Please help review my equipment list

Hi everybody,

I am assembling a 55 gallon FOWLR setup after a 5 year hiatus from the hobby. I am really excited. I've been trying to come up with my equipment list and I'd like some feedback (especially if I am heading down the wrong path!)

I've never had a sump in my system before, so this is my first attempt.

So far I have:

• AGA 55 gallon tank
• Tank stand (cabinet underneath measures 44" L x 10.5" W x 26" H)
• Canopy
• 2 ViaAqua 100W Titanium heaters

After doing a lot of research, I think I am going to be purchasing the following additional items:

• Eshopps PF-300 Overflow Box
• 15 Gal Acrylic Sump/Refugium [FONT=Trebuchet MS, Arial]24" x 9" x15"[/FONT](new on eBay)
• MarineLand Marine Pro 100 In Sump Protein Skimmer
• Mag Drive MD5 (500) Pump (Rated at 310 GPH at 4')
• 2 Powerheads - Undecided which ones.

As for the lighting, I am hoping to resurrect my older CF system to use. If I cannot make that happen (or even find it!), then I'll explore other setups. Possibly T5s although I still need to do my research. Not planning on having any corals in the aquarium.

Any advice? Can you see any mistakes or poor equipment choices?

Thanks!

 

Looks like you're off to a great start!! I'm new, but to me it looks good. Others will know more!

 

Looks good to me, start a thread with pictures and your progress as many do here at 3reef so we can follow along as things come together. Good Luck

 

I would suggest Koralia Powerheads. A pair of K3s or K4s would give you plenty of water movement.

As a Fish Only system, the fish tend to be on the messy eater side. Triggers, Groupers, etc. I would suggest getting a little better skimmer. Both Vertex and Octopus make very good skimmers and are not extremely expensive.

Welcome back.

Jon

 

+1 on the Koralia powerheads. They aren't the fanciest available, but they are "cheap" and work really well. I love mine!

 

Hi Jon,

If my quick searching is correct, the K3 has an 850 GPH flow rate while the K4 has 1,200 GPH. Having 2 of either of those seems a little high to me in a 55 gallon tank. Two K1s at 400 GPH make more sense to me. Am I wrong?

Thanks,
Mike

 

I use 2 K2's on a 55 and they are just about right but I am still thinkin of adding a nano for the back of my rock work which is a massive wall.

 

Not technically wrong. Two K4s would be a 40x turnover, K3s 30x, K2s 20x, and K1s 10x.

It is really just a personal preference. If you do not have corals, you can have very calm waters to very rough. It depends on what fish you eventually want. Some prefer a very turbulent water.

 

If you have a lot of rockwork, I would suggest 2 k3s. If not, get 2 k2s. 2 k3s will blow your sand around in a 55, you need lots of rock to break up the flow even more.

Havent heard much good on mareland skimmers, I would suggest an octopus.