20 Gal FOWLR journey

AJK

AJK

Member
Putting my 20 gal sump together, ran out of silicone :( LFS brand is to expensive,. 55 gal tank is super cloudy (cycling), anemone did really well, till a few day's ago, it was lifeless, clown/damsel continue to do well. Should have some photos up soon, once sump is complete, 55 gal cycles, Etc.... Happy reefing :)
 
AJK

AJK

Member
Review on aquarium sealant.

Marineland sealant, smells awful, definetly not for in house use, had to open window/doors to air out, also top of tube exploded off, when I was applying pressure, difficult to apply, very messy/sticky.

Aqueon sealant smells to, but not nearly as bad as Marineland, smell reduces quickly, sealant is very easy to apply, dries quickly, only thing I don't like about the Aqueon sealant is the tube is very hard to squeeze, while marineland was very easy.

Sump almost done ! Pics coming soon :)
 
AJK

AJK

Member
Hi friends, wow ! haven't been here in ages. 55 gal is finally set up/cycled, bought T5 HO light last week. Going to attempt livestock transfer from 20 gal to 55 gal over weekend, wish me luck. Bit nervous, 20 gal has been thriving great for nearly 2 years. Clown/damsel still doing wonderful.

I may just purchase live rock for 55 gal, few inexpensive fish, see how tank does, before transferring established tank.

Sump is complete !

Pics of 55 coming soon. Happy reefing friends.
 
AJK

AJK

Member
Hi friends, it's been a few months, finally have 55gal cycled ready to go. CoralLife protein skimmer is to large, discovered skimmer is for 200 gal. Goodness, ding dong me. But working great ! In the pic, one can see all the gunk skimmer is yanking, without livestock, but takes up to much tank space. Should have sump setup in the near future.

My two Korlia 1150 pumps came in, wow ! to powerful, rearranging sand. No matter where I put em. Before pumps, sand was perfectly level. One can see how powerful pump is blowing temp gauge wire. Larger is not alway's better. Should have went with two 600,. In 2nd image, pump blew all sand out from under rock.

Still no fish, just making adjustments. Need to get a background, etc.... More pics coming soon, with livestock. It's been an adventure since my beginner 20 gal. Damsel/Clown both doing well, both fish are 2.5 yrs old, will have pics of them soon. Happy reefing :)



 
AJK

AJK

Member
Hi friends, bought a starfish Wendsday last week, starfish was thriving well, travelling all over the tank, sunday I did 10% water change, 2 hrs later starfish was dead. Checked nitrite levels, 0 ppm,. Will check ammonia, ph, etc.... later. But very strange, how starfish died after water change.

What I do notice is water is super freezing, although digital stat states 76-78 degrees, heater is constantly on set to 78,. Thought 200 watt was sufficient. Going to buy another thermostat tonight for accuracy. My 20 gal doesn't feel nearly as cold, same temp. It's like no heater at all in 55 gal. Blue light kicks on.

Also discovered a worm, hope someone can identify, at newbie section. I have no idea what type it is, I used turkey baster to get em out, only a couple of em was in the tank, that I noticed.

I redirected powerheads to rocks, but powerheads still rearrange sand. Company I purchased from, states my tank does not have enough live rock to break up flow. Makes sense. Koralia 1150 powerheads are very powerful, hurricane style, Lol. Plan on purchasing 30 lbs of lr shortly. Work in progress, happy reefing :)
 
AJK

AJK

Member
Added 40 lbs of rock, a beautiful yellow tang, purchased at great price from classifieds, couldn't resist. No more sandstorms. Bought a glass temp gauge, compared to digital gauge, water temp is fine. Water parameters fine. Wish I would have painted the back glass black. Plan on black background this week. I seriously need to finish sump, protein skimmer pump takes up to much room. Will have to add side view of tank, all rock work in middle of tank, easy back area clean up. That's all for now folks. Work in progress, happy reefing.

 
AJK

AJK

Member
Hello friends, first major problem in 2.5 yrs ! My beautiful 55 gal sand has turned solid brown. Ugh ! Yellow tang is doing really well, very active swimmer. I re-arranged rocks to give tang more swimming area. Very smart to, when I turn off all lights in bedroom, he hides behind rock, crashes out, Lol !!!

Where did all my friends disappear to, I began hobby with 2.5 yrs ago ?

Well, let me get this diatom issue figured out and resolved. Happy reefing :)

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AJK

AJK

Member
Diatom bloom getting under control, daily siphon, 10% water changes. Purchased 20 snails. One crawled it's way out of tank overnight, landed on floor, bummer. Bicolor angel, caught my eye last night, I stared at it approx 15 minutes, Lol !! Fell in love with it. Difficult to photograph active swimming fish. Sorry for blurriness. On with progress :)

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AJK

AJK

Member
Hi Friends, I began with 20 gal, onto 55 gal and now converting 120 gal. 20 gal is full of live rock, which I will transfer to 120 gal. The 55 gal is doing well. Now tank has yellow tang, 2 clown fish, yellow tail damsel, goby and once had an angelfish that mysteriously disappeared and added 20 snails. Removed protein skimmer, which was causing bad algae growth, now tank stay's crystal clear. My mother loves viewing the 55 gal in my master bedroom, encouraged me to convert 120 gal tank in dining room to saltwater, she would help finance. Awesome !!!

I returned Catfish to lake, cleaned tank, but unfortunately tank has sunlight burn from blinds on glass, not noticeable when tank is filled with water. Anyone have tips to repair, that would be cool. Anyway, added 60 lbs of live sand. Next will add powerheads/live rock, then lights, etc.... Now cool thing is, I can use 20 gal sump in 120 gal cabinet. Would upload image but Imageshack now wants to charge. Good grief. Happy reefing :)
 
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