First Saltwater Tank - 55 Gallon Diary

dedecv3

Member
Well I didnt take any pics of the initial set up but here is my 55 gallon. It has been set up for about 2 weeks now. I plan on keeping soft corals, a pair of clowns and a few other undetermined fish. I've got a start to a clean up crew; 5 Red Tip Hermits, 3 Scarlet Hermits, 3 Bumble Bee Snails, 3 Mexican Turbo Snails & 5 Turbo Astrea snails.
I've got 50 lbs of Live sand and about 90 lbs of Live rock from an established tank. Some of the rocks have bits of Zoanthids, Mushrooms unknown leathers and this:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/366587/id-please-is-it-healthy
More pics to come soon.
 

dedecv3

Member
Picked up my 2 clowns and a Pink Tip Haitian Anemone tonight & they are currently acclimating.
Let me know what you think of my aquascaping/rock work...It took me a while and was quite frustrating.
 

flower

Well-Known Member

New tanks always look so nice and clean...The power heads may serve you better if you put them on the back of the tank. You also need some more agitation on the water surface.
Since your tank is so new....Your rocks are set up looking really nice as it is...This is just a suggestion.
Since you intend to have coral. Making a big cave or having some good size ledges will help later on. Not all coral likes the bright lights. It will allow you to have a better choice of corals on down the road. Now is the time to rearrange the rocks if you are going to.
Happy Reefing!
 

mr&mrs.o

Member
I really like the aquascape as well! Your tank looks very nice!
But my question is, when you say it's been set up for two weeks, you mean after the completion of the cycle right?
 

dedecv3

Member
Originally Posted by Flower
http:///forum/post/3148466

New tanks always look so nice and clean...The power heads may serve you better if you put them on the back of the tank. You also need some more agitation on the water surface.
Since your tank is so new....Your rocks are set up looking really nice as it is...This is just a suggestion.
Since you intend to have coral. Making a big cave or having some good size ledges will help later on. Not all coral likes the bright lights. It will allow you to have a better choice of corals on down the road. Now is the time to rearrange the rocks if you are going to.
Happy Reefing!
You mean put the powerheads and the back pushing the water to the front?? The one on the right is pushing the water behind the rocks and the one on the left is kinda moving the water along the top in the other direction. The filter return stirs up the surface pretty good on the left side. The Protein skimmer is on the right but is not currently turned on.
 

dedecv3

Member
Originally Posted by Mr&Mrs.O
http:///forum/post/3148488
I really like the aquascape as well! Your tank looks very nice!
But my question is, when you say it's been set up for two weeks, you mean after the completion of the cycle right?
It has been filled with water for a little over 2 weeks. All of my rocks, equipment, sand & even some of the water came right out of a tank that was established for 7+ years so I did not see any ammonia or nitrites. Snails & Hermits were added on day 10 & my 2 clowns were just added yesterday on day 16. Tested the water again today and still not seeing any ammonia or nitirites. Nitrates have slowly gone from 5 to 15 over the past 2 weeks so the bacteria are doing their job.
 

dedecv3

Member
Well after only a month in this hobby I am already upgrading. Found a great deal on a 75 gallon with stand that was used less than a month. Came with a 30 gallon refugium, pump & 48" PC light. All for $200.
 

dedecv3

Member
Spent the weekend transferring everything over from my 55 to my new 75. Will start a new thread with new pictures very soon.
 
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