ReefGuy's 55gal Journal

[ReefGuy69]

Well here is my first entry to my journal to document the journey I am about to embark on. It was a little over a year ago I started the planning for all this. A summer of putting some of it together and now, the fun part, implimenting everything I have planned. Hope you have fun with me and here I go.

The Setup:
55gal glass aquarium with built in overflow
DIY Acyrlic Sump (idea from melevs reef)
Seaclone150 Skimmer in sump(for now)
coralife 26 watt PC lights for Fuge in sump
(2) Ebo Jager 200 watt heaters in sump
400GPH return pump (Powerhead) get me by for now
DIY auto top off system in sump
(3) 96 watt PC lighting system (2-10,000K / 1-True Actinic 03)
2 Power heads one a waver maker system (alternating)
1 powerstrip center w/ lite up switches
200 gal mix of Tropic Marine Pro Reef Salt (On order)
Hydrometer (for now, will get refractometer)
coralife digital thermometer (On order)
60lbs of livesand (on order)
4 Stage Oceanus Ro/Di unit
Test Kits (Will order once rock is ordered)

Going to order 1-1.5 lbs per gallon of Live rock in a few weeks uncured and will cure it in the tank when i cycle, since i have no live stock

Livestock I plan to get:
A pair of clowns (not sure to what type yet)
eventually once tank established a green bubble tip anenome
A variety of SPS and soft corals/zoo's
Some Macro algae for my sump
possibly a blue hippo tang (if so then no other fish except clowns)

here is my setup so far. will keep you all posted in the future.

Overflow Area


Skimmer Area in sump


Fuge Area in sump


Return Area/Top Off Area in sump


Entire Setup so far


Power Station



Should have sand this weekend, and salt next weekend. They cant ship this stuff as fast as i need it.

[ReefGuy69]

Well I am in a jam.i still dont know what type of filters i need to order for my ro/di unit. So with my sand about due tomorrow or the next day i need to figure out what to do. My tank is filled with Tap water. I wanted to make sure i didnt have any leaks in the tank and sump and also wanted to make sure everything was in good working order. Do I dechlorinate the tap water and just use it to cycle the tank? or do i wait until i get my filters and use RO/DI water? i am hoping you all will say i can use the water i have now and just dechlorinate it and add my salt and then the sand and live rock, and once it cycles when i do my water changes i will have my filters by then and i can add 20% ro/di water during those water changes. do you think that will work???

[InLimbo87]

Do u have a lfs in ur area that sells rodi water? Personnaly i would only use tap in a dire emergency.

[ReefGuy69]

I am trying to not buy anything at the LFS... there use to be three that were open in the area. One was awesome. Wide variety of selection, and very knowledgable staff. Owner went under... he was getting into high end corals and fish and most ppl couldnt afford so he bit off more then he could chew. He should of just stuck with beginners setups and corals and had some more advanced corals and livestock. The second LFS was ok... it was one guy trying to run the whole place. hours wernt consistent. He didnt last either. Then the last is a LFS that has been around for a long long time. They have an ok selection. Alot of brands and equipment on the low end of the scale. which is ok i guess for beginners. But they mark the prices way up where you woud be stupid to buy something there because you could get a better brand cheaper with shipping by ordering online. Then the staff is so rude and have no clue what they are doing. Last weekend put me over the edge. i wanted to buy a saltwater starter pack for my moms boyfriend. He has a small 15-20gal fresh water tank and has been talkign a long time now about changing it to Salt water. well i thought what a great Christmas present. a salt water starter kit. Well this store had like a red sea one. I could tell it came with the tank the way they had it set up, i explained to one of the staff that i was just interested in the kit, is there anyway they can get me a price for just the kit? well one guy said he would check. meanwhile another staff member comes over and asks me if she can help. i explained i believe someone went to check on the kit for me. she said oh yeah i know u can get it seperate... i think its like $69. A second later he comes back oh sorry i cant sell it without the tank... the girl goes um but last week we sold one to... he said yeah i know i just checked with and they said not without the tank... So basically they wanted to dig into my pockets and get me to buy another tank just for the package. So i promised myself that i would never go in there again. If i knew the first LFS was going under i would have written a check for everything i had just to keep them open. but its to late now. so everything i get from now i am ordering offline. its still cheaper then the LFS. and i have you all for the knowledge. Anyways back to the question. LOL yeah i have places to get the ro water from. the local grocery store has one, but would it be worth while to buy them by the gallon... my tank with the sump has to be an easy 70-75 gal...

[ReefGuy69]

Well recieved my packages yesterday. My live sand, new heaters, hydrometer, digital thermometer and epoxy. I added the heaters to get my tank up to 78ish. So far its at 75.5 so i am almost there. Tomorrow im hoping to make it to the LFS to get something to take the Chlorine/Chloramine out of my tank before i add the sand. Im still waiting on my TDS to get here so i can test my current filters and if they dont check out good then i wil order new ones through JaK. Going to get the ATO hooked up and working tomorrow as well. I have a question though. I was going to go with Chaeto but recently got thinking i am going to put some sand and small amount of live rock in my Fuge for a safe haven for pods. But should i go with the chaeto in there as well or go with another macro???

[goldenmean]

Very nice looking set up!
you are going to have an awesome tank

I would not use tap water at all.
Get the RO from the grocery if you cannot wait for your RO/DI filters/membranes. I would probably wait. You have been planning for a year so why rush things now.

Chaeto makes for a great pod safe heaven in the fuge.

Are you going to leave the back of the tank clear? A colored background makes for the colors of your fish and coral rally stand out.

[ReefGuy69]

No im going to paint it black. Just havent gotten to it yet. Finished the ATO today. i had to redo it because for some reason the hose kept slipping into the water and then it would start siphoning the water from my reserve tank. it almost overflowed but luckily i was keeping my eye on it. So i brought the tub up alot higher so there would be no chance of this happening when i am not around. I will try to get a pic of it. Also went through and labeled each switch for my power station. My tanks temp is hovering aroun 77.3-77.9. ive got the lights on now to see how much the tank temp will raise with the lights on.

[ReefGuy69]

Well everything is still running fine. I went to the LFS to get some Chlorine remover for the tank and i noticed the same Hydrometer that i had just purchased online for $6... They were selling it at the LFS for $18.99!!!! Talk about mark up. I just dont get it. Oh well thats why i order everything i can online. I would love to support my LFS but you got to be a fool to buy anything there. I should be getting batteries for my TDS tonight so i can test my filters for my RO/DI unit and see if they are still good. If not then i will be ordering new ones from Jak. Here are the pics of the ATO. I am removing the tape thats holding the tube and replacing it with a plastic clip/holder. The Float switch easily slips out so i can clean the return area or replace the pump if needed.

Sorry the one pic is sideways. Just tilt your monitor.... or just your head.

This is the Top Off Tank


This is sideways Sorry. This is where the water dumps into the return area by a float switch. When the water in the return area drops to a pre determined level the float switch turns on and pumps water back up to the level i want. So i dont need to put water in my tank for about a week.




This is what i use for my DIY Waver maker. it has setting from like 15sec-15 minutes for a delay. So far it has worked great. Just hear a click once in a while, but most of the time you dont even notice the click every few minutes.

[ReefGuy69]

Just Tested my water for my RO/DI unit and i am getting 3PPM for the output. and my tap water reads 165 PPM before filtering. So 3ppm isnt bad at all right??? I dont believe i need to change my filters.

[ReefGuy69]

Drained my entire tank of tap water.. might have been a few gallons i couldnt get, replaced with RO/DI water. I am slowly tweaking the heaters to get and keep the tank at 78 degrees. I have about an 1 1/2-2 inch of Live Sand in my tank with some left over to put in the Fuge. Salinity is 1.022 Going to get it to 1.023-1.025 in the next day or so. Going to order the Live Rock this weekend in hopes to have it arrive on Tuesday/Wednesday next week...my days off. I got a few gift certificates for the overpriced LFS... going to probably save em for the last minute emergencies or for when they get a decent fish or coral and its priced right. Im so excited. Oh i also got my RO/DI unit all set up and pumping me out water daily for tops offs and water changes. I have two 18 gal totes set up with DIY drain spouts, Heaters, and Float valves to the RO/DI unit. Will take pics of that set up and post them. Im Almost there.

[ReefGuy69]

75 Lbs Premium Fiji Live Rock (Uncured) Ordered from Premium Aquatics. Should be getting next Wednesday. Wahoooo!

[goldenmean]

All right!
Its funny how exciting getting rock for a new tank is.
Even funnier is how much time we spend looking at LR in a new tank.
Post pics when the rock comes in

[ReefGuy69]

R u kidding me... U know how much time i spend now just sitting looking at an empty tank with sand and water. My wife walks by and says "what did you see something move?" all excited sounding and im like nope just imagining what is going to look like up and running. She laughs at me all the time. I tell her you wait... one day im going to come home to you sitting in front of here admiring my peice of art and youll never get away.

[JFK_Jr]

Looking good so far...

From reading your posts, it also sounds like you are taking the time to do it right... good for you!

Premium Aquatics is a great place to do business with... I just saved $80 ordering my bulbs from them over all the other major vendors.

[goldenmean]

Originally Posted by ReefGuy69

R u kidding me... U know how much time i spend now just sitting looking at an empty tank with sand and water. My wife walks by and says "what did you see something move?" all excited sounding and im like nope just imagining what is going to look like up and running. She laughs at me all the time. I tell her you wait... one day im going to come home to you sitting in front of here admiring my peice of art and youll never get away.