My 55g starter tank.

[Roccopaul]

I'm pretty new to reef tanks so this has definitly been a wild ride of research, doubting my life and budget, and trial and error with convincing the wife. But so far its been a blast. I originally had a 55g tank I used previously for freshwater. I started with just the tank and stand. Thinking that would help me spend less money I went into this rabiit hole of what to purchase.

I bought around 90lbs of ARC dry rock from ebay. 10lbs of live rock from GulfLiveRock. After what I felt like was an eternity of mixing salt and completly screwing up salinity over and over I finally nailed around 34ppt and went with it. November 24th was the first offical day of tank flowing with everything running.

Equipment on the DT:
55g Marine Land tank and 2 glass covers.
Carib-Sea Pink Fiji Sand
Red Sea Coral Pro Salt
Eshopps PF-800 Overflow (bought from a local)
Current USA Orbit Light with Mount Bracket
Two K7 V3s
Current USA eFlux Wave Pump

Equipment under DT:
Bashsea Biofuge 30-10-14
Eshopps PSK-75 Skimmer
Danner Model 5 Pump
CooSpider UV Filter
COB 150w Grow Light
Hygger 300w Heater
Hygger ATO with 5 gallon Home Depot Buck

Random Equipment:
Red Sea Marine Test Kit
Cora-Life PureFlo II RO System
UPETTOOLS Gravel Cleaner
I'm probably missing other stuff.

I'm currently just north of two thousand dollar invested in the entire tank. Wife pointed out I still do not have any fish, corals or inverts yet. >.> I'm moving slow but she wants to see fish swimming. She'll have to wait. It will probably be middle of next year before I even consider fish in the tank. I'm looking to start placing a CUC first week of January and then adding corals after that. I may just only have corals for the first year because after reading QT procedures for fish... I'm really budget tight and can't do a QT tank and now super paranoid about introducing anything bad to the tank. Thanks Disease forum. :p

Tank "may" be almost done cycling.

Any suggestions on the next phase of my tank, what to do next, tips, etc, I'm open to hear it all. Have a great day everyone!

 

[glb]

That’s a good looking build! A few thoughts. You might want to replace the glass top with a mesh top to increase aeration and keep the tank cooler when the lights are on. As far as fish are concerned, I’d add them first before the coral. QT is important, but when you’re adding your first fish, I don’t think you have to worry as much. Plus the corals get nutrients from the fish waste. Also, corals need a stable tank to thrive, and new tanks by definition aren’t stable, which is totally normal. I only buy my fish from one local store and am knowledgeable about their QT practices. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Radman73]

Nice start! I agree with glb about the tops. I differ in that I'd QT unless you know for a fact that where you purchase the fish effectively QT's. And even then, I'd do 2 weeks of observation. You don't want to start with a fish that has velvet or ick and then go fallow.

I also wouldn't wait very long for some fish. The tank is going to go through the ugglies whether the fish are there are not, at least the fish are pretty.

Good call on starting with some real LR.

Good luck!

 

[Zach B]

Welcome :) Nice setup!

 

[Roccopaul]

That’s a good looking build! A few thoughts. You might want to replace the glass top with a mesh top to increase aeration and keep the tank cooler when the lights are on. As far as fish are concerned, I’d add them first before the coral. QT is important, but when you’re adding your first fish, I don’t think you have to worry as much. Plus the corals get nutrients from the fish waste. Also, corals need a stable tank to thrive, and new tanks by definition aren’t stable, which is totally normal. I only buy my fish from one local store and am knowledgeable about their QT practices. Good luck and keep us posted!

Nice start! I agree with glb about the tops. I differ in that I'd QT unless you know for a fact that where you purchase the fish effectively QT's. And even then, I'd do 2 weeks of observation. You don't want to start with a fish that has velvet or ick and then go fallow.

I also wouldn't wait very long for some fish. The tank is going to go through the ugglies whether the fish are there are not, at least the fish are pretty.

Good call on starting with some real LR.

Good luck!

I was looking around for screen tops but haven’t found any for a 55 gallon marine land yet. Since it had that center bar, a few tops I purchased just wouldn’t fit. Plus they cover the whole top and don’t have the cutouts for equipment. I might have to do a custom job.

With fish, I originally planned on adding a CUC than fish. But my local store has unbelievably dirty tanks. The closest to me would be a 3 hour drive and their tanks are pretty nasty as well. I might end up just ghost feeding for the CUC and add fish after the new year when shipping isn’t delayed or super expensive.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Paul, I have lost fish due to velvet and ich even when using a quarantine tank. I HIGHLY recommend you get a 10 gallon, with an overflow and heater. It is a tiny investment to avoid the agony.

Can you kindly let me know if the UV sterilizer works?

 

[glb]

I was looking around for screen tops but haven’t found any for a 55 gallon marine land yet. Since it had that center bar, a few tops I purchased just wouldn’t fit. Plus they cover the whole top and don’t have the cutouts for equipment. I might have to do a custom job.

With fish, I originally planned on adding a CUC than fish. But my local store has unbelievably dirty tanks. The closest to me would be a 3 hour drive and their tanks are pretty nasty as well. I might end up just ghost feeding for the CUC and add fish after the new year when shipping isn’t delayed or super expensive.

Based on the local stores you mentioned, I agree with everyone else that in your case you need a quarantine tank. A small setup wouldn’t be that expensive. I’m lucky that my store quarantines their fish.

 

[glb]

I was looking around for screen tops but haven’t found any for a 55 gallon marine land yet. Since it had that center bar, a few tops I purchased just wouldn’t fit. Plus they cover the whole top and don’t have the cutouts for equipment. I might have to do a custom job.

With fish, I originally planned on adding a CUC than fish. But my local store has unbelievably dirty tanks. The closest to me would be a 3 hour drive and their tanks are pretty nasty as well. I might end up just ghost feeding for the CUC and add fish after the new year when shipping isn’t delayed or super expensive.

BRS has some screens with cutouts but I’ve read that they are a pain to assemble. How much clearance do you need for your equipment??

 

[Roccopaul]

So update to my tank. With the wife’s approval :p I bought two K7 V3s. I’m still using the coral orbit lights but just for moonlight.
Also with a few coral purchases the tank is coming along great! (Except for the fact my dkh started at 10 and is now at 7 - I’m working on that)

I so far have 4 fish in quarantine.(31 days on copper) 1 clown, 1 yellow tail and 2 chromis. I’m up for suggestions for what else fish wise I could add. and now for a few pics.