Here we go, First attempt 44gal build

[jgraz]

Well i recently aquired a 44 gal corner pentagon and it was supposed to be a freshwater until my son saw "nemo" at the store and that was that. As of right now it is 3/4 full of water and sand/live rock will be added tomorrow. The LFS has cured Live Rock that you can choose from the tanks that currently stock fish. What is the best way to transport the rock? The store is 20-30min away from mine. Also what is better bagged "live" sand or just getting CaribSea Aragonite sugar sized and seeding it with sand from LFS tank or my friends tank? Is the LFS tank sand better because it also houses the live rock i'll be using? With the sugar sized sand can i still go about 3" deep? Sorry bout all the questions. Thanks in advance.
Graz

 

[jgraz]

Well I got about 22 lbs of live rock today and also added sand. Could not do much cause its still cloudy from sand so I still have some arranging to do. can't wait for a clear view so I can get started building. the rock had lots of different things on it. One has a pretty large sponge and i've also noticed some small snails and some little tiny starfish. Is it safe to assume i want them all.

 

[Clown boy]

As long as it does not dry out live rock will be fine put your foot down

 

[jgraz]

Question......
I am going with a HOB filter for now. I have heard to pull the ativated carbon and replace with more bio balls, is that the common thought on this? The filter has seperate sponge, chemical, and bio compartments.

 

[Clown boy]

The carbon will only last about a month before it starts to put bad stuff back in the tank you could change it for more carbon or as you said swap it all together

 

[carey]

I personally use carbon in some of my tanks and not in others. I liek the clarity it can help provide but like mentioned, it only lasts a few weeks and then you need to change it.

More biomedia is a good idea as well. I have mostly biomedia in my canister setup and in my 20L. And the sponge of course.

I;ve been switching my carbon over for chemipure which is supposed to be a better type of carbon resin that doesnt require changing as often. I have the same bag in my biocube since like July. LOL and my water is still clear and the parameters are ok. ( I have nitrates in my cube but that has nothing to do with the carbon)

 

[jgraz]

Thanks, I prob make a small pouch of live rock rubble and slide into holder, that way its easy to switch to carbon if i need to, then i can just keep the pouch in the tank hidden till i need again. The filter also came with zeo-carbon that also removes ammonia inaddition to the activated carbon. Can this be used in the filter.
As far as the build goes I will be getting the rest of my rock tomorrow. I got about 22 lbs yesterday I'll get another 15-20 tomorrowalong with some live sand to seed my substrate. Hopefully i'll get some pics up when the clouds go away.

 

[carey]

Nope zeo carb is only for freshwater.

 

[jgraz]

i was pretty sure that was the case. I ordered it with the filter when this was supposed to be a freshwater setup. Ohhh how things have changed.

 

[carey]

I also keep fresh water so I use any extra filter media with it for them.

Now you just need a FW setup. LOL

 

[jgraz]

I tried to star a thread on this but it never showed up so Im gonna try here. Does anyone know what this is.

When i bought it it looked like this

By the way your looking at 2 different specimens. I found them in the live rock tank and the guy at the LFS said they were recently dead coral. They as I write this the second one has also puffed up and now there are long threadlike strands coming out from them. I not sure im set up for this. was planning on FOWLR. Plus im in the middle of a cycle. Should I be concerned.
Or should I be happy. by the way the store has at least 3 more pieces like this being sold as live rock
Thanks in advance
Graz

 

[jgraz]

and by the way they about 4" in diameter. I looked around the net and I think they might be Circular mushroom coral. Still Im not sure what im dealing with.

 

[TLTGF]

Looks like healthy plate corals to me.

 

[jgraz]

Ok well it seems like thats it. Now my concern is this. I was not expecting this. Im in the middle of a cycle, not high readings though. Will they be fine. I gonna move them to the sand bed. And they are in very low light. Right now only 15 watts for the whole corner unit. I planning on some new lights but it may be a few months. I was not really planning on corals, and just happened upon them in the live rock tank. Oh yeah, feeding help would be great.
Thanks
Graz

 

[jgraz]

Well here it is set up and waiting for my numbers to drop.

40 lbs of live rock does not really look like much. I tried to go higher with it but this layout seemd nicest to me. I had 43 lbs but had to dump a piece to make room for those plates that found thier way into my tank. Probably ready for fish next weekend. My son said we have to start with a clown. Is there an upside to going with two of them?
Also any suggestions on other fish would be more then welcomed. This was gonna be a FOWLR but I have a feeling that by the new year it will start getting coral since im already looking for different lighting possibilities.
Anyway thanks for looking and keep the suggestions coming.
Graz
Here is another view

 

[redsea]

Well here it is set up and waiting for my numbers to drop.

40 lbs of live rock does not really look like much. I tried to go higher with it but this layout seemd nicest to me. I had 43 lbs but had to dump a piece to make room for those plates that found thier way into my tank. Probably ready for fish next weekend. My son said we have to start with a clown. Is there an upside to going with two of them?
Also any suggestions on other fish would be more then welcomed. This was gonna be a FOWLR but I have a feeling that by the new year it will start getting coral since im already looking for different lighting possibilities.
Anyway thanks for looking and keep the suggestions coming.
Graz
Here is another view

If you get two, over the course of about a year.....they will have paired up and it is possible they could lay eggs. As far as other fish go, you could add some kind of Goby, Firefish, Cardinalfish, Basslet etc.

 

[jgraz]

Well I'm now at 62lbs of rock. Now my question is should I dump the sponge in my job filter and pull the carbon and refill with live rubble? Do I need the mechanical layer of filtration?
On the topic of protein skimmers. What are your thoughts on the aqua c remora or the CPR bak pak? I'll get some pics later tonight. Thanks again.
Graz

 

[carey]

I have the remora skimmer and I like it alot. The bak pak is good too. It's kinda just up to you. The bak pak I think has more of a footprint in your tank though while the remora is kinda smaller. Just my thoughts.

 

[jgraz]

Well I thought I'd update the pics. Plus I just ordered my CPR Aquafuge 2 PS(HOB fuge/skimmer combo) should be here in a few days. A few of the guys at the LFS near me told me that I probably be able to nix the HOB filter im using once the fuge/skim are up and running for a couple weeks. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Oh, one more question before the pics. My nassirius snails have been leaving these lines on my glass(see last pic) They have been going up the glass in different areas and then when near the top the leave these curved lines under them. Anyone have any thoughts on what it is?
Well enjoy the pics. Any and all comments welcomed.

Thanks for looking
Graz

 

[zacheyp]

Way to small for a tang