GTI's 55 Gallon Rimless - Retired

[GTi]

I started this hobby in late August last year (2011). I did a lot of reading, primarily on Nano-Reef, but also on a few other sites. Whilst I was tempted by the sheer diversity possible in a reef tank, I was concerned about the difficulty of the hobby compared to freshwater. Even hobbyists with great success in freshwater have failed with saltwater.

I ventured to a local specialist store that carried both fresh and saltwater livestock and was deciding which tank to get. With some help from an employee I chose a Biocube but had to decide betwen a nice used one in the 14 gallon size or a brand new 29 gallon for considerably more. I the end I opted for the 29 gallon based on the information that a lot of people trade up from the 14 gallon after a while.

When we got chatting about fresh or salt, the employee told me the key to saltwater was the live rock, cycling the tank and adding livestock slowly so the beneficial bacteria could keep up. This was great news because I have always admired saltwater tanks and wanted one for many years but never seriously considered it due to the perceived difficulty of the hobby.

My 29 gallon Biocube build thread here details the progress of my first tank.

I spent a lot of time making modifications and improvements to the tank and was very pleased with the progress. After a while, one thing I didn't like was the enclosed nature of the tank. I found I preferred a more open look. I also wanted to get away from the cube shape to a longer tank to give more rockscaping options.

In June I took the plunge and ordered a 55 gallon (36x18x22") rimless tank from a local manufacturer and a cherry finish stand. I was going to add an insert at the rear of the tank to house the pump, media and heaters. Shortly before delivery, I changed my mind and wanted to go for a sumped system. Too late! The tank was finished. Luckily, only the bottom was tougened glass and so the back could be drilled for an overflow and 2 returns!

I ordered the Glass Holes kit, plumbing parts, Eshopps R-100 refugium, Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 return pump (568 gph) and Eshopps S-120 cone skimmer(40-120 gallon rating). The lighting took a lot of thought. I liked the LEDs I retrofitted in to the Biocube but they wouldn't look good above the new tank. Radion and Kessil A-150 looked good but for the tank size I would need 2 fixtures which was out of budget. In the end I bought a Nanobox 24" fixture which had nice colour rendering and good coverage.

When everything had arrived, just before my vacation, I set it up and added some water and rock from the Biocube to start a cycle. I had a canister filter providing water movement and the light just propped on the tank. I resisted the temptation to rush things and left the Biocube as it was. I opted for a blue background and Fiji Pink sand which is a fairly fine grained white sand with a few pink pieces in it. I really prefer this sand to the previous substrate and so does the Yellow Watchman Goby who now sifts it through her gills.

[GTi]

On returning from vacation, I finished setting up the fuge and made the transfer from the Biocube to the new tank. I was careful not to stir up the old sandbed too much as I didn't want to transfer any detritus or start a cycle.

Apart from my McCoskers Flasher Wrasse leaping out of the Biocube and on to the carpet during the tank swap, everything went well. I placed the rock and coral temporarily in the new tank until everything had settled down for a few days.




During the swap, whilst acclimating the clowns, I restricted their space so they were near the anemone but could avoid it if they wanted. The male suddenly discovered how much he liked it and stayed in there! By the evening, both fish were in the anemone and by the next day the female kept chasing the male out of it!

[GTi]

The Wrasse got an infection from his jump and I treated the whole tank with some Artemiss Microbe Lift. I was skeptical but it came on the recommendation of the fish store manager based on her personal experience. As the Wrasse would be very hard to catch, I tried it as a first step and was very pleased to see it worked. Some of the corals were partly retracted whilst treating with this but they bounced back quickly. The Wrasse looked better every day and fine by day 6 but I continued the treatment for the recommended 10 days just to be safe.

 

I rearranged the rocks and attached a few corals. I also added in 5 Blue Green Chromis and a Kole Tang that had been in quarantine for 30 days in my frag tank. I scraped off the piece of Green Star Polyps that was on the back wall of my Biocube, using a glass scraper, and glued it on to a rounded rock.

 

I also added a second MP10 and added the wireless module to the original one so they could both be linked together.

 

My small frag of Ice Fire Echinata didn't survive the transfer - It died almost immediately. I'm not sure why. The Duncans which were thriving in the Biocube stayed retracted for weeks before starting to extend the polyps. Everything else did well during the transfer.

 

 

[GTi]

Some of the corals in the tank:

 

Green tabling Acropora bought from Rapid coral on their opening day.

 

Devil's Armor Palys transferred from Biocube.

 

Pink tabling Acropora bought from local reefer.

 

Green Star Polyps from Biocube glued to rock.

 

Blue Voodoo Staghorn from Rapid Coral.

 

Purple Stylophora from Rapid Coral. Bleached by new lighting.

 

Ponape Birdsnest from local reefer.

 

Birds of Paradise Birdsnest from local reefer.

 

Purple Bonsai Acropora from local reefer.

 

Aurora Borealis Acropora from Rapid Coral.

 

Green Polyp Toadstool from Biocube.

 

These are from my cell phone - I'll have to get some better ones when I get back from my work trip later this month!

[GTi]

My most recent Full Tank Shot - 12 October 2012. Things are settling in. Coraline is starting to cover the rocks. The Kole Tang died after being in the tank for a couple of months. He was eating well and seemed fine and the next day he had died. There was no sign of disease or injury and he was never bothered by any of the other inhabitants. It will remain a mystery.

Also, while I was away on a work trip, the RBTA split in to 2 and both parts moved to the back of a rock so they (and the clown fish) are mostly out of sight! Grrrr!

On the positive side, the Duncans are extending more often.

There was a little tissue loss on the green tabling acro where the light got moved and the coral ended up a bit shaded. I adjusted the light but I don't think the tissue will regrow as algae has grown on the skeleton. I may have to trim it down a bit which will also generate some frags.

The Purple Stylo was very bleached and I have switched its place with the Blue Voodoo Acro which looked like it needed more light. This photo is before I moved them.

Both Birdsnest frags are growing and branching quickly and the Aurora Borealis Acro is also showing growth.

I added a piece of Dragon's Breath macro algae to the Display from the fuge. I hoped that nothing would eat it but it seems the tough slimy leaves are not enough to put off the turbos!

[slickwill613]

Awesome tank! Those tabling acros are incredible.

[GTi]

Awesome tank! Those tabling acros are incredible.

Thanks! The green one is my favourite piece.

[JamesHL88]

Beautiful! Im glad i finally get to see it. I remember when you ordered the tank. Awsokome euphyllia colony, BTW. Im super jelly

[Arkayology]

You have some nice looking coral in there. This will look great once everything is matured a bit.

[Anna576]

1) great tank, it's gorgeous

2) GTIs are awesome

[GTi]

Beautiful! Im glad i finally get to see it. I remember when you ordered the tank. Awsokome euphyllia colony, BTW. Im super jelly

Thanks - It's a bicolour hammer. I traded a stunner strip for a nice sized frag from a local reefer.

 

You have some nice looking coral in there. This will look great once everything is matured a bit.

Thanks. There have been a few pieces that I wanted for a while and now I have a lot of them - I'm a bit impatient for them to start growing a bit faster!

 

1) great tank, it's gorgeous

2) GTIs are awesome

Thanks! I'm pretty pleased with the way it is working out. I wanted a GTI since I was 17 ( quite a long time ago) but I finally got one a couple of years ago.

 

Otters are awesome - love your avatar! That little guy looks so pleased with himself!

[GTi]

l've been on a work trip for 2 weeks with about 1 more week to go. Leaving the tank for so long is difficult because I like to keep an eye out for small changes to the inhabitants and environment. My kids do a great job of keeping the fish fed, glass clean and letting me know if anything major is going on.

 

I have always liked the look of Gorgonians but been put off by the perceived difficulty. After seeing a few members tanks l decided to take the plunge and placed an order with Aquascapers and added a couple of Ricordea, too. I deferred shipping so they will arrive on 20 Nov- l can't wait! I just need to work out where to put them!

[got2envy]

Nice tank GTI! I did not even know you were upgrading

[GTi]

Nice tank GTI! I did not even know you were upgrading

Thanks! I wanted to get a more open feel with more space and more rockscaping options. I really like your tanks - especially the new one!

[got2envy]

Thank You!

I also have gotten to like the more open feel to tanks as well over the years

You are doing a great job!

[GTi]

Thank You!

I also have gotten to like the more open feel to tanks as well over the years

You are doing a great job!

Thanks, Maria! I will work on getting some better photos posted over the Thanksgiving holiday.

[VeganBrian]

Looks awesome! Gorgs are so awesome, i;m sure you will not have any issues.

 

BTW i have a GTI Fahrenheit

[GTi]

Looks awesome! Gorgs are so awesome, i;m sure you will not have any issues.

 

BTW i have a GTI Fahrenheit

I'm looking forward to it - I've wanted one for such a long time!

 

The Fahrenheit looks cool!

[GTi]

It has been a busy couple of days for FedEx coming to my house! Aquascapers order yesterday and Happy Coral today as well as a few non-reef related items.

 

Aquascapers was 3 Ricordea Floridae and a Purple Candelabra Gorgonian. I was a bit disappointed to see I had just missed the 20% off coupon but was delighted to find a free green Ric and a black candelabra Gorg! All well packaged and intact.

 

 

 

 

Happy Coral was a Mandarin Dragonet, Crocea Clam and a Ricordea Yuma. Again, all well packed and arrived intact.

 

 

 

 

 

This morning the Purple Gorg had lost tissue and needed emergency surgery trimming it back to healthy tissue and making several small frags with the remaining healthy tissue from the offcuts. By evening, the polyps were open on the main colony but not the frags.

 

 

 

The beginnings of the Ric garden, complete with orange netting to help hold the top specimen in place.

 

 

 

Mandarin is settling in but she is hiding out in the rocks still.

 

[TristanC]

Nice tank, nice avatar pic, and nice username Bump for a fellow GTI guy.

[GTi]

Thanks - I'm not too imaginative when it comes to user names!

 

I'll post up some better photos in the next day or so showing coral growth and a new FTS. I might even try a video if I get the tank tidied up and the glass clean!

 

Happy Thanksgiving eveyone!

[GTi]

Updated FTS taken yesterday:




Clearer photos of some corals that show their growth:








Some of the inhabitants:

[GTi]

I took a few more pictures after doing some cleaning and tidying in the tank.

All except one of the Purple Gorg frags didn't make it but the main colony and the tiniest frag are looking healthy with good polyp extension.


Ricordea settling in nicely:


The skunk cleaner shrimp:


Acans:


Torch:


Whammin Watermelon Zoas that just sit there and don't grow:



And a few top down shots for a bit of variety:












Finally, the frag rack I just added. Need to clean up some of the plugs now they are in the DT!

[GTi]

One of the guys on my local reef forum posted some coral for trade and I had to take him up on it before I headed out of town again today.

I traded a few polyps of Rastas, Radioactive Dragon Eyes, Hornets and a decent piece of Miami Hurricane for a nice purple Duncan, Meteor Shower Cyphastrea and a few heads of candy cane - purple with white stripe and green mouths.

I'm having trouble copying image codes from Photobucket when I use my tablet so I will have to add the photos later.

Photos added - the corals had only been in the tank a short while at this point.

[got2envy]

Tank is looking so nice!! I love it so far

I haz Whammins that grow like crazy if ya wanna trade later on