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I want to turn my freshwater 55g into a FOWLR. I have 2 AC500's, should I keep these or is the lr enough for filteration? Is the Seaclone Protein Skimmer any good? Do I need just 55 lbs of LR and what kind of LR? I found this place that sells LR http://www.themarinecenter.com/roktext.htmis this a good deal? For sand do I just buy live sand or can should I get crushed coral or even play sand? What would you reccomned for begginer saltwater fish and inverts. I like puffers, eels, triggers, lion fish, and frog fish. Do these get too big for a 55 gallon? Also what king of inverts can I get?

Steve

Last edited by tank77 at 26-Nov-2005 15:29

Well, I don't have answers for all of the questions you asked but I can tell you this much.

Seaclone Skimmer is a definite NO! I have NEVER heard anything good about them at all.

All of the fish you asked about are either too big for a 55 gallon tank, or they are not at all beginner fish.

Depending on what base rock you get will help decide how much LR you will need. You will most likely end up with more than 55 lbs of rock too.

As for the sand you need more than jsut live sand; however, I suggest you put atleast some live sand in there.

Bottom line, you need to research EVERYTHING before you get into this tank. 55 gallons really is rather small for a SW tank. Especially if you want any of the fish you listed.

Please do LOTS AND LOTS of research before you even attempt to put water in the tank.


Christina

Actually, I don't think a 55G is too bad for a saltwater tank. But, obviously it isn't huge either.

Anyways, you need to do a lot of research from what I have read here.

Most of the filtration will be done by the live rock. So, there really isn't a need for any mechanical filters, other than protein skimmers. You may want to use the HOB filters to provide some surface agitation, but not for filtration purposes. So, just run the HOB filters empty.

Most people say that 1lb per gallon. So yes, 55 pounds of live rock for a 55G tank. But, depending on how pourous the rock is, 55lbs won't really be enough to fill up the tank. So, it may look a little bit bare. Any kind of live rock is fine. Fiji seems to be the most popular.

Use live sand if possible. If you can't get live sand then use play sand. Do not use crushed coral though.

I agree. None of those fish are suitable for beginners. Try clowns, damsels, gobies, etc. For inverts, I like blue leg hermits, and you can purchase a variety of snails.

Good luck!

Nemo

IMHO eels and lions are good begginer fish if your willing to give a varied diet my first SW fish was a zebra eel and his still living ( now hitting 7 years).
Eels and lions have a thick mucus coat which makes them less e to most skin parasites and very hardy to ammonia burns and a lot of other toxe=ins which isnt to say its ok to let your water quality drop.

a Snowflake can live quite happily in a 55g, bigger would be better.
Any of the small bodied lions would live very happily in 55g too,( fuzzy and zebra lions) dwarf lions tend to be a little less "hardy" than a russels lion but are still tougher than any clown or damsel IMO.

As i said with predator fish the hardiest thing is being willing enough to provide a varied diet for them and in some cases getting them off live food unless you culture SW feeders

just stay away from tangs, trigger and angels they are the hardest to keep in most peoples books and i havent been willing to take a plunge with any of them yet.

but then again i love my lions floating around my mini reefs

Hope i gave some insight