55Gal, 1st Reef

[yababy19890]

Hello all ,

I am in the process of starting up my first reef tank from my previously 55 Gal freshwater. I have had my fresh water up and running for 4 years with no problems(except for 2 dieing fish within the first week of adding fish, i Blame the pet store ) so i decided i would move on to Salt water. I will be posting pics of my process during setup and after in this thread.

First the list of things i have for a Reef tank are as follows-

1.55Gal tank and Stand(I am in the process of building my stand with canopy and will post pics of it after i am done) Tank is 48x12 1/2x 20

2. 1 - 48 Inch 4x54 Watt AquaticLife T5 HO Light Fixture W/ 4 Lunar LEDs

3. 1 - CPR CS100 Overflow Box

4. 1 - AquaC Urchin Pro In-Sump Protein Skimmer w/ Drain Fitting + Mag-Drive 3 Pump

5. 2 - Hydor Koralia 2 Circulation Pump/Powerhead UL 600 gph

Also I am a big DYIer and will be building my own sump. My space is kinda small @ 45x12x20 to build one in , any ideas on a good sump build ?

My next question would be is there anything else i may need hardware wise?
I am planning on housing soft and SPS corals.

Thanks for the help! and cant wait to post some pics for everyone to see.

[shaggss]

2. 1 - 48 Inch 4x54 Watt AquaticLife T5 HO Light Fixture W/ 4 Lunar LEDs

Should be ok for most things......

3. 1 - CPR CS100 Overflow Box

Do a search for Herbie or read THIS for some ideas on overflows. Since you have said you are a DIYer, it will be worth it in the long run......

4. 1 - AquaC Urchin Pro In-Sump Protein Skimmer w/ Drain Fitting + Mag-Drive 3 Pump

5. 2 - Hydor Koralia 2 Circulation Pump/Powerhead UL 600 gph

Can't really comment as I don't know these products, what I can say is Vortechs are really good......

Also I am a big DYIer and will be building my own sump. My space is kinda small @ 45x12x20 to build one in , any ideas on a good sump build ?

THIS should give you some ideas

My next question would be is there anything else i may need hardware wise?

1. You may want to research about use carbon and a PO4 remover and using a reactor

2. Chiller

3. Heaters

4. Timers for lights

5. An ATO

6. RO/DI unit

7. Return pump

8. Cleaning magnet

9. QT tank

10. Additives two part etc.......coral dips......

About all for now.....
HTH!

[yababy19890]

Well after a few weeks of building and reading and reading and building, My tank is up and running.

Any tips, advice, or just random comments are welcome. I hope you enjoy the pics. This is my first reef tank so things may not be perfect but i am in love with it and find myself staring at it even tho there is no corals or fish yet. LMAO

Gonna post comments and questions with pics also.


Here is the start of my Oak Cabinet, also build a canopy for the top.Realized to late that i made my cabinet to thin for the sump so i decided to build a side box and place it inside of there. Worked out great and gave me lots of room.



Sump box.


Inside Sump Box.


Just added algae.



Once all that was build i deiced to go with Marco rock and just add a few lbs of live with it.

Marco arrives!


And here is the tank all setup with closeup pics of rock. Turned light on for a day an tank jumped up to 84 degrees. Installed two cpu fans on each side of canopy( one bring cold air in other blowing out).Worked great and tank is staying at 78 degrees. May get a sump fan to lower it a bit more. Didn't have the cash for a chiller atm.Anyways heres the tank.


http://i886.photobucket.com/albums/ac62/yababy19890/Reef/DSC01429.jpg






Hope you enjoyed the pics.


I do have two questions, and thanks for any help.

One is what should i add first? Corals, Fish or cleaner crew?

I was given some bio jump start from the Fish store that they use on there tanks( Guess they like me was free) and was told tank would be OK for fish in a weeks time. Not to sure tho.

I also have tested water daily and water seems just right. Don't have test parameters with me atm, but all levels were good.


Also what should i be watching out for mainly as in bad algae and critters.
I have read about alot of them but trying to keep up with everything at once is alot.

Thanks for any tips!!

[Kdocimo90]

Looking great! Love the rock work! Can't wait to see it all filled up with corals and fish
Keep it up!

[legolas100]

tank looks kool dude, i like the look of your sand, looks nice and fine but the larger bits make it interesting

[CCR]

Originally Posted by yababy19890

I do have two questions, and thanks for any help.

One is what should i add first? Corals, Fish or cleaner crew?

I was given some bio jump start from the Fish store that they use on there tanks( Guess they like me was free) and was told tank would be OK for fish in a weeks time. Not to sure tho.

I also have tested water daily and water seems just right. Don't have test parameters with me atm, but all levels were good.


Also what should i be watching out for mainly as in bad algae and critters.
I have read about alot of them but trying to keep up with everything at once is alot.

Thanks for any tips!!

Do not guess that the cycle is done by looking at the calendar. It is best to have test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. You need to monitor daily and watch for ammonia to rise, some time after that, nitrite will rise, finally nitrate will rise. You must wait for ammonia and nitrite to return to zero for at least a week before you can safely populate the tank.

Once you cycle is complete, you can add clean up crew. I can't recall - do you have a fish and coral stocking plan? Reef wisdom tells you to put your fish into a QT for 4-6 weeks before moving to your DT. Do that for EVERY fish before moving into your DT. That will help you avoid tearing down your DT if someone gets sick from your fish store.

[yababy19890]

Tank has cycled and everything is doing great! Wanted to update thread as its been awhile. Went through a bit of red slime and had to redo sump box because of mold but now all is well. Corals look great and seem to be doing fine.

Some things i do to keep tank looking good and fish happy are, always make sure to do weekly changes, filters pads every other day, running active carbon, and dosing with calcium once a week, also give fish selcon in food twice a week and dose tank with small amount once. These are just a few major things but wanted to give some examples of my upkeep on the tank.

Well heres the picks let me know what everyone thinks!

[SpencerG]

Nice setup and a very good beginning. I like the aquascape. I think you're going to get a lot of enjoyment out of this tank.

[b2d2t]

lol tang police anywhere?