[NewSaltWaterGirl]

Well I am new here and have some questions.
I am starting up a marine tank. I just bought a 55 gallon tank with a stand and lights. I bought it off craigs list so I am not exactly sure what kind of lighting. I have most of the live sand that I need, will be buying a heater a filter and a protein skimmer.

The first thing I am wondering is I am looking at live rock and am trying to save money so I am looking around for good deals. I found a few on EBAY that I am thinking of buying and I am wondering if anyone has used the company for live rock and if not have they used the same rock from a different company. I am specifically thinking about the first and last ones.
Here are the ones I am looking at:
Fiji Birdsnest Base Rock
Hawiian Waterfall Base Rock

Fiji Bamboni Base Rock
My next three questions is how important is a protein skimmer for my tank, are either of these good enough protein skimmers, if not what ones would you suggest that arent expensive?
Skimmer One
Skimmer Two

Any other tips would be graetly apprieciated.

[leebca]

WELCOME TO REEFLAND!

I hope you enjoy reading. There is a LOT of good info here on Reefland.

Please go to this post and see a list of links with topics you should be familiar with as you learn more:
Table/Contents - Link List

I don't recommend products nor online services. However the sponsors of Reefland do carry a full line of equipment. I would say one thing about equipment -- maintenance. You can find pumps in a wide range of pricing. The less expensive ones are not necessarily a poor choice. In general, with pumps for instance, the lesser expensive ones usually require more maintenance. If you are a do-it-yourself kind of person, this kind of high-maintenance equipment may be a good choice. Always check what it takes to maintain the equipment and determine your willingness to perform the manufacturer's recommended maintenance before buying.

Also, before buying, ask around, (which are you doing now). Good!

There are two posts you need to read. The first one, in case you haven't found it already, is this one:
Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Regarding your question about skimming, you need to read this post, which contains skimmer information:
What is Water Quality

What is very important in choosing a skimmer is choosing one that is rated for what you need. There is no standard rating system for skimmers. That is, one manufacturer may say their product is good for a 100 gallon aquarium whereas another manufacturer would/could rate that same product as good for a 50 gallon aquarium. See the problem?

The above link to the post on water quality covers skimmer rating. As for expense -- it goes back to maintenance issues. Most will do fine, so first rate it properly then look into how hard it will be to clean it. You should be cleaning it every day or every other day!

Hopefully others who have experience with the equipment you listed will be able to share their opinions.

Good luck!

[weez1959]

Also, don't buy base rock, it's pretty much absolutely useless!
People who buy base rock would be those who have several hundred gallon systems and have already bought LOTS of LIVEROCK and are just planning on having it seeded by the liverock.
IF you buy baserock you'll be wasting your money Liverock is worth every penny you spend.

[weez1959]

Another thing is buying baserock online ends up costing the same as buying quality liverock at your LFS because of the shipping cost.

I'll give you one really good piece of advice:

Never buy the cheaper piece of equipment/liverock/sand/fish, in the end you'll regret it and as you progress in this hobby you will end up buying the item you passed up because it was more expensive and will have paid more because of all the double purchases. How do I know? Been there, done that

About the skimmer, both the skimmers you're looking at on eBay are nothing more than tank decorations!
Here's one that everyone will recommend:

AquaC Remora w/ MJ 1200 Protein Skimmer Aqua C *NEW* - (eBay.ca item 130207258674 end time 28-Mar-08 16:36:26 EDT)

I'm not saying that you have to get it from eBay. I'm sure a few sponsors here have them in stock...

[NewSaltWaterGirl]

Originally Posted by weez1959

Another thing is buying baserock online ends up costing the same as buying quality liverock at your LFS because of the shipping cost.

I wish it did Sadly even with shipping its a little over half of what it would be at my lfs.

AquaC Remora w/ MJ 1200 Protein Skimmer Aqua C *NEW* - (eBay.ca item 130207258674 end time 28-Mar-08 16:36:26 EDT)

I'm not saying that you have to get it from eBay. I'm sure a few sponsors here have them in stock...

Ouch...

[okcalla]

if your willing spend a little to get a good quality skimmer then the remora pro with the mag3 its definitely THE way to go for an HOB skimmer. sure you could buy something cheaper at an LFS but your probably not going to be happy with the results and end up spending more on another skimmer to replace the first one not to mention possible livestock loss. I use this skimmer in my tank and couldn't be happier with the results.