REEFLAND DANKNESS........55 gallons of the chronic!!

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

Whats up fellas- this is the first post of the 55 gallon masterpiece I am about to create. This is also attempt numero uno at a saltwater reef grow. One of my achievements in life is to have a "kick ass" aquarium, so you could call me somewhat of a saltwater enthusiast.

That being said, I am not going to be able to do this alone (where you guys come in). THAT being said, mi casa su casa, "my tank is your tank". Feel free to suggest anything that you feel should be done to the tank, any improvements you can suggest, or input you can give from past experiences. I am going to enjoy building my tank based on the community's suggestions and ideas.

I will also post questions and advise others as much as i can via the other forums, so i encourage others to generate ideas for the tank. You may also use these intermediaries to communicate back and forth on matters regarding the community tank.

I just received the first shipment of lace rock (that I am going to use for my base) that is curing away.....stay tuned and buckle your seatbelt.

Here are some pics of how the tank looks currently, as well as the lace rock I have curing in a bucket with a circulation pump to keep it flowing.......

[charlie]

Have you ever heard of these guys?

Marco Rocks The finest aquarium rock available, base rock, live rock, reef rock, marco rock, reef tank saltwater fish, live corals, Marco rocks, Fiji live rock, Tonga Live rock

In my opinion, a much better choice than lace rock. Lace rock tends to leach stuff that is not good for reef tanks, phosphates, silicates and God know what else. JMHO

[twisted]

welcome to the wonderful world of reefering! just take your time and when you go into the lfs, if your tank is under a month old dont buy anything. read the sticky's, let your tank cycle completely before adding livestock. the people on here know their stuff and have killer tanks and have learned from their own mistakes. most fish stores will sell you anything, anytime. to them your tank is ready for anything. seek advice from here before you add anything. you will notice as you read different threads, the people that didnt listen and usually after the discussion of "the lfs said i was ready and can add this and this and this..."
that their thread suddenly came to an end.....its not that they got kicked out...they most likely killed everything in their tank. trust the guys that are in the business of keeping your tank beautiful, not the guys whose business is to sell sh!#. good luck with the dankness......just watch out for that sponge farmer guy...parrothead........j/k.....

[charlie]

welcome to the wonderful world of reefering! just take your time and when you go into the lfs, if your tank is under a month old dont buy anything. read the sticky's, let your tank cycle completely before adding livestock. the people on here know their stuff and have killer tanks and have learned from their own mistakes. most fish stores will sell you anything, anytime. to them your tank is ready for anything. seek advice from here before you add anything. you will notice as you read different threads, the people that didnt listen and usually after the discussion of "the lfs said i was ready and can add this and this and this..."
that their thread suddenly came to an end.....its not that they got kicked out...they most likely killed everything in their tank. trust the guys that are in the business of keeping your tank beautiful, not the guys whose business is to sell sh!#. good luck with the dankness......just watch out for that sponge farmer guy...parrothead........j/k.....

That is rather well stated!!!!!

[Parrothead]

That is rather well stated!!!!!

Hopefully the first part of twisty's post is what you are referring to

Twisty, I thought we where friends

[metalhead]

welcome to the wonderful world of reefering! just take your time and when you go into the lfs, if your tank is under a month old dont buy anything. read the sticky's, let your tank cycle completely before adding livestock. the people on here know their stuff and have killer tanks and have learned from their own mistakes. most fish stores will sell you anything, anytime. to them your tank is ready for anything. seek advice from here before you add anything. you will notice as you read different threads, the people that didnt listen and usually after the discussion of "the lfs said i was ready and can add this and this and this..."
that their thread suddenly came to an end.....its not that they got kicked out...they most likely killed everything in their tank. trust the guys that are in the business of keeping your tank beautiful, not the guys whose business is to sell sh!#. good luck with the dankness......just watch out for that sponge farmer guy...parrothead........j/k.....

Good advice!!!

Just remember to take your time and research everything as much as you can.

Welcome and good luck!

[twisted]

Hopefully the first part of twisty's post is what you are referring to

Twisty, I thought we where friends

i learned from the best!
parrot, i never knew a sponge farmer before...its an honor to be your friend

[zhenya]

Have you ever heard of these guys?

Marco Rocks The finest aquarium rock available, base rock, live rock, reef rock, marco rock, reef tank saltwater fish, live corals, Marco rocks, Fiji live rock, Tonga Live rock

In my opinion, a much better choice than lace rock. Lace rock tends to leach stuff that is not good for reef tanks, phosphates, silicates and God know what else. JMHO

+1 on Charlie's advice and I also have a question for you. Are you going to have a sump or just some type of power filter?
While you are waiting on your rock to cure why not make a decision on the type of filtration you are going to have, water flow and animals you would like to keep. I think those are important questions that need looking into and it would help if you listed your plans for equipment that you are going to use so that we can discuss all the possibilities of achieving that "killer tank" that you want. Two heads are usually better than one but we have lots of people here willing to help out. ;)

Good luck!

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

This is the number one question I was hoping to avoid. The part of my setup that I am the least proud of is my filtration. It sucks. Right now im rockin a fluval **** filter that i'm pretty sure is only good up to about 50 gallons. It moves water fine, and i have 2 600 gph Koralia powerheads moving water in the tank, so there are no stagnancy issues. I have every intention of getting a skimmer, but money is an issue. I have my eyes on a somewhat-cheap AquaC Remora skimmer that is rated to handle 75 gals, but, if possible, I would like to wait to put this in later. I guess the real question i'm trying to have answered is: 1. in your opinion, will LR even survive in a tank with inferior filtration, or will it be too hard to keep stability in the tank without the power to filter effectively, and 2. in your opinion, would a guy risk putting LR in the tank and getting it up an running before putting in the skimmer, or is it just too crucial that the skimmer be in and the tank be stable before adding the rock.

[TimH07]

well 2 things, first your rocks aren't going to do any better in that bucket

and 2 that rock looks pretty solid, is the stuff underneath more porous? you really want to have some pretty porous rock so the bacteria has plenty of surface area to be on. people always say lbs per gallon but really thats misleading you could have a solid ball of rock weighing 100 lbs but if you had a way to measure the surface area i'd say 400 sq feet of surface area balled up into little nooks and cranny's.

think heatsink on a cpu fan.

[Parrothead]

+1 Tim,

As for you skimmer, I currently run a aquaC remora on my very, very lightly stocked 55, If I where you and again, are you planning a sump, we need more details in order to advise, but if you are not planning a sump, I would look at the aquaC Remora Pro with mag 3 pump, it will handle just about anything your size tank could throw at it.

[blennydude]

What type of sand do you have in there right now?

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

+1 Tim,

As for you skimmer, I currently run a aquaC remora on my very, very lightly stocked 55, If I where you and again, are you planning a sump, we need more details in order to advise, but if you are not planning a sump, I would look at the aquaC Remora Pro with mag 3 pump, it will handle just about anything your size tank could throw at it.

I have a sump, and i have decided to use it. I think its going to be much easier, because i have a decent skimmer along with a 600 gph overflow box and 600 gph pump. I was trying to avoid using this because i don't have a stand that i can hide it in. Either way, its going to be ok. is 600 gph going to be enough turnover for the tank?

[Parrothead]

Depends on what you are planning to keep

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

Depends on what you are planning to keep

I am planning on having a few fish, live corals and little crabs/snails/shrimp guys

[Parrothead]

I am planning on having a few fish, live corals and little crabs/snails/shrimp guys

A little more specific than that please

Corals - SPS, LPS, Softies??????????????????
Fish - ?????????????????
Crabs - you don't want to know what I think about them

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

shrimps x100
little nemos x 2....maybe 4 (pairs only, everyone deserves a friend)
snails x100
corals= would like to have my tank dominated by an SPS invasion, but im not sure if i will be able to generate a strong enough current. This is why i was wondering if my 500 gph pump (and 2 koralia 600 gph powerheads) would be sufficient waterflow

[rluix]

So....Hows the tank going?

[Awesome Box of Rocks]

Were at a standstill right now. The lr been curing for a couple weeks bow but we are just waiting for a new pump and heater to arrive. Soon enough- the pump is the last thing we need and then the tank should take form

[gregony]

The lace rock won't be a good choice with SPS. You'll need to upgrade your rock. Don't have to do it all at once. Little, by little. A cured (not uncured) rock here and one there and you'll be there before you know it. The biggest problem you'll have with SPS is the 55g itself. It's narrow. A 4x54W T5HO light fixture would be enough light, and would fit, but you'll have trouble getting the light to more than a few colonies. A Current USA Nova Extreme Pro is a 6 lamp fixture that is 12" wide and would be better, but not entirely necessary. Make sure you get one with individual reflectors for each bulb. You can also upgrade the powerheads later if you don't get enough movement with them. Remember to wait several months after your tank has cycled before adding any coral, and make sure your rock is mostly switched over to live rock by then. When it comes to SPS in a smaller tank like a 55g, add all the fish you're ever going to have before adding any coral. When you add a fish, the tank takes a few weeks to develop filtration to account for that fish. In a smaller tank, this mini cycle can be devastating to an SPS colony. Remember, Nitrates must be less than 10 and alkalinity must be more than 9 for SPS to thrive.