My First Reef! 55 G. Tube Tank

Stonekeg · Sep 11, 2018

Thanks @NY_Caveman ! We all do feel a lot better now, but that dang water main is still busted. It should be all set by this Thursday, though. Of course, that hasn't stopped me from working on the project a bit. With that, here's a photo!

Stonekeg · Sep 25, 2018

Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I've been cleaning the tank (literally had it in the shower for a hot vinegar rinse) and now my Puratek RODI, and Reef Octopus VarioS 2 are on the way. My overflow came in last week, so this weekend I might be drillin! I'm excited. So close to starting a cycle.

Stonekeg · Oct 5, 2018

The tank is drilled! I need to spend some quality time using the Novus I got in to buffer out the scratches, but that's the last step before I'm ready to see if it holds water.

Stonekeg · Oct 5, 2018

Yesterday I got in a nice box of gear, too. Here's what I've got.

Somatic 60 with Sump.
2x AI HD Primes.
2x IM Wavelinks
1x VarioS 2

I'm super stoked.

Stonekeg · Oct 17, 2018

My nerd levels are over 9,000 at the moment. This is my birthday gift from my boss. He's never going to hear the end of "My Boss Rocks!" jokes now.

Stonekeg · Oct 18, 2018

I know you're supposed to clear the dead matter off of your rocks, but I had no idea it was going to be so obvious.

revhtree · Oct 18, 2018

Very cool! I would be so tempted to plant some zoas in those tubes but then it would get covered. Or maybe just let them grow on the bottom part of the tube!

Stonekeg · Oct 18, 2018

I never thought about allowing the bottom tube to get covered in a carpet of some sort. I like that idea! It's my first reef, so I'm not 100% sure on what I'm going to do. However, I know I do like me some Zoas.

Stonekeg · Oct 22, 2018

I'm a mixture of crazy tired and crazy excited. I finally have water in the tank, and the cycle has begun!

Here's a picture of the tank just before we added final rock work.

And here is a picture of the tank shortly after. I'll have to try and take some better pictures once everything has cleared up.

Stonekeg · Oct 23, 2018

So, last night I was all fired up and ready to work a bunch on the tank, but then I zonked out when I put the kiddo to bed. No regrets. However, I did get a couple of better pictures!

The power heads and lights are not in their final place. In fact, not much really is, but it's close enough now that I'm actually getting a good feel for it. Tank is at 2ppm ammonia, and doing its thang!

NY_Caveman · Oct 24, 2018

Stonekeg said:

This tank is so cool. Cannot wait to see it grow.

Diamond1 · Oct 24, 2018

Looks good! I love the aquascape.

Stonekeg · Nov 11, 2018

Thank you everyone! So, here's today's update. Part of the landscaping in the pictures above was just temporary. The right side wasn't secured down, so I had to pull the rock out to work with it. I kept tossing around different ideas, but finally came up with something. Here's the tank without anything in the right side.

After a lot of back and forth, here's what I went with.

And for perspective, here's the full tank now with the "final" rock-work. Please don't mind the terrible picture quality. The window behind me when I take daytime pictures is a bit of a pain when I'm just taking quick shots.

Next I think I'll take care of the electrical mess on the right of the sump in the picture. Slowly but surely I'm cleaning it up and getting it going!