Hello all,

I'd like to take this opportunity to say hello and thank you for all the great advice I've already received from this forum during the past few weeks. You all seem very knowledgeable and helpful, and certainly a big plus for everyone new to the hobby...

About myself... aquarist since the age of 5 (19+ years, on and off), owned every freshwater fish from mollies to discus but never saltwater, prized aquarium was a 75 gallon discus show tank which was running for 5 years, most recent aquarium was a simple 29 gallon with a breeding pair of angelfish in my apartment at college... have finally decided to test my luck in the realm of reefkeeping :)

So, as much as I hate to start a thread that is essentially the same as one we have running (Noobeef's 29 gallon...), that is exactly what I'm going to do...

I just ordered an AGA 54 gallon megaflow tank from my LFS... for $10 more, the guy offered to hook me up with a T5 single bulb reflector, which I did (knowing this won't be nearly enough light in the long run, but seemed stupid not to)... I won't have it for another 2 weeks, so I still have plenty of time for more planning...

Along with the tank, I plan on buying the biggest sump that will fit in the stand... at my LFS, this was a Sea Life(I think...?) rated for a 75 gallon... I think this should work fine, and the fit was like a glove... if anyone does know of a better sump setup that will fit in a 54 gallon corner stand, input here would be appreciated....

Currently comparing protein skimmers...this is one area where I have zero experience (obviously) so I certainly need some help here... there are a million options, and I don't really know what I'm comparing :unsure: ... In the long run, I'm going for a full blown reef, so for a 54 gallon aquarium, which protein skimmer(s) would you all recommend (specific make and model would be great :up:)... no price limit (not trying to spend $10k on a 54 gallon, but planning on dropping whatever it takes to have this thing with the best setup possible)...

As far as substrate, what are the essential differences between DSB and SSB? I had figured on throwing a mix of 20 lbs live sand and 30 pounds dry sand... any ideas how deep this would put my sand bed in a 54 gallon corner tank, and would this be the right amount?

My plan...

Dry sand in the tank, fill it (will have my own RO system will be setup within a few days ;)), set parameters and warm, add live sand, set up filter, add live rock... go from there...

How does this sound?? Any advice would be great! Oh, by the way... I'm planning on documenting the whole thing with my digital camera, my hope being that this thread may eventually be half as cool as some of the other tank projects on this site :kewlpics:

Thanks in advance,

Brandon

Brandon,
Welcome to this crazy hobby!

I will give you my .02 and I'm sure the others will chime in and give theirs, especially Carmie, who I believe has a 54 corner.

1. The T5 will be fine for keeping the tank FOWLR (fish only with live rock). Honestly, while you are learning over the next couple months , this will be fine. You can add to it later if you decide you want more light loving critters.

2. I'm not familiar with the Sea Life sump. Most of us are the type that DIY our stuff, but if that is not your thing, it may be fine. What return pump are they suggesting for it??

3. Skimmer...you have a ton of choices and its a decision thats best made once you have the tank running and can see ow much space you have under the stand.

4. SSB vs. DSB is still very much debated. I personally dont care for the look of a DSB in the display, but thats just me. Which ever way you go, I would skip the bagged live sand and instead seed your sand bed with a cup of sand from another trusted tank (or tanks).

Hi Brandon and :welcome: to TR. Michigan??? Ann Arbor??? Oh, no!

Seriously, I love my 54. It is such a dramatic looking tank. I have an old wet/dry filter box for my sump. http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f198/CarmieJo/DSC_8281.jpg (I know Bobby, it still needs cleaned. Truly!) I would probably not buy a wet/dry just to use as a sump but it is an option. It really only holds the water doesn't filter but it fits perfectly.

Hey Brandon, welcome to TR.

So, as much as I hate to start a thread that is essentially the same as one we have running (Noobeef's 29 gallon...), that is exactly what I'm going to do...
That's quite alright, Brandon. We "old timers" know that every reef set up is different, every "newbie" has different questions. Well mostly there the same but, we understand it's a process, a learning curve.

I just ordered an AGA 54 gallon megaflow tank from my LFS... for $10 more, the guy offered to hook me up with a T5 single bulb reflector, which I did (knowing this won't be nearly enough light in the long run, but seemed stupid not to)... I won't have it for another 2 weeks, so I still have plenty of time for more planning...
:rotfl: Please, excuse my laughter! That two weeks is going to fly by. The 54 corner is a nice size to start off with. Our resident 54 corner expert, Carmie, has already responded. She is a great source of info. A T5 single bulb reflector for $10 was a steal. Even if it's not enough, you will find uses for it later on.

I plan on buying the biggest sump that will fit in the stand... at my LFS, this was a Sea Life(I think...?) rated for a 75 gallon... I think this should work fine, and the fit was like a glove... if anyone does know of a better sump setup that will fit in a 54 gallon corner stand, input here would be appreciated....

I'm a firm believer in BIG sumps. When considering the total system volume, having a big sump adds water volume and a margin of safety. BUT BE CAREFUL!!! Many people squeeze themselves right out of room in their cabinet stands. You need to have room for pumps, UV Sterilizer, skimmer, plumbing, electrical stuff...be mindful of that when you "design" your out of sight area.

In the long run, I'm going for a full blown reef, so for a 54 gallon aquarium, which protein skimmer(s) would you all recommend (specific make and model would be great :up:)...
There's a wide selection of skimmers to choose from. In recent years I have used several, Red Sea Berlin, Top Fathom, and Bermuda brands. Of those, I think the Red Sea model would fit your needs well. I really liked mine. I used it on a 75 gallon. Not only did it kick butt (ie, skim mate) but it dismantled easily for cleaning. There are many others and someone else will chime in.

no price limit (not trying to spend $10k on a 54 gallon, but planning on dropping whatever it takes to have this thing with the best setup possible)...
:rotfl: Sorry, can't help myself. I'll bet you come closer than you think.

As far as substrate, what are the essential differences between DSB and SSB? I had figured on throwing a mix of 20 lbs live sand and 30 pounds dry sand... any ideas how deep this would put my sand bed in a 54 gallon corner tank, and would this be the right amount?
There are several important differences between a DSB and a SSB. First, the DSB is a minimum of 4" and a SSB is anything less, usually an inch or two. Second, the purpose of the DSB is to provide an anaerobic (lacking in oxygen) area for the conversion of Nitrate to Nitrogen gas. Here is a link to an article by Dr. Ron Shimek (considered to be the Guru of DSBs) - Sand Bed Secrets (http://www.theculturedreef.com/aragonite.htm) Click on the thumbnail pic of the book, it's a short, informative read. Consider it your first assignment. :up:

Aragonite sand is the preferred medium for DSBs and SSBs. Getting it at a reasonable price has become as impossible as cheap gas. I have it at a reasonable price BUT, shipping it is costly. Plus I haven't found the right container to ship it in. Sorry. I am working on it though. Avoid crushed coral!!!

My plan...

Dry sand in the tank, fill it (will have my own RO system will be setup within a few days, set parameters and warm, add live sand, set up filter, add live rock... go from there...

Any sand you buy, dry or wet, you are going to want to rinse to get the dust out. If you don't, you will be fighting the "dust storm" in your tank for quite some time.

When you buy your water system do not stop at an RO system. Get an RO/DI system of 100 gal per day capacity. DO NOT spend over $100 plus shipping for the unit. Here is a link to Aqua Safe Systems unit on e-bay -
Aqua Safe System RO/DI (http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-SAFE-MAXIMUS-II-REVERSE-OSMOSIS-WATER-FILTER_W0QQitemZ160223507063QQihZ006QQcategoryZ206 84QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262) You might question, why 100 gpd??? Trust me you will be glad after you own it. Besides the cost difference between that and a 50 gpd is negligible.

Looking forward to your tank build thread.

Dick

Amphibious... you said to get an RO/DI system... ok, I can do that, however I already have a Kent Marine Hi-S RO system from my discus days (when I said I'll have it hooked up, I mean I'm just waiting to get it from my parents' house lol)... soo, question: Is it worth me trading up for an RO/DI unit? If so, I'm more than willing to dump mine on ebay for whatever it's worth and buying something different...

Thanks,

Brandon

Hey Brandon,

I guess I didn't realize you already had the Kent RO Hi-S unit. I'm not familiar with the
final resulting water product from that unit. I do know that RO/DI water is better than simple RO water. I think the Hi-S stands for removal of silicates which would be good if your source water had excess silicates. However, I am of the belief that an RO/DI unit would take care of silicates. It's up to you.

Dick

Hello Brandon! :D Glad to have you aboard. Seems like the gang has pretty much covered everything so far. One can never have enough planning time nor information when starting up a reef. And it's like taking on another child to raise also, but the rewards are priceless. :heart:

Yo B... welcome to TR. Glad to have you aboard. I think, you and I need to have a couple of cold ones...and figure out how to turn them lakes up there....into really, really, big reef tanks ;)

Again, welcome to TR!

Dave

Hi Brandon,

There's a wide selection of skimmers (http://www.talkingreef.com/forums/6197-new-saltwater-54-gallon-corner.html#) to choose from. In recent years I have used several, Red Sea Berlin, Top Fathom, and Bermuda brands. Of those, I think the Red Sea model would fit your needs well. I really liked mine. I used it on a 75 gallon. Not only did it kick butt (ie, skim mate) but it dismantled easily for cleaning. There are many others and someone else will chime in.You can see the edge of my Red Sea Berlin skimmer on the right side of my photo.

Is it worth me trading up for an RO/DI unit? I think that I have read that you can buy a DI cartridge and add it on. Not sure if your unit has to be designed for this or not or how much technical expertise it takes but it may be worth looking into.

Hello,

Today I picked up a few old aquarium supplies...

The RO system... it's a standard Kent Marine, full size RO unit... does anyone know about an add on DI cartridge for this system??

I also picked up an old tank... it's a glass 20 gallon high, 24x12x16... after doing some more reading/contemplating, I've decided that (provided it fits in my stand) I'd rather use this tank to make my own sump/refugium... any ideas where I could find some decent plans for this project?

Thanks again,

Brandon

Brandon, look here at Melevsreef.com | Acrylic Sumps & Refugiums (http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html) for advice on designing and building a sump.

you can buy a separate DI canister and put it at the output of the RO membrane as the last stage of filtration. i bought mine and did it this way.

UMichAA Welcome! I have the 54 gallon corner tank as well.
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z186/nbkcu33/tankstand.jpg
The main reason I get this tank, besides the fact that it fit the space I had, was CarmieJo’s tank. When I saw how beautiful her tank was I know it was the right way to go. For the lighting of my tank I have a 24 inch Nova Extreme, which is 4 T5s and lunar LEDs. I agree with Amphibious about the running out of space in the stand. As you can see I am using the model 1 sump that is made for this tank and there is very little room left for anything else.
http://i190.photobucket.com/albums/z186/nbkcu33/sump.jpg
This is an old photo the bio balls are no longer in the sump. To make room I needed to move the lighting timers to the outside of the stand. Enjoy the tank

Looks good Matt. Glad you replaced the bio balls.

Dick

check out DI Systems (http://www.thefilterguys.biz/di_systems.htm) I have bought several things from them with great success, (I looked but couldn't find anything similar at any of our sponsors if there is SORRY) If out sponsor carries it you should go to them first :up:

Hello all,

Well, after a month of waiting... I finally got my tank! I ended up getting the 54 gallon megaflow, I picked up everything I need to make a sweet fuge, actually I have everything I need to get it up and running... super excited, but unfortunately I'm looking at a couple busy days and I don't think I'll have a chance at getting it setup until later this weekend... but stay posted, pics coming!

Good vibes,

Brandon

Hi Brandon,

Exciting times ahead! I think you will like the 54!

Hello everyone,

So yea it's been a while since I've posted on this site and I want to give an update on the tank... The tank is up and running, complete with 50 lbs of live rock (10 lbs in sump), a fuge with cheato, a seaclone skimmer, 3 damsels, an emerald crab, a pyramid snail, plus a frogspawn frag, a kenya tree frag, and a candycane frag... so far everything is doing great, I see a couple feather dusters on the live rock and even a sea squirt... I've also seen a couple hermit crabs...

Anyway, things are going very well... I'm debating my options with lights at this point, not sure which way to go... suggestions here would be much appreciated, as I've realized that lighting this tank isn't the easiest task...

One question I do have: my kenya tree coral is doing fantastic, looks like it's grown a significant amount already; however, as I look closely today, I notice that the lowest "branch" is slumping and looks very weak, almost like it's too thin and slightly darker than the rest of the coral... it is still open but looks like it's almost falling onto the live rock below it... I am wondering if this is normal... Could it be that this is how the coral grows, with the lowest branches failing so it can continually grow higher instead of like a bush??? The rest of the coral looks great, as do the other corals...

I will include some pics of the tank and corals when my roommate gets home and knows how to get these pics off the camera and onto the computer...

Thanks... more updates soon...

Brandon

Hello,

I realized the kenya tree was touching the rock a little much... I moved it, and it's doing fine...

Brandon

Good detective work on your part. Please post some pics when you can. I'd love to see your tank.