Tom's 55G Saltwater

[TommyP]

Bluebird! I'm glad my build can help. That's why I made it!

[TommyP]

so, i picked up some new items today and there's a couple things.
The 4 items i got are as follows:

But first:
params are good.
water change done tue.

current stock:
yellow tang
2 clowns
misc. snails
cleaner shrimp
peppermint shrimp
2 feather dusters



Foxface: after acclimation and introduced into the tank he has been hiding behind the live rock. he has swam around very little and is mostly sitting in one spot, which is where the tang usually hangs out. the tang didnt really like it so they kept swimming around and the tang was backing up into the foxface i guess just letting him know "hey bud, this is my spot"
the fox face throws his spikes up and started to blacken in color. it goes away as he relaxes and comes back again, etc. The fox face has been sitting pretty much swimming in place but more resting near the sandbed. the tang has left him alone, however the ff is pretty much standstill spikes in the air. will he loosen up maybe its just the change in the environment? any help would be appreciated, i would hate to bring him back. I currently do not have a DT tank.

The 2nd item i bought was a clam (not sure of the exact type) pics to come off my phone. he's doing awesome. very cool additon.

The 3rd Item i bought was a torch. Awesome as well has almost fully extended and has been in the tank for about 4 hours. On the base of the torch looked like to be green hair algae so I removed it during acclimation. But there is possible bubble algae as well, not too sure but its hard, not something easy to remove as I have tried, but not with a lot of effort.

The 4th Item was a bubble coral. My clown will NOT leave it's side. Could it be hosting the bubble coral? It sticks his head inside but also seems to pick at it a smidge. I dont want the bubble to get damaged, as it is open as well, however not fully extended at this time like it was at the LFS.

Pics on next post. Thanks again.

[TommyP]

Pics as promised.

[Beengirl]

I had a bubble coral (husband killed it by dropping a rock on it- eeeks), and my clown was acting like she was gonna host it too. She would shove her face In The bubbles and nuzzle in there. It was cute, but I read in multiple places that when clowns host bubble corals, they usually end up killing it. I asked on here if there was anyway to prevent her from hosting it, and got the answer that I pretty much anticipated: not really. If you move it, she'll probably find it again, but you could always try Moving it. Mine was killed before she had the chance to host it. Hope it works out for you. The funny part is, my clown acted like she wanted to host the bubble coral, but I have a nem and she sleeps 4" away from the BTA, and she hasn't even looked twice at it. No interest at all in the nem. Lol.

[TommyP]

Lol that's funny it didn't pay attention to the nem. My clown was sticking his head inside the bubble too. He goes all over the tank but always goes back to the bubble. Hopefully he doesn't kill it. It's a nice piece. Ill take a pic later when I get home if he's open.

[TommyP]

I got my skimmer in the mail today. I went with the Reef Octopus bh-100. It was 130 shipped. Only took a few minutes to connect it. It fits right behind my tank inbetween the wall and the tank itself. It couldn't of been more of a perfect fit. I need to top off my water, but it seems to be working. I have no build up yet, but I heard there's a break in period. I hope to see some results, when I'm home so it doesnt overflow, that would suck.

Speaking about topping off, I understand to only top off with ro/di water no salt obviously because when the water evaporates, the salt stays.

I bought an ro/di machine off e-bay for about 70$. I believe its Coralife? but it only has the adapter to hook up to the washer machine or an outside hose connector. I need one that connects to the faucet. Does anyone have one they need to get rid of or know where I can buy one? I tried to search on e-bay with no results. A link would be superb!

This may be a stupid question but can I used bottled water from the supermarket to top off my water in the mean time as long as I temperature match the water? Like from stop and shop ? Pics to follow of the skimmer and maybe an updated fts.

[Khij159753]

Distilled water works for top offs

[TommyP]

Originally Posted by Khij159753

Distilled water works for top offs

Thanks, I will not use the regular drinking bottled water then

[TommyP]

Just some updates pics.

[Khij159753]

Idk for sure that that won't work. But see if someone else jumps in. And your tank looks great! Pics make it look bigger than a 55

[TommyP]

thanks i appreciate it, i have been doing so much work and research and my girlfriend wants to kill me lol. i'm glad someone likes it!

[Khij159753]

Haha I totally understand! My girlfriend wants to kill me too cause i have 3 tanks an want a 4th haha. And she's the one who started me on this :p

[obscurereef]

Are you target feeding the crocea clam? I'm want one, but don't have LR and I think I'll just wait until I culture phytoplankton.

[Spicemonkey]

Beautiful tank. i have been using ro water from grocery store and it is great. i do not have my own rodi system as of yet

[TommyP]

To my knowledge I was aware it was a filter feeder but I also heard you can feed liquid pearls? My friend's father has had his tank up and running for quite some time now and he has two larger clams 1 on each side of the tank and stated sometimes he feeds them liquid pearls but they are filter feeders.

[TommyP]

Originally Posted by Khij159753

Haha I totally understand! My girlfriend wants to kill me too cause i have 3 tanks an want a 4th haha. And she's the one who started me on this :p

I hear you! I have 3 tanks going too, and all 3 are in my bedroom. Its very peaceful though. I love the hobby the maintanence is a pain to keep up with but it gives me something to do. Eventually I am going to only keep the 55g salt water I seem to favor this a little more than my other tanks. (2 fantailed goldfish in a tank, and then my 30G Fw)

[TommyP]

I've been intersted in starting up a tank for about a year now. I saw that show tanked and was like woah thats cool beans. Then my girlfriend won a little goldfish from the town fair over the summer, and that's where it all started lol.

[Spicemonkey]

Originally Posted by TommyP

I've been intersted in starting up a tank for about a year now. I saw that show tanked and was like woah thats cool beans. Then my girlfriend won a little goldfish from the town fair over the summer, and that's where it all started lol.

Our hobby started many years ago also due to a fair fish. we have had 6 tanks running. Ended it all after a heater blew a hole in it coveted 60g hex community (stay away from Marineland heaters). 1 yr without fish was too much for me lol

[TommyP]

After about 20 hours finally saw some results out of my skimmer. Here's an update pic. Smells wonderful

[Khij159753]

Awesome!