Predator Reef 50g "Piece of Bali"

[Jake Tully]

This is my first ever tank build so this will be a learning experience for me, but I did a lot of up front research so I feel like I can handle getting it started now. Today I went down to my LFS (wow it feels so good using the hobby lingo) and purchased a 50 gallon tank (36" x 18" x 18") which came with a stand and a generic T5 light. I brought it home, mixed my water and salt (I used a whole bag of salt but it said it works for 50 gallons on the instructions but it still seems murky *HELP*) after I put that in my tank I put in my 3 bags of live sand and about 10 pounds of live rock. I could only get the 10 pounds today but I am buying more tomorrow, don't worry. I then set up my Aquatop CF300 canister filter and my Cobalt Aquatics 200 Watt heater. The water is still murky but I am hoping it will be more clear tomorrow. Stay tuned for more rock tomorrow as well as livestock in the near future! I am going to need to upgrade my light soon, any suggestions?

JT

 

[SPR1968]

That’s a great start Jake, and welcome to R2R!

 

[Krzydmnd]

Welcome! The cloudiness will settle after a few days. As long as you tested and targeted salinity you'll be fine!

 

[Jake Tully]

Morning of day 3:
I have been dosing Seachem Stability and Prime on a daily basis. I figured out the cloudiness was from way too much salt added to my water..... like off the charts too much..... so I did a 50% water change and now my specific gravity is right where it should be. Yesterday I went to my LFS and bought 15 lbs of pukani and 18 more pounds of live rock. The pieces are not the greatest for aquascaping but when I move to Charlotte in 2 months I plan to put more effort/creativity into my aquascape at that time. At the moment I just have them stacked (w/o epoxy) to help with filtration and cycling. When I get to Charlotte I want to have one side look like a ledge, I think those look really cool, and maybe an arch of some sort. I included some pictures of what it looks like inside the tank now. I also purchased a Hydor Koralia 1150, which I love. It is creating really good flow in the tank and having it next to my return water pump provides a good system of introducing the new, filtered, water. Not sure if that is how you're supposed to do it but it seemed like a good idea to me. I am surprised at how quiet my system is, the only noise I ever hear is the water trickling from the return pump, which is very peaceful to me. I am glad that my tank is up and running with good visibility after my frustration yesterday of trying to get the specific gravity down.

If you have any comments/ recommendations feel free to speak up!

JT

 

[Dystinction]

Looks like you're getting off to a good start, and welcome to the R2R world!

My one suggestion for you, if you have not considered it yet, would be to get an ATO for your system....you'll really be thankful for it!

Enjoy the ride.....even if it's a little slow at the start!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Looking good Following along for the progression. This reminds me alot of my setup when I first started out

 

[Jake Tully]

Looks like you're getting off to a good start, and welcome to the R2R world!

My one suggestion for you, if you have not considered it yet, would be to get an ATO for your system....you'll really be thankful for it!

Enjoy the ride.....even if it's a little slow at the start!

I have looked into an ATO system. I am moving to Charlotte in 2 months so I might get that system then so I can get it set up in a permanent spot. Do you have any thoughts on which ATO system would be best without breaking the bank? I like the idea of being able to make my own water instead of taking trips to my LFS.

 

[Dystinction]

Making your own water is definitely convenience, but you'll want to add an RODI onto your purchase list as well for that. The RODI will allow you to make nice pure/clean water from your home water supply.

The ATO will automagically add that nice clean RODI water to your system as it evaporates off, helping to maintain your system's salinity level and water volume.

There are a few good ATO systems on the market. I, personally, went with the Tunze 3155. However, I also hear a lot of people saying good things about the Smart ATO.

 

[Jake Tully]

Making your own water is definitely convenience, but you'll want to add an RODI onto your purchase list as well for that. The RODI will allow you to make nice pure/clean water from your home water supply.

The ATO will automagically add that nice clean RODI water to your system as it evaporates off, helping to maintain your system's salinity level and water volume.

There are a few good ATO systems on the market. I, personally, went with the Tunze 3155. However, I also hear a lot of people saying good things about the Smart ATO.

RODI is 100% already on my shopping list. Was more talking about the combination of having both systems

 

[Dystinction]

Yeah, the combo of both will make you much more self-sufficient. And allow for a more stable system.

 

[Jake Tully]

This brown stuff has been on this rock for 2 days now. It is almost only on this piece of live rock with a few small spots on other live rock. What does this mean? Is this something I should be worried about?

 

[Jake Tully]

This brown stuff has been on this rock for 2 days now. It is almost only on this piece of live rock with a few small spots on other live rock. What does this mean? Is this something I should be worried about?

 

[Jake Tully]

Day 18:

Cycling: I have increased diatom growth on every rock now and even on the sand bed. I bought a cheap strip test kit at PetCo just for curiosity, there is a picture of my test attached to this, to see what my levels are at as the process matures. Yesterday I ordered the Seachem Multitest: Marine Basic Test Kit so that will give me more accurate readings than this bootleg test kit. Anyone have experience with this kit? I plan on taking some water into my LFS to have them give me a more accurate test later today. The diatom growth is getting me very excited to introduce livestock to my tank. I also purchased a gravity refractometer but I have not used it yet.

Aquascape: Last week I utilized a sale at PetCo to get some epoxy to use on my dry rock to create a better/ more stable aquascape. Though I am not a fan of seeing the blue epoxy holding the rock together I think the formation looks really good. Having my live rock and dry rock split up does not look the most visually appealing but it will get better once I introduce life into my tank. I left one little live rock standing alone in the front of the tank so I can place some zoas on there so they do not grow out of control like what I have read on some other threads. I made sure to create a lot of caves and swim-through because I think they look really cool and seem more natural than just a wall of rock.

Lighting: I purchased a 36"-48" Current USA Orbit Marine IC LED light with the controller yesterday. As much as I wanted to get a better lighting system this was the one that made the most financial sense. Does anyone have thoughts on this system? I plan to keep softies/ LPS in my tank until I become more experienced. I figure down the road I can upgrade once I want to introduce SPS (I really want a plating montipora) I also got the adjustable arm that clamps onto the back of the tank so I am really excited to see how good it looks. I only bought 1 but I have a divider in the middle of my tank so I might buy another and put them at the ends of the lights so it is more centered (some might see this as excessive but I hate when things aren't centered/ symmetrical) My current T5 that came with the tank just sits on the top and it is quite annoying to move every time I work in the tank so having an elevated light will be a lot more convenient.

 

[Jake Tully]

Well, after what felt like an entire lifetime...... I finally got some livestock in the tank. These robust suckers have kept me glued to my tank for the past 3 hours to the point of my depth perception fading.

But on a serious note I finally took some sample tank water into my LFS to get tested and found out that my tank has fully cycled. Now me, being the impulsive/ impatient person I am, wanted to buy fish right away instead of waiting a week until I move back to school. Not sure why I wanted to complicate my move but such is life. I bought 2 cardinals and a firefish. It sucks that everyone and their mother has these fish in their tank because I like being different but they are really pretty fish so whatever. I just fed them and the cardinals attacked the mysis shrimp like sharks (shark week jokes) which has to be a good sign. Watching them swim around my tank is so cool, they really seem to enjoy the flow. My firefish on the other hand enjoys the numerous amount of caves I made with my aquascape which is lame because he/she (it's 2018 you can't assume gender these days, but I'm going with it being a "she") is so colorful. I think she might just be a little shy so maybe I'll buy her a drink at the bar and let her warm up to me a little. I also bought an orange zoa frag which I placed on an island rock at the front and center of my tank so hopefully they will grow like Barry Bonds on steroids. I am super excited to see them spread and show their true colors. I also got this purple coral (*SOMEONE HELP ME ID WHAT THIS IS*).... Funny story about that.... I wanted some pulsing xenias and could have sworn that is what I pointed at but I get home and pull out this thing and have no idea what it is or how the dude did not understand which one I wanted. I blame myself because my mind was going a million miles an hour and did not pay attention to what he grabbed. I also bought 5 margarita snails (coincidence it is National Tequila Day?) which have been going H.A.M on my sand.

All in all I am super excited to spend all night looking at fish instead of rock and probably wake up late for work in the morning because I don't go to sleep until 3 am.

 

[Jake Tully]

Today I got my Current USA Orbit Marine IC LED light. All I have to say is I love this light as do my coral and fish. I just found out that I bought a Green Star Polyp from my LFS instead of the Monti that I wanted but that is fine with me. The polyps have opened up more than ever since I put the new light on. My only problem is I bought 1 adjustable arm instead of 2 because I totally was not thinking about the brace I have in the middle of the tank so I will be buying another one here shortly. It is very sleek and looks great with my tank. I also bought the Seachem general reef test kit so I will test my parameters tomorrow.

 

[Jake Tully]

Got my 2nd mounting arm in the mail today and it really completes the look of my tank. I would post a picture but my phone got stolen I am moving to Charlotte on Friday so it will be an interesting 2.5 hour trip. I have been doing some research and I think that I can transfer my tank properly without any deaths. I do not have any livestock that is expensive so even if something does happen it wont cost me, just the morals of trying to keep pets alive. I'm excited to get down there and check out Nemo's Reef (LFS in Charlotte) to see what they have and what I can add to my tank. I just want to get it down there and set up already so I can really add some corals and livestock to brighten my tank.

 

[Jake Tully]

Successfully made the move to Charlotte without losing any lives along the way. My GSP has not opened up since moving so that is a little concerning, but I think it will be okay tomorrow. I took a trip to Upscale Aquatics in Huntersville and got a lot of new things for my tank. I bought 30 gallons of salt water since I lost a lot on the trip down, along with a new blue background. I also bought 2 ocellaris clownfish, gold head goby, peppermint shrimp, and a clean-up crew package. I also purchased a torch coral, hammer coral, and some green zoas. I finally have some interesting life in my tank. More pictures and updates to come.

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Congrats on your successful move, it looks like your tank is coming along nicely!

 

[Jake Tully]

Congrats on your successful move, it looks like your tank is coming along nicely!

I appreciate it. My GSP and zoa frag did not take well to the move though.

 

[Jake Tully]

It's been 2 days since my move and the tank has seemed to take it well. After my recent addition of fish and coral the tank has a lot more color now. The only problem is my GSP and zoa frag (pictured) did not take well to the move. I did a measure of salinity today and found out it was a little high so I did a water change to help lower it. I am not sure if there is a better fix but I am going to measure it soon to see how well it worked. I also purchased a really nice leather coral with green polyps. The picture does not show the polyp extension so it just looks like a piece of gum. I hope to get my parameters stable so my corals can flourish. I was informed I needed a better light to see some real growth so I need some recommendations on that. I do not want to break the bank.