my 55 hexagon reef tank

[wyoreefer307]

A couple months ago a family member of mine was getting rid of there 55 gallon hex tank as they were moving. I decided that I would attempt a hexagon tank and swap everything from my current tank which was a 20 gallon nano and sump over to the 55. The first part was to get more sand. A friend of mine luckily was tearing down a tank due to a big leak and he didn't want to get rid of the sand so I gotgot a five gallon bucket full. Neadless to say I didn't have to worry about sand.

Once the sand and rock were in I moved the fish and the few corals I had into the tank. And have since then added a few more and a few more fish. This has been my favorite build so far.

Current livestock include

- two clownfish
- two pajama cardinal fish
- one diamond goby
- one yellow headed jaw fish
- 5 different zoas
- gold flake play
- Duncan polyps
- Christmas tree Davis
-blasto welsi
- purple gorgonian
- two orange Rics
-two verieties of mushrooms
- small RBTA
-

 

[cpsbooks]

Cool! Don't know why don't see more hex reefs, they are pretty interesting

 

[wyoreefer307]

That's my thoughts to. So I thought I would take the plunge and give it a try. Water movement is the most important part.

Cool! Don't know why don't see more hex reefs, they are pretty interesting

 

[wyoreefer307]

It's been a while since I updated my thread on my tank. Things are still going well. Had to start using store bought water for a while since my RODI unit was down. That created an algae and cyano issue again. Now I'm back using my RODI unit again and slowly getting it under control. I now have GFO reactor and writhing the week will be upgrading my sump.

 

[wyoreefer307]

Here is an updated pic of my tank

 

[wyoreefer307]

Upgrading my sump this weekend. Was super excited to get a wet dry filter for only $20. I'm converting it to a sump to hold my protein skimmer and heaters. Going with my dual drains and going with dual returns. I want more flow and a backup if one fails. Also reducing the head height for more flow hence the cinder blocks. More info and pics to come.

 

[wyoreefer307]

Well I didn't wait for the weekend. Just seeing the sump sitting there called me to action. This was a bigger project then I thought it would be. I made a home depot run for 1/2" tubing for the new return line as I went with two return lines and pumps. Also needed the fittings to make the returns in the tank.
So after dinner and getting the kiddos to bed I started in on the project. This was at 7pm. I disconnected everything and removed all equipment from the tank. Cleaned all the equipment. The skimmer I scrubbed the outside and rinsed out the inside. I then proceeded with draining the tank.
The main reason for draining the tank was the only way to remove the old sump was to take the tank off the stand. I also needed to move the tank to fit the sump to the side out of main view. I cleaned the sump and set it up on two cinder blocks. In the first chamber I put live rock rubble in the bottom then my protein skimmer and two heaters. In the second chamber I raised the two return pumps to reduce the head height to increase my flow and workload on the pumps. Went from around 5 feet to around 2 feet. After putting all the equipment back in and topping the tank with fresh mixed saltwater I was up and running at around 11pm. Only took four hours. Tomorrow I will start my mix for a water change as the tank is due and I'm happy as I added 8 gallons of water to the system and got the heaters and skimmer out of the display. Now just wait for the cloudy water to settle and I'm set.

 

[wyoreefer307]

New update. A friend of mine had a led light for a reef tank that had a channel for each side one white and one blue. The white channel went out so I got the fixture as I was not running any attinic lighting after my last bulb burnt out. So now I have it along side my medal halide set up and I'm amazed at the change. The colors are popping like crazy.

 

[wyoreefer307]

Finally added some sps to my tank. The small one is birds of paradise and the big one is a birdnest. Will post better pic of the birdnest later.

 

[wyoreefer307]

Well some time last night my birds of paradise when missing. I dug for half an hour with no luck. Dint want to pull all the rock out. But on a good not a good friend brought over a bunch of goodies. A favia that needs revived. A small Acan colony, two types of zoas and two typ es of mushrooms. So I'll post pics and update my stock list in my next post. Oh and a better pick of my birdnest as well

 

[wyoreefer307]

So here is my current sock list
2x clowns
2x panama cardinals
Birdnest
Alien eye challace
Christmas tree favia
2x Duncan polyps
2x acans
4x zoas
2x palys
4x mushrooms
Unknown favia
Blasto
Hammer
Crabs and snails
Pepermint shrimp
And a missing bird of paradise

So I think that's it for my current corals and fish. Lots changed since I swapped to this tank but I love it more and more each day.

 

[wyoreefer307]

So after some research and tips from fellow refers I don't have a birdnest it's a montipora digitata. Still an easy beginner sps to get my feet wet. It hard to get a good pic but the tip is starting a new branch. So excited about this coral.