37g Build (PICS!!)

[Jason1]

Hello all,

Here is the set up and aquascape on my first tank build. The tank is still cycling as it is only a week and 1/2 old (started 12/7). Let me know what you all think!

Stats so far:
50-55 LBS of live rock - mix of Figi and Haitian rock
10-15 LBS of Base rock
20 LBS of live sand
37g tank /w 130w PC
ProClear Pro 75 system

Soon to come:
150w HQI light
Refugium (still up in the air about it)
Fish/inverts









Aiptasia =(




Im really excited about that tank. I have been watching a couple of my friends who have similar set ups for the past 10 months to a year and never had the funds/time to actually get mine started. So far I have a bit of Red slime (cyanobacteria) which i have removed the infected rocks and cleaned them, and a small aiptasia growth that I will be getting rid of hopefully today. As of right now, I do not have an ammonia or nitrite test kit, but i have been testing nitrates daily and they are through the roof so I know the tank is mid cycle.

Looking forward to hearing from you all and Im happy to be a new member here at RS. Also, I will be doing updates here pretty often and most likely will have a ton of questions.

thanks!
Jason

[michael_cb_125]

Nice setup!!
What are your plans for this tank? Livestock? Coral?
~Michael

[Varga]

looking good. I would ditch the bio balls though.

[Jason1]

Originally Posted by michael_cb_125

Nice setup!!
What are your plans for this tank? Livestock? Coral?
~Michael

The plan is...not set in stone lol.

so far all i know is i really want to have some cool looking inverts in there. I have been reading ALOT trying to make sure that the combination of fish and inverts will mesh together and theoretically have no problems living together. I definitely am going to be doing a bunch of soft corals and the classic anemone + clown fish (hopefully they will form a relationship, although i have read its rare).

I wanted to do a small lobster such as a reef lobster (Lobster), but i realize that will cut on my options with fish or other inverts. Shrimp also really intrigue me and i want to try a fire shrimp + a couple cleaners and maybe a Harlequin, although i think my tank might be too big for one.

As for fish, I want to do something that is going to be pretty active swimming around in the tank (i didnt make all thos caves for nothing ;P) and maybe a fire fish or 2. I have read almost every article in the newbie forum so i am familiar with bioloads and tank capacity so i have to be a little picky.


i still have a few weeks+ to research and come to a conclusion though. Any recommendations would be great too!

-Jason

[Dentoid]

Nice! I like the aquascape, it's very natural!

[Stacef]

Jason, Karma to you for researching! It's great that you understand the bioload topic, and that you know to research before buying!

[ReefLady]

Love the aquascaping - looks beautiful! Sounds like you're off to a great start. Keep us posted on the progress.

[tigerarmy90]

your tank looks good! you off to a great start! Have you tried powering down your return pump to see how much tank water syphons into the sump...having the locloine that low can be dangerous unless you have a syphon break drilled. Just trying to help prevent a flood

[BigAl07]

Looking VERY good Jason!!

I've had a "Reef Lobster" for going on 2 years now and LOVE it! It hides except when it's feeding time and it will take advantage of sleeping/slow/Ill fish but it's VERY cool.

one word of caution... Research your Bio-Balls (aka Wet-Dry filter). They aren't really "Reef" suggested but research it and make up your own mind. IF you do decide to do away with it do it over the course of SEVERAL water changes and not all at once

Tank is looking GREAT!!!

[BigAl07]

Originally Posted by tigerarmy90

your tank looks good! you off to a great start! Have you tried powering down your return pump to see how much tank water syphons into the sump...having the locloine that low can be dangerous unless you have a syphon break drilled. Just trying to help prevent a flood

You mean like the one I did in my living room EARLIER THIS WEEK? Yeah I had bumped my loc-lines and pushed them ever so slightly deeper into the tank and when I turned off the Return about 15 minutes later my sump had over-filled and dumped (apprx) 8 gallons into my living room. It could have been a LOT worse!!

Great advice Words of wisdom

[Jason1]

Originally Posted by tigerarmy90

your tank looks good! you off to a great start! Have you tried powering down your return pump to see how much tank water syphons into the sump...having the locloine that low can be dangerous unless you have a syphon break drilled. Just trying to help prevent a flood

Thats actually the technique I used to set the proper water level so incase the pump fails it doesnt over flow past the top.




thanks for all the compliments! I cant actually take all the credit for it as my good friend who inspired me to join the hobby, helped me out a ton with the rock setup. Im trying to get him to join RS as well, his rock setup and tank are amazing.

[Jason1]

Originally Posted by BigAl07

Looking VERY good Jason!!

I've had a "Reef Lobster" for going on 2 years now and LOVE it! It hides except when it's feeding time and it will take advantage of sleeping/slow/Ill fish but it's VERY cool.

one word of caution... Research your Bio-Balls (aka Wet-Dry filter). They aren't really "Reef" suggested but research it and make up your own mind. IF you do decide to do away with it do it over the course of SEVERAL water changes and not all at once

Tank is looking GREAT!!!

first off, thanks!

I have read and been told in many situations that the bio balls are not the best idea for reef setups. I am considering removing the bioballs and turning that area into a refugium with slight modification. The tank has only been up for a week, would it still be necessary to remove the balls over time? (I have had the balls in there for no more than 4 days)

[Jason1]

Hey guys. Its been a while since i have posted, but my friend with the SLR doesnt bring it around much. So, I decided to resort to the old point and shoot for a couple snap shots of where the tank is now. The flash from the camera added a green tint to everything. Here is the much needed update

The tank is 4 days shy of 3 months old.

My livestock:
3 peppermint shrimp - These shrimp are the first thing that i added to the tank and they are doing very well in the tank. I did have a little incident with them recently where they attacked my first Zoa frag and ate a bunch of it, but the coral seems to be coming back.

Unfortunately, I am going to have to remove them from the main tank when I get around to the refugium if they are still harassing my coral =(

1Watchman goby - This guy actually belonged to a friend of mine. He was being bullied in my friends tank and so he decided to drop him in mine or he would have surely died. When i first got him he was nearly white, very under weight, and most of his fins had been bitten off by other fish. Now he is pretty fat, very yellow, has all his fins, and even has some nice blue dots on his head and body (the crappy camera i used def doesnt do him justice, he looks really awesome in person).


1 Scarlet Cleaner - This guy is def my most prized possession in this tank. He has has tons of personality and is ALWAYS visible. He cleans my yellow watchman all the time, but the other fish in the tank still arnt very accustomed to his help. He also cleans my hands and under my fingernails whenever im moving or cleaning things in the tank <3

(sorry about the blur =/)



1 Blood Fire Shrimp - This guy is a recent addition to the tank, but he is doing very well. He hides most of the day, but comes out for a couple hours after being fed. He gets along with the other shrimp too which is a +. he also looks so awesome



1 Purple Fire Fish - Not much to say about this guy. He is the king of the tank due to his size. He doesnt like being touched by the scarlet cleaner and he bullies, but doesnt bite my other fish. Nice colors on him too.


1 Hector's Goby - Alright, my LFS reported this little guy as a hectors goby, but when I came home, I searched for "hector's goby" on a google image search and he doesnt really match the others. Anyone know if this is truly what he is?

This picture isnt really good, but hes very quick and very secretive. Ill have to try to get a closeup with a better camera.


2 Blue Chromis - I got these little guys because none of my other fish swim towards the top of the tank. The place I bought them from had about 20 in the tank and they all schooled together so I couldn't buy just one.


3 Emerald Crabs - Alright so I bought this one emerald crab to take care of a algae problem, but i guess there was too much and he couldn't keep up with the trimming, so i had to buy 2 more. The first one i bought started out at probably this size of a dime (he was in the tank for a little over a month before i bought the others)...now he is well over the size of a quarter! He is enormous compared to the little ones i just bought. check it out.
(the green rock in these pictures is a piece of dead coral that my friend has left over from his tank that he threw back there as a filler - this picture is the back side of the tank)


(he doesn't like taking pictures haha)


and here is a smaller one. Look at the size of the claws for size comparison


My last Piece of livestock is my most recent addition to the tank - My first piece of coral. Unfortunately, when I added the piece, my peppermint shrimp decided to mess with it and eat some of it. The rock that the frag came on was completely covered with polyps and that hole in the middle, well, i have the peppermints to thank for that.

The polyps hadn't opened since the first night I put them in the tank. It seems like whats left of them are starting to open up just a tad which is a ++

To finish off the update, some pictures of the entire system (doesn't look this green in person, its the camera, i swear lol):




again, sorry about the blur

Ill try to get my friend to come over with the camera so I can get some real good pics for you guys next time. I'm in the process of trying to figure out what im going to do about a refugium. I posted up here to buy one, but people are recommending the DIY route. I am also in the process of looking for a new light, hopefully I can find a deal on a HQI.

Let me know what you think!

[ReefLady]

Looks great! Fun, isn't it? :-)

[redsea reefer]

That's a rainford's goby not a hectors goby. Nice rock work!