Hey guys, how's it going?

One of your members here, Bustaphoto, told me to register to N-R and start posting, so here I am I'm currently building up my 55 gallon tank coming close to finishing the cycle.

Current water parameters:

pH 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 20
Nitrite: 0
SG: 1.02375

I don't have a test kit yet for alkalinity or calcium. Also waiting to get a HOB skimmer and T5HO lighting.

Onto some pictures:

Full tank shot:


Piece of live rock on left side of tank:



Live rock in middle of tank:


Live rock on right side of tank, also my favorite piece:


it's got about 20# of live rock, the rest is limestone and 60# of live sand. What do you guys think?

Your pictures dont seem to be linking properly. I would love to see them because I am setting up a 55 soon!

I didn't know that!!! I'll host the pictures on photobucket now :x




Updated

Thats sick man... ummm, I WANT ONE TOO!! My parents are fumigating the house in dec. with my 50 gal freshwater setup maybe...

Sweet! What are your livestock plans?

Not really sure at the moment. But probably something like this:

2x Ocellaris Clowns.
2 or 3x Blue Reef Chromis
Yellow Clown Goby + Pistol Shrimp
Flasher Wrasse
4 or 5x Peppermint Shrimp (I think I have some Aiptasia)
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

@Busta: DO IT! By that time I should have some frags to give you

Edit: As for coral... I'm thinking a lot (LOT) of Zoa's.. I really love those polyps. Also Xenia and maybe toadstool mushroom leather and hammer corals. Nothing too crazy. Also thinking about a BTA for the clowns.

Just remember that anems need good lighting and water quality, and the clowns will live happily without the anem and may end up not hosting it at all.

I figured 212w of T5 would be fine for a BTA. I may be wrong though.. I usually am

Just a quick update The tank has come along nicely. I've got a 4x54w T5HO fixture, 2 Oscellaris Clownfish and a African Midas Blenny (Some call them Golden Midas Blenny). I just got the blenny on Tuesday so he's still a little shy.

Here's a picture of the Clowns as of today, and also a hitchhiker polyp I found back in September on my LR.

I demand bigger pics!! I also have a 55g.. link in my sig, check it out

I didn't even notice someone commented on here, haha.

Anyway, I was always worried about my nitrates. but, apparently my test kit has expired or something. I took water samples to two separate LFS and they both came back at 0 nitrates. And also 0 phosphates.

So, while I was at the LFS today I picked up a hammer coral and a xenia frag. Here's some pictures until they both decide to completely open.

Sick hammer man... How big is it. The colors are awesome and Congrats on your first corals!

Grats on your first pieces. Your clowns look awesome man. Great sig.

The skeleton is probably 3.5" across, when it's fully extended it's probably about 4.5"

Here's a better picture of the hammer once it opened up a lot more.


Also, it just dawned on me that I haven't ever posted any pictures of my new blenny on NR. He's an African Midas Blenny aka Golden Midas Blenny





FTS:


You can see where the Blenny made his home in this picture. It's PERFECT

You never told me you had a fish... that thing is awesome it looks really shy. What other fish are you thinking of getting?

Nice tank! You could keep a bubble tip anemone under your lights, I have five in my 55 gallon tank and they are only under two 54 watt T5 tubes.

I'm not really sure what else I'm going to get. I want either a bi-color angel or a flame angel but to be honest don't want to risk them biting my corals. So it's more likely to be some kind of reef safe wrasse (flasher probably). I may not even get anymore fish and just focus on coral.



I don't think I'm going to get a BTA, I'm too nervous about them going mobile and killing everything in the tank.

what do you mean "soon to be" If you have even 1 coral I believe you can officially call it a reef tank as the care and requirements just for that 1 coral are just like a fully stocked reef tank.

When I first made the thread it didn't even have T5 lighting

Nice looking tank. You definitely have enough light for a BTA. Love the blenny. Why not get a flasher wrasse and an angel, you've got the space?

I've been debating setting up a 55 in my bedroom. The tank and stand are just taking up space in storage....your tank is not helping my wallet's disagreements to my idea.

I'm worried about the angel nipping corals. The only reason I wouldn't add a wrasse is because I'm trying to keep the bioload down. I don't have a skimmer so I'm trying to keep the best water quality as I can.

4 or 5 small to medium fish in a 55 would be no problem. I've done 4 medium fish and an anemone in a skimmerless 20 before with no problems.

I also think its safe to say that most dwarf angels don't nip. Especially the more common angels like Coral Beauty's and Flames. I'd say you've got a 50/50 shot with a bicolor, I hear they're one of the worst. It really comes down to the individual fish. Plus a 55 is large enough, and you have enough coral, that one nipping fish probably wouldn't be detrimental to your coral's health. I'd say a dwarf angels beauty and personality are worth the risk.

I don't know I'm a bit nervous. I'd rather have corals then fish.

I hate the fish in my tank I hate the hermits in my tank I hate the sally crab I have in my tank. I would go with one or two fish max and keep it full of wonderful coral which you can spot feed at your leisure without the fish getting in the way.

When I spot feed my favia brain the hermits always steel the food no mater how hard I try to keep them busy and away with their own food. My percula is always rubbing his belly on the brain and spreading all the food all over the place.
Even my little clown gobby will steel potential food from the tentacles of the ricordea he lays on.

JMO and you really don't have to listen to anything I have said. Just my experience with fish

So I got some new colonies today. First one is almost all the way opened and the second one is taking it's sweet <expletive deleted> time. I will post an updated picture when it opens up all the way, but you can pretty much see the colors here.

First:


Second:


I also moved the Xenia to where I think will be it's permanent location. Here's a view from the right side of the tank.


You can also see the blenny checkin me out

One more update before lights off:

OFF THE CHAIN!!!!

I really like the ones that are taking there sweet time. I have to check them out sometime, and come down to your LFS they have a sick selection

Got some new frags today from Bustaphoto (thanks dude). Some orange zoas, some yellow zoas and a frag of GSP. Will post pictures tomorrow when lights are on.

Also, I noticed my male (I think) clown hosting the hammer tonight. Will get pictures of that soon as well.

Here's some more pictures
The new frags from Bustaphoto, two kinds of zoanthids and a GSP frag.


Here's the orange zoa frag that didn't open all the way earlier:

Lookin good man.....

I like your avatar

Nice dude those thing are gonna grow crazy in your tank!!

Nice pictures!!!

Thanks man!

Here's another:

Looks good! I love your midas blenny!!!

Me too, he's by far my favorite fish. The clowns can be entertaining but the blenny has SO much character for a fish. I don't normally get attached to fish but I love that little dude.

Welcome to the world of saltwater fish! LOL they are so much cooler than fresh water well... except for the rope fish ofcoarse

Alright so I bought some new zoas and paly's today. The zoas were sole to me as eagle eyes, but not sure on that one, either way they are beautiful and I got them for $1/polyp. I also picked up some CRAZY paly's. I haven't ever seen anything like them before.



Any idea what they are? I wanna say some kind of people eater.

you must have a nice lfs . Mine wouldnt carry anything even close to that. even though, you might want to do freshwater dips before you put your zoas in. I got one bad colony and it almost killed half my other zoa population

They get some nice stuff sometimes. I was in today when they were acclimating their new corals so I got first dibs

Here's a picture of the polyp bustaphoto gave me, best picture I could come up with.


Edit: Don't mind the algae

WHAT!!
I'm going tomorrow will keep the name of the place TOP SECRET

I have a whole colony of those horizons! Check it out.



great tank, again!

That is a very close match I think thats what they might be or at least a morph of those

Yo if you're going to the top sekrat place lemme know I wanna tag along.

These were sold to me as Eagle Eyes but they look a bit different from the eagle eyes I've seen.


Either way they are beautiful and RADIATE under actinic.

I think my hammer is dying.


Couple hours later:

that happened with my buublecorals first off I put it more torwards the light and do some water test i think they need pretty dam good water paraments i think..... my bubble coral didnt make it

Well my hammer is still hanging in there. If it was brown jelly disease it would have died already (according to the data I've read). So I'm just going to hope for the best. I started dosing iodine yesterday in hopes that it will help.

Also yesterday I ordered a skimmer (Octopus BH 2000) and some carbon + carbon bag from AquaCave. Hopefully I'll get it before the weekend is over and hopefully it will take care of some of my nutrient problems. I'll let you guys know how it goes.

Those look like Radioactive Dragon Eyes to me (I've got them and love them!)

Yeah I think that is what they are. I think I may have a better picture of them let me find it.