new to the hobby

Just started curing the rock in a covered bucket, so still a few weeks away from actually getting the tank up and running.

 

The canister filter can be a detritus trap, nutrient factory, is the reason most keeping corals avoid them. Like Zesty says, if you are up to the task of never neglecting its cleaning then it would work fine.

You can keep coral without having a sump though. It is harder to keep the chemistry in line.

I know Corailline is sumpless and i know there are others i just can't think of who, hopefully some will chime in here, but you should check out the build threads of those people and see what all they are using to run sumpless

 

Welcome

This is an awesome place with great ppl. Everyone is truly helpful, in a positive and supportive manner.

Congrats on your new tank. The best advice anyone will give; research, research more, ask many questions, go slow, and truly enjoy the experience.

You don't need a sump, refugium, reactors or skimmer. Many run systems without these although they do have benefits. You will learn how to run a system that works for you.

I would agree with others, the canister filter will end up causing more unnecessary maintenance and not only will the cleaning be a pita but so will controlling the nitrates.

You could get a hang on filter to run your chemical filteration, this will also add flow to the tank.

I ran my 55g with a hob filter(for carbon, phosguard etc), a remora skimmer(loved it!), two koralia ph, crushed coral(never again), t5ho's x 4 bulbs. It was great, had a healthy tank full of happy corals and friends.

 

Why no crushed coral? I like the oolite sand, but is it to fine, and is it to fine for burrowing fish?
Thanks everyone for the input , your a big help.

 

I went with crushed coral and then learned that there are draw backs.

Crushed coral is larger and difficult for burrowing species, sifters, etc.
It also traps particles, food, etc. Which can lead to nitrate issues. It has to be vacuumed regularly.
Most go with sand or bare bottom.
I used caribsea pink fiji live sand, I like it.

 

I already planned on ordering some of that. What's you opinion on the polite sand? Did I waste my money on the fluval filter?

 

be weary of going to fine when it comes to sand. the combination powerhead/ fine sand can get ugly. personally i use 3/4 aragonite and 1/4 crushed coral. i never was a fan of really fine sand and my sand shifters dont seem to have to much difficulty.... but this is my own personal taste.

going back on the sump issue... gain experience without out one, but if later you want to try this adventure i would strongly recommend it. you can set up a dispaly refugium/sump (a little more maintenance needed than a forgotten one in a cabinet) that can become just as interesting as a DT

 

Thanks for the advice

 

I did two thirds Fiji pink and one third sugar sand. I like the look and don't get sand storms like I would with all sugar sand.

 

ok. I've been curing my rock for about 2 weeks with a few water changes but the ammonia is not dropping at all. Is that normal?

 

You are still going thru your cycle if ammonia is present.

 

ok. I've been curing my rock for about 2 weeks with a few water changes but the ammonia is not dropping at all. Is that normal?