My 55 Gallon Thread

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3205314
The sand depth thing, I have heard from my LFS that you should try to go with as little sand as possible and I have read that if your gonna use sand it should be a DSB of 4 or more inches. I guess what I am saying is most have opinions on this and most vary. I went with 2 inch just because I think its deep enough for critters that want to dig and not so deep that some critters cant help me clean it. IMHO I think your 3 inch will be fine but hey I may suck at this whole salt water thing and end up with turtles in my tank.

LOL. I am sure you arent going to suck. I have heard many opinions also about how deep is too deep. I hope its not going to be a PIA to keep clean.

 

[yannifish]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3205314
The sand depth thing, I have heard from my LFS that you should try to go with as little sand as possible and I have read that if your gonna use sand it should be a DSB of 4 or more inches. I guess what I am saying is most have opinions on this and most vary. I went with 2 inch just because I think its deep enough for critters that want to dig and not so deep that some critters cant help me clean it. IMHO I think your 3 inch will be fine but hey I may suck at this whole salt water thing and end up with turtles in my tank.

That is why I went with the three inches. I wanted enough sand for sand liking critter to dig in.
So far haven't had any problems. But you never know...

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by yannifish
http:///forum/post/3206417
But you never know...
tis true...so we shall see.
Water is mostly cleared up again after me messing around with the sand again. According to my husband I can no longer mess with the sand. He likes the dips and hills in it. So....eh whatever.
Here are some pictures. I can't figure out how to make my camera show true colors. And I also know that I need to add water.

 

[jaxfishgirl]

ew, i also appearantly need to clean the back glass

 

[tank a holic]

to get the dirt off yeah but once you get the dust to settle, just leave it alone and it'll grow coraline

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/3206732
to get the dirt off yeah but once you get the dust to settle, just leave it alone and it'll grow coraline
Yeah, the dirt/sand dust is driving me crazy. I haven't made up my mind on wether or not I will allow the coraline to grow on the back. I slaved away on painting that back black. Who knows, once it starts growing back there I will probably love it. Who knows

 

[gill again68]

Hey the tank is looking good. Being a husband I have to agree with him on the dips and such in the sand. The back glass I think your gonna find as I think I will that keeping it clean will be an incremental duty that will soon fade as time goes so I plan to fail on that task from the start. No need in disappointing myself again!

You may want to try moving your power heads to the back glass and bounce the water off of the front glass. It will probably give you better chaotic flow. I have noticed on the ones that I pointed from the back to the front that it moves the water to the surface to help there as well as diverts it in other directions as well.
Again the tank is looking great.

 

[tank a holic]

most reef's have rock stacked against the back and it tapers down to the front to its all but impossible to clean, besides the coraline will look great accented by the black BG

but!!!

you might as well plan on gettin a LMB to keep the green crap off of it that you'll run into first

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by tank a holic
http:///forum/post/3207294
most reef's have rock stacked against the back and it tapers down to the front to its all but impossible to clean, besides the coraline will look great accented by the black BG

but!!!

you might as well plan on gettin a LMB to keep the green crap off of it that you'll run into first
Oh that is definitely one of the fish I plan on getting. i LOVE them. And you are right about the coraline against the black. I never really noticed it before, but at my LFS they dont clean the coraline off of their backs and it looks GOOD.
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3207172
Hey the tank is looking good. Being a husband I have to agree with him on the dips and such in the sand. The back glass I think your gonna find as I think I will that keeping it clean will be an incremental duty that will soon fade as time goes so I plan to fail on that task from the start. No need in disappointing myself again!

You may want to try moving your power heads to the back glass and bounce the water off of the front glass. It will probably give you better chaotic flow. I have noticed on the ones that I pointed from the back to the front that it moves the water to the surface to help there as well as diverts it in other directions as well.
Again the tank is looking great.
Thanks Gill I never thought about pointing the powerheads toward the front glass. I will definitely try that out and see how it works. I am kinda liking the dips in the sand, looks natural-"ish". lol.
Tank is ALL cleared up! Looks beautiful!

(minus the dirty back wall still)

 

[posiden]

And you still haven't added any water.

I did leave. You haven't seen me have you? I just droped in to say hi earlier.

I really like your tank. Leave it alone and let it establish.

 

[gill again68]

You know, looking at the layout again I can see a very nice open spot on the left side ,looking at the tank, that you will appreciate when you start with corals and such. I want a brain coral but I am afraid that with the limited depth and the amount of rock in my tank that I wont have enough room for it to grow out much. I really wish I would have gone with a 24" depth on the tank but hey I can always upgrade!

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3207471
And you still haven't added any water.

I did leave. You haven't seen me have you? I just droped in to say hi earlier.

I really like your tank. Leave it alone and let it establish.

Thanks! I am definitely leaving it alone. I just did some tests today, I will post them at the bottom. I did add water today. I was so lazy this week. LOL. But all is good. I haven't seen you on here, just the other day when you posted on here. How ya doing?
Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3207904
You know, looking at the layout again I can see a very nice open spot on the left side ,looking at the tank, that you will appreciate when you start with corals and such. I want a brain coral but I am afraid that with the limited depth and the amount of rock in my tank that I wont have enough room for it to grow out much. I really wish I would have gone with a 24" depth on the tank but hey I can always upgrade!

I LOVE that side. LOL. You probably didn't notice it before since I just rearranged that specific rock. I really like brains too. How deep in your tank? You can most definitely upgrade, I made my stand big enough to fit a 75 gallon. Should I get upgrade fever over the upcoming years. lol.
My test results from today: (day 13)
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: went down from 1.0 to .25
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 10
Salinity: 35ppt
sg: 1.025

 

[gill again68]

My tank is 48" long x 18" deep x 24" high
I really was looking at a 120 when I first was looking to buy. It was 48"x24"x24"H
I talked myself out of it due to the start up cost. If I would have done a better study of total cost it would have been just as well to buy the 120.
Oh well I guess now I will just have to upgrade to a 200 next

Looks like your tank parameters are headed in the right direction. I screwed up when my tank cycled and I allowed a very high ammonia spike. Killed all the good stuff I bought with the rock I got. Too bad for me, live and learn.

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3208768
My tank is 48" long x 18" deep x 24" high
I really was looking at a 120 when I first was looking to buy. It was 48"x24"x24"H
I talked myself out of it due to the start up cost. If I would have done a better study of total cost it would have been just as well to buy the 120.
Oh well I guess now I will just have to upgrade to a 200 next

Looks like your tank parameters are headed in the right direction. I screwed up when my tank cycled and I allowed a very high ammonia spike. Killed all the good stuff I bought with the rock I got. Too bad for me, live and learn.
LOL a 200 sounds good. I don't think i will go bigger than a 75. I was going to add a shrimp, but I am going to wait it out. I had another thread going about whether or not to add a shrimp, I decided against it in the end. Since I am patient, I don't mind waiting it out

 

[gill again68]

+1 on waiting. I let my tank finish its cycle and when I was sure it finished I waited a couple of weeks just to be sure. I think if you start out on the best foot forward you can then your system will be that much better for it. Also remember every time you stick a fish or shrimp in that tank things will change. Maybe very slightly or maybe more. Just take it slow. You see the cost so dont rush!!

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3209381
+1 on waiting. I let my tank finish its cycle and when I was sure it finished I waited a couple of weeks just to be sure. I think if you start out on the best foot forward you can then your system will be that much better for it. Also remember every time you stick a fish or shrimp in that tank things will change. Maybe very slightly or maybe more. Just take it slow. You see the cost so dont rush!!
thanks for the advice. btw, your dog is so freaking cute. he looks so wrinkly.

 

[gill again68]

Thanks, the dog is as spoiled as they come. You may notice thats a robe she is waring. We keep her inside and the wife was afraid she was gonna get cold so she pulled a robe out and re-gifted it to the dog. She is about 4 years old and weighs 70 something pounds. She thinks shes a lap dog as well which is funny when all that tries to get in your lap. Love my puppy.

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3209966
Thanks, the dog is as spoiled as they come. You may notice thats a robe she is waring. We keep her inside and the wife was afraid she was gonna get cold so she pulled a robe out and re-gifted it to the dog. She is about 4 years old and weighs 70 something pounds. She thinks shes a lap dog as well which is funny when all that tries to get in your lap. Love my puppy.
LOL, thats too funny. is it a basset? Mine is over 80lbs and thinks he too is a lap dog.

 

[gill again68]

Yeah she is a "lemon" Bassett. I think thats what throws people off. They are not as common. We found her by at a mall pet shop by chance. We actually went to the mall to eat at a restaurant and ended up at the pet store afterwards. We had been looking for the "right" pet for our 2 girls. We walk in and there she was with her brother. They were about 12" long at the time. I told the guy at the store let me see the "yellow one" and I got her in my hands. Im holding her and she had been asleep. She looks up at me and I look at my wife and 2 girls and they are already crying. I asked the kid "how much" like it would matter, that dog was going home with us if she had been $2000.00. He said shes $550.00. I said can you do any better and he said Ill give you $50.00 off and a coupon for 10% on your next purchase. Well you see the decision I made. Never missed that money.
Hey this is a fish forum!!!! errrrrrrrr uhhhhhhhhhhhh hows the cycle going??

 

[jaxfishgirl]

Originally Posted by Gill again68
http:///forum/post/3210018
Yeah she is a "lemon" Bassett. I think thats what throws people off. They are not as common. We found her by at a mall pet shop by chance. We actually went to the mall to eat at a restaurant and ended up at the pet store afterwards. We had been looking for the "right" pet for our 2 girls. We walk in and there she was with her brother. They were about 12" long at the time. I told the guy at the store let me see the "yellow one" and I got her in my hands. Im holding her and she had been asleep. She looks up at me and I look at my wife and 2 girls and they are already crying. I asked the kid "how much" like it would matter, that dog was going home with us if she had been $2000.00. He said shes $550.00. I said can you do any better and he said Ill give you $50.00 off and a coupon for 10% on your next purchase. Well you see the decision I made. Never missed that money.
Hey this is a fish forum!!!! errrrrrrrr uhhhhhhhhhhhh hows the cycle going??
LOL, sorry didn't mean to sidetrack

.....um I am waiting for my test to cook. Will post in a few