New to the Hobby

[cabinreefer]

Hey! I just recently got interested in the hobby and decided to get a tank and just go for it!
So far I have a 55 gallon tank, live rock, live sand, started about 3 weeks ago. Ammonia and Nitrates are 0, ph is 8.2, salinity 36, and nitrates are probably around 2.
I have 2 Ocellaris Clownfish, 2 Pajama Cardinals, 10 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs, 1 Cleaner Shrimp, and what I believe to be a Favia Coral from another post I made.. I think my only questions at this point would be about growing corals? how long does it take and how can you make them grow? Also live in Boulder Colorado if anyone is close by!

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R;)

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[SeahorseKeeper]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[Zero Nitrates]

Nice tank!

Welcome!

 

[4FordFamily]

Welcome home, you will love it here!

Beautiful pics, thanks for sharing!

 

[cabinreefer]

Thank you all so much!

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[PJS]

Welcome to R2R!
Good luck with your new adventure!

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R and to the hobby.

 

[cromag27]

Welcome!

 

[Flashy Fins]

Welcome! That does look like a favia. They can be slow to grow at first, but once your tank has been running for a while, you will likely notice it growing more. How fast depends on the type it is and many things to do with your tank, such as lighting and feeding. What kind of lights do you have?

 

[cabinreefer]

I use KIND LED bar lights.
I also discovered a few brittle stars this morning, roaming around the tank. And last night I fed the coral a few mysis shrimp since it had its tentacles out.

 

[cabinreefer]

 

[Tautog]

Welcome to R2R
Just 3 weeks, better slow down, get yourself a floating hydrometer(large).
Your bioload isn't established yet, has it? Did your tank cycle completely?
Wait on adding corals. Wait for some Coraline Algae to form, like quarter-sized shapes
Your rock should start showing signs of purple dots, Coraline, if things are working well.

 

[cabinreefer]

I thought it was going a little fast too but my LFS said i could go ahead and add some corals so I only bought a $30 piece incase it died I wouldn't be out a lot of money. Yeah my tank fully cycled last week, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and about 2 nitrates(was 5 nitrates but i did a water change the other day). My ph is 8.2, salinity is about 34 and sg is 1.024. I have purple all over my live rock with algae too

 

[Flashy Fins]

I would move the favia down to a lower rock, so it's further from the light. I don't know anything about your particular fixture, but most LEDs are pretty intense, especially for that type of coral; wouldn't want you to burn or bleach it. You don't have to feed it directly. It's ok to do so every now and then, but you'll quickly foul your water if you hand feed corals on a regular basis. Light and fish poop are forms of food for them. Stick with hardy corals and add them slowly. You're doing fine. :)

 

[40B Knasty]

Welcome to R2R. Tank looks good! You had a nice quick cycle time. I see one thing that is okay that you have, but very misleading. Your Seaclone protein skimmer. They are a pain to dial in and not a good work horse. The reason being. The impeller is a paddle wheel. You can DIY the impeller to chop water and air mixing for a better skim, but runs a risk of an unstable spinning in the housing area. A needle wheel is best for skimming. I was lucky enough to have a friend give me a Seaclone for free to get me to see the light of a protein skimmer of how it works. Picked up the Reef Octopus BH1000 a month later. What a difference in skimmate! I would highly recommend getting the BH2000 for your size tank somewhere in the future to help you with pulling crap out of your water literally. Also the motor for the BH is outside of the tank which is best for no vibrations or temp changes. If you decide to go the sump route. Someone else can guide you with the protein skimmer for that. I am a HOB (hang off back) user.
Definitely up your live rock, but you will have to do it slowly seeing how you have livestock already. You can get by with some mini cycles seeding the new LR(live rock). Just don't go dropping in 5lbs+ more at a time. Hope that helps. Keep us posted on how everything is working out for you. The diatom battle is soon to come for you. Don't sweat it. It is new tank syndrome. We all went through it. Buy yourself a fighting conch if it is a little over whelming for you to help with the sand bed.

 

[Fonzi42]

The diatom battle is soon to come for you. Don't sweat it. It is new tank syndrome.

Oh man... fellow newbie here... some much going on in my nano ecosystems that I get to learn about. It's been quite the learning experience moving up from fresh water. Looks like I should start reading up on diatoms!

 

[40B Knasty]

Oh man... fellow newbie here... some much going on in my nano ecosystems that I get to learn about. It's been quite the learning experience moving up from fresh water. Looks like I should start reading up on diatoms!

Like I said don't really sweat it. It will make your tank look like rust is settling over. Takes a good 3 weeks to clean up. Conch is a diatom destroyer. Polished my tank in a week. Protein Skimmer helps pull the dying diatoms out. You got this! If you ever have any nano tank questions. PM me and I will give it to you straight. Not buy this and that. Just how to make what you have improved. Unless it should be upgraded like the Seaclone. There is another name to it, but it would blurred out. Something like this S**†clone