Finally getting into saltwater as a hobby!

[daso]

Hi All!

I am a new saltwater hobbyist! I was able to study marine biology during my biology degree, and fell in love with saltwater! I finally talked my fiance into having a tank at home (which he is in love with the hobby now, too)! We have a 55 gallon rimless tank, with a eheim canister filter and 50 lbs of live rock, and 60lbs of substrate. We started out small, because we are in an apartment, but soon, we will have our own house and will be able to upgrade to an in wall tank (looking at a 210 gallon). We have been up and running for about 4 months now. As of now, we have a banded goby, 6 line wrasse, and a mini oscellaris clown ( we had a pair of tomatoes, but one killed the other, then started killing our shrimp--so back to the LFS it goes). I am interested to see your opinions on stocking. Also, on getting a HOB protein skimmer, since we don't have a sump on this tank (We will get one on the next). Our tank seems to be doing AWESOME! We haven't had any problems yet--except a diatom outbreak, probably due to using tap water, which we quit that real quick.

Any ideas or tips would be awesome!

Thanks!
-Danielle

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[Crow]

Welcome to R2R Danielle!
If you're planing an upgrade it might be wise to find a used hang on the back skimmer in the selling forums here.

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Welcome!
Clowns can be moody!

 

[rayn]

Welcome! 210 sounds like a good build. In walls builds are fun as well.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome! Sounds like you're off to a great start. I'm sure your marine biology knowledge really comes in handy. Would love to see some pictures! Possibly start a build thread in the member tanks forum. Great way to get input on your set up and best of all show off all of your hard work.

 

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Welcome to the forum :fish:

 

[luxauterna]

Welcome to the best forum! It sounds like you guys are on a great start. Don't worry about the diatom outbreak, especially if it was early on in the cycle. I also ran into an issue with one of my tanks and a moody tomato clown. He didn't last too long. There are a lot of options out there now for HOB protein skimmers. I would still always recommend a sump, but since you plan on upgrading soon try checking out some of the reef octopus, CPR, or AquaC Remora. Good luck! Keep us posted with pics!

 

[TruRacr314x]

Welcome to the forum and the hobby! It's a roller coaster ride at times...but very rewarding for sure!

 

[kireek]

*Welcome to the forum!* A HOB is a great place to add filter media when you need it.If you use the filter pads that come with them,keep them clean.I would recommend the same thing for your canister filter.Generally speaking they are not often used in salt water aquariums because the salt is hard on the components and they can become clogged with organic waste.A HOB skimmer would be a great investment as well,some work much better than others.You have come to the right place to find recommendations on models.However,if your planning a upgrade maybe it would make sense to invest in a larger in tank model.

 

[VB68]

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