First Saltwater Setup-55 Gallons

[aquariumrookie]

After doing freshwater at college for 5 months, I decided to dabble into Saltwater. This is the setup that I managed to put together. I do realize now that I put the anemones in WAY too early, but I guess you live and learn. I'm going to let the tank settle for a few months and then add a tang and possibly an angel. Upgraded lighting is on the way and I'm expecting to switch to a Fluval or Rena filter shortly.

 

[ncacura]

I always like looking at new tanks. Everything is so clean its scary, but looks awesome. As the tank ages your tank will get more color, but also dirtier. So far it looks good, the anemone (purple atlantic) looks bleached. Probably from the improper lighting, as you are probably aware of. Hopefully when you get him under some better lighting he'll come back. Good luck with the hobby, glad you chose salt, IMO it's so much better than fresh water, just a lot more expensive. ENJOY! GREAT START!

 

[coral keeper]

Very nice tank and anemones!

What kind of lighting are you getting? If your going to go reef, you need to get rid of that Chocolate Chip Star fish, they are not reef safe and will eat corals.

 

[aquariumrookie]

Thanks for the compliments and advice guys. Coral doesn't seem to be in my near future (the college wallet only stretches so far), but if I do decide to try my hand at it, I have a 30 that I have been considering setting up so I would just transfer the star into that one. The lighting, and I know you will wince, is an Odyssea 260 watt. I've done my research and have looked into the "it will burn your house down" legend, but it seems that these new 08 models (the one that I ordered) and even the 07s were pretty solid. Hopefully it will work out well.

 

[regina13]

I like your rockwork, it looks great!

 

[amyandbrandon2]

Very nice looking tank!

How many lbs. of LR do you have in that tank?

 

[aquariumrookie]

Thanks regina, I have to give that credit to the ******** decorator (my gf). I originally added 40lbs of live rock that came from an established tank. I thought it looked a bit skimpy and then added close to 15 lbs of "dead" rock. There is also one plastic piece in the tank, but I'll leave it to your imagination to guess which piece that is . Once I get some extra cash, I plan to replace the plastic piece and the large vertical piece on the right side with some better stuff.

 

[regina13]

I really like the piece on the right.. It adds that "one of a kind" look. (in a good way lol)

 

[yannifish]

Nice tank! I wouldn't gety a tang though, they need more than a 55g. If anything, maybe a Kole tang.

 

[aquariumrookie]

Thanks for the advice!! I will def check into size requirements when I decide to go with one. I was looking today, looks like a couple fall under the 55 gallon, but then again, many are up around the 125 range.