kenman345
Member
Let me give you an overview of the tank with the equipment, then I'll go into my story of setting it all up until it's current state. After that, I would appreciate anyones advice on what I can try with my new tank and what types of fish might be compatible with the ones I know I want so I can do more research on them and decide how to stock my tank.
Overview:
Plan for the Tank:
I previously had only had a 5G freshwater tank and decided on a 56G saltwater tank as it fit in my room and seemed to be the right size according to every LFS around me and everything I read in a few books and online that would give me the best chance of success being a first timer. I had watched the BRS TV video series on starting a saltwater tank as well as some other youtube videos and decided on getting the Reefkeeper Elite straight off the bat since the basis of this tank is setting up an environment for the livestock within to be comfortable and easily left for a week and a half when I go on vacation. The freshwater tank made me realize that getting the RKE now would save me time and money. My next planned vacation is for 7 days in December, so I felt confident that I had enough time to get things working by then. This is also the reason for an automatic feeder, which will be the default method of feeding when I am unable to make it home for feeding time during the year and the primary method of feedings during vacations.
Setting up the tank:
I started by putting a backing on my tank and making sure it was level. At that point, I cleaned the inside and filled it up with Tap water that I put Water Conditioner in to do my leak test. The next day I had the tank empty so I installed 1 heater and calibrated it while I also installed my circulation pumps and an analog thermometer to calibrate my heaters manually. I started mixing the saltwater in the tank and only touched it over the next two days to calibrate the two heaters to the right temperature I wanted. I then took the water out and put it into some bins I picked up so I could add my sand and Dry Rock into the tank. I had aquascaped my Dry Rock outside the tank to be two pillars, each of different height. I used some fish safe epoxy to get it to stay together and to make sure it did not fall when doing future maintenance to the tank. I made sure one of the two pillars has about 3 or 4 areas between rocks that can be used for caves and for fish to swim through. They are varying sizes and should offer some nice coverage for various fish in the tank. The other pillar has a few spots but they are not as apparent from the most viewed side of the aquarium. I left some space between the two pillars to also allow fish to swim through when they would like.
After placing my Dry Rock in the tank, I put my water back and made sure it sat for a few days with the heaters and circulation pumps. I should point out, I have a hydrometer and a refractometer, which I was using to make sure that being new to the hobby did not mean that I was using the refractometer wrong and hurting fish. I unfortunately did encounter some casualties and will discuss that soon. I also took this time to make sure that my ReefKeeper Elite was labelled with my different components and set up exactly where I wanted it. The camera and having a spare netbook that I could connect to 24/7 to tweak the Reefkeeper was really handy. I may end up getting the Net Module in the future, but for now, RDP sessions to a netbook is a great cheap compromise to not having that item.
After my sand settled for a few days, I checked my water levels for salinity and verified that the cycle hadn't started yet. I started the tank cycle by adding 4 Blue-Green Chromis and some Bio-Spira to the tank to help my new inhabitants. I know that Bio-Spira is not a cure-all for a new tank, but I felt that it would at least give my fish the best chance for survival as the tank went through it's cycle. To be quick about this idea, the Bio-Spira worked for a 8 day cycle since I had been running two filtration units, the circulation pumps on timers and the real live rock pieces, but the chromis did not make it past day 4, due to the cycle, some being injured from the fish store, and not eating the various foods I tried to give them.
I waited for the levels to go to zero before adding in my new inhabitants to the tank. Since the tank has cycled, I added 1 Pajama Cardinalfish and 5 small hermit crabs. It's been 2 days now with them and they are all seemingly doing well. I have not checked the levels yet, but plan to test them every other day from today forward until I notice a trend. I then plan to stop and test the water as needed as well as 1-2 times a week until I add new fish to the tank.
This is the tank a few days ago, I have now moved the sponge filter so it does not make bubbles in the tank but still does it's job. This is also before I started using the lighting system, which I only started to use after having the tank cycled and adding in my hermit crabs.
As I have pointed out, I want this tank to be able to be sustained when I take a week long vacation. I am currently feeding brine shrimp to the PJ Cardinal but plan to see If I can ween it onto pellets for a mixed diet during the majority of the year. I was considering trying to only go for non-picky eaters and tank-bred fish wherever I can so that I do not have to worry that a picky fish wont make it past my vacation where no one will be in my house to feed the fish or maintain the tank.
Some things I could use advice on that I know I need help with:
As is expected, I probably am missing some elements of the build and might not understand everything that I might be missing. I will happily read through any advice one can give me, but I will be doing my homework before following any advice, so if you're clear about what I might want to do and why, it will help my research and planning out quite a lot. I would appreciate being told if any fish are jumpers, as I want to avoid those to the best of my ability while I still have not figured out the best covering for my tank yet and cannot have dead fish if they got out. Coming home from work or from a vacation to find that would be heartbreaking and smelly.
Thank you for your time,
Ken
EDIT: Please note that I was very sad when my Chromis passed and will likely be more patient the next time I set up a tank. Sometimes us newbies make mistakes.
EDIT 2: Future saltwater and freshwater for the ATO will all by RO/DI water, I just dont have a system that can handle outputting enough for an entire tank in one go. That's why I started with tap water and conditioner. I made sure the conditioner was well mixed into the water for a day or two before mixing my saltwater. I also have an accudrip acclimation tool which I used with my current inhabitants.
Overview:
- 56G Column Marineland Tank with Stand
- Fluval 306 Canister Filtration Unit
- ReefKeeper Elite Titanium Plus Edition
- 2 sponge (looks like a W) filter that I plan to use if I find a place to set up a quarantine tank some day
- Current USA Orbit Marine LED Lighting
- 58 lbs of Indo Dry Rock
- 2 200W Heaters set to 78 Degrees Fahrenheit (RKE keeps the tank at 77.5)
- 1.5lbs Live Rock rubble from LFS (help bring the bacteria into the tank and to help coralline algae growth)
- CPR Small In-Tank Refugium with Chaetomorpha and Tangerine Copapods
2 Hydor Koralia Circulation Pumps (1 600GPH and the other is a 850 GPH pump)
D-Link DSC-931L IP Webcam for monitoring while at work or away.
Carib-Sea 30lbs Live Sand
Yet to Install:
Tunze Osmolator 3155 ATO System
Reef Octopus BH1000 HOB Protein Skimmer (on it's way currently)
Super Feeder AFS-1 Aquarium Feeder (On it's way currently)
Might add a Koralia 240 GPH circulation pump in the back or front to help with any noticeable deadspots in the future
Future Purchases:
Uninterrupted Power Supply as a battery backup for my system
More livestock and Cleaning Crew
Plan for the Tank:
I previously had only had a 5G freshwater tank and decided on a 56G saltwater tank as it fit in my room and seemed to be the right size according to every LFS around me and everything I read in a few books and online that would give me the best chance of success being a first timer. I had watched the BRS TV video series on starting a saltwater tank as well as some other youtube videos and decided on getting the Reefkeeper Elite straight off the bat since the basis of this tank is setting up an environment for the livestock within to be comfortable and easily left for a week and a half when I go on vacation. The freshwater tank made me realize that getting the RKE now would save me time and money. My next planned vacation is for 7 days in December, so I felt confident that I had enough time to get things working by then. This is also the reason for an automatic feeder, which will be the default method of feeding when I am unable to make it home for feeding time during the year and the primary method of feedings during vacations.
Setting up the tank:
I started by putting a backing on my tank and making sure it was level. At that point, I cleaned the inside and filled it up with Tap water that I put Water Conditioner in to do my leak test. The next day I had the tank empty so I installed 1 heater and calibrated it while I also installed my circulation pumps and an analog thermometer to calibrate my heaters manually. I started mixing the saltwater in the tank and only touched it over the next two days to calibrate the two heaters to the right temperature I wanted. I then took the water out and put it into some bins I picked up so I could add my sand and Dry Rock into the tank. I had aquascaped my Dry Rock outside the tank to be two pillars, each of different height. I used some fish safe epoxy to get it to stay together and to make sure it did not fall when doing future maintenance to the tank. I made sure one of the two pillars has about 3 or 4 areas between rocks that can be used for caves and for fish to swim through. They are varying sizes and should offer some nice coverage for various fish in the tank. The other pillar has a few spots but they are not as apparent from the most viewed side of the aquarium. I left some space between the two pillars to also allow fish to swim through when they would like.
After placing my Dry Rock in the tank, I put my water back and made sure it sat for a few days with the heaters and circulation pumps. I should point out, I have a hydrometer and a refractometer, which I was using to make sure that being new to the hobby did not mean that I was using the refractometer wrong and hurting fish. I unfortunately did encounter some casualties and will discuss that soon. I also took this time to make sure that my ReefKeeper Elite was labelled with my different components and set up exactly where I wanted it. The camera and having a spare netbook that I could connect to 24/7 to tweak the Reefkeeper was really handy. I may end up getting the Net Module in the future, but for now, RDP sessions to a netbook is a great cheap compromise to not having that item.
After my sand settled for a few days, I checked my water levels for salinity and verified that the cycle hadn't started yet. I started the tank cycle by adding 4 Blue-Green Chromis and some Bio-Spira to the tank to help my new inhabitants. I know that Bio-Spira is not a cure-all for a new tank, but I felt that it would at least give my fish the best chance for survival as the tank went through it's cycle. To be quick about this idea, the Bio-Spira worked for a 8 day cycle since I had been running two filtration units, the circulation pumps on timers and the real live rock pieces, but the chromis did not make it past day 4, due to the cycle, some being injured from the fish store, and not eating the various foods I tried to give them.
I waited for the levels to go to zero before adding in my new inhabitants to the tank. Since the tank has cycled, I added 1 Pajama Cardinalfish and 5 small hermit crabs. It's been 2 days now with them and they are all seemingly doing well. I have not checked the levels yet, but plan to test them every other day from today forward until I notice a trend. I then plan to stop and test the water as needed as well as 1-2 times a week until I add new fish to the tank.
This is the tank a few days ago, I have now moved the sponge filter so it does not make bubbles in the tank but still does it's job. This is also before I started using the lighting system, which I only started to use after having the tank cycled and adding in my hermit crabs.
As I have pointed out, I want this tank to be able to be sustained when I take a week long vacation. I am currently feeding brine shrimp to the PJ Cardinal but plan to see If I can ween it onto pellets for a mixed diet during the majority of the year. I was considering trying to only go for non-picky eaters and tank-bred fish wherever I can so that I do not have to worry that a picky fish wont make it past my vacation where no one will be in my house to feed the fish or maintain the tank.
Some things I could use advice on that I know I need help with:
- Recommendations for a container for my ATO system
- What fish should I be looking into? (Please read below for fish I know I want to get or am researching)
- Any recommendations for the cycle of my wavemakers and my protein skimmer? (Currently running the wavemakers on a 20 minutes on-off cycle switching between the two)
- Clean-up crew recommendations
- Since I started with Dry Rock and didnt cure it beforehand, should I wait even longer to add my next fish?
Fish I want or am researching currently:
- Clownfish (thinking one orange and white and one black and white ocellaris clownfish)
Mandarin (after the refugium is well established of course)
Goby's? (I like the idea of the goby pairs with the shrimp, but not sure if that dynamic will work with 1 inch of sand)
Flame Angle or Lemon Peel Angel (dwarf angelfish because my tank is not huge enough for a big one or for the yellow tang I wish I could get, I want something that will not outgrow the tank ever since I do not know when I will have the ability to get a larger tank)
Clean Up Crew (this section is not as researched and could use help figuring out which to get):
Snails?!? What type?
Shrimp (preferably something that wont hurt my clownfish or other inhabitants)
Crabs?!? Well I have a few, but should I eventually add more? Maybe some other types of crabs? - Clownfish (thinking one orange and white and one black and white ocellaris clownfish)
As is expected, I probably am missing some elements of the build and might not understand everything that I might be missing. I will happily read through any advice one can give me, but I will be doing my homework before following any advice, so if you're clear about what I might want to do and why, it will help my research and planning out quite a lot. I would appreciate being told if any fish are jumpers, as I want to avoid those to the best of my ability while I still have not figured out the best covering for my tank yet and cannot have dead fish if they got out. Coming home from work or from a vacation to find that would be heartbreaking and smelly.
Thank you for your time,
Ken
EDIT: Please note that I was very sad when my Chromis passed and will likely be more patient the next time I set up a tank. Sometimes us newbies make mistakes.
EDIT 2: Future saltwater and freshwater for the ATO will all by RO/DI water, I just dont have a system that can handle outputting enough for an entire tank in one go. That's why I started with tap water and conditioner. I made sure the conditioner was well mixed into the water for a day or two before mixing my saltwater. I also have an accudrip acclimation tool which I used with my current inhabitants.
