Beth's new 55gal...LOTS of pics...

[sinner's girl]

We scooped the live sand into little zip lock bags, lowered them to the bottom of the tank and released the sand.
Sweet idea!
Sinner'sG, are you upgrading?

Nope, Sinner says my next tank has to be double what I have, so that would 150...no room or money for that...yet. (once we have a house, and I'm working, I'll have bigger tank..I'm keeping my eye open though, if I see a deal, I'll get the tank and just keep it empty). My 75gl is in Sinner's office and has been ingored for the past two years, for the most part. I'm moving the tank to my office (same house, just the next room), so it will get attention, I hope. Right now, it's a pile of rocks with three stars...my stars love it though. I haven't had fish in 2 years, since I lost mine to high temps in the 55gl. I'm slowly removing all the cc and when I move it I'll be putting in sand.
Let's see, I'll put my lr in the tank...then the sand, use plates then slowly add the water...or would it be better to add water, then lr and sand?
Mikeyjer, good luck moving all your tanks....it's a pain! We moved our 55gl and 75gl down the street 3 years ago...cycled the 55gl and bug spray killed the damsel in 75gl (mother-in-law). We'll be moving, at some point, once Sinner's out of school, I'm not looking forward to the move, I thought we were moving last year, so I didn't replace my fish, but now, I've been fishless for 2 years...and well, I want fish! But I know we'll be moving again and we have NO idea where we'll move to.

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
Sweet idea!

Nope, Sinner says my next tank has to be double what I have, so that would 150...no room or money for that...yet. (once we have a house, and I'm working, I'll have bigger tank..I'm keeping my eye open though, if I see a deal, I'll get the tank and just keep it empty). My 75gl is in Sinner's office and has been ingored for the past two years, for the most part. I'm moving the tank to my office (same house, just the next room), so it will get attention, I hope. Right now, it's a pile of rocks with three stars...my stars love it though. I haven't had fish in 2 years, since I lost mine to high temps in the 55gl. I'm slowly removing all the cc and when I move it I'll be putting in sand.
Let's see, I'll put my lr in the tank...then the sand, use plates then slowly add the water...or would it be better to add water, then lr and sand?
Mikeyjer, good luck moving all your tanks....it's a pain! We moved our 55gl and 75gl down the street 3 years ago...cycled the 55gl and bug spray killed the damsel in 75gl (mother-in-law). We'll be moving, at some point, once Sinner's out of school, I'm not looking forward to the move, I thought we were moving last year, so I didn't replace my fish, but now, I've been fishless for 2 years...and well, I want fish! But I know we'll be moving again and we have NO idea where we'll move to.
YIKES!! I keep thinking that I want to upgrade...nothing huge, maybe a 46gal or so, but when I think of what can happen...I just don't know. I think that I'm just going to stick with my little 37gal, since it's been so good and stable. **knock on wood**
Best of luck to you though...I'll be interested in how those moves go.
Lisa :happyfish

 

[sinner's girl]

I'll be interested in how those moves go.
So will I, I really, really want fish or at least more inverts, but Sinner thinks we may only be here another 6 months, he says after Fall, we could be gone....It's been two years without fish...I want fish!
So Beth, what fish are you putting in the tank? Got any lr yet?

 

[whyamisofl]

Originally Posted by Lolly1
Please let me know if this is true! If so, I'm going to get them out of there.
I'm hoping to put a Fuzzy Dwarf Lion, Valentini Puffer, Flame Angel, and Marroon Clown.
Beth ***)

Lava Rock releases poison's after the salt breaks down the rock, so.......get those out.
I have read in numerous books that this rock should NOT be used.........just trying to be helpful

 

[gtiguy]

I havent been a fan of the shrimp cycle method but if it works more power to ya...I have heard it may take awhile and even than you really dont know if the shrimp may cause an ammonia outbreak ......
As far as the tank goes a 55g with a hang on filter may not be the best bet...i would look into a sump setup....trust me i had a 30g with 2 hang on filters and even though it generates beneficial bacteria to help maintain the tank....they just dont do the job after a certain capacity..(like over 50g)...plus i noticed i lost a good number of fish with the 30g and knock on wood since the sump went into my 65g and that was awhile ago...no fish loss and or disease!!!! ......

Its something about the replenishment of new water being filtered back into the tank that really helps...also live cured rock with help as well as a small 1 or 1.5" sand bed...to thick of a bed will give you nightmares later on....
Not trying to hate on the new tank but it takes alot of planning and $$$ to make a saltwater tank look good and the key to it all is patience...I cant tell you how many bumps along the way ive had but im back into after a 2 month vaca with a bad sandbed horror story (crashed my entire tank) and left it green afterwards...but now my tank is looking better than ever!! Just do your research and do everything the right way and not half ass or your tank will suffer! ..
Here is a pic of my tank for reference....

 

[puffer32]

Originally Posted by Sinner's Girl
cool, that's great, I'll be moving mine soon and was worried about clouding, I don't want to keep m my stars out too long...so I'll try plates...
though isn't here an easier way to get the water in the tank that pouring it?
(I was thinking of hooking a ph or something up)
We always hook a powerhead to a long hose and pump water in and out of our 150, no way would i want to pour that much water in the tank for each water change. We also used a power head to pump the 150 gal of RO water when we set it up. Made life real easy!

 

[sinner's girl]

not to hijack, but what's wrong with hob filters? I have them on the 55gl and 75gl...without a problem, of course I have lots of rocks and I keep a low bioload...

 

[gtiguy]

I think they are great for lower gallon tanks...as for bigger tanks i def think you would see an improvement in tank conditons with a sump/refug. Just my 2 cents....You get more flow, a constant replenish of water, higher o2 levels for the fish and can be used if setup right as extra power head(s) ...also the hob tend to get dirty faster and can clog easy which woiuld be like overfeeding the tank over and over again if not caught early, bc it would just be goin right back into the tank...Also the sump is a place for external media where would you put your carbon, phos, skimmer etc....
HOb on a 75 is risky, although i dont know if you keep a reef or FO but for a reef i wouldnt recommend it....no offense but its a cheap altenative to doing it right....i could be wrong esp if you are having success but from what i have been exposed to you rarely see hob anymore after 30gallons....

 

[sinner's girl]

nope not a reef, that's what's the tank came with, we bought it used, already set up, for a hell of a deal. Currently I have three stars and a pile of rock. I'm not sure my filter really does much anyway since I've never cleaned, execpt when moving.
i def think you would see an improvement in tank conditons with a sump/refug.
Currenly, everything is ideal. Nitrates at zero, for the most part always under 20, even when I had fish...

still learning, this is the first I've heard that hob filters aren't good for bigger tanks...I thought sump/refug was just for reefs
carbon, phos, skimmer etc
no carbon or skimmer, what's phos? power head? I have one in the tank....
(sorry for the hijack)

 

[gtiguy]

Well i guess i am speaking in terms of doing a reef setup, but i did have FO for awhile.....Phos or phosphate media thats what i was speakin of, its usually found in tap water and tell tale signs of needing a phos media is red cyano bacteria or brown diatoms on the sand and or rocks....
As for not cleaning the hob you might wanna change out the filters about 1x a month they tend to get very dirty and if you are using the wheel one, they say you dont need to change that out to often just rinse and put back...in terms of the sump/refug def worth looking into and with more experience you may want to try for a reef, very rewarding when everything works out...although a lot more planning and work is required....dont mean to sound like i know everything bc i dont but have about 2 yrs experience now in the reef world and learning myself new things all the time, plus alot of my close friends have larger more complex tanks so i like to think i have learned a thing or too!!
Just curious how the shrimp cycle method went? I personally used seeded water from a friends tank and some bio-spira from the lfs it considered a cycle bacteria....
The power heads or flow generators/pumps you have pictured in your tank the purple looking things on the left, you should get another one for the other side...water flow is very important as well as keeping the surface water agitatted...keeps o2 levels up ...you may also want to look into a skimmer once you put fish in, the hob dont do enough to clean the tank as a skimmer would, imo....once you see the gunk a skimmer can take out youll never look at your water the same again!! :scared:

 

[spectre879]

Dont mean to intergect but...
I currently use a Hob and for the most part it works fine. Now thats not to say its not perfect. I will be replacing it with a w/d filter soon. But my hob has always worked fine and has never clogged. Now my nitrates and ammonia are alittle high but thats due to the water I use. I have been looking at filters and such and am planing on buying a new one soon.
P.S. I also run a skimmer along side of the hob and would highly recommend one. They work wonders!

 

[ryanhayes9]

Originally Posted by Spectre879
Dont mean to intergect but...
I currently use a Hob and for the most part it works fine. Now thats not to say its not perfect. I will be replacing it with a w/d filter soon. But my hob has always worked fine and has never clogged. Now my nitrates and ammonia are alittle high but thats due to the water I use. I have been looking at filters and such and am planing on buying a new one soon.
P.S. I also run a skimmer along side of the hob and would highly recommend one. They work wonders!

whats goin in it beth?

 

[gtiguy]

Originally Posted by Spectre879
Dont mean to intergect but...
I currently use a Hob and for the most part it works fine. Now thats not to say its not perfect. I will be replacing it with a w/d filter soon. But my hob has always worked fine and has never clogged. Now my nitrates and ammonia are alittle high but thats due to the water I use. I have been looking at filters and such and am planing on buying a new one soon.
P.S. I also run a skimmer along side of the hob and would highly recommend one. They work wonders!
I am willing to bet once you get the wet dry setup...you wont have any more ammonia or nitrates if you maintain your tank, i doubt its the water...my 30g was run on tap water when i first started and i never had any levels show up high....switched to ro for my 65g now and been right on with everything...by the way ammonia is uncommon to have if your tank is doing well, and fully cycled!