HoCkEy's 55G

[HoCkEyGmC]

Background: As many of you may know, i have recently picked up a free 55 gallon with stand hood and crappy light. my plans include a snowflake eel, fuzzy dwarf lion, a coral beauty, and 1or2 yellow stripe maroon clowns. as of rite now i just have the tank. i am planning on scrapping up some cash and getting a bunch of sand to use in this dsb contraption thing that my uncle claims is the best thing ever. ill be documenting everything with a bunch of pictures.
my first concern as of rite now is the silicon. in some of the pictures you will see that much of it is is peeled away and it isnt a nice clean looking seal. im not only concerned about the look though there is a small section that is missing. i kind of want to fix all of the seals but i really dont want to create a leak that wasnt there before. im going to be testing the tank in a bathtub. even if its leakproof then im worried that the use of a magfloat would just rip all of the silicone to shreads. there is also a small crack in the glass at the very top. i plan on patching it with silicone. the fake wooden trim hides it anyways. im not sure what the plan is for the trim because of the difference in color but i know that my dad has one.
Thanks!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

figured id add in a few more things...
1st off, what ive got already and what im planning on picking up.
(-> = going to be upgraded to...)
2x aquaclear 802 PH's 400gph ea. -> 2x koralia #3's 850gph ea
1x secondnature whisper 3 filter -> 1x fluval 404 cannister
1x stress zyme (what is this)
1x light timer
1x dechlorit
1x algae scrubber -> +1 magfloat

so thats what i got, this is what im gettin...
live rock/base rock
a bunch of different sands for the fancy dsb thing
200g box instant ocean salt
visitherm heater (250watt?)
saltwater master liquid test kit
a digital thermometer
i plan on using my portable refractometer from my moms house(i say it like refract-O-meter, is it the refract-ometer?)

a few other random questions,
how many times a week should i feed my fish and what? (snowflake eel, fuzzy dwarf lion, maybe 2 ysm clowns, and a coral beauty)
how do u feel about resealing the tank?
will the crack affect anything if i patch it up?
could i also keep some sun polyps and some feather dusters? (are there any other appropriate non-photosynthetic stuff)

cuc:
some turbo snails (maybe 5)
some nassarius snails (maybe 15)
longspine urchin (1)
pincussion urchin (1)
cleaner shrimp (going to try to get a large shrimp and keep the 2 potential eaters together with window screening in qt) ((1))
brittle star? (1)
maybe an arrow crab (qt thing aswell) (a small-ish (1))
does that cover most of it?

hows it all sound?
Thankyou guys sososososososo much for all the help over the past months!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

quick note to any mods: i realized that this is the wrong section for this thread, can one of you please move this thread to the getting started section.
Thanks a bundle!

 

[melosu58]

Moved

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

thanks!
and another random question, is there any way to make a diy protein skimmer out of a hob filter? its double sided so id figure that if i made one that i'd make one on each side.
Thanks in advance for any answers!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

well we filled it 3/4 the way up and no leaks so far. the part with no silicon is holding up just fine! we r still going to fill in the gap but its not 100% nessecary. we havnt filled it up to the crack yet so we'll see what happens when we get there. we r still gunna patch that up no matter what aswell anyways.
still lookin for answers to all of the questions in my previous posts!
Thanks a ton guys!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

overnight, there were no leaks! were going to fill it up the rest of the way today and see how the crack does.

 

[Ziggy953]

IF that crack is all the way at the top of the tank I think you should be ok. I would get a small piece of glass and cover the crack with it and lots of silicone! Kind of like a patch.

Having no leaks is only part of the battle won. How well is that silicone going to hold over the long haul? It may be a good idea to reseal the tank. Just a thought.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

thats what i was thinking cuz the way that it is now, a mag float which i plan on getting, would just rip it to shreads. i just dont want to make a leak that wasnt there before.

 

[intimatecple]

just take your time on the reseal and you will be fine....I resealed my 150 and found 1 small leak.....then just had to reseal that 1 corner....so it was not to bad....if I had just taken more care and payed attention better....I would have had no leaks at all. So just like the rest on this hobby......take your time and have patience!!!! You will enjoy and be much better off!!!!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

yeah, i think im gunna reseal. they work fine but they look like crap. and ii think im just going to do the sides and not the bottom as the bottom still looks 100%fine. i also think im going to bleach the tank while i got it full to be sure its clean.
questions i still have:
how many times a week should i feed my fish and what? (snowflake eel, fuzzy dwarf lion, maybe 2 ysm clowns, and a coral beauty)
could i also keep some sun polyps and some feather dusters? (are there any other appropriate non-photosynthetic stuff)
Thanks!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

We ended up resealing the front two edges. They've been tested and theyre all good! We also constructed the Pleumn thing and added the first 2" of substrate. We also ordered some sand for our next 2" layer!
So sorry that there arent any pics yet! rite when i get my comp back i can assure you that there'll be tons of em!
Thanks!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

OMG!!! Tank has been filled, sw is mixing inside, sand starting to settle!!! I'm sooo excited!!!!! I might be getting some rock tomorrow at the LFS!!!
OMGOMGOMG!!!!!!!!!! =]

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

Just picked up soime LR. Tye water is starting to clear up, especially cuz i just put in some extra pads in the filter. I feel so dumb aswell cuz i completely forgot about getting a heater while i was there so i put in an old heater that i had form my uncle idk if it works or not but its in the tank. im going to get my dad to put one in there while im gone. aswell as a cup of established sand form my 28. the tank is still comming along nicey and pics are on the way, i can assure you.
Thanks!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

Slight little update: getting more rock tomorrow hopefully! =].
also, I'm having the urge to get a tang. i was thinking a bristletooth tomini tang. not sure if they would all get along or whatever but its just a thought.
even though this thread isnt booming ill keep on updating it as often as needed. hopefully i can get my laptop back so i can post pics soon!
Thanks to anyone who reads this!

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

got 30 more pounds of LR. and im suprised but the tank looks rather full. so because of that insead of trying to get as much lower quality LR or BR from live aquaria, im just going to get a little less, higher quality LR. supposably, my comp is fixed now and waiting for pickup so ill get those pics asap, PROMISE!
Thanks!

 

[melosu58]

Glad to hear things are going good.

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

finally pics!!!!

first is the pvc for the pleumn

the tool we used to cut...

my hand was rather sore after this

pipes in the tank...

we then added egg crate over that, then 2 layers of screen then CC then 2 more layers then some sand...

then the first rocks...

then more rock...

and now. more rock, koralia 3's, stealth heater, larger magfloat...

 

[HoCkEyGmC]

oh yeah, i forgot to mention, i added 3 cocktail shrimp throughout the tank. parameters are as follows...
nitrate: 160 mq/l
ammonia: 3.0 mq/l
nitrite: 10 mq/l
alk:300 kh
ph: 7.8

 

[Tank2379]

Looks good....