Seen on CL for marine guys? 55G tank full set up.

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We have a 55 gallon tank,matching stand and top, all black. has standard flouresent lighting, needs to be up graded for the live rock to florish,which there is about 40 lbs one condi-anenome one lg sail fin tang, and a maroon clown. power heads,filters, heater and some misc. has been set up for about 18 mos, if you upgraded the lighting it would be awesome. I do have a ehiem ecco canister filter that I would sell for another 60.00. can text pics if interested

And I've sent an email about the filter, I claim first dibs on that if its suitable for a 55G tank. I may even go for the whole set up....but may be shouting for help..in a big way!

FYI Yeti, that's basically a freshwater tank with saltwater and marine fish in it. It doesn't have a sump, refugium, skimmer, marine lighting or any of the other typical stuff that a good marine setup should have. If you're interested in the setup for your first marine setup... just consider this as the tank, heater and powerheads (assuming they're large enough) and not a full setup. :-)

Matt I was wondering about that. The fact he's selling the Ecco filter made me wonder if that had been his SW filter, which from what I've read on here makes me think the concept of one canister filter on a 55G SW tank probably is making you cringe and have nightmares.
If I do take the plunge and go SW, it will be with a sump tank, not a canister filter.

Don't get me wrong. Live rock does the biological filtering. A cannister filter can do the chemical filtering and extra work can do the mechanical filtering, but it's just really rare to sere someone succeed that way. Plus, the extra water changes that you would need to do would cost more than paying for the equipment over time.

Nothing wrong w a canister, i run a rena xp4 in my 55 fowlr agressive, bu i got a skimmer an a sump,fuge too... cansters polish the water very very good imo

I'mmixed up... you run a sump & a canister? Is that belt and suspenders?

A refugium actually....

Sump and a canister are very different. The sump would first of all have an open top, helping reduce heat and improve aeration (more stable pH). It would also likely have surface skimming from an overflow, mechanical filtration on the way in, a refugium for macro algae growth and an area for an auto top off since your displays water level will stay level. In my opinion sump> canister. If all you are looking for is chemical filtration, canister> sump.

IMO a sump is just a place to hide equipment to keep it out of the display. A refugium is a place to grow useful life that would otherwise be eaten in the display. A canister filter could be very useful in a reef tank if it was set up properly. You could run carbon, Gfo, etc. I wouldn't use one for bacterial purposes but you could use a canister filter just the same as a reactor in a reef.

Just as I was starting to think I had a handle on what a set up required... but now...
So the ideal set up is a Sump, which has the skimmer, heater, heat loss, and aeration.
A refugium, for I'm guessing cheato, live rock and some area for pod breeding (still not sure about these critters, but they seem to be beneficial.
Some type of filtration (mechanical and carbon if possible) such as a canister.

I think I'll stay with cichlids, my brain hurts.

Just remember to consider all three filtration methods... they are similar to freshwater. Biological. Live rock and sand which contains critters that help minimize ammonia creation and bacteria to perform the nitrate cycle. Chemical to reduce NO3 & PO4 as well as increase visibility and lower smells. Mechanical to physically trap large particles that float through the water column. Evey piece of equipment does one of those things...just has to be done significantly better than it must be done in freshwater (in general).

A sump does chemical filtration very well... just is unable to provide the space for further chemical filtration (refugium grows algae on purpose which removes nitrates and phosphates), mechanical filtration in the form of filter floss our sock and protein skimmer, and lacks extra space to store live rock and live sand. The canister filter can still be used, but doesn't include the ability to add the extras.