55g Build.. *first SW tank

I thought you ment the coral

 

Lol its all good im sure noone ever really talks about them on here cause there not tye best fish for reef.. so back to the tank, i thino im gunna scrap it.. a bunch of the silicone on the bottom is starting to peel up and theres some spots around the edges that have little chunks out.. it has held water fine though everytime ive filed it. But between this and no brace i cant risk this thing flooding my basement

 

Also i was thinking of running an external skimmer next to the sump. Any thought on those? idk where to start with them

 

How much room do u have in your sump.

Ive read that ext skimmers are risky and a pain the butt.

 

quit debating and get the new tank, i wouldn't trust that old of a tank, sure its thicker glass, but it has scratches and no brace and such. just think of it as a one time $55 dollar insurance plan i would kick myself for not buying the new one and losing all that money and fish and equipment.. thats just my opinion ;D

 

Just make sure to measure the area on your stand.Some tanks have different outer measurements so measure the tank at the bottom where the trim is.

 

Yea true, ill just get a new tank. The area i have in my sump that is for the skimmer is 9x6.5 so its a pretty small footprint.. thats why i was thinking hanging a hob skimmer off to the side.

 

There should be some in-sump skimmers that will fit that. I've got a NAC sitting on the shelf that would fit that.

In-sump >>>>>>>>> HoB

 

I ran my 55 for years with a hob. I used a Reef Octopus 100-BF I think is what its called. It sat behind my tank and didnt get in the way of my sump plumbing. The problem with a 55 is there is not very much room in the sump. I had a 10 sump tank with a return pump and some heaters. I had to build a fuge out of a 7 gallon clear plastic storage container (worked GREAT!) and if i want to change my GFO/Carbon I literally had to dissemble my whole pluming system to get my reactors accessed.
Anything you can keep outside of the sump is a good thing.

PART 2: Sell the stand (its very well built!!) buy a drilled 75. I loved my 55g mixed reef experiment but hob overflows are terrible. they lose suction and make messes, the slim profile makes auquscaping a pain, and lastly you lose alot of room for fish to swim around. 75g makes a few tangs options for your reef.

Either way you go, if you are looking for any equipment (ie. Overflow (i have two CPRs a couple 100-BF skimmers, aqualifters, maxijet 3000 return pump) I just consolidated my 46bf and 55g w/ sump so I can give you pretty good deals on stuff and advice for you 55g if you go that way!

 

Some skimmers that will fit:

Eshopps PSK 75 In Sump Protein Skimmer, 10-75 gal. tank - AquaCave

ASM MINI-G Protein Skimmer - AquaCave

AquaC Urchin Pro In-Sump Protein Skimmer with Drain Fitting

Tunze DOC Protein Skimmer