55 and 40g DT 135g system

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 07:44 PM

Well, at another forum I am part of I had made a long thread about my whole build of my system. I have kept some of the pics in photobucket, so I will post the process from start to finish here.

I have had my 55g tank from the time I was 15 (19 now) and for the first 2 years the tank was a mess. I did nothing right. BUT, in the past year I made a sump, did water changes and took care of the livestock I have. Here are a few pics of the 55 and 20g sump.

This is a pic of my mushrooms about 2 years ago.

Here is a pic of my mushrooms now

Notice the difference in the corraline algae growth?

Here is a pic of the sump when I first made it

Since then I have made many changes but do not have any recent pics.

Or do I?

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 07:47 PM

Here are a few more random pics of the 55:

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 07:49 PM

Then I thought how great it would be to have a frag tank! So guess what I did! Thats right, I got a frag tank going! A 20g long.

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 07:53 PM

I got this tank up and running for about 2 months and thought it would be cool to add a seagrass tank. I had a 30g that I let my friend borrow, but he left water in it in 20 degree weather. Yes, it broke. I look at the posotive in everything and saw this as an opportunity to get a larger tank. I went with a 40g breeder!

I made my own stand too.

This is when things started to get interesting. I thought how cool it would be to add all the tanks together...

Then after many hours of figuring things out and getting everything plumbed, the system was official

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 07:57 PM

This is when I really started focusing on seagrass. I literally read hundreds of articles and blogs and EVERYTHING about seagrass, specifically halodule wrightii (shoal grass). I found they will benefit form a DSB. My thinking is to go big or not at all.

Now, I had to think about lighting. Studying about the plants I found they like natural sunlight best and decided to go with a pair of 65w floodlights that are 6700k.

They are BRIGHT! I would say very close to 150w MH lights.

This is where my "chronical" is at. I went to a LFS the other day to see if they had and seagrass but they diidnt and said they would call me with a price for them to special order it for me.

boozeman · 03-05-2008, 08:00 PM

very cool

Dentoid · 03-05-2008, 08:02 PM

Nice start to your chronicle! Is the sea grass tank new?

boozeman · 03-05-2008, 08:14 PM

I noticed you are having trouble finding sources for seagrass....you might want to try asking panmanmatt as seahorses routinely use eelgrass' as hitching posts in tanks.

Craig Manoukian · 03-05-2008, 08:41 PM

Great photos and start to a Chronical thread Elliott!

tbittner · 03-05-2008, 09:19 PM

Great job! Especially with figuring out how to plumb everything together. That is really nice looking sand too! What is it? I need to buy some in the not to distant future.

You're shrooms are especially beautiful! I buy shrooms with those nice colors and, under my lights, they change colors, typically back to the brown/rust color.

Dentoid · 03-05-2008, 09:24 PM

How is that Labroides dimidiatus doing? The world is a much better place with them in the oceans!

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 11:35 PM

The sand, I got it from.....I forget. either liveaquaria or marinedepot.com

I would like some eelgrass, but it tends to get a little larger. With the 5" DSB I am only left with 11" until the top of the tank.

The Labroides dimidiatus unfortunately passed. I had that bad boy for almost 3 months until he went MIA. That was the second one. I had another one for 6 months until my cat got a snack

. I am just happy I was able to keep it so long because I have read how difficult they are to keep because of their eating habits. I have also read they wont live much past a month the the average home aquarium.

elliottb · 03-05-2008, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbittner

Great job! Especially with figuring out how to plumb everything together. That is really nice looking sand too! What is it? I need to buy some in the not to distant future.

You're shrooms are especially beautiful! I buy shrooms with those nice colors and, under my lights, they change colors, typically back to the brown/rust color.

Thanks! it took some figuring out how to do the plumbing and am still tweeking a few some things.

I have my mushrooms under 390w of PC light. They usually grow 2-3 new shrooms a week, depending on how often I frag them.

elliottb · 03-06-2008, 11:48 PM

I am still looking for a seller of halodule wrightii (shaol grass), so if anyone knows where I can get some, please tell me?

elliottb · 03-10-2008, 12:15 AM

Got some new frags the other day.

03-05-2008, 07:44 PM	#1 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	55 and 40g DT 135g system Well, at another forum I am part of I had made a long thread about my whole build of my system. I have kept some of the pics in photobucket, so I will post the process from start to finish here. I have had my 55g tank from the time I was 15 (19 now) and for the first 2 years the tank was a mess. I did nothing right. BUT, in the past year I made a sump, did water changes and took care of the livestock I have. Here are a few pics of the 55 and 20g sump. This is a pic of my mushrooms about 2 years ago. Here is a pic of my mushrooms now Notice the difference in the corraline algae growth? Here is a pic of the sump when I first made it Since then I have made many changes but do not have any recent pics. Or do I? __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-05-2008, 07:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Here are a few more random pics of the 55: __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-05-2008, 07:49 PM	#3 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Then I thought how great it would be to have a frag tank! So guess what I did! Thats right, I got a frag tank going! A 20g long. __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-05-2008, 07:53 PM	#4 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system I got this tank up and running for about 2 months and thought it would be cool to add a seagrass tank. I had a 30g that I let my friend borrow, but he left water in it in 20 degree weather. Yes, it broke. I look at the posotive in everything and saw this as an opportunity to get a larger tank. I went with a 40g breeder! I made my own stand too. This is when things started to get interesting. I thought how cool it would be to add all the tanks together... Then after many hours of figuring things out and getting everything plumbed, the system was official __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-05-2008, 07:57 PM	#5 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system This is when I really started focusing on seagrass. I literally read hundreds of articles and blogs and EVERYTHING about seagrass, specifically halodule wrightii (shoal grass). I found they will benefit form a DSB. My thinking is to go big or not at all. Now, I had to think about lighting. Studying about the plants I found they like natural sunlight best and decided to go with a pair of 65w floodlights that are 6700k. They are BRIGHT! I would say very close to 150w MH lights. This is where my "chronical" is at. I went to a LFS the other day to see if they had and seagrass but they diidnt and said they would call me with a price for them to special order it for me. __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-05-2008, 08:02 PM	#7 (permalink)
Dentoid Over Achiever Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 9,344 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Nice start to your chronicle! Is the sea grass tank new? __________________ Scott Dentoid's Reeforama

03-05-2008, 08:41 PM	#9 (permalink)
Craig Manoukian Regular Guy Moderator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Marina Del Ray, CA Posts: 15,404 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Great photos and start to a Chronical thread Elliott! __________________ Currently tankless. 20 Gallon mini reef with mated pair of Maroon Clowns given to Rougiem! 80 gallon reef given to Rougiem/Wooster HS.

03-05-2008, 09:19 PM	#10 (permalink)
tbittner Watch this Ma! Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Northern VA Posts: 5,042 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Great job! Especially with figuring out how to plumb everything together. That is really nice looking sand too! What is it? I need to buy some in the not to distant future. You're shrooms are especially beautiful! I buy shrooms with those nice colors and, under my lights, they change colors, typically back to the brown/rust color. __________________ Terry My chronicle 120g with 300g sump/refug, Outer Orbit HQI/T5HO 24-Hour Light System: : 48" 250W HQI 4x54W Lots of fish. 150g predator tank full of killers. 450g tank is IN the HOUSE!

03-05-2008, 09:24 PM	#11 (permalink)
Dentoid Over Achiever Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 9,344 View Gallery Karma Komment	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system How is that Labroides dimidiatus doing? The world is a much better place with them in the oceans! __________________ Scott Dentoid's Reeforama

03-05-2008, 11:35 PM	#12 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system The sand, I got it from.....I forget. either liveaquaria or marinedepot.com I would like some eelgrass, but it tends to get a little larger. With the 5" DSB I am only left with 11" until the top of the tank. The Labroides dimidiatus unfortunately passed. I had that bad boy for almost 3 months until he went MIA. That was the second one. I had another one for 6 months until my cat got a snack . I am just happy I was able to keep it so long because I have read how difficult they are to keep because of their eating habits. I have also read they wont live much past a month the the average home aquarium. __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-06-2008, 11:48 PM	#14 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system I am still looking for a seller of halodule wrightii (shaol grass), so if anyone knows where I can get some, please tell me? __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

03-10-2008, 12:15 AM	#15 (permalink)
elliottb Sea Pen Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: nj Posts: 340 View Gallery Karma Komment Add yours!	Re: 55 and 40g DT 135g system Got some new frags the other day. __________________ save a reef, frag a coral Friendship is like peeing on yourself: everyone can see it, but only you get the warm feeling that it brings. -someone-

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