tank pics

[mujtba]

alright im in 5 weeks of my tank. heres whats in it:
seaclone 100 skimmer
90lbs LR
30lbs LS and 50lbs Playsand
300GPH PHs x2
300GPH HOB filter
300W heater
NO lights (looking to upgrade)
1 Percula clown
1 Lemon peel angel
1 pink thing (anyone know its name)
5 Turbo snails
and a sh*t load of brown algae!!!!!!!!
How do I get rid of my algae? You can even see it all on the sand..
also, how is my LR setup? does it look like enough LR? I left space in front for fish to swim...
please give feedback...

 

[sebae0]

your lr looks good, and don't worry to much about the brown algae most new tanks go thru that phase and with time and proper maitenance you should get it under control. what kind of water do you use?
as for the fish purple basslet or psuedochrmis i think not sure which one.

 

[bigarn]

Nice job! You're off to a good start. Keep it up.

 

[mujtba]

i use RO DI water... does the tank look empty or is it fine?
would I be able to place corals all the way on top or do u think i need to bring some rocks down... ?

 

[bean 1]

Your fish looks like a purple dottyback, also called a magenta dootyback I think. A very hardy fish and not as nasty tempered as some of the other pseudochromids. I Have a Fridman's (Orchid) dottyback that has been a great fish. Good luck!

 

[flatzboy]

I personally would change your rockwork. I just don't like the look of them just stacked up against the back glass. I would start in the front corners and curve your rocks from one corner to the other so you have a u in the middle. Other then that I think your off to a great start.

 

[pontius]

I agree with Flatzboy, you should bring at least the front corners out some, and make some caves so the fish can swim into and out of. everything else sounds good though.

 

[saltymist]

Im a fan of stacking liverock at the back glass, but for some reason it just doesnt look right to my eyes with your tank. I would probably create lower hills of liverock and try to make it so that there are little caves that the fish can swim around in.
Sometimes liverock just looks good just sitting in mounds on the sandbed. Individual mounds.
As far as the brown algae, well it should go away in time, though I've never experienced a diatom algae breakout quite as much as your tank is showing. You can also use your siphon when doing water changes to at least move the sandbed around a bit to suck up some of it into the water change siphon, that will make it look 1000% better than having the whole sandbed covered in diatom algae.

 

[cdn_beaver]

Im just past week 6 for my tank, and I know exactly how you feel about the diatoms. My sand bed looked pretty much identical. I kept the lights mostly off for a couple of days, and it got rid of most of the diatoms, however, when I start to leave the lights on longer, the diatoms start to come back. :nope:

 

[mujtba]

beaver u got a pic?
hmmm, i dont think the pic did it justice.. i tried to stack the rock in diff ways. on the back glass to the top looked the sweetest. that pic looks shi**y. once i get corals, i may have to rearrange it.. i duno.. the fish still have plenty of space in the back 2 hide.. do any of u have rock designs i can steal ideas from?

 

[cdn_beaver]

Here is a pic of my tank. Unfortunately I think its about half the size of yours. I took this pic after leaving the lights out for the weekend, and most of the diatoms are gone. My sand bed and most of the live rock were very brown. My rock work also needs some work. There arent many options for buying live rock where I live, so I have to make do with what I can get ahold of.

 

[evilss]

i think your off to a very good start. i personaly dont like the rock all the way against the glass like you have it. i like to leave a space for the fish to swim behind. after the light upgrade it will look alot better.

 

[latino277]

diatoms - as ugly as it looks is a good sign on a new tank. It means you tank is progressing normally and healthy. just do 5% WC every week and make sure you HOB sponge fillters are clean regularly and it should clear up on its own. if you want you can take a turky Baster and blast some of it off you LR and just move the top part of you sand a bit and it will look alittle better but it will come right back for now. just be patient and it will solve it self.
also you have 3 fish in a freashly cycled tank (1-2 weeks I forget) SLOW DOWN! I've learned in the almost 3 yrs that I have been in this hobby that the slower you move the better things turn out. I would wait a couple of weeks before adding anything else.
your rock work looks very nice. imo at least. your off to a great start. lookin good for 5 weeks

 

[badkharma]

You have a 300 watt heater in your 55 gallon? Jeez.
Well, the diatoms seem to be a regular appearence after a cycle - they will pass. A fighting conch should also eat the diatoms. Don't get the queen conch - they'll get much too big for your tank. And yes, rearrange your rocks. The fish need to feel safe - being able to swim behind, under, between, etc the rocks will help them feel this way. You'll find it's a lot more natural looking as well - and when you're ready for corals, you'll be able to place them on the rocks. It's more difficult to place a coral on a vertical stack of rocks... Other than that, the diatoms are a good sign - just keep up with water changes, maintenance, etc and you'll be good to go.

 

[mujtba]

right now my heater is always off! my filter, PHs, do the heating... its at 81-82deg... thats with one PH off.. with it on it would hit 83-84deg, and i duno if thats too hot for my fish..
latino, i got 3 fish, but 2 of them are soooooo smallll... i figure after 5 weeks it wud be fine..
i hope i dont eat my words... :notsure:
so far the fish seem happy and swim and eat always... how often do u guys feed ur fish a day?
as far as the rocks goes, you guys pur your LR all the way towards the front glass??
isnt it better to have fish swim in the front so you can see them, rather than behind rocks?? i still have space for them to swim behind tho..
i hate touchin the rocks that already are on the sandbed.. cuz i can move it real gently, but my Tropical sandbed is still like powder!!!! one touch and tanks cloudy!!!!! whyyyyyyy!!!!!

 

[latino277]

mujtba you can setup you LR the way you feel looks best for you. me personaly I don't like alot of rock and it you look at any of my pic you see i don't have that much but that is just my personal pref. set it up the way you feel pleases you. i think your tank looks fine.:notsure:
as far as live stock I would wait a couple of weeks before adding any thing else. I don't think you'll have a problem with the 3 you have but if you continue adding livestock this fast it will become a problem. I just hate to see people that don't slow down and then wonder why things when wrong.
what else do you plan to add to your tank?

 

[mujtba]

i wana add up to 3 more fish.. and more inverts... after i get my lighting, i wana do a reef!!! :jumping:
but i wont add more fish right now. i will wait some time and see if these live.. :nervous:
maybe once i get corals, ill move rocks around so i can sit the corals on it.. do all corals come on LR or just by itself?
latino, u got pics?

 

[latino277]

here is a link to the last thread I posted with pics:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/128305/14-pics-of-my-125g
if you plan on adding 3 more fish make sure they don't grow the big mid tosmall fish is what you should look for and you should start reseaching what fish you want from now.
the 3 you have now should be fine as long as you montering you water quality. and making adjustments as need. you'll be OK
and yes most Coral come on sume type of LR. Some you will be able to cut and paste/attach them to your LR and some you will need to use the rock that was it came with... Don't think about that now. just worry about keeping the DT in good condition. get use to your FOWLR before you jump into a full blown reef. remember baby step and patients in this hobby.

 

[donahue]

i thought the fished looked like a strawberry gramma... just my two cent

 

[jeffro8332]

i think you can leave your rock the way it is for now. as you start to add coral and whatnot you will end up moving everything around anyway. soon you'll have an eye for what looks good. patience is a virtue. hth
j