55 gallon reef tank for family

[cajunturtle]

My children were absolutely amazed with the first fish tank they ever saw. I have had an interest in them for a long time but felt intimidated by the idea of a fish tank.

I decided to go ahead and get my two youngs ones the Nemo and Dori they wanted.

I built this stand. I used 4x4 inch lumber on the corners with cabinet grade plywood for the doors and walls. I enjoy wood working and had a wonderful time building it.

[cajunturtle]

tanksand.jpg

This is a photo of when I first added the live sand. I have a few inches in the bottom. I purchased everything from my local fish store.

I felt that if I bought local, that I could also get a "lesson" on salt water reefs.


My very first aquarium.

[cajunturtle]

purpledotty.jpg

Purple stripe dottyback.

I didn't realize how aggressive this fish would be.

[cajunturtle]

nemo.jpg

newfish.jpg

life.jpg

[cajunturtle]

life.jpg

stars.jpg

purple.jpg

So now I have a

1. purple stripe dottyback - goldie
2. maroon clown fish - Nemo
3. pajama cardinal x2 - jeepers and creepers
4. diamond goby - locks
5. a few snails
6. some hermit crabs
7. green star polyps
8. maroon mushrooms

[f3honda4me]

Dori can't go in a 55g. :/

[cajunturtle]

Originally Posted by f3honda4me

Dori can't go in a 55g. :/

Thats too bad.. I guess we cannot get Dori then..

Thank you for telling me.

[cajunturtle]

goby.jpg

So far my favorite fish in this tank. The little guy can dive beneath the sand. He also takes the sand and shoots it out of the gills on both sides.

The landscape of the sand is constantly changing because he moves so much of it.

Anyone know what he is eating?

[cajunturtle]

I thought we had lost a resident when I saw this..

It turns out that the little crab outgrew the shell he was in and was molting.

[Lorenz725]

How old is your tank? How many pounds of live rock do you have? Are you running a sump or skimmer at all? What kind of lighting do you have? Looks like you have some nice fish. The goby is sifting though the sand and is eating thig that are in the sand. Let us all know more about you set up.

[Saltydrip]

Hmmm. Your rock looks pretty clean. How long has your tank been running??

It's looking like you just set it up and stocked it!?!

Nice looking tank but you might be in for a shock.

[cajunturtle]

Originally Posted by Lorenz725

How old is your tank? How many pounds of live rock do you have? Are you running a sump or skimmer at all? What kind of lighting do you have? Looks like you have some nice fish. The goby is sifting though the sand and is eating thig that are in the sand. Let us all know more about you set up.

You will have to forgive me I am very new to most of this.

My tank was started just before Christmas so its about 2 months old.

I have 90 pounds of live rock. Is this too much?? I just love the way it looks right now with rocks going most of the way up the back glass.

The lights are made by Odyssea. There is one white colored, and one blue colored bulb.

They are either 54 watts total or each.

The filter I am using is a combo filter/skimmer that hangs on the back.

Here is a link to it. Its called
Supreme Skilter 400 Aquarium Filter w/Skimmer

I would love some feedback on these parts. What kinds of limitations will I have and the such..

Thanks

[Saltydrip]

Lookin good then. Your equipment should keep you going for a while. Down the rd once you start to reach capacity and you realize you can't keep your skimmer cup empty it might be time to upgrade to a sump design. You should start researching them and come up with a DIY design you can build at home. They are cheep to make but price to buy. Once you have a sump you can step up to a better skimmer then. As for a starter you look pretty set. Just make sure you keep those filter cartrages clean. Change it once a month unless it lookes to be on the cleaner side you can keep it in there a little longer.

[cajunturtle]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

Hmmm. Your rock looks pretty clean. How long has your tank been running??

It's looking like you just set it up and stocked it!?!

Nice looking tank but you might be in for a shock.

I used this at the recommendation of my fish store guy. http://theaquariumwiki.com/Stability

This too
http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Prime

The fish man told me to bring him some water and gave me the purple stripe dottyback to start with.

After a week i put in the snails and hermit crabs when the algae started.

Then after another week I added the Nemo.

Another week passed.. I took another water sample in.

He told me I could add the two pajama cardinal fish, and the goby.

So far so good.

I just added two peppermint shrimp. The dotty and nemo ate the smaller of the two shrimp.

The larger shrimp made it.

I feed them this frozen food called Rods something..

What you think?

[cajunturtle]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

Lookin good then. Your equipment should keep you going for a while. Down the rd once you start to reach capacity and you realize you can't keep your skimmer cup empty it might be time to upgrade to a sump design. You should start researching them and come up with a DIY design you can build at home. They are cheep to make but price to buy. Once you have a sump you can step up to a better skimmer then. As for a starter you look pretty set. Just make sure you keep those filter cartrages clean. Change it once a month unless it lookes to be on the cleaner side you can keep it in there a little longer.

The filter pads looks horrible to me. I had the fish store send a guy over to clean the tank and show me what to do.

He said that was normal for the pads to look that way...

Cleaning the tank didn't look to difficult.

[Saltydrip]

If your fish are alive and well than I would say your doing ok. It sounds a little soon for fish but it sounds like it's working out. Next time you go to your LFS take some water and ask for the test results so youvan track your chemistry. He should have no problem showing your your results. Then bring us your results and we will help you out.

Or pick up a SW test kit folow the directions carfully. It's easy to do. You will need to keep regular testing for a while because your chemistry will fluctuate a lot over the next months.

[cajunturtle]

Originally Posted by Saltydrip

If your fish are alive and well than I would say your doing ok. It sounds a little soon for fish but it sounds like it's working out. Next time you go to your LFS take some water and ask for the test results so youvan track your chemistry. He should have no problem showing your your results. Then bring us your results and we will help you out.

Or pick up a SW test kit folow the directions carfully. It's easy to do. You will need to keep regular testing for a while because your chemistry will fluctuate a lot over the next months.

Anything I should look for in a test kit? Should I get one with the strips?

Also, the fish man for some reason just looks at the water through a fractometer (spell that right?").

Also to note, the fish man seems to see this Stability chemical as a wonderful product. As is I have nothing to worry about as long as I use that, clean the tank, and do my five gallon water change.

You think my lights are enough for what I have? Think they will limit me?

[reefSTC]

Don't get the strip one, a good combo kit is the API master kit, you can test for Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate. Later on, you might want something for Ca/Mg/Kh if you intend to keep corals. A refractometer is to check you salinity. May need a stronger light to keep more variety of corals.

[rogermccray]

Nice tank, I too got sucked into this hobby because my son wanted a "Nemo" and I am ver glad I found reef central before I started. You seem to be doing well with your setup, I would recommend not adding anything for a little while and letting your tank adjust to the bioload that you have right now.

And always remember that your fish guy is in the business to make money so may not always be telling the truth (sorry if this is not the case and he is a stand up guy). I would recommend posting questions here before listening to someone in a fish store....

[fireman23]

Good luck with your setup. You will learn that this hobby is all about patience. Never do anything fast. I would also recommend getting a good test kit. This will be your best friend. I myself keep a log book and write down everything I do. It's very helpful and I'm able to look back at the changes the tank have gone thru. Read as much on here as you can. There are alot of good people on here with a vast amount of knowledge. Most mean well. Just take most as constructive criticism. Good luck. This is a great hobby with lots to learn. Remember patience is key..

[MrTuskfish]

I hate to tell you this, but the clown you have is a small gold stripe maroon---a gorgeous fish. But, single clowns become females and adult female maroons are one of the most territorial fish that swims. When this fish matures, it will probably claim most, if not all, a 55 gal tank as "hers". At that point, she will be capable and willing to terrorize, and even kill, just about any fish that she feels in in her "territory. Maroon clowns are not suitable tankmates for small, peaceful fish. (My female maroon is 6+"). If you can, I'd suggest trading her to the lfs for a more suitable fish, like an Ocellaris clown.

[f3honda4me]

I personally don't feel that your LFS is steering you in a good direction...

[tony53176]

Originally Posted by f3honda4me

I personally don't feel that your LFS is steering you in a good direction...

I agree with f3honda, I also think you should slow down on your stocking, I started my tank around the same time you did with the exception that mine was started just a few days after Christmas and all I have in my tank right now is my CUC, a coral banded shrimp and a pair of Ocellaris clowns. I'm gonna be adding a two more fish at the end of this week and that will be it until probably May or June.

The tanks chemistry is going to fluctuate over the first several months and don't want to put to much in the tank for fear of loss.

[EDJFA]

Originally Posted by cajunturtle

Attachment 176825
I felt that if I bought local, that I could also get a "lesson" on salt water reefs.

Welcome to the hobby.

The lesson you learned is that the LFS is there to keep his family fed and his business growing. I agree with Honda that you're not getting steered in the right direction.

Before you get any farther into this, if you haven't found them already, read all of the stickies at the top of this forum on how to start a tank. You'll understand why you're getting some weird looks from your fellow reefers over how your tank has progressed so far.

After you finish those, and before you add anything else to your tank, look for a fish compatability chart. Liveaquaria.com has one. I think there's one on here too. They will also tell you whether or not a fish you buy will eat any of the expensive corals you'll want in the future.

I spent months reading all of those before I felt like I was ready to even buy my tank. They don't cover everything, but they'll do a great job of giving you a basic education on your new tank and it's creatures. And perhaps at this point they'll give you a few panic attacks over what you've already done.

My guess is that your tank is going to have some challenges in the not so distant future. Algae blooms, diatoms, etc. You should read all about the rites of passage of a maturing tank so you're not freaked out.

I did have a question about your pics. What's the purple thing? I can't tell if it's an anemone or if it's a coral of some kind. If it's a coral, you're going to need a better lighting system.

[michaelr]

Originally Posted by cajunturtle

Anything I should look for in a test kit? Should I get one with the strips?

Also, the fish man for some reason just looks at the water through a fractometer (spell that right?").

Also to note, the fish man seems to see this Stability chemical as a wonderful product. As is I have nothing to worry about as long as I use that, clean the tank, and do my five gallon water change.

You think my lights are enough for what I have? Think they will limit me?

Test strips arent very accurate. many people will tell you to buy salifert test kits. tusk was right about the maroon. That thing will kill just about anything it feels like. Definitely slow down your stocking because it is a bit on the fast side. Your light is also inadequate for corals. your light isnt even one watt per gallon. On average corals need 5 watts per gallon.(rough number lighting increases or decreases depending on coral). Therefor your tank needs about a total of 275 watts for light. finally, i have never been to your lfs obviously so i dont know how it is, BUT read the stickies and form your own opinion. At the bottom of the forum list youll find local forums. they will be able to tell you the best lfs around and how your sizes up. good luck