MantisMan's first 55 gal reef

[MantisMan]

Hi all. Just getting things going. $$ was tight so everything is cheap. Not nearly enough prep was done for this as I really didnt know what I was getting into lol.

Regardless, Im in love with this lifestyle.
no sump ... yet

Turning my hob penguin 350 into a hob fuge soon. just need a clip on light or a bendable desk lamp a bit of eggcrate and im good to go. (o yea and the chaeto).

3 PHs - comes to a total of somewhere around 900-1000 gph with all equipment. is that decent enough?

110 lbs TBS LR

40 lbs LS

2 odyssea t5 light fixtures - Im retarded and had to DIY the lights to fit over the tank. figured hmm 48" long tank ... 2 24" lights!!! WRONG!! lol plans to upgrade soon.

Grabbin a 20 gal from my ma for a QT

Ill post pics later as the rest of the LR is coming tomorrow with my cleanup crew!!
Also, once things stabalize a bit more ill post params.

Any thoughts suggestions critiques or flames are encouraged as either way I will learn something from it.

Glad to be here @ RS

 

[Robzilla]

Welcome to the 55gal club! What are your stocking plans?

PICS PICS PICS!

 

[QuentinB]

Looks like you've got a start! You may be a little short on flow, but that's something that's easily upgradable, and shouldn't stop you from setting it up by any means

Suggestions? Make use of that QT. And post pics! Good luck!

 

[Robzilla]

Yes, +1 on the use of a QT. It isn't fun but you need to QT every fish for several weeks before letting it into the tank. It will save you so much grief and stress down the road.

 

[MantisMan]

Yes I want to do things right since I have done so many things wrong at the beginning. I have had enough grief already. The things that relieve some difficulty or headaches for reefing are IMO a necessity to remain sane and happy while doing this.
Flow upgrade wont be expensive no. But TY for letting me know im a bit short. I know it depends on what my stock will be, but how much flow should I have generally speaking in terms of min-max?
I have to start with two clowns as my wife and daughter are overjoyed with the thought. Im hoping they host the 2 condys? I know I have to read up bout all this but any advice about that would be welcomed. Besides I have to go through another cycle when the new rock comes tomorrow. So it will be some time before fish/coral/etc are added.

News: I have what seem to be mites of clear and very small nature all over the glass at the bottom. I believe I read somewhere these are pods? If so what does that mean for my tank and will they grow? Pretty sure its a good thing Pics soon!

 

[catran]

Pods are good. No, the pods will not grow, maybe multiply. Your fish will take care of that. Did you get your new lights? The condy's will need good lighting.

 

[Reefmack]

Nice to see you started a tank thread! It's a great place to ask questions and have the answers and tank history all in one place.

 

[MantisMan]

Well, a lot of rock came and I did my best and as fast as I could. some adjustments may be needed and more flow is plainly needed visibly (upgrading next week) Thinking maybe 3 decent PHs, WM? (GPH?) I like my scape. It seems like alot of rock IMO. All I could do was build a wall. Need advice on flow and What yall think of my scape...
Everything is acclimating as it has only been hours since I finished. Pics could be better.

Ill post full bioload once I get some sleep LOL.

 

[QuentinB]

Looks great, man! Lots of neat stuff in there already, just try not to go too fast!

 

[MantisMan]

I feel like I am. There was one thing on my order from TBS that could not be fulfilled. In turn he said hed give me some really cool extras. I said OK. he sent me 2 stars as well. brittle and serp as big as my hand. Tiger goby, two peppermints, cukes, decorator, and what seems like 5 anenomes!!! This def feels like a lot to start with (overly excessive) I need to start a feeding cycle with the anenomes (any suggestions?). Im worried and hoping there wont be much of a cycle here. Initial reading was 0 ammonia maybe 10 trite 40 trate.
Dont get me wrong I LOVE the tank. Just a little overwhelming....

Crossing fingers and knocking wood. Time to be diligent!!! ANY advice is welcomed.

 

[Reefmack]

The tank is looking terrific! That's a pretty yellow flower/rock anemone, and nice Gorgonians! Looks like a lot of life on that TBS rock. Keep an eye on the ammonia for a few days in case it goes up due to any die-off on the rock. If you want more flow look at the Koralia powerheads for economy, or maybe 1 or 2 Vortech MP40 if you can swing the $$$.

 

[MantisMan]

I was looking at koralia heads last night. I like the evolution. Magnet plus full rotation i want. So much rock in there lol magnets sound easier. (thoughts?) Im think maybe 2 on each side maybe a 900 and a 1200 at alternate angles and height with a 750 maybe in the back (too much). Well see what my $$ looks like next week. But when i upgrade from now on its gonna be for good. So its going to be a quality (expensive) item . The walls ar goin to be impossible to clean LOL.

The saga continues

 

[Reefmack]

I won't use anything but mag mount powerheads - suction cups alone seem to always fail, and you can imagine what the tank would look like if a pump fell and started blowing sand all over the place! h: Can't help with the pump sizes as I don't know what's best in a tank your size. I have a Vortech now, but was always happy when I ran a Koralia - good, lower cost pumps in my opinion. Yep - if you have your rock too close to the sides they'll be near impossible to clean the algae off.

 

[QuentinB]

The Koralia Evolution's are nice because they are wavemaker compatible. I have a 750 in my FW tank(75g, also 4ft), and I love it, looks so nice compared to the maxi-jet that was once in there. If it was a SW tank, I'd be disappointed in the flow, but it's a nice, gentle, steady flow I was looking for. I think you'd be okay with your idea of two per side and one on the back, but I'm not sure I'd run them all at once, maybe look into a wavemaker as well. Also, like I said before, you can always add powerheads, so maybe start with that 1200 and see what you think you need after that?

Like Terry said, watch your ammonia, I'll bet you'll be fine. So long as you stay on top of it with water changes, I think most everyone should stay happy. Also, I don't know much about gorgonians, but I know some are non-photosynthetic, and that even the photosynthetic ones benefit a lot from actual feeding - if you haven't yet you may want to get some coral food. Some info on Gorgonians for ya: https://sites.google.com/a/asira.org/www2/gorgonians(seafansandsearods)

 

[MantisMan]

Im getting 2 koralia evolution 1050s Gna take my 250 that i have now and put that in the back. Then the 1050s will either go on the back wall facing front or sides facing eachother.

0 ammonia 20 trites 40 trates. Anenomes are moving stars are moving life is good so far.

 

[Reefmack]

Sounds good on the Koralias. Hopefully you'll soon start seeing the nitrite peak dropping and disappearing.

 

[MantisMan]

Did a small amount of rescaping. Will post new pics when heads arrive.
Nabbed a chemipure bag from my LFS. Placed it. Put in some phosphate pad (diy) phosphates are high. Around 1 ppm +
Hoping with increased flow and ro/di coming tomorrow that I get lucky and avoid any blooms. Crossing fingers.

 

[MantisMan]

So, when I added the seawater. my salinity rose. Im sitting at between ---> 1.027-1.028. How bad is this and when my ro/di unti comes tomorrow can I add this slowly right away to the skimmer reactor. The tank already needs topoff anyway which has added even more to the salt rise (getting worse by the minute).

Suggestions or ideas if my plan will work?

 

[MantisMan]

O, btw Quentin. You look exactly like a friend I had in the military. He was my first trainer, cool dude. Southern boy lol. always called me a yank.

Thanks again all for the advice.

Andrew.

Time is the fire in which we burn. ~Delmore Schwartz,
"Calmly We Walk Through This April's Day,"

 

[Reefmack]

Typical ocean values 1.025 - 1.027. Hopefully it won't get too much higher before you can get the RO/DI going tomorrow. You could always get a couple gallons of distilled water and use that.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com