[dfurbee]

Hello, I have a 55gal. with 50# of live fiji rock. Was not going to have a reef, but since have been on the board my intrest has changed. Use to scuba dive all the time, but living in WV put a stop to that. Anyway, is there anything special that I need to do if I want a reef instead of a FOWLR? What sort of lights do I need, etc.? Thanks, Deb

[dalamar96]

Hi there Deb,
If you are going to be adding corals to the tank, then you will have to have a lot of lighting and much more water movement in the tank (depending on the corals that you would like to keep and grow) then you would in FOWLR tank. You should have around 20x GPH so that would be about 1200gph for your tank at least. The lighting should be around 3-5watts per gallon, but that is very touchy as it depends on how deep the tank is, how far away you are going to have the corals from the lights, and a few other things. Power Compacts are probably a good start for a 55gal tank (2x96watt or 4x96watt).

Good luck!

[dfurbee]

dalamar96, thanks for your answer. Looks like I need more circulation in my tank, and stronger lights.

[e_baer]

Originally Posted by dfurbee

Hello, I have a 55gal. with 50# of live fiji rock. Was not going to have a reef, but since have been on the board my intrest has changed. Use to scuba dive all the time, but living in WV put a stop to that. Anyway, is there anything special that I need to do if I want a reef instead of a FOWLR? What sort of lights do I need, etc.? Thanks, Deb

where di you used to dive? and was this your very first post?

[dfurbee]

Originally Posted by e_baer

where di you used to dive? and was this your very first post?

e-baer, I got certified while I lived in Hawaii, only one class left till dive master, then I moved Haved dived in Hawaii, Florida, Texan and off Carolina coast. Hawaii is the bomb!!

[Tonz of fun]

A skimmer is also a must. What fish do you have now days?

[jpmwjm]

Hey,
A fellow WV saltwater tank keeper. I set up my first Saltwater tank on march of this year. Its a 75 gallon. I went ahead and added a berlin skimmer, 4X96 pc lighting, and plenty of pump circulation in preparation for adding coral. I added about 1700 gph of circulation and the lights have helped the coraline growth to take off. That same light should be even better for a 55 gallon though. I would agree with the previous post about a good skimmer. When I upgraded from a pitiful seaclone to the berlin skimmer do to advise from here, I couldn't believe the difference I saw. I'm from southern WV. I enjoyed the reef and saltwater tanks but stuck with freshwater for years due to the availability of saltwater suppliers here. But its much better now. Good Luck with your tank.

[wesley6610]

Originally Posted by dfurbee

Hello, I have a 55gal. with 50# of live fiji rock. Was not going to have a reef, but since have been on the board my intrest has changed. Use to scuba dive all the time, but living in WV put a stop to that. Anyway, is there anything special that I need to do if I want a reef instead of a FOWLR? What sort of lights do I need, etc.? Thanks, Deb

Well, you first will need an idea of what kind of corals you would like to keep. But essentially you will need a skimmer at least twice the volume of your system, not just tank if you have a sump/fuge as well. Lighting for the corals of interest. RO/DI if you don't already have one. ATO for top off water to keep levels normal between dosing. Perhaps a dosing system or controller with pumps. That is a good start and the rest would be imagination dependant like Ca reactors, PO4 reactors and other nifty expensive gear.

[e_baer]

Sorry for reopening this post, but dfurbee already has a tank that is established. this was a bad idea.

I only opened it to find out about the diving.

darn.