herp_mommy's 55gal build

[herp_mommy]

It's my first saltwater tank! I'm so excited! I've got a 55 gal tank that has been a goldfish tank, tropical community, cichlid tank, and who knows what else since it was forged in 1990.

Supplies:

55gal tank
Nova Extreme T5HO 54wx2 lights
Koralia PH 1050 gph
Hydor theo 300W heater
Cascade 700 canister filter
80lbs live sand/ shells
25lbs live rock

future Stock list:

2x ocellaris clowns
1x royal gramma
1x blue spot jawfish
30x hermit crabs
1x arrow crab
10x astrea snails
1x sixline wrasse
2x fire shrimp
6x feather dusters

I've added 3 raw eating shrimp to start the cycle
And of course I've got some questions

1) how does my stock list look? overstocked? incompatible? please let me know your thoughts

2) will a jawfish pair up with a pistol shrimp?

3) How much live rock is recommended for a 55 gal?

4) Is my PH enough current? do I need another one?

5) Do I need a protein skimmer?

6) Do I need to change my filtration system to a w/d or something else?

7) I'd like to eventually add some easy corals that don't need MH. Any recommendations?

thanks for any help

 

[herp_mommy]

ok, so I took the heater out. I had it set on 72, and the tank temp was 83. I assume it's defective and I'm going to return it

 

[herp_mommy]

hm, nobody is interested? I had to talk my mom out of a blue tang. she really wants one

 

[Kempker1498]

Not sure about the stock list...everything looks good, only thing u really have to worry about is shrimp killing other shrimp for food. I would suggest at least another 30 pounds of live rock. Ideal live rock ratio is 1.5 to 2 pounds for every gallon...just my thoughts.

Very nice tank though!

Andrew

 

[carey]

I've been following along.

You seem to have your act togehter from what I see. Not going to stock anything crazy, like a blue tang. LOL

 

[herp_mommy]

thanks guys I plan on getting more live rock, it just wasn't in the budget right now lol. I also plan on adding more sand if I'm going to get that jawfish. It's only about 2.5" deep now

 

[herp_mommy]

one week in and I've already got signs of nitrates! I'm excited! I also got this live rock with a bunch of life on it.

 

[carey]

Looking good! Nitrites are nice and high too. Cycle seems to be coming along well.

 

[redsea]

Cool live rock! The tank is coming along great! I would recommend adding the Sixline Wrasse last to avoid aggression.

 

[herp_mommy]

Cool live rock! The tank is coming along great! I would recommend adding the Sixline Wrasse last to avoid aggression.

i'll do that.

 

[redsea]

i'll do that.

Also, make sure your tank is covered, as they are jumpers.

 

[herp_mommy]

Also, make sure your tank is covered, as they are jumpers.

Got it. I was planning on it because of the jawfish

 

[redsea]

Got it. I was planning on it because of the jawfish

Alright, sounds fanastic! I bet you can't wait to add fish, but of course patience is key ( I don't have a lot of patience). The cycle will be over before you know it.

 

[herp_mommy]

Am I cycled? It's only been three weeks but I look cycled already.

 

[herp_mommy]

I got my first fish! Two percula clowns, a trio of banggai cardinals and a baby starry blenny (whom I haven't seen since I released) also I have an explosion of pods! I think they're copepods and isopods. I drew a picture of them. I've also got a bloom of hair algae but I assume that will be good for the blenny.

 

[carey]

Very nice fish! Congratulations! Good luck with them all.

 

[herp_mommy]

Very nice fish! Congratulations! Good luck with them all.

Thanks! The clowns are loving the hair algae. They're trying to host it

 

[herp_mommy]

Some updated pics

 

[herp_mommy]

I have sad news and good news, sad news is my mom decided to medicate for flukes and killed the biological filter. Before I knew it the ammonia had gotten too high and killed almost everything. We lost the six line wrasse, arrow crab, one clown, a royal gramma, the mandarin, a starry blenny, and my favorite the blue spot jawfish. I managed to save one clown, the mushrooms, the colt leather, the star polyp, a few hermits, a halloween hermit, and one banggai cardinal. The only thing we could do was put them in a 10 gal quarantine while the 55 re-cycled. five weeks later, and the tank is back up again and healthy. There's several types of algae, plants, and copepods and isopods all over the place. I checked the levels and everything seems good again. I've added two more clowns, a new mandarin, and a starry blenny. They all seem to be happy and healthy. It was a hard and expensive November....

 

[carey]

So sorry to hear about the bad happenings. :-(

I am glad that you got everything squared away and that all is well now.

Good luck with the new fishies!