newby questions about converting a marine to reef

[-madmax-]

hi,

i got a lot of stuff for free and just wanted to do a "simple" marine tank.

what i have:
tank = 55g tank (48wide,20high,13deep inch)
light = 2 Fluorescent 15 watt each
filter = fluval 304 (new media)
sand = 15 pound (so called live sand?? in wet bag),35 pound clean sand (the bag said somehting about sandblasting)
rock = 10 pound of dead (was live i guess once) and 12 pound fiji live rock
livestock = 12 damsel (really small)

tank is up for few days.

yesterday i got retrofit for free with DUAL 250 W METAL HALIDE and just found out that with those lights i could to reef.

questions:
1.) lights: because they the most value thing i guess i would like to keep them or are those to much for what i got ? i mean 2*250 watt ?? and do i need to add any other light other that what i have like actinic lights ?

2.) sand: i used mostley dead simple sand and even the so called life sand does't sound a good choise. any way to improve this know ?

3.) filter: is there even a chance to reef with my fluval 304 or do i need a sump and or skimmer ?

4.) oxygen: is there enough oxygen if i lower my fluval filter output below the waterline ? because of the noise ?

5.) what livestock can/should i add ?

well, there are a lot more questions, but i hope someone can give me some advise...

thanks in advance....

 

[Dan81]

Man are you lucky how did you get all this free? If i were you i would invest in more Live Rock. You would of course have to cure it efore you add it to your tank. I suggest getting some books and doing some reading. 2X250 MH in my opinion is to much, but if you hang them high enough of your tank so as to cut down on the light intensity they might work. As for a sump, this is recomended with a reef tank. If i were you i would slow down and research this will save you time and misery. 12 Damsels!!!!!!!!! thats quite a few they might be samll now but not for long. Thats alo for the amount of live rock you have. What about a skimmer you need to look into one of those too! Good luck and have fun

 

[jrc]

If you really want to go reef and you got all that stuff free plus you just got the retro kit with 2X250w MH...I would go out and get at LEAST a 90 gal tank and bigger if you can afford! That kind of lighting would be perfect for a 90. Keep the 55 gal. and use it as your sump tank. Throw it in the basement on a good self-built shelf/bench and plumb from the bigger tank thru the floor to the 55 sump! Getcha a good skimmer and setup down there as well. All your pumps and most water noise is now in the basement and not upstairs competing against the sounds from the TV or conversations! I would also get two vho actinics to supplement...which means a good hood to house all these new and cool lights. If you want more sand, go to Home Depot and buy their "play sand"(southdown sand). Ya need more live rock(this becomes your biological media). Don't worry about adding live sand. Getting "live" rock and having that in your tank will eventually get you a live sand bed. There are other ways to improve on this but only for later...detritivor kits and such. I would hazzard a best guess and say that the fluval is not adequate for a reef. I believe the fluval will work against you there and may be a nitrate factory...fine for fish only. A sump would be preferred with a good pump. Skimmer?? You want to wait at least six months before adding any nicer corals or fish.

Ah well...Welcome to reef aquaria! Can you do a reef without all that I just mentioned?? Sure, people have reefs with much less than you already have. The point is that what I mentioned above was just my opinions from what I've learned in the past. Setup what you have. Research research and do more research. Look at all the posts on this board. Go to the ReefCentral board and browse there. Then, and only then decide what you really want to have, your goal, and then you can setup the system you want and feel good about it. What corals do you want to keep? Types of fish? Will the fish eat the corals? If anyone else answers your post, it will probably be completely different than mine!!! Don't rush. Good luck.