My New Old 55 Gallon Reef Tank Named Snorkel Paradise

[ASAG62]

Hello everyone I have an old 55-gallon tank that was sitting in my wife's friend attic for years.
So they gave me a great deal on it and now since my wife and I are “empty nesters” she gave me the OK to do my reef tank.
Here's my list of what I’m using so far in my 55gallon tank.
* 2 - Tunze Nanostream 6045 pumps
* 2 - AI Hydra Twenty Six HD LED fixtures with mounting brackets
* OCTO Classic 1000 HOB Skimmer
*Fluval C4 Power Filter
* Eheim Jager 200w Heater
* Sand and Salt.

here is the empty tank, it's in very good condition.

so I added some base rock, sand and water to get it started. the power filter was temporary just to help clean the water.

Finished adding the rock and now letting it cycle

So my friend gave me some branch rock and I re-did my layout. As you can see I hid my pumps but I still have good flow.

Hopefully in a week or so I can maybe put a coral in. Tested the water and calcium, phosphates, nitrates etc. etc are in spec.

Let me know what you think. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Great start. Look forward to seeing it stocked. My only criticism would be is the rock structure, as in it looks like you have a lot of height in the middle, and have rock touching the glass which may become a problem to clean around down the road. It's great the you are keeping it a simple set up. What type of corals are you going to keep? If a mixed reef with sps then I'd consider allowing the corals to fill the height.

 

[ASAG62]

Great start. Look forward to seeing it stocked. My only criticism would be is the rock structure, as in it looks like you have a lot of height in the middle, and have rock touching the glass which may become a problem to clean around down the road. It's great the you are keeping it a simple set up. What type of corals are you going to keep? If a mixed reef with sps then I'd consider allowing the corals to fill the height.

Thanks for the suggestions, the rock is not touching the glass I did the "hand test" so i can get a brush in there to clean. probably start out with LPS's until I get used to my lights and figure out the best settings.

 

[A-dawg]

I agree you have a lot of rock. I did similar in my first tank but once I started to add coral I had to take a lot of it out. I ended up only going a 1/3 of the way up or less with rock since then and it leaves you room for coral AND room for fish to swim etc. Everything looks great though and you will have fun for long to come.

 

[ASAG62]

I agree you have a lot of rock. I did similar in my first tank but once I started to add coral I had to take a lot of it out. I ended up only going a 1/3 of the way up or less with rock since then and it leaves you room for coral AND room for fish to swim etc. Everything looks great though and you will have fun for long to come.

thanks for the suggestion appreciate

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Looks really good! I see you put the rocks against the back wall also

 

[ASAG62]

Looks really good! I see you put the rocks against the back wall also

yep thanks for the idea

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I started with mainly lps and a toad stool then went to sps then lost it all due to amazing growth (sounds weird I know), the sps started to fade and i was trying everything i could thing of and then got cyano. I found out it was very,very low phosphates. So they starved. I back with the corals I like, LPS. Now I feed more I have the remnants of the sps growing again.

 

[ASAG62]

I started with mainly lps and a toad stool then went to sps then lost it all due to amazing growth (sounds weird I know), the sps started to fade and i was trying everything i could thing of and then got cyano. I found out it was very,very low phosphates. So they starved. I back with the corals I like, LPS. Now I feed more I have the remnants of the sps growing again.

I'd like to see a picture of your tank

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

At its best.https://youtu.be/8saN-_c1OyY
Then now

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

Try this.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I did t want to do sps really but some small (less than an inch) frags came up cheap as it's only digitata, so I thought I'd try it and the grew and they did that well. I'm just glad I did t pay out 100's and then lost them. They only cost 20 of my British pound delivered.

 

[ASAG62]

So I’m told I have too much rock. Going to take some out, should I keep it in a bucket of RO water? Also going to get a couple of corals this weekend. Any suggestions? Remember I’m new at this. My parameters are pretty good. Only one that is out of spec is NO3. It’s a little high. I’ve read that it would be high in new tanks.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Honestly, I don’t think you should take out rock if you like it how it is. It’s your decision and you should do what you want. I’ve seen multiple takes that look great with a lot of lr. That said, if you want to take out and store the live rock you’ll want to either keep it in saltwater or no water at all.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

Here’s an example of a great looking tank w/ lots of lr

 

[ASAG62]

Here’s an example of a great looking tank w/ lots of lr

Thanks BB. I do like my lr set up just worried when I start getting some corals. I guess I’ll worry about that when I cross that path. That will be a while. Any suggestions on corals I should start with. I know LPS’s. Getting anxious to add to my tank.

 

[Bryson.bobby]

That will be a while. Any suggestions on corals I should start with. I know LPS’s. Getting anxious to add to my tank.

Here’s a link for some beginner corals; I would personally start out with candycane. They’re very hardy! https://aquariumstoredepot.com/blogs/news/lps-coral-10-easy-to-care-corals-for-beginners

I also have a thread on my candycanes and how they bounced back

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/don’t-give-up-on-your-dying-corals.634785/

 

[Bryson.bobby]

How’s everything going?

 

[ASAG62]

I'm sort of stuck, I've been getting advice from a lot of different people and sort of confused of what to put in my tank first. Fish, Coral, Clean Up Crew? So I'm just sitting here getting frustrated just looking at my rock in my tank. lol

 

[ASAG62]

Hello Everyone,
Here is an updated picture of my new tank. Got a couple clown's, cardinals and a candy cane. Everyone is doing well, going to get some more corals. Was wondering if it's too early to put gobies or fire shrimp in my tank, should I wait a little longer?