though! I don't think it's as large as I'd like though, so I may not end up using it.

Anyway, I'm sure you'll have no problems selling your lighting setup!

Unfortunately I'll be working that day I'm hopeful for April though! I'm determined to meet a lot of you and possibly see someones set up before I start a system myself.

Alright, the first of many questions I will have before I'm ready to start buying anything I'm sure...

After everything I have read and now know, I'm fairly positive that I will want a sump to go along with my first reef tank. Obviously the sump handles a lot of the filtration for the tank. I do have a few questions about how y'all have put yours to use though.

1) What size/brand/type of sump would you all recommend for a tank that is somewhere around 40-50 gallons?

2) I think I would want a protein skimmer that fits inside of the sump (in one of the compartments), first, what protein skimmers for this size tank and sump would you recommend as viable? Second, is there only one part of the sump that a protein skimmer could conceivably be put into? Or is there a logical position for the different types of filtration within a sump? I'm very confused about the order of things (or if there needs to be any particular order to begin with).

3) What do you all personally use as filter media in your sumps? And what filtration types would you recommend for my sump given the proposed tank size? I know there are several and that some are more critical than others.

Right now the only parts I'm sure of are that I DO want a sump, and I want a protein skimmer inside of it. Besides that I have no idea what else I should be doing within the sump.

Lastly, is there any advice or recommendations or knowledge that you wish you had had before you set up your first sump? I would love to know enough so that when I finally DO take the plunge, I do it right the first time!

Thanks everyone for any help and info!

-Eric

I work at the HEB in Cedar Park at 1431 and Parmer. Great store

Thanks for the warm welcome! This seems like a great community. I will definitely try to make it to any and all meetings in the future. I'm a manager of an HEB so I have some greatly varying hours depending on the week, but if I'm available, I will 100% be there. There's still so much I need to see/learn and having a community of people that have my back will be the most valuable resource of all! Thanks again.

haha.. Yeah I happened to read about the meeting about 1 minute after it had begun. It had crossed my mind to show up, but I read it was going to be 'short' so I didn't know if I would make it in time. I'll definitely attend future meetings though! I would really like to see some other peoples setups and things so I can physically see how it all comes together.

Hi all,

My name is Eric and I'm hoping to start a reef aquarium in the near future. I'm taking my time researching and reading as much as I possibly can before I take the plunge. I currently have a 29g freshwater aquarium which I love! Saving up money now towards all of the workings of a successful reef setup. I'm sure I'll have dozens of questions for everyone here so I figured I'd make myself known now

Thanks!