My 55 Gallon Thread

jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3219569
Oh, I was under the impression you bought it from your LFS friend, and took it right home.
Taking it from an established holding tank such as another Reefer, or a LFS who has it hooked up to their systems really speeds up everything.
Get your light CuC, your perfectly fine.
And if you want(optional) you can handle a SMALL bio-load from a hardy fish. Nothing huge or advanced such as a tang, but your small Blennie or Boby and the like would do just fine.
If you want to wait a couple more weeks that's also good. I'm just saying that throwing in a $20 fish isn't going to cause a system crash.
And for the record..I missed it. WHat is your filtration setup?
Thats going to determine the bio-load in the long run...and how fast you can keep adding new fish.
well i originally was planning on making a 10 gallon sump but i am using the sump i originally got and will upgrade later on so i can have a refugium in the future. this is my first picture of the sump. i know the debate on bioballs & i have decided to keep them for now. i plan on cleaning them regularly
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
That should do. You can always take and buy base rock, then crush it up to small pieces and replace your bio balls.
Upgrades happen all the time, my sump started as an empty 55g tank that had three chambers. Now I have about 50lbs or fist sized pieces in my left chamber that have been accumulated hear and there over time. Works better than bio balls.
My right side has a skimmer and GFO/Carbon reactor. With enough room to add some plants(or more LR) at a later date. And the middle is the return area, so that will always stay empty.
Sumps can always evolve.
So let me get this straight:
For filtration you have
1. LS
2. LR
3. Bio-balls
A good start. Maybe toss in a small skimmer to that return area. Or if your feeling constructive you can add a scrubbing station to hang above your bio-ball chamber. The fallout from the station would drop tons of pods into your bio-ball section. Plus scrubbers are gret. Not the second comming like skimmers, but dont underestimate thepower of a scrubber(follow my build thread if you want to learn more, I layout the pros and cons of both systems)
======================================
Just remember with the current filtration you're gonna have to move slightly slower than normal. Because it will take more skill to maintain. A beefy filtration systems means more forgiveness, and therefore more bio-load.
That said, keep on your water changes, and I am still confidant you can add a small Blenny or Goby today.
Or at the very least you are definitely ready for a light CuC, consisting of about a dozen small inverts, but don't go past that...that's really plenty for this stage of the game. CuC packages sold online are a waste and ripoff. People buy them just to have everyone competing for limited initial resources. That leads to fighting, and death means more decay and pollution.
You can always add more to your CuC as you see fit. Its your custom creation, doesn't have to be just snails and hermits. Lots of stuff can be considered a CuC. I love my Sea hare and Sea apple for example.
As for the future:
I would consider more than a 10g sump if you ever do add one. Look on CL, deals are abound all the time. Or even a cheap plastic bin found at Walmart would do. You can get a nice 20-30g size for like 20 bucks, and they fit nicely underneath. Who said a sump has to be made out of a fish tank eh?
Guy hear on the forums incorporated a giant horse trough to his system and made it a frag tank.
You get to be creative in this hobby.
Good luck.
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3219603
That should do. You can always take and buy base rock, then crush it up to small pieces and replace your bio balls.
Upgrades happen all the time, my sump started as an empty 55g tank that had three chambers. Now I have about 50lbs or fist sized pieces in my left chamber that have been accumulated hear and there over time. Works better than bio balls.
My right side has a skimmer and GFO/Carbon reactor. With enough room to add some plants(or more LR) at a later date. And the middle is the return area, so that will always stay empty.
Sumps can always evolve.
So let me get this straight:
For filtration you have
1. LS
2. LR
3. Bio-balls
A good start. Maybe toss in a small skimmer to that return area. Or if your feeling constructive you can add a scrubbing station to hang above your bio-ball chamber. The fallout from the station would drop tons of pods into your bio-ball section. Plus scrubbers are gret. Not the second comming like skimmers, but dont underestimate thepower of a scrubber(follow my build thread if you want to learn more, I layout the pros and cons of both systems)
======================================
Just remember with the current filtration you're gonna have to move slightly slower than normal. Because it will take more skill to maintain. A beefy filtration systems means more forgiveness, and therefore more bio-load.
That said, keep on your water changes, and I am still confidant you can add a small Blenny or Goby today.
Or at the very least you are definitely ready for a light CuC, consisting of about a dozen small inverts, but don't go past that...that's really plenty for this stage of the game. CuC packages sold online are a waste and ripoff. People buy them just to have everyone competing for limited initial resources. That leads to fighting, and death means more decay and pollution.
You can always add more to your CuC as you see fit. Its your custom creation, doesn't have to be just snails and hermits. Lots of stuff can be considered a CuC. I love my Sea hare and Sea apple for example.
As for the future:
I would consider more than a 10g sump if you ever do add one. Look on CL, deals are abound all the time. Or even a cheap plastic bin found at Walmart would do. You can get a nice 20-30g size for like 20 bucks, and they fit nicely underneath. Who said a sump has to be made out of a fish tank eh?
Guy hear on the forums incorporated a giant horse trough to his system and made it a frag tank.
You get to be creative in this hobby.
Good luck.
Thanks. I was actually thinking about doing that with the LR rubble in place of the bio-balls. I am going to stick with the bioballs for now.
I actually already have a skimmer. I have a Coralife Super Skimmer. Not, the best. But, like everything else, I can upgrade later. I have it set up in my sump. I did not like the way it looked HOB.
I plan on getting a small CUC sometime this week. I do love the hare. If and when I get a hair algae problem I will consider getting on. Anyway, how does this sound:
1-2 nassarius snails
1-2 cerith snails
1-2 Astraea snails
5 dwarf hermits
I am only adding if my nitrites go down to 0. If not...i will wait some more time.
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Oh and the reaquascaping has come to a hiatus since I have sliced my finger and thumb open on a piece of broken glass. I grabbed the broken glass thinking it was plastic. Not too much fun. I will continue tomorrow.
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
Ouch! On another note the saltwater will help it heal. Thats unless you come down with an infection from the bacteria.
Are there any pictures of this so called busy day aquascaping? I would also say thats a very small CUC. But hey you can always get more.
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3219747
Ouch! On another note the saltwater will help it heal. Thats unless you come down with an infection from the bacteria.
Are there any pictures of this so called busy day aquascaping? I would also say thats a very small CUC. But hey you can always get more.
lol i know it's small. I dont want to get too carried away. snails and hermit crabs are cheap, I can add more. and no, I don't have a picture of the new aquascaping. I think I may finish it tonight once I get home from watching the senior bowl...I think I will risk the infection. LOL.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Thats a great foundation CuC.
Remember when you get snails, the larger they are...the less attractive they are to hermits.
Not always...but you increase your snails survivability significantly when you get the golf ball sized ones, vs the gumdrop sized ones.
My 125DT and 55g sump has about 30ish mixed Inverts in it, a sea Apple, and a Sea Hare. People get this idea that they need 1 per gallon. Extreme overkill

I believe a CuC should be in every system....but imagine my system with 180 snails and crabs pooping every where, killing each other off, and adding more toxin and decay. No thanks.
My CuC goes in direct relation to my small fish bio-load. I don't have much livestock(7 small fish). As I add more fish, Ill add more CuC if they start getting out paced by fish/food waste.
Plus Id prefer to save that bio-load for other cooler livestock.
Bottom line, your gonna learn what your CuC needs are, and starting small like you are is better than going big...then having it just be waste. And ya, eventually you will probably double your CuC over the next 6 months(maybe even more). But for now, there is really little to nothing for them to live off since your tank is so fresh, so a small one like you chose is good.
I don't much care for nass and cerith snails, hermits seem to like those shells the most(they do a fnatastic job while they last). Astrea are not as effective as nass or cerith, but most hermits hate the shape I guess...because I rarely see a hermit in those shells. Mexican turbos do a great job, but they crawl all over my frags and it frustrates me off so bad.But the size means they are less likely to fall prey.
I have..strike that...I HAD a pair of Fancy Nass snails, they work the sand EXTREMELY WELL, but I spotted a hermit toting about one of their shells the other day
So even the big ones are still vulnerable from time to time.
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by King_Neptune
http:///forum/post/3219827
Thats a great foundation CuC.
Remember when you get snails, the larger they are...the less attractive they are to hermits.
Not always...but you increase your snails survivability significantly when you get the golf ball sized ones, vs the gumdrop sized ones.
My 125DT and 55g sump has about 30ish mixed Inverts in it, a sea Apple, and a Sea Hare. People get this idea that they need 1 per gallon. Extreme overkill

I believe a CuC should be in every system....but imagine my system with 180 snails and crabs pooping every where, killing each other off, and adding more toxin and decay. No thanks.
My CuC goes in direct relation to my small fish bio-load. I don't have much livestock(7 small fish). As I add more fish, Ill add more CuC if they start getting out paced by fish/food waste.
Plus Id prefer to save that bio-load for other cooler livestock.
Bottom line, your gonna learn what your CuC needs are, and starting small like you are is better than going big...then having it just be waste. And ya, eventually you will probably double your CuC over the next 6 months(maybe even more). But for now, there is really little to nothing for them to live off since your tank is so fresh, so a small one like you chose is good.
I don't much care for nass and cerith snails, hermits seem to like those shells the most(they do a fnatastic job while they last). Astrea are not as effective as nass or cerith, but most hermits hate the shape I guess...because I rarely see a hermit in those shells. Mexican turbos do a great job, but they crawl all over my frags and it frustrates me off so bad.But the size means they are less likely to fall prey.
I have..strike that...I HAD a pair of Fancy Nass snails, they work the sand EXTREMELY WELL, but I spotted a hermit toting about one of their shells the other day
So even the big ones are still vulnerable from time to time.
sweet thx for the info on snails. i heard that about the turbos knocking stuff over. lol
i am done aquascaping. yay,lots of caves...i think. its cloudy & i think there are lots of caves lol. i will check tomorrow afternoon . i am going to busch gardens! i should be back by 3 & the tank should be clear by then.
should i use some tank safe epoxy for my larger rocks ? they feel sturdy but they make me nervous
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
I used the 2 part stick stuff. You know you pinch a piece off and mix it in hand then apply it. Comes in a red or white. Anyway most of the rock will hold just with the surface to surface ruff contact but I know what you mean by making you nervous.
Cant wait to see the changes. On another note, tonight I noticed that one of my Emerald Crabs has grown into a monster. Its kinda funny to see him in there. I mean he has claws like I have drank a beer over.
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3219875
I used the 2 part stick stuff. You know you pinch a piece off and mix it in hand then apply it. Comes in a red or white. Anyway most of the rock will hold just with the surface to surface ruff contact but I know what you mean by making you nervous.
Cant wait to see the changes. On another note, tonight I noticed that one of my Emerald Crabs has grown into a monster. Its kinda funny to see him in there. I mean he has claws like I have drank a beer over.

i may just get some of that, just to calm my nerves ya know.
you should get a pic of him. i dont want to hear that you have a sucky camera! lol. i love emeralds...i think i may just love all critters
 
firefightremtp

firefightremtp

Member
oh yeah,,, i added some fish to my tank on friday, but I have been busy at the station/hospital (I just returned from a car accident as I write this)... maybe tonight I will post some pictures..
~grace
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
I have a sucky camera!
I think I have posted that excuse about 6 times now. I even posted it on my thread. I believe I did that to try to get to my fourth page....
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by FirefightrEMTP
http:///forum/post/3219980
oh yeah,,, i added some fish to my tank on friday, but I have been busy at the station/hospital (I just returned from a car accident as I write this)... maybe tonight I will post some pictures..
~grace
what did you end up getting?
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3219990
I have a sucky camera!
I think I have posted that excuse about 6 times now. I even posted it on my thread. I believe I did that to try to get to my fourth page....

post sucky pictures then, no excuses
 
jaxfishgirl

jaxfishgirl

Active Member
ok!!!! I am DONE DONE DONE DONE aquascaping. Let me know what you think. I am SO in love with the center. It's still a little cloudy. And I still cannot figure out my camera, it is so blue looking. But not in person. Oh well.
Whole tank

Left Side

Center

Right side

Oh and totally off topic, but here are my FW babies! I love them!


He's a little porker.
 
jimmyr1rider

jimmyr1rider

Member
Congrats on the steal. I dont mean to rain on your parade BUT this is the first time I saw this thread. I dont know if anyone told you this but you look much better in your avatar than you did in the first pics while cleaning up this tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top