# Starting a SWT in the new year need some advice.



## ludds (Sep 7, 2010)

Hi Everyone,

Well I plan to start a SW tank in the new year. My trip to Maui must of inspired me lol.
The equipment that I have on hand is are as followed.

55 gallon tank/stand/glass top
Magnum 350 filter/marineland 350 HOB filter.
Crushed coral/heater/salt and lights LED and CF lights.

Stock wise.. I would like tangs/ damsels/clowns 

FOWLR set up is what Im thinking of. or just fish and Deco.

suggestion anyone would help and do I have the basic equipment to start? Anything else I need.
tank in advance guys and gals


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## ludds (Sep 7, 2010)

Shout out too Scotttang thanks for the advice.


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## BaoBeiZhu (Apr 24, 2010)

dont bother with the HOB filter, get your self a 20 gal long sump. or bigger if you can.
and some powerheads. koarlia will do. or mp40wes if you want high tech gadgets. 

as for Fowlr, you dont need expensive lights, just get some T5s and you ll be happy.

other than those things I listed, just get your heater, salt, sand (or bare bottom), and liverocks. and there you have it.. fowlr lol

oh and refractometer to test your salinity, or hydrometer.


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## whatcaneyedo (Oct 31, 2012)

A sump and a good protein skimmer would be a significantly better purchase than any canister filter. Canister filters trap and hold waste allowing it to further break down and pollute a saltwater tank until you clean it out. A good skimmer removes waste from the system before it has a chance to break down into ammonia-nitrite-nitrate which feeds unwanted algae growth. 

A 55gal is a little bit cramped for any tang to be kept in long term. Damsels are generally quite territorial and aggressive, if you add any of those first you may have troubles with newer fish getting bullied to death. There are many really neat little fish to choose from such as wrasse, gobies, blennys and dart fish etc that should be more community friendly than damsels.


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## aQ.LED (Nov 13, 2012)

well for him to get the sump, he need to know how to connect the sump and the main tank. since he has glass top, it would need to drill the tank bottom for a sump. To be honest, if you can get a sump with either drilled tank or HOB style overflow would be the best way to go. However, I don't think it is a must for a FOWLR tank. I would say even skimmer would be a "good to have" instead of "must have" type of equipment. If you only keeping fish, all you need just keep up with water change. The powerhead is a must tho. I personally will remove the glass top and have at least 1 powerhead create surface water movement to keep up with the gas exchange in the tank.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

For that size tank, stick with the bristletooth family of tangs (Kole tang or something similar). They are smaller, swim less, and are great for algae control.


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## ludds (Sep 7, 2010)

Thank everyone for the input getting a skimmer 2day, will plan to get a sump hob style bc tank is not drilled. Sump the way to according to most ppl I talked with.

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