On Tue, 30 Jan 2007 04:27:04 GMT, George Patterson
wrote:

pm3009 wrote:

What would you recommend for the following based on a 55 gallon tank ?

55 gal tanks are probably one of the most commonly used tanks today
.....but that does not say its a proper or good tank to use.
Personally I hate a 55 gal.....Its dimensions are just wrong IMHO.
Makes a fine QT/Hospital tank however.

First off, most people find it difficult to stack enough live rock in a 55
gallon tank. They aren't wide enough from front to back to leave much sand bed
after the rock is in. YMMV.

Absolutely true.

Protein Skimmer

Coralife Super Skimmers (Needlewheel) are probably one of the best and
yet affordable skimmers out there that actually works. Its got the
best bang for the buck. Stay away from Red Sea Prisms, Sea Clones,
and Berlins and JEBO's. While 99% of anything related to a SW setup
costs decent money, or you can pretty well bank on it being junk and
not working , its not the case with the coralife super skimmers.

I have no recommendation here.

Power Heads

Maxi Jet's are a very good powerhead, as is Tunze........RIO quality
is good one time and bad the next, but if yu find a RIO that works and
lasts odds are it will be with yu for ever....my choice and probably
the most commonly used powerheads are Maxi Jets or even their Mini or
MIcro Jets......Hagen Aqua Clears are alright as well

Hagen heads are very good quality, but I just replaced all of mine with a Tunze
6060 circulation pump, and I've very pleased. The circulation might be a bit
much for a 55, though. I have a 125, and I sometimes wish I had bought a larger
Tunze. Advantages to the Tunze are that it uses less power and heats the tank up
less than power heads for the same water flow. For only your left arm, you can
even buy a housing for the thing that looks like a chunk of rock.

Heater

EBO brand is probably the most comon ly used and recomended heaters.
Been more or less a European standard for many years. Either
Ebo-Jager, or EBO-Eheim......or just plain EBO.they are all the same
and of super quality.

I've had Tronic heaters for over 10 years now and like them very well. They're
submersible and easy to adjust. You want two of the 100 watt units for a 55. Two
heaters will give you redundancy if one fails, it's impossible for one to boil
your fish if it goes haywire, and it's easier to control the tank temperature
with two.

Do you have a good online resource for acrylic tanks, and the above
equipment?

Glass Cages.com is noted for glass tanks but I hear they also make
acrylic ones as well......

Here are a couple ....
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/Shop.cfm?N=2004
http://www.marinedepot.com/homepage.asp

Aquariums are usually better bought locally, though. Shipping is a pain.


If I go with live rocks and live sand, is the Protein Skimmer and
Power Heads adequate, or do I also need a mechanical filter?

You don't need a mechanical filter.

Its stil nice to have a mechanical if its nothing but a hob type such
as an Aqua Clear......which can also be run without media of anytime
and used for additonal current flow without adding any additional heat
from submerged powerhead motor to the tank.

Do you feel that 2lbs of live rock per gallon is necessary? I've
heard numbers between 1lb and 2lbs, so figured right in the middle
might be good.
1.5 shoud be fine, if you do not go overboard with fish load......I go
with 1.5 in all my setups.

I've got a little over 1lb/gallon. I like the effect so far, but it doesn't seem
to be handling the nitrates.

Does the live rock decrease the amount of fish you can have in your
tank? If a inch of fish requires 3 gallons of water, but I have
80-110 lbs of live rock in a 55 gallon tank, do I need to treat it as
if it were only a 30 or 40 gallon tank ?

I have seen that debated on lots of forums. I always treat the tank
for its capacity period.......just like it did not have any live rock
i it. I kow it takes up water capacity, but I have not had any bad
results form doing so yet.

Yep, but you might consider getting a sump or setting up a refugium. Your sand
bed can go in there, and it increases the gallonage (and capacity) of your
system. Your skimmer can also go in there. One of your heaters can also go in
there (I wouldn't put both in the sump myself). All this hides under the stand.

Sumps / fuges are always a nice item to have on any sized tank...

How close to the wall can the tank be, to allow room for the protein
skimmer/power heads ? (will make a difference on where I can fit the
tank and what size/shape I get).

I find that 6" is about right.

Depends on how much is needed for applicable skimmer plus a bit of
room for clearance.

George Patterson
No one ever says "It's only a game." when his team is winning.



-------
I forgot more about ponds and koi than I'll ever know!