1st tank. 55 gal

[mfief]

My first tank is a 55 gal with 2 clownfish, 3 damsels, 1 coral beauty, a couple shrimp snails and hermits, about 30 pounds of live rock. I have more curing in my next tank (30 long) right now to get me over the 50 pound mark. I definitely want more real estate for corals in the future. Right now it is running a bio wheel 350 filter, Hang on back skimmer, and uv sterilizer. I am building matching stands for this and the 30 long soon and will be adding a 20 gallon sump to the 55 (any recommendations on setting up the sump)

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Nice tank!
Add a refugium if you have room in the sump.

 

[mike007]

Nice tank keep it up.

 

[mfief]

Lots of changes over Christmas and through January

 

[mfief]

More from January

 

[mfief]

 

[Manaz101]

Nice tank!
Add a refugium if you have room in the sump.

Agree with Zero Nitrates............Nice tank, but I'd also suggest to add a refugium in order to help with stability and longevity.

 

[mfief]

It is definitely in the future. I have to build a new stand to fit something about the size of a 30 long. My major hardware upgrades from the tank I bought are maxspect razor 16000 300w ( will be here next week), 5 stage RO/DI , 2 hydor power heads, and a 30 gallon quarantine tank. After the dust settles from those purchases then the sump/refugium, reactors, skimmer, 2 part dosing pumps, ATO, etc. and in the distant future is an apex.

 

[mfief]

The new light is in!!!!

I am using the 6 stage settings and it slowly moves up to 20% on channel A and 25% channel B then slowly ramps down to 1% on channel B for moonlights
I will slowly increase the light probably 2% every three days or so. Not sure how high I will go but probably not up to 100%

 

[powers2001]

Subscribed.

 

[mfief]

We'll today my second hydor 1500 powerhead arrived along with my magnesium test kit and my BRS shipment of Red Sea Coral Pro Salt, 5 Stage RO/DI unit, and refractometer all arrived a day early. Now I can quit bumming water from my friend and I can stop being extremely irritated by the tiny bubbles in the old hydrometer. On Monday I was reworking the aqua scape in my fish only tank that had been a reef tank two months ago. When I picked it up there was a colony of red people eater and a green mushroom still hangin in there after sitting in still water for almost a month. When I picked it up it sat in my garage for a few weeks with circulating water, at about 60 degrees and no light to kill the algae that was in there. On Tuesday after all if the dust settled from the rock rework I noticed that what the skeleton of what used to be an LPS branching coral had a little color around the edges. I though no way, has to be diatoms forming. Well Wednesday there was more color and the tips of hammer coral coming out. It was a bicolor hammer coral. Hopefully it pulls through as my wife and I love LPS coral especially hammers, torches and frog spawns.

 

[mfief]

Pics of the hidden treasure

A couple of pics of the old buried coral thought to be dead in a tank I had bought. The pics were taken only 24 hours apart

 

[mfief]

Definitely not the hammer it was thought to be. Duncan it is. I was on the fence to buy one now I don't have too

Sorry about the iPhone pics

 

[mfief]

Update new frags and status

The Duncan continues to recover. 3 of the 5 heads extend about a half inch during the day and the other two about a quarter.

I over the past week I have had a few polyps propagate as well.

I have a war coral and a monti cap that are not doing well at all though. The Monti seems to be on the rebound though. I think that flow was a big part of the issue there. The war coral is baffling me though. I have moved it to different area of light low, med, high. The only thing that I can think is the it was near where I add my top off water daily. Since I do not have an ATO I add my freshwater by pitcher near the powerhead on the right of the tank. The war coral was the closest coral the water being pushed by that powerhead. I have moved it again I just how it's not to late. If the Duncan and monti have taught me anything it's that you never know until there is absolutely no color/tissue left.

 

[mfief]

Oh I got a birds nest frag from a a friend of mine as well I will post a pic of that soon.

 

[mfief]

the Duncan is still recovering. It is starting to get some green color to it as well

 

[powers2001]

You want to put a big of a sump under that tank as possible. 20 gallons might seem like a lot but you will be adding equipment and each one requires space around it so you can get your hands in there for maintenance.

 

[mfief]

I will be using a 30 long. I already have it and will be ordering the skimmer, reactors, return pump, etc soon. I am also looking for a used 75 or 120 to get a little more room. 55 is a bad size in my eyes not enough room to properly aqua scape

 

[mfief]

took a trip to my LFS this weekend to pick up, of all things a blue mushroom for my son. Our 30 gallon had Marine Velvet come in on a Bicolor Angel and it wiped out the tank. He loved the Bi Color so to cheer him up a bit I promised a blue mushroom in the 55. He Loves it and of course I ended up coming home with a pretty nice Chalice, one polyp of Utter Chaos, and 3 Rasta Polyps. I will post some pics soon of the new additions.

 

[mfief]

New additions