after 2 years I get to start again

[darklcd]

hey all

well I have not been on here for a while as I have not had a tank but I finally got things going again. I managed to get a good deal on rock and some water (yes I baught water lol) and got about 40lbs of reefbone and live rock and the water for $30.00 and adding the 25 lbs of rock I saved from my last tank. That was the start I just set up the rock and start to get my tank running.

The water levels suck and I am still working on them. I will have pics up soon but heres a list so far and I will add to it as it goes.

- 55 gal tank (48x12x18) nothing drilled (can't though I want to)
- 65 lbs of rock ( I am going to get it going and pick what I want to keep)
-seaclone skimmer
-hang on filter (just a reg filter for now till I get everything going)
- 750 gph pump (not sure of the make but its working well)
- 2" bed (not the right stuff yet but its a small start)

This is pretty much a cheap build for now I am a student and I can't afford to spend too much too quick.

Not sure what I am going to put in it yet. I am thinking lions and eels and my wife is thinking clowns and tangs so as anyone can see its going to be interesting to find a balance lol.

I will have pics up when I get them off my phone (cam is dead)

Thanks for reading I look forward to keeping this one longer then the last one with NO FIRES this time lol.

Anything anyone wants to add please do so I take everything in and give nothing bad back

 

[NC2WA]

A 55g tank is not going to be big enough for tangs..they need a lot of room to swim..
at least a 6ft long tank minimum..personally, the minimum tank size I would use for tangs is 125gallons (6ft long version).

IMO, clowns, gobies, hawfish, royal gramma, pymgy angels would be good candidates for a 55g tank .

 

[gas4544]

Congrats on starting up again. I took a seven year break and then started up again a year ago. Now I have three small tanks running.

The footprint of the 55-gallon tank is going to drive you crazy in the future, especially if you decide to convert the tank to a full-blown reef. Are there many used tank set-ups available in your area?

Do you plan to eventually install a sump and overflow box?

Gary

 

[darklcd]

I know its not big enough for tangs that was just the idea of the tank. I am just runnign the 55 gal to get my rock going my wife hit me with a bomb last night that she wanted a bigger tank so i am going to have to see.

I am not sure if I am going to run a sump or anything. I have looked at in the past and I am still not sure what I am going to do.

I will have a bigger tank with in a month or so that should give my live rock enough time to start working and get the reef bone going as well. I have to talk to my wife and see what she wants to do.

she wants nice fish that are pretty and calm and I want fish that will eat them so I know know what we are going to do lol

 

[darklcd]

I should have some pics up this in the next couple days. As of right now I have it set up in my closet on the floor. I know its a bad thing lol but my wife is talking about a larger tank (finally) so I am just running the rock through to see what happens.

 

[darklcd]

here are some pics from last night

an end shot with my lighting above (250watt MH with 2 antics)

over view of the left side lots of water movment I love that pump

front shot of the left side

another left side shot

over shot of the right end of the tank

skimmer working great (not the best skimmer but for now it works)

my fav shot from the left end all the way down

I know there is some coral in there but I am sad to say I got them dead. I was very upset when i saw that they had been wasted but there was nothing I could do

sorry guys and gals

 

[Pentagona]

That pump you have in there is a catalina. IMO I would try and replace it when you can simply because catalina pumps have a tendancy to come apart and leak oil all over your tank!

 

[darklcd]

I will keep that in mind for sure thanks for the tip.

Stand construction starts this weekend its not going to be anything great but it will work and thats all that matters. This "new build" has turned into a temp tank for live rock since my wife has decided to get something bigger.

More pics will be up when I have them

 

[darklcd]

here are some new pics... just added some stuff stability into the tank so I should be able to have fish in it next weekend I hope

I also added a hang on wet/dry filter (homemade) to help a little. its not the best filter but its better then nothing the only thing I am waiting on is the over flow catch I am working on that this week

new filter with heater installed

top of hte tank with teh filter on it

new top of the tank after I moved the pump into the filter I lost a lot of flow so I am looking into a small closed loop

let me know what you all think