Had to upgrade.....

Anihiel1 · Jun 30, 2020

So I'm finally starting a "build thread" and not sure what to post? First tank was given to me decades ago by my dad before he passed from ALS. Was freshwater at that time. Fish died of old age and tank went in storage. Finally took it back out to do saltwater on his memory. Started leaking, replaced it with the exact same tank. Started February? 2019, but did a rip clean late last year due to some horrible rock that just refused to cycle and a bta death that finally nuked it. On it's way to being great but just started filling it with coral.
55 gallon
Dual 48" Orbit IC Pro Reef LEDS
2 2100s and 1 1050 eflux wave pumps
Coralife Super skimmer
18w UV
Cascade 1200 canister filter
30 lbs black Hawaiian sand
50lbs KP premium live rock
Inhabitants:
Fox Face
4 Clownfish
2 cardinals
Horseshoe crab
2 mithrax crabs
Lots of hermits
Common Starfish
Brittle starfish
Fighting conch
Tuxedo urchin
Rock urchins
Spiny urchin
Tons of various snails
Soft corals, zoas and lps
And one mantis shrimp in a separate 3.5g
I think that's everything!

BighohoReef · Jun 30, 2020

Tanks is coming along nicely! Looks like a good fresh start. Glad you stuck with it!

SPR1968 · Jun 30, 2020

Very nice and the foxface looks happy!

Sleeping Giant · Jun 30, 2020

Anihiel1 · Jun 30, 2020

SPR1968 said:
Very nice and the foxface looks happy!

He was a rescue... lfs had him in a TWO gallon where he was freaking out, and I couldn't walk away.

SPR1968 · Jun 30, 2020

Anihiel1 said:
He was a rescue... lfs had him in a TWO gallon where he was freaking out, and I couldn't walk away.

That’s probably why he looks so happy then! Lol

Arabyps · Jun 30, 2020

Welcome. Great start. I did something similar when I re-purposed a 54 gallon fresh water tank to saltwater (I call this my "proof of concept tank"). One piece of advice (from the forums) I did not follow was to eliminate the canister filter. I thought "hey it works great in fresh water, should probably work in saltwater too?". In saltwater it became a "nitrate factory". I subsequently eliminated the canister filter and now nitrates are getting back to reasonable. I hope your experience is better than mine. I believe other people have had success with a canister filter, but not in my case. Since you also have a skimmer, that will make a positive difference. Best to you.

Anihiel1 · Jun 30, 2020

Arabyps said:
Welcome. Great start. I did something similar when I re-purposed a 54 gallon fresh water tank to saltwater (I call this my "proof of concept tank"). One piece of advice (from the forums) I did not follow was to eliminate the canister filter. I thought "hey it works great in fresh water, should probably work in saltwater too?". In saltwater it became a "nitrate factory". I subsequently eliminated the canister filter and now nitrates are getting back to reasonable. I hope your experience is better than mine. I believe other people have had success with a canister filter, but not in my case. Since you also have a skimmer, that will make a positive difference. Best to you.

I'm utilizing the canister filter almost as a replacement for a media reactor. (I don't have room underneath for a sump) 4 chambers from bottom: bio sponge, bio wheels, carbon and phospure, fine filter. It's actually been doing a great job for me but every tank is different. Everything is rated for a higher tank capacity than I currently have and I think that makes a world of difference.

Anihiel1 · Jul 1, 2020

My hilariously klutzy horseshoe crab and her nightly ritual of "swimming" until she needs rescuing from wherever she gets stuck
*eyeroll*

Anihiel1 · Sep 20, 2020

Well the horshoe crab has officially outgrown the 55. She was becoming increasingly stressed. We thought we had a few years before we'd need to upgrade but her growth had been exponentially rapid. So without the necessary savings yet, we needed to make a change- and i hope i don't get kicked off R2R for this- so we bought a petsmart Aqueon 125g on sale.
Everything from the 55 went into the 125, pretty much exactly, but more spread out with more space for the crab. Added a bit more live sand also. Added a 3rd IC Pro led, 72 inch.
The 55 has been converted to a quarantine tank. Currently housing some chromis and a tang. Just some sand and a few fish hides, and dual hob filters until the 2nd canister finally arrives tomorrow. (I love my cc4ul, its been awesome!)
She appears so much better now and is back to her old self of bulldozing my sand bed.
Corals of course need to be placed at the top of the rocks so she doesn't displace them, while also leaving the top half of the tank as swimming room for the foxface.
Let me know what y'all think. Pics below.
*And please don't ban me for having a petsmart tank*