# Empty 55 Gallon



## Mako (Sep 3, 2012)

I have an empty 55 gallon tank lying around and nobody in my house is using it. If I wanted to, I could use it as long as I buy everything I need for it. It has its own stand that it came with. It came from a friend of one of my relatives. I'm not sure what they used it for. When my sister received it, she used it for hamsters. After she gave her hamsters away, she didn't want the tank anymore so I took it for an aquarium of mine. It was only for a short time because it was taking up a lot of space in my room. It is short but wide. Now that my living room has more space in it, I can technically use that room for it. Does anyone have any ideas what I should do with this? I was thinking of a saltwater reef tank but I don't have any experience with saltwater aquariums or reefs. I never had a planted tank before. I need some suggestions. And if I did go with a planted coral SW tank, what is a list of equipment that I would need?


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## Blackfeet (Jul 23, 2012)

Sorry with it having been used for hamsters the only things I would put in it would be things that breath air or goldfish, such as turtles, & frogs. No fiddler crabs they do spend some time in the dry but they are predominately wet water animals. Maybe after 3 years you could use it for other things after the urea has leeched out of the silicone. Even the frogs are iffy since their skin is so thin they absorb oxygen and other stuff through their skin. You could make a very interesting wet/dry set up for the turtles


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## Mako (Sep 3, 2012)

It's been a few years since it has been used. Is there anyway to aid in cleaning out any chemicals that it might contain? Unfortunately, it was used as an aquarium after the hamsters. What does Ureau do?


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## Blackfeet (Jul 23, 2012)

Urea kills fish. It might kill goldfish too, I don't know. The way I know of removing the urea damage is time. It got under the silicone and dried out. It is also is to a limited extent absorbed by the silicone. 
I picked that up from oxygen clean training when I was in the Navy


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Read through this thread. It has many good ideas.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-aquariums/thinking-starting-sw-111787/


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## Mako (Sep 3, 2012)

_Perhaps I should join the Navy._


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## Blackfeet (Jul 23, 2012)

Mako said:


> _Perhaps I should join the Navy._


I wouldn't advise it. I left after 8 years in 2005 because it wasn't fun anymore, too much paperwork. I talk to old buddies who are still in and it has only gotten worse. Go air force or coast guard.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

Mako said:


> _Perhaps I should join the Navy._


Okey, I'm back at my compueter now, so I can attach my updated list. Added a bunch of things, so you have an idea what we are talking about.
#1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
#2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
#3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
#4-Protein Skimmer, rated at 2 times your water volume. Unless your tank is under 30g, in which case you can do 10% water changes a week to rid the system of detrius. But, you'll have to watch the water parameters close, if things go haywire, you'll have to do more water changes.
#5-Saltwater Test Kits. Reef Test Kit. Test for Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH, Phosphates, Calcium, ALK and Magnesium.
#6-Saltwater fish food. Mysis Shrimp, Squid, Cyclopease, Algae Sheets, Romaine . Flake food is not really a good food to feed your marine fish.
#7-Aquarium vacuum. This one is iffy. Most don't use one, if you have enough flow in the tank you won’t need one
#8-Rubber kitchen gloves
#9-Fish net
#10-Two, clean, never used before, 5-gallon buckets
#11-Aquarium thermometer, digital being the best.
#12-Brush with plastic bristles (old tooth brush) - needed for cleaning the live rock if you don't get Fully Cured Live Rock.
#13-Power Strip, possibly GFCI outlets by the tank.
#14-Optional but definitely recommend getting a Reverse Osmosis or RO/Deionization filter for the make-up water, and a barrel for storing the water.
#15-Possibly a Quarantine Tank for your new fish. They sit in here for a few weeks to kill off parasites and bacteria, to keep it from getting in your main tank
#16-Heater rated for your size tank.
#17-Saltwater Mix. Marine Salt. Instant Ocean is the cheap Salt that beginners and Advanced use alike.
#18-Saltwater Hydrometer or even better a Refractometer, which is more accurate. There is also a Digital Meter that is way advanced if you have the cash.
#19-Aquarium filter (not absolutely necessary if running with adequate amounts of live rock, but nice to have if you need to use a mechanical filter or activated carbon, or GFO and such)
#20-Aquarium substrate such as live sand or crushed coral. Some go bare Bottom, others choose the 2-3" bottom, others, more advanced will try the Deep Sand Bed, which is over 6" deep.http://znnea.rmuvx.servertrust.com/default.asp
Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle and cycling. Methods for ammonia, nitrite removal.
aquarium heater | eBay
power heads | eBay
NEW 0-10% Salinity Refractometer Salt Water Aquarium | eBay
MarcoRocks Aquarium Products
Bulk Dry Live Rock - Bulk Reef Supply
http://aquarium-fish.liveaquaria.com/search?p=Q&lbc=liveaquaria&uid=24664104&ts=custom&w=live rock&af=cat1:liverock&isort=score&method=and&ts=results
Fish & Aquarium Supplies: Marine Substrates, Sand, Crushed Coral, Live Sand
Aquarium Lighting; Reef, Planted Light Information. PAR, Bulb, Watt, Kelvin, Nanometers, MH, LED.
http://live-plants.com/http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/what-your-coral-needs/
t-5 lighting | eBay
cree led aquarium | eBay


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## Mako (Sep 3, 2012)

Reefing Madness said:


> Okey, I'm back at my compueter now, so I can attach my updated list. Added a bunch of things, so you have an idea what we are talking about.
> #1-Dry Rock, there are a few hitchhikers on Live Rock that people want to stay away from, so they opt for using Dry Rock, or Dead Rock. Macro Rock is a good place to start looking for that. Either way you go you will need a minimum of 1lb per gallon.
> #2-Replacement filter media like filter floss and activated carbon (if you get a filter) Which is really not necessary.
> #3-Multiple Power heads (2 or 3) 10x your water volume for just a Fish Only With Live Rock, and at least 20x your water volume for a Reef Tank. So lets say your going reef, and you have a 100g tank, you would need flow in that tank at minimum of 2000gph, or 2 1000gph power heads.
> ...


 
I have a lot to learn. Maybe I should make it a freshwater tank and learn about all of the equipment before I attempt saltwater and mess it up.


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## Reefing Madness (Jun 26, 2011)

I know its alot to look at, but its really not that hard once you've gotten it all set up. Honest.


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## Mako (Sep 3, 2012)

_I need to learn the equipment and what its purpose is. Then, I need to learn species and their requirements. I am basically trying to learn as much as I can. _


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