Marsfrogie's 55Gallon Mixed Reef

Marsfrogie

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
Location
AL Gulf Coast
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hello all,

I've been wanting to get a build thread of my tank up for a while so here goes it

Tank Specs:
Size:
55 Gallons
20 Gallon Sump/Refugium
Tank started late in 2005. Had a slow start, lost interest, regained interest, changed a lot of things, here we are today...
Tank sits on a custom build solid red oak stand with a custom canopy

Lighting:
For lighting I have 2X250 watt HQI metal halides and I'm currently running 20K Reeflux bulbs. In the past I have run XM20K's, Ushio 20K's and Phoenix 14K's. I just recently purchased two 48" T5 actinics which I am going to add in addition to the halides. Reason being is that I'm not always happy with the color of the tank as it shifts throughout the day. (Very nice blue tint in the morning and whitens/yellows throughout the day and gets a little blue again on the end of the light cycle. Sometimes it just fluctuates color for no reason. I don't really know why it does this.) Also, I think that some of the SPS might like some more light. If I recall correctly I run the bulbs 7 hours a day.

Pumps/Circulation/Skimmer
For circulation I have 2 Seio prop 1000's in the corners and one Seio 800GPH in the center of the tank as well as a QuietOne 700GPH pump serving as a circulation pump for the sump. Overflow is custom built and was handed down to me by a friend.

Sump/Refugium:
I have a 20 gallon sump in the bottom with a Coralife CSS125 skimmer that I have modded slightly. (I know this skimmer gets a bad rap but it has performed quite well in my opinion and has not given me many problems.)
In the sump I grow chaeto but lately it has not been doing well. having a problem with a brown slime algae taking over the chaeto.

Chemicals:
For Ca Alk Mg I use Calcium Chloride pellets, Soda Ash, Magnesium Chloride and Magnesium Sulfate. I also run Calcium Hydroxide for topoff water that also has around 10mL of vinegar per day as a carbon source. This is all done via an auto topoff and a homemade passive kalk reactor. I also add one tablet of 500mg vitamin C per day.

I'm always looking for ways to get better color out of my corals as well as ways to reduce the amount of time I spend maintaining the tank.

Maintenance Routine:
Keep an eye on calcium and alk weekly and make adjustments. Refill Kalk reactor and topoff bucket weekly. Refill automatic feeder biweekly. (Also drops the Vitamin C tablets) Do a 20% water change every few months. I don't really keep up with water changes and just do one when I have the time and feel like doing it.
 

Attachments

  • DSC_0024.JPG
    DSC_0024.JPG
    77.2 KB · Views: 103
  • DSC_0090.JPG
    DSC_0090.JPG
    60.7 KB · Views: 87
  • DSC_0091.JPG
    DSC_0091.JPG
    83.1 KB · Views: 136
  • DSC_0088.JPG
    DSC_0088.JPG
    65.3 KB · Views: 124
  • DSC_0065.JPG
    DSC_0065.JPG
    68.3 KB · Views: 179
Last edited:

serpent

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
76
Reaction score
6
Location
GA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Great looking tank. I know how hard a 55 is to scape and it looks like you have done a great job. I would love to see some more pictures.
 
OP
OP
M

Marsfrogie

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 19, 2007
Messages
42
Reaction score
0
Location
AL Gulf Coast
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I'd be glad to do a FTS when I get back in town. I'm only home on the weekends usually. Yes, a 55 is difficult to scape, it's too little depth. A 70 is quite nice though. Any suggestions on getting a good FTS? I don't usually have much luck getting a decent looking one.
 
Back
Top