Time for a change

[sumthinfishy]

My 55 is up and established but am not having much growth or excitment. Have added reef plus, calcium & stronium but am just not getting much growth on the live rock. All reading are good and fish (1-clown 1-tang 1-firehawk) and [15 large snails and 15 or 20 hermits and 2 large emerald crabs for a clean up crew]are healthy and happy. Iave crushed coral as a base and 25 lbs of live rock. I have read in these forums that a sand base is better and am wondering if I should change or not. Lighting is 4 48" flourecents (2-actinic and 2 full spectrum). The tank is 2 years old and I had expected more by now. Should I change or am I aiming in the wrong direction? Ideas, thoughts, critisism?

 

[nerdy]

In a tank of that size you should have a s***load more Live rock!
Your lighting should be good enough for most soft corals! But load up on live rock and throw in some corals and the corals will grow

 

[krunk]

yes, more live rock. also,, i would switch the cc, and get soem sand.

 

[squidd]

If you'r not using the CC for UGF ( doesn't look like you are) then switch to sand w/ live sand "kicker".
And add more rock it'll bring stuff with it to brighten your tank.
Also try to buy a small piece with lots of color from your LFS to "seed" coraline growth.
In sat for a long time thinking "is this as good as it gets" I added one small piece of "good' colored rock from the LFS and my tank took off. Someone once said "variety is the spice of life" Try a different supplier for your rock.
PS. I paid like $10.00/lb for one small rock. But it was worth it.

 

[elan]

first off, what would you like to see in your tank?.. steeming with inverts/corals? or just corraline?.. a change in anything you do could spark off the tank to grow... it could also kill the tank as well.. so plan what you want to do first.
For a reef, you will probably want to upgrade your lighting.. i am assuming your floresents are 40w... they have 110w out there which should probably let you keep many of the soft corals out there..
otherwise, just geer your search for stuff which doesnt require alot of light.
Looks like you have a few nice peices of rock so far.. i agree with the others in that you want to increase your amount of rock.. it seems like you are patient, so you can go with alot of base rock and then get a few nice peices of live... also try brushing the rocks off in the tank.. let the spores go everwhere in your tank.. if you use a skimmer, turn it off to give the spores a chance to attach after going though the tank a number of times.
And you crushed coral.... how often do you clean it? and how will you clean it if you load up on rock? this was my biggest reason for going to sand... dont have to clean it.
that may be the first thing you want to change before adding any more rock...

 

[sumthinfishy]

Originally posted by sumthinfishy
My 55 is up and established but am not having much growth or excitment. Have added reef plus, calcium & stronium but am just not getting much growth on the live rock. All reading are good and fish (1-clown 1-tang 1-firehawk) and [15 large snails and 15 or 20 hermits and 2 large emerald crabs for a clean up crew]are healthy and happy. Iave crushed coral as a base and 25 lbs of live rock. I have read in these forums that a sand base is better and am wondering if I should change or not. Lighting is 4 48" flourecents (2-actinic and 2 full spectrum). The tank is 2 years old and I had expected more by now. Should I change or am I aiming in the wrong direction? Ideas, thoughts, critisism?
Ok, This is after my change. Yesterday I went and bought 3 bags of live sand ($33 each) and 20 more lbs of live rock ($6 a lb) and spent a beeter part of last night removing the substrate and replacing it. I think it all went well. I also added a shot of calcium so we will see now if it cycles the tank.....hopefully not. What do you think now better?

 

[poiboy]

Your tank is looking good! Did you test your CA? Should be around 400~450. What are you shootin for?

 

[sumthinfishy]

Well, as I said before I want to go reef and have some corals. It's just kinda plain right now so I am hoping it will get better.