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First time Build – 55 Gallon (21 posts)

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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

First time doing a large aquarium, let alone a reef. Heres how its all starting. A 55 main tank with a 46 bowfront I’ll be building into a sump and refugium. Ordering my equipment in about a week.

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Zechenia said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

Are you drilling the tank?
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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

No. I’m not really comfortable doing that, not to mention I lack a drill, so I’ll be using a hang on overflow.
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Joanne Vega said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

Plan to build your own overflow or buy one?? There’s a few pretty crafty ones made outta PVC that supposedly work great I havent personally tried them, but the theory is sound!
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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

Planning to order a eshopps overflow with all the rest of my equipment next week.
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Joanne Vega said 3 months, 3 weeks ago:

make sure to order 2 – and that each one can handle 100% of the return flow of your pump. That way if 1 clogs, the other can handle it until you get home
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GinasReef said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

You really want to turn that beautiful bowfront into a sump? =( I know someone with seahorses that might take it. lol
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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

Ya. I was going to get another 55 gallon or the like for my sump but petco didn’t have a second one during their sale when I went up there. Now I’m at my spending limit for the month ordering everything but the lights. Then lights and finally some live rock and the like to start cycling my tank. The live rocks going to be a pain, so expensive to get even a little bit with overnight shipping.
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Zechenia said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

If you haven’t ordered it already, go with dry rock. It’ll save you a TON of money. Then you can just add a few pounds of live rock to seed the tank. I went with reefcleaners dry rock, and have no complaints so far!
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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

Ya, I’m actually ordering right now. Getting eighty pounds of dry rock. But man, I priced out some 20-30 pounds of rock rubble and tank bottom crude from Premium aquatics to seed my tank and sump with and it went from being 80 to 220 after shipping. So pricy.
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Joanne Vega said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

I’m sure some of us around here have some choice rubble to see your tank with lol
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Charlie said 3 months, 2 weeks ago:

I have about 15 lbs of rock that has just been sittin outside the tank since about last May, that I bet I could get rid of

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Cameron Sills said 3 months, 1 week ago:

Got most of my stuff today. Only have about half the rock as I misordered my marco key largo. Getting some 50 pounds of pukani soon to even it out. Have to do the plumbing between the tank and my Sump/refugium and also set up the refugium itself which looks like it might have less room then I’d hoped once I install the walls and everything. Protein skimmer is big!

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Joanne Vega said 3 months, 1 week ago:

lol yeah – those dang protein skimmers are monsters!!!!

the rock looks good – some swimming space (or space for clams) might be a good thing too I like having a little sandbed space in my tank for those LPS or clams I have to have
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Cameron Sills said 2 months, 4 weeks ago:

Well I got my plumping (not yet installed) and 40 additional pounds of rock. This time I snagged Pukani taking advantage of the recent group buy. Really wish I’d got the other 40 in pukani, though I’m only using one piece of the marco rock. Soon I’ll put the plumping up, get the plexiglass to do the baffles in my sump/refugium and snag a couple of 32 gallon brute trashbins to mix the salt water up in and finally start cycling it while I save up for my light system.

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