Looking For Advice - 55 gallon

[zeke92]

I have a 55 gallon tank. It is a few years old if not more, full of copepods, bristle worms, all that good stuff. I've had mollies in there to keep it going, but no actual saltwater fish or inverts for a while. I am now ready to get it going again, and I was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice on what to get, or any ideas for a cool tank.
Right now I'm going for a low-light community tank with some corals. I cannot afford good lighting, yet, and the best I can get is some compacts.
My current equipment:
Emporer 280
Seaclone (modified)
2 powerheads
1 light fixture/hood with super old flourescent bulbs
1 PC flourescent light
1 heater
And.. well I suppose that is it. My parents only ever buy me the cheapest equipment so my protein skimmer and power heads (all absolute crap) are all broken. They have finally seen where going the cheap way gets us, and that buying the better equipment will actually save money in the long run.
I have a few 10 gallon aquariums I can use for stuff. I thought about getting one setup specifically for copepods or brine shrimp. I might be using one of those for a refugium/sump combo as well. Anything smart I can use extra 10 gallons for?
My "stock":
2 black mollies
1 balloon molly
Approximately 50 or so black nassarius snails (I forget the exact species. They are nassarius and work the same way, but a bit bigger and black colored.)
Random critters (if these happen to affect any advice or suggestions):
Bristle worms
Spionid worms
Tubeworms (the small ones that some people consider ugly pests [i love them])
Tons of copepods and other weird large bug things that come out at night to creep me out. (Just pointing out that it is indeed a mature tank with lots of copepods )
I also have approximately 50-55 gallons of live rock with a decent amount of hair algae on it.
My filter is somehow getting air in it and making lots of noise, and getting worse no matter what I try, so I will probably replace this soon too if anyone has a good suggestion on a filter.
So, I was thinking of a few random ideas. I've thought about the following, but not seriously thought over or researched yet so don't kill me if something sounds terrible.
Clown fish pair (maybe an anemone or mushroom or something for them if my lights can keep it alive, if not, a flower pot.)
Mandarin Dragonet
Cardinal pair
Pipefish
On corals, all I know for sure that I'd like to get so far is Kenya trees, gorgonians, and mushrooms. Other than that, no ideas.
I am really not sure what to do about fish. I'd like to get some interesting ones, preferably not a bunch of tiny ones, yet everything I read and know says that I can't get much in a 55. At least not without really good equipment.
Footer notes: Parents refuse to let me get anything interesting like a snowflake eel, lionfish of any kind, frog fish, etc. If it's even mildly dangerous or creepy it's off the option list. :[
So.. anyone have any advice, suggestions, or ideas that might help me out?

 

[jstdv8]

Green star polyps are a fav of mine and a low light option. many zoas also don't require much light.
may favorite fish that fit fine in a 55g would be a sixline wrasse, many of the smaller species of clowns, scooter belnnies, blue spotted jawfish, cardinals, chromis a peppermint shrimp or two and a cleaner shrimp. If you're into the eel thing and ahvce a good solid rock structure that won't colapse if it gets dug under you could get a an engineer goby, they look like a normal fish when little but grow up too look just like and eel, they burrow like and eel but are not agressive in any way that I've seen

 

[flower]

Hi,

Have at least one flashy show fish the tank...for the 55g how about a dwarf angelfish...full grown is about 4.5 inches, that's not a tiny fish and they are super pretty and bright colored, and as a super plus they love hair algae (some may nip coral, so watch to make sure the one you get does not..3 out of 4 does not). A royal Gramma or an orchid dottyback are about 3 inches grown with very pretty bright color. A couple of perc clowns that will hang out in a corner and entertain...Oh yes..lots of fish in the ocean to choose from.
But first things first.... equipment...Nothing in this hobby is cheap and upgrades and start ups cost, so be prepared.
All I can offer is what I would do, which is:
Rockwork: A rock wall background, it takes about an hour to do and saves space in the tank, and since the 55g is so narrow that's the route I would go. (we can talk you through that too) Still use some of your rock for some aquascaping...making it interesting and maintaining hiding places with some caves to swim around and through. All you need is the black pond foam for outside waterfalls and some of your rock. As for use of the two 10g tanks...make one a quarantine tank, and the other keep as a back up.
Filtration: Invest in a 30g long or 40g tank for a sump/refugium if you have room under the tank. Have some glass pieces cut for the baffles (folks here can talk you through the how to, if you don't already know) some silicone to hold them in place..you will need an overflow box and a pump for the return and either PVC pipe or hose and clamps for the plumbing. I did it so I know it's easy. Get an in sump skimmer for around $300.00...that's all you need along with your live rock for filtration. The sump system is the easiest to maintain and cheaper than buying a bunch of other equipment to do the same job but not as good.
Lighting: Don't get power compacts, instead go for T5HO. I purchased the linkable type, that way I can build slow but upgrades are cheap. The first 2 bulb unit is adequate for soft corals and if you should decide later for something fancier it won't cost an arm and a leg. They link up to 3, and each 48" T5HO unit costs $140.00, in the end the 3 units are enough light for anything you want, even an anemone. All for the cost of a cheap power compact unit that you would have to upgrade if you want coral that requires better lighting.
Final estimated cost:
$100.00 30g long or $40.00 tank for the sump (new..but lots cheaper if you buy a used tank)
$300.00 Skimmer
$140.00 1 T5HO unit for Light
$ 30.00 Glass for baffles and silicone
$150.00 Overflow box (high end)
$200.00 Return pump (High end)
$ 80.00 Plumbing for sump
$1000.00

 

[travelerjp98]

Forget about the pipefish. They need a species tank with really special requirements. The only tank mates suitable for them are seahorses.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by travelerjp98 http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388787
Forget about the pipefish. They need a species tank with really special requirements. The only tank mates suitable for them are seahorses.
This isn't true, I had them in a regular reef tank with all my other fish. They need a ton of pods or they starve, so I would say a refugium is needed.

 

[travelerjp98]

exactly kind of what I said. "Special Requirements" meaning that they need copepods, etc.

 

[teresaq]

some of the flag tail speices of pipes will take mysis. but thats another subject lol
How about some pics of your 55 gal. I know your prob young and dont have a lot of extra funds. so lets see what you have.
I started my first tank - 55 gal with just a tank and lrg hob filter. Later I added a canister filter. You can also go sump but you will also need an hob overflow and a return pump
You will need at least 2 good powerheads. Maxi-jets are good and a couple of 1200s are about 25 bucks each.
If you have a lfs-they may carry used equipment or keep an eye out in your local paper. I know my lfs always has some equipment people have traded in or are getting rid of.
You can also look online for stores that offer at home catalogs - I get several so I can compare equipment and prices.
I agree with flower on the lights though I used a 4 bulb satellite power compact and had a very nice softy tank with lots of mushrooms, kenyas, and leathers.
For fish.
I have always like engeneer gobies because they are so eel like. They are very peacefull though.
a pair of clowns
a firefish goby
a pygmy angel for movement
a pair of bangii would also be nice.
add a couple of pepperment shrimp
a brittle star
a couple of turbo snails or a sea hare for your hair algea
That should get you started thinking about what you want in your tank.

 

[kiefers]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388863
some of the flag tail speices of pipes will take mysis. but thats another subject lol
How about some pics of your 55 gal. I know your prob young and dont have a lot of extra funds. so lets see what you have.
I started my first tank - 55 gal with just a tank and lrg hob filter. Later I added a canister filter. You can also go sump but you will also need an hob overflow and a return pump
You will need at least 2 good powerheads. Maxi-jets are good and a couple of 1200s are about 25 bucks each.
If you have a lfs-they may carry used equipment or keep an eye out in your local paper. I know my lfs always has some equipment people have traded in or are getting rid of.
You can also look online for stores that offer at home catalogs - I get several so I can compare equipment and prices.
I agree with flower on the lights though I used a 4 bulb satellite power compact and had a very nice softy tank with lots of mushrooms, kenyas, and leathers.
For fish.
I have always like engeneer gobies because they are so eel like. They are very peacefull though.
a pair of clowns
a firefish goby
a pygmy angel for movement
a pair of bangii would also be nice.
add a couple of pepperment shrimp
a brittle star
a couple of turbo snails or a sea hare for your hair algea
That should get you started thinking about what you want in your tank.
+1 however, if your going to get a pygmy angel, you should add it LAST or he will beat the poop out of any new arrivals. what the pygmy lacks in size he makes up in attitude. My personal experience.
I like the bangii's but persoonally, boring. They just sit there. possum wrasse maybe and 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 pepermint shrimp and 2 emerald crabs. JMO

 

[travelerjp98]

and also please make sure that the Banggai Cardinal Pterapogon Kauderni you buy (if you decide you want one) is captive bred. They are extremely endangred in the wild. The total population of the fish is roughly 2,500,000, and 700,000 are collected for the hobby each year. The wild population of the fish is going down wildly every year. There was once a sub-pop. of the fish. In 2001, the population was 6,000. In 2004, the population was 17. Today that sub-population is extict.
Sorry that I wrote so much about it, but I did write a 30-page paper on Pterapogon Kauderni, so I learned a lot about them.

 

[zeke92]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388677
Hi,

Have at least one flashy show fish the tank...for the 55g how about a dwarf angelfish...full grown is about 4.5 inches, that's not a tiny fish and they are super pretty and bright colored, and as a super plus they love hair algae (some may nip coral, so watch to make sure the one you get does not..3 out of 4 does not). A royal Gramma or an orchid dottyback are about 3 inches grown with very pretty bright color. A couple of perc clowns that will hang out in a corner and entertain...Oh yes..lots of fish in the ocean to choose from.
But first things first.... equipment...Nothing in this hobby is cheap and upgrades and start ups cost, so be prepared.
All I can offer is what I would do, which is:
Rockwork: A rock wall background, it takes about an hour to do and saves space in the tank, and since the 55g is so narrow that's the route I would go. (we can talk you through that too) Still use some of your rock for some aquascaping...making it interesting and maintaining hiding places with some caves to swim around and through. All you need is the black pond foam for outside waterfalls and some of your rock. As for use of the two 10g tanks...make one a quarantine tank, and the other keep as a back up.
Filtration: Invest in a 30g long or 40g tank for a sump/refugium if you have room under the tank. Have some glass pieces cut for the baffles (folks here can talk you through the how to, if you don't already know) some silicone to hold them in place..you will need an overflow box and a pump for the return and either PVC pipe or hose and clamps for the plumbing. I did it so I know it's easy. Get an in sump skimmer for around $300.00...that's all you need along with your live rock for filtration. The sump system is the easiest to maintain and cheaper than buying a bunch of other equipment to do the same job but not as good.
Lighting: Don't get power compacts, instead go for T5HO. I purchased the linkable type, that way I can build slow but upgrades are cheap. The first 2 bulb unit is adequate for soft corals and if you should decide later for something fancier it won't cost an arm and a leg. They link up to 3, and each 48" T5HO unit costs $140.00, in the end the 3 units are enough light for anything you want, even an anemone. All for the cost of a cheap power compact unit that you would have to upgrade if you want coral that requires better lighting.
Final estimated cost:
$100.00 30g long or $40.00 tank for the sump (new..but lots cheaper if you buy a used tank)
$300.00 Skimmer
$140.00 1 T5HO unit for Light
$ 30.00 Glass for baffles and silicone
$150.00 Overflow box (high end)
$200.00 Return pump (High end)
$ 80.00 Plumbing for sump
$1000.00
A dwarf angelfish would be great! I would like to have at least one "fun" fish like that, so I will look into those.
I don't have any space under the aquarium, any sumps/refugiums would have to go beside it. Would a 20g be too small? That's about the biggest I have room for I think (and the biggest I could talk my parents into letting me bring in the room most likely).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jstdv8 http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388656
Green star polyps are a fav of mine and a low light option. many zoas also don't require much light.
may favorite fish that fit fine in a 55g would be a sixline wrasse, many of the smaller species of clowns, scooter belnnies, blue spotted jawfish, cardinals, chromis a peppermint shrimp or two and a cleaner shrimp. If you're into the eel thing and ahvce a good solid rock structure that won't colapse if it gets dug under you could get a an engineer goby, they look like a normal fish when little but grow up too look just like and eel, they burrow like and eel but are not agressive in any way that I've seen
I forgot about zoas! I always wanted some of those, they're very neat. I am not so sure about my rock structure though. It's perfectly stable to just sit there, but if engineer gobies are strong enough to push rock around, I might need to make some changes. I am willing to make some structure changes though, those gobies look awesome as adults!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388816
This isn't true, I had them in a regular reef tank with all my other fish. They need a ton of pods or they starve, so I would say a refugium is needed.
I also had a pipefish closer to the beginning of my aquarium (after it was matured of course, not RIGHT at the beginning), and it did fine with the fish I had at the time. It ate frozen mysis really well (along with copepods and BBS). Once I get a list of fish I would like to get I'll research if one would have any chance living with them, though I have my doubts. The fish I had with my old one were all very peaceful and there were only a few in the tank to compete with food.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388863
some of the flag tail speices of pipes will take mysis. but thats another subject lol
How about some pics of your 55 gal. I know your prob young and dont have a lot of extra funds. so lets see what you have.

I started my first tank - 55 gal with just a tank and lrg hob filter. Later I added a canister filter. You can also go sump but you will also need an hob overflow and a return pump
You will need at least 2 good powerheads. Maxi-jets are good and a couple of 1200s are about 25 bucks each.
If you have a lfs-they may carry used equipment or keep an eye out in your local paper. I know my lfs always has some equipment people have traded in or are getting rid of.
You can also look online for stores that offer at home catalogs - I get several so I can compare equipment and prices.
I agree with flower on the lights though I used a 4 bulb satellite power compact and had a very nice softy tank with lots of mushrooms, kenyas, and leathers.
For fish.
I have always like engeneer gobies because they are so eel like. They are very peacefull though.
a pair of clowns
a firefish goby
a pygmy angel for movement
a pair of bangii would also be nice.
add a couple of pepperment shrimp
a brittle star
a couple of turbo snails or a sea hare for your hair algea
That should get you started thinking about what you want in your tank.
Yep, my old pipefish ate mysis very well. It was a Janss' pipefish, which is a flagtail.
Our only good LFS within an hour of driving burned down a while back, and when they got a new location they didn't get fish again. There's a decent one that's about an hour and thirty minutes from here, and I think I recall them selling used equipment, but obviously it's not an easy one to get to. I'll have to make a list of stuff before I make the trip and check it out.
I will research Sea Hares, I wouldn't mind one of those. I remember finding a bunch of those washing up on shore at a beach years ago, they are freaky when they're "swimming" with those wing-looking things.
I will upload some pictures as soon as I clean up some of the salt creep
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiefers http:///forum/thread/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3388875
+1 however, if your going to get a pygmy angel, you should add it LAST or he will beat the poop out of any new arrivals. what the pygmy lacks in size he makes up in attitude. My personal experience.
I like the bangii's but persoonally, boring. They just sit there. possum wrasse maybe and 1 cleaner shrimp, 1 pepermint shrimp and 2 emerald crabs. JMO
Thanks for the tip. I will make sure to add the angel last then if I do end up getting one. I don't tolerate bullying within my aquarium
Quote:
Originally Posted by travelerjp98 "View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border: 0px solid;" />
and also please make sure that the Banggai Cardinal Pterapogon Kauderni you buy (if you decide you want one) is captive bred. They are extremely endangred in the wild. The total population of the fish is roughly 2,500,000, and 700,000 are collected for the hobby each year. The wild population of the fish is going down wildly every year. There was once a sub-pop. of the fish. In 2001, the population was 6,000. In 2004, the population was 17. Today that sub-population is extict.
Sorry that I wrote so much about it, but I did write a 30-page paper on Pterapogon Kauderni, so I learned a lot about them.
Of course! I am going to try to make sure anything I buy is captive bred/aquacultured, especially the Banggais. I remember one of the saltwater magazines I had a couple years ago having an article about them, and how endangered they are.
Thanks for all of the advice and suggestions everyone. I'm going to research some of this and probably return later with more questions

 

[travelerjp98]

Yay! I like you, go AQUACULTURE!!! (if you can!)
ORA, C-Quest, there are a lot of places that breed fish.

 

[zeke92]

Sorry it's been so long, real life has (for the first time in years) gotten busy. It doesn't feel like it's been months since I posted this O.O
I've gotten a part-time job recently, and have a few online projects that might be bringing in some extra flow in the next couple months as well, so I have quite a bit more to work with now.
Since I made the OP, I've:

• 
  Added another powerhead
• 
  Switched one of the lights temporarily with a PC from an old 20g I used to have
• 
  Added 4 mangrove propagules that are already rooting
• 
  Cleaned out a lot of hair algae and other junk that'd built up from neglect
  Changed my HOB media to be a little more mechanical and a little less nitrate factory..
  Partially modified my Seaclone and got it running again (still some mods to do later)
  Added the PC light to a timer
  Added some more sand

Also been doing quite a bit of research.
The equipment I would like to get is:
48" hanging T5HO (Not sure how many bulbs yet, but I plan on getting Blue Plus, Super Actinic, and AquaSun 10000k bulbs)
Canister Filter
Fluidized Bed Filter (Maybe?)
Calcium Reactor (At least, later on)
Sump/Refugium (more on that below)
Overflow Box for sump
For the sump, I already have a 20 gallon I can use. Would that be large enough to be worth it? I'd like to use one large section of it for a refugium too, with a nice sand bed and a few types of macroalgae. I have a PC that I used to use on that 20 gallon, and I could use that in the sump. If I had enough room I suppose I could even use it as a frag prop area? I don't know enough about that yet though so I could be wrong >.>
Also, about the engineer goby. I see that it can get pretty big, but there doesn't seem to be any size requirement people agree on. One website said 20 gallons, another said 70.. will it be alright in a narrow 55? And, since they're social, will one do alright by itself?
Pictures and other stuff coming in the next few days.. Have a haunted house to work at friday/saturday and stuff to do on sunday too, but I will try to find the time to finish cleaning and get some pictures.

 

[teresaq]

A 20 gal would be fine. Look in the diy section, there are a lot of threads that will show how.
as for the eng goby. They get up to 12 inches, but spend thier time curled up in a den under the sand. (at least mine does) I had one alone for yrs. I thought it had died because I didnt see it for a long time, added a little one, and then the old one showed back up. They live on opposite sides of the tank. lol
When I put my live rock and sand in, I put pvc pipe squares down as a base so the would have someplace to dig and live.
T

 

[zeke92]

Quote:
Originally Posted by TeresaQ http:///t/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3424149
A 20 gal would be fine. Look in the diy section, there are a lot of threads that will show how.
as for the eng goby. They get up to 12 inches, but spend thier time curled up in a den under the sand. (at least mine does) I had one alone for yrs. I thought it had died because I didnt see it for a long time, added a little one, and then the old one showed back up. They live on opposite sides of the tank. lol
When I put my live rock and sand in, I put pvc pipe squares down as a base so the would have someplace to dig and live.
T
Cool! They look really neat as adults. I've been trying to decide on some sort of goby/scooter for a bottom fish, and this one is the coolest I've seen.
That's a good idea about the pipe squares, I might see what I can do with that when I rearrange the rock.
My rock right now is alright, it has tons of caves throughout it, but the way it's aquascaped and the fact that the aquarium is so narrow (and my rock is so crappy and hard to stack) it looks very boring and takes up way too much space. The only open space that just has sand is in the front and through the middle cave. So I like the idea of a rock wall very much. I'd never even thought about something like that before. I'm checking out some rock wall DIY guides right now, but I can't decide how I should do it. Should I use small rubble rock for the rock wall, and get some good big pieces for aquascaping? Or should I use medium to large pieces and then only a few large pieces for aquascaping it?
Right now, I only have a few decently sized rocks. 1/3 of the rest is medium sized, and badly shaped for stacking (without using something to stick them together), and the other 1/3 is not much better than rubble rock.
I'm also not sure how to do it in regards to the fact that all of this rock is already in the aquarium. If I use half or most of it while making the wall, I'll be killing all of the bacteria on those rocks, and leaving the aquarium with less bacteria while I am building it.
This is what I thought about doing:
Buy 20 or so pounds of good quality rock, highly porous, lots of coralline, etc. Put this rock in the tank. Then take 20 or so pounds of the crappy old rock out and use that for the wall. This way, while I am working on the wall, the tank will not suffer from noticeable bacteria loss. I was planning on getting 5-10 pounds anyway, because I could probably use a good coralline seeding..
With any of the extra rock I don't need, after the wall is in and I've aquascaped, I can just throw the extra in the sump (or save it for the sump if the sump is not installed by then).
Or am I just being too careful?
I saw some pretty interesting designs people have made using the foam/eggcrate idea and just plain epoxy. I'm going to look at pictures of real reefs and try to get some crazy/interesting ideas that would work in a narrow aquarium..

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by zeke92 http:///t/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3424187
Cool! They look really neat as adults. I've been trying to decide on some sort of goby/scooter for a bottom fish, and this one is the coolest I've seen.
That's a good idea about the pipe squares, I might see what I can do with that when I rearrange the rock.
My rock right now is alright, it has tons of caves throughout it, but the way it's aquascaped and the fact that the aquarium is so narrow (and my rock is so crappy and hard to stack) it looks very boring and takes up way too much space. The only open space that just has sand is in the front and through the middle cave. So I like the idea of a rock wall very much. I'd never even thought about something like that before. I'm checking out some rock wall DIY guides right now, but I can't decide how I should do it. Should I use small rubble rock for the rock wall, and get some good big pieces for aquascaping? Or should I use medium to large pieces and then only a few large pieces for aquascaping it?
Right now, I only have a few decently sized rocks. 1/3 of the rest is medium sized, and badly shaped for stacking (without using something to stick them together), and the other 1/3 is not much better than rubble rock.
I'm also not sure how to do it in regards to the fact that all of this rock is already in the aquarium. If I use half or most of it while making the wall, I'll be killing all of the bacteria on those rocks, and leaving the aquarium with less bacteria while I am building it.
This is what I thought about doing:
Buy 20 or so pounds of good quality rock, highly porous, lots of coralline, etc. Put this rock in the tank. Then take 20 or so pounds of the crappy old rock out and use that for the wall. This way, while I am working on the wall, the tank will not suffer from noticeable bacteria loss. I was planning on getting 5-10 pounds anyway, because I could probably use a good coralline seeding..
With any of the extra rock I don't need, after the wall is in and I've aquascaped, I can just throw the extra in the sump (or save it for the sump if the sump is not installed by then).
Or am I just being too careful?
I saw some pretty interesting designs people have made using the foam/eggcrate idea and just plain epoxy. I'm going to look at pictures of real reefs and try to get some crazy/interesting ideas that would work in a narrow aquarium..

Check this out...do a search on Foamback project 101...on this site. It's awesome and inspiring and super easy to do, takes an hour to do and only 1 day to let it set.

 

[zeke92]

Alrighty.. I have bought enough eggcrate, I got Great Stuff Gaps & Cracks, a two-part epoxy, plenty of crushed coral, and some more rock/rubble for the rockwall.
I also have 5lbs of Manado live rock and 10lbs of rubble from Premium Aquatics, mostly for extra rock to work with and partially because I am hoping for some hitchhikers. xD
I've added 5 more pounds of sand to the tank, but I still think it needs another 10lbs or so. I never did have a very deep sand bed before, but it wasn't as important as it will be when I start getting a lot of fish and corals.
I've gotten quite a bit more supplies now. I'm slowly stocking up on everything I might need. I've gotten Reef Complete by Seachem, PhytoPlex by Seachem (which for now I am using to feed my tubeworms and hopefully help my copepod population), Pimafix/Melafix (just in case, at least I have some basic meds nearby), and I am waiting for a new Refractometer to get here to replace my old Hydrometer, as well as Aqua Gloves for all of the rock work/coral placement, etc that I will be doing.
I plan on buying some coral propagation tools (though I doubt it will be anytime soon that I will need these), selcon, more brine shrimp eggs, 10lbs of live sand, and probably misc. supplements/additives/bottles of stuff that might be nice to have around.
I'm either going to buy or build a 5-7 gallon refugium to hang on the back. I want to get a nice deep sandbed in there, with a decent light and a few different types of macroalgae. I have four Mangrove sprouts that have about inch-long or so roots now that I can put in there when I get one. I also think I will use this to be a safe place to grow lots of tiny tube worms (I really like my tiny tube worms..).
The rock that I bought (and I assume the rubble but it did not specify) was uncured, so I've got an 18 gallon with a powerhead and a heater to keep it warm in the garage while they cure for a bit. The rock was supposed to get here today, which would have been only one day of shipping, but it never arrived (nor have I seen a tracking number in my inbox), so unfortunately I'm expecting a bit more die-off than I was hoping.
I'm hoping to design the rockscape on the bottom in a way that allows for a lot of rock and coral placing space, while still leaving plenty of open sand.
Thursday my new light fixture/bulbs are supposed to arrive. I got a 48" T5 HO x4 bulb fixture that will hang over the aquarium with adjustable height, with two super actinics, one blue plus, and one aquasun 10000k (54 watt bulbs). I'm hoping this is enough to get just about anything, though I think any hard corals would have to go near the top still, right?
I've not entirely finished deciding what fish/corals/inverts to get, but this is my "draft list" at this time. There are probably too many fish listed here, so I will need to decide on which ones. If anyone has any advice/suggestions on which ones would do best and which ones to forget, it would be appreciated. (Note I will be waiting a week or two after the new rock, rock wall, and lighting are installed before I start buying anything living)
Fish:
2 blue neon gobies
2 false percula clowns (hoping to find a mated pair)
1 mandarin dragonet
1 engineer goby
1 pearlscale butterfly
2 bangai cardinals (captive bred!)
1 carpenter's flasher wrasse
Inverts:
A few porcelain crabs (not sure how many)
1 blood red fire shrimp
peppermint shrimps (not sure how many)
1 pincushion urchin
coneheaded and spiny star astrea snails (a mixture, for diversity)
3-4 bumble bee snails
small deresa clam (?)
carpet anemone (?)
Corals:
Mushrooms/Ricordia
Kenya or Colt coral
Zoas
As you can see I haven't really given much thought to corals yet.
So, does anyone have any suggestions or advice on which fish to get and which not to? Or is that not too much? And is that too many inverts? Also, any suggestions on corals would be appreciated too. I'd like to get a few hard branchy corals if possible.

 

[gemmy]

I would not go with the great stuff foam. It can degrade in a couple of months in the tank. Go with pond foam.

 

[zeke92]

This shouldn't be a problem if it is allowed to cure completely, right? It seems to be the top choice for foam rock walls and I've not read anywhere that people have had trouble with it. It will also be covered in a mix of crushed coral and sand to prevent UV exposure.
4PM today (about the latest we ever get UPS deliveries around here), and still no package. I've sent an email to the website asking about the order and a tracking number. Hopefully they just have been busy and not able to send it for some reason, and it hasn't been traveling or sitting for over three days. :[

 

[clown-keeper99]

Nobody has brought up skimmers for some reason?
Coralife super skimmers are great and the 65 would be the best for your tank
A good bottom fish would be the Tribal blenny, These guys can change colors from black to blue to white
skip the butterfly, not very hardy, but a red stripe dwarf angel may float your boat
I asume you want the anemone for the clowns right?
The carpet anemone is not a good match for perculas
I would try the gigantic or magnificent anemone, but these guys are very hard to keep and need very strong lighting
I have 6 peppermint shrimp in my tank
Urchins have a tendency to eat coral
my $0.02

 

[zeke92]

Quote:
Originally Posted by clown-keeper99 http:///t/386056/looking-for-advice-55-gallon#post_3435668
Nobody has brought up skimmers for some reason?
Coralife super skimmers are great and the 65 would be the best for your tank
A good bottom fish would be the Tribal blenny, These guys can change colors from black to blue to white
skip the butterfly, not very hardy, but a red stripe dwarf angel may float your boat
I asume you want the anemone for the clowns right?
The carpet anemone is not a good match for perculas
I would try the gigantic or magnificent anemone, but these guys are very hard to keep and need very strong lighting
I have 6 peppermint shrimp in my tank
Urchins have a tendency to eat coral
my $0.02
Somewhere among my rambling walls of texts I explained that I managed to modify my seaclone to start working fairly well. It's doing even better with the new airstone, and I'm hoping to make a couple more modifications and get a nicer wood airstone to finish it off.
I'll skip the butterfly then, I wasn't so sure about it anyway. The main reason I wanted it was to have some sort of large-ish fish that would swim around a bit more than most of the other fish I'm wanting to get, to give the aquarium a bit more "action".
The anemone is for the clowns, but it's false perculas I am wanting to get, not true perculas. From everything I've read, carpets are a very common anemone for false perculas/ocellaris, both in aquariums and the wild. I'm not so sure about a carpet anymore though after some further reading. It seems my tank would probably be too small for it after a while. I've read they need about 125+ gallons at full grown and get pretty darn big.. a little too big for my 55g. I'm going to research some alternatives now and see what I can find.. if nothing else, maybe they'll find a nice mushroom and stick with it xD
I figured the urchins would be risky but I wanted to see what others thought first. I've always wanted one and had planned to get one for my old 18g but never did. I see red pincushions all the time when I go to florida every year with my family, and always loved them.
A couple days ago my lighting came in. I bought the 4 bulb fixture rather than the 6 bulb one. The 6 bulb was just a bit too expensive, and I'm fine with anything that will do good under the 4 bulb.. anything that requires more lighting than that will just have to be something I get in the future I've not installed the lighting yet, but plan to tomorrow if I have the energy to after work.
Today the live rock came in as well as a few other things. I got 10 pounds of rubble, 5 pounds of Manado (uncured), and 10 pounds of a dry rock for rockscaping. The dry rock is amazing, there were three, nicely sized, extremely porous looking with lots of little caves. The rubble and the manado was also very nice, lots of coralline and some other algae, a few cool looking algaes growing as well (but not sure how healthy they are right now, we'll see if they continue to grow). Quite a few very small snails, and even more tiny baby ones hidden in crevices in the rock. I haven't had a good enough look at them yet to be sure, but they're either small nerite snails, or baby mexican turbo snails.. I really hope they aren't turbo snails or I'm going to need a bigger tank when all of them grow up x.x' I will try to get a better look at them tomorrow and maybe grab a couple of pictures to post. I was never very good at identifying things! Besides the snails and algae, it looks like one of the pieces of manado has some polyps of some sort on it. They're different levels of brownish and tan, but I've not had good lighting when I've looked at them. Some of them look dead, or close to dead (or maybe they just always look dead..), while some look more colorful and alive. Since i don't know what they are, it's hard to tell how healthy they are. There are quite a few, scattered around the rock rather than bunched up in a colony. They remind me a bit of sun coral polyps, but I don't think that's what they are. I'll get a picture tomorrow hopefully.
All of the rock (besides the dry rock) is in the curing tank (18g with powerhead and heater), slightly lower salinity than usual (read that this helps speed up curing). I'm going to do a water change either tonight or tomorrow morning, and then again probably tomorrow evening. I'm not sure how often it's necessary because the rock is so "fresh". They didn't have much of a trip, I only live a couple of hours away. I checked the tracking number and calculated the time they were shipped and the time I actually put them in the tank, while adding some extra time to account for how long they may have been packaged before they were added to UPS's database. I think they had around 20 hours or so of packaged/travel time, and I'm assuming most rock usually has a lot more than that? How long should I cure them?
Besides the rock, I also received my refractometer and "aqua gloves" today. The gloves are pretty handy, and I used them today to handle the live rock. I calibrated the refractometer (after some trial and error thanks to the not-very-specific instructions) and tested the water of my main tank and the curing tank. Both were exactly where I wanted them thankfully, so my hydrometer wasn't as inaccurate as I expected. I definitely love the thing though, it's very nice and so much better than that plastic hydrometer. I'm happy about the investment. ^.^
So, my questions tonight are:
How long do I cure the rock, and how often should I change the water? (water isn't smelling and is only slightly cloudy so far, after about 9 hours)
What should I buy next? I'm wanting to buy supplements/additives/medicines, tools, etc next. I don't want to be over-prepared and spend a ton more than I need to, but I also want to be prepared for all of the basics and have all of the required tools and bottles of things I need for running a reef aquarium.
I'll post again tomorrow, hopefully with pictures for identification of hitchhikers.