Tom's 55G Saltwater

[Keithhjs]

Hope your rockwork is solid cuz they like to make caves :P

[TommyP]

Yeah he made a cave last night. I hope my rockwork is steady too.

[TommyP]

I got a really good shot I thought of my diamond goby tonight just wanted to share. His burrow is so deep but the rocks are good as of now keeping figures crossed.

[Keithhjs]

Great shot!

[redsea]

Congrats on your new fish!

[TommyP]

Thanks guys!

[TommyP]

The gf sent me a couple shots of the diamond goby just figured I'd share

[San Raphael Catfish]

Looking sharp. Thanks for sharing. Anything since Feb?

[TommyP]

After digging his cave the goby caused some of the rocks to shift so I had to rearrange some things ill post a pic or so maybe later. Started to get a lot of hair algae on the back wall and continuous algae on the front glass that I clean every other day or so. I think it may be because my filter socks fill up so much it's a day or so before I change them after they overflow.

[TommyP]

Speaking about filter socks, I have 4 socks that I have been changing out. They get clogged about every 2 or 3 days and then the water starts to overflow (but still in the sump just spills out of the sock) the skimmer pulls crap out anyway (located in the DT still) I soaked 2 of the socks in a little bit of bleach and hot water and rinsed them out let them air dry. But, the outside of the sock was okay but inside was still kinda nasty. The float in the hot water and bleach so couldnt really scrub the inside to well. What are some best practices for filter socks/ cleaning/ maintanence/ how often do you need to change them? Any links for cheap 4'' bulk socks

[Daniel Fishy]

Squirt off with a hose or washing machine without any detergent.

[TommyP]

My mother won't let me put the socks in our washing machine it bugs her out so ill have to shoot it with a hose. Or maybe the nozzle from the sink will work. Every 2-3 days normal to change out a filter sock? Since I have a skimmer if it overflows its still not that bad right

[Daniel Fishy]

I have three and rotate them out when they start to overflow. Mines usually a week but I notice one I bought clogs up faster than the others.i wouldn't use bleach to make them white you need to get the particles out by pressure and the hose works fine just blast them inside and out. Probably replace when they get to plugged up. The skimmer helps but the solid deterius still has to go some were I siphon my sump out once every couple months. Just what I see laying around in there.

[TommyP]

Here are some updated pics.





























































































The torch and frogspawn are not fully open as they used to be. Right now it's in a low-moderate flow area but on the sand bed. The torch opened up so much more when it was on top of the rocks but my goby messed things up this is how it's been recently. Thoughts are appreciated I guess. Thanks for looking.

[Jaketit]

Looks good. What lights are you running?

[Sniperhank]

Washing out filter socks is a pain. I switched to cheap panty hose and just throw them away when I change them out. 99 cents for 2 and I run one on every exit pipe on my system.

[TommyP]

Jaketit I currently have 4 bulb T5 at this time.

[TommyP]

Sniper. Good idea ill check out that option maybe. I just need something that catches particles and uneaten food etc from the overflow line into my sump

[Jaketit]

The only reason I ask is because most of your corals look a little bland in color. Not to bash you or anything. It looks great but bland. Just thinking your lights might have something to do with that.

[Sniperhank]

Originally Posted by Jaketit

The only reason I ask is because most of your corals look a little bland in color. Not to bash you or anything. It looks great but bland. Just thinking your lights might have something to do with that.

Actually, dulling of color comes from nutrient rich water. The colors dull due to the coral not needing to rely on photosynthesis as much as they would in an ultra low nutrient system. This is why many of my corals don't pop like they should even though they are under radions.