Saltwater aquarium attempt #1

[EvolvedRegal]

So I decided to finally start a saltwater aquarium. So far so good. I built the sump/refugium last week and now the whole system is slowly coming together.

All walls perfect
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0011.jpg

Baffles installed
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011628.jpg

Water test
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011631.jpg

Fianlly in the stand
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011633.jpg

With protein skimmer
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011632.jpg

Refugium light
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011636.jpg

[GTSLOW]

Dam that is a bad ass setup!!

[EvolvedRegal]

Some of the setups Ive seen lately makes mine look very basic... which it is IMO.

[pOrk]

Looks great so far, what are you planning on housing in the tank? Is that a 75?

[EvolvedRegal]

It's a 55, the sump holds a net of 21.1 gallons but only about 14.7 working gallons

Im going to start out as a FOWLR tank and see how much I can keep alive for a few months, then slowly add corals. Mostly zoas and other softies.

[Slow5oh]

as awesome work. Salt water required far too much work and money so I went with a tropical setup.

[EvolvedRegal]

If I can keep this running without killing too much stuff Ill build a 180 in my man cave next year.

[GTSLOW]

If I can keep this running without killing too much stuff Ill build a 180 in my man cave next year.

Now that's a huge tank! You'd turn the 55 into a refugium huh? :rolf

[885.0stang]

awsome set up let me know if you need a complete tank set up cause im thinking about selling mine



as awesome work. Salt water required far too much work and money so I went with a tropical setup.

not totally true yes they are expensive but i honestly think they require less work cause they are pretty much self sustaining. cleaner shrimp, snails, star fish keep algea and bacteria down and live rock is a natural filter. i pretty much just feed the fish and clean the filter out

[EvolvedRegal]

You have live rock? Need some in about a week. About 70lbs worth.

[EvolvedRegal]

Now that's a huge tank! You'd turn the 55 into a refugium huh? :rolf

Id buy a 75 and use that as the refugium. 55 I would keep on the 1st floor of my house.

[Slow5oh]

awsome set up let me know if you need a complete tank set up cause im thinking about selling mine




not totally true yes they are expensive but i honestly think they require less work cause they are pretty much self sustaining. cleaner shrimp, snails, star fish keep algea and bacteria down and live rock is a natural filter. i pretty much just feed the fish and clean the filter out

yes but getting them started isn't always the easiest. Plus I live in an apartment I plan on moving out of in April and really don't think transporting that setup would be easy.

[EvolvedRegal]

Yep, apt living sucks. Thats why I bought my house, now I hate yard work and a shitty next door neighbor.

[GTSLOW]

Anyone have opinions on those smaller saltwater setups that are like 15gallons and self contained?

[EvolvedRegal]

From what I hear is that going that small is more prone to have problems unless you have already done saltwater. With more water volume the more stable everything is.

Look into the Aqueon BioCube IMO the 29gal is the best, there is a ton of info about them and modding them is fairly simple. Antoehr bonus is they are all self contained, the light tank and filter assembly are packaged as 1 unit. I know of 1 for sale right now that comes with the stand for $230. All it needs is a light put back on it.

This should put you on the right track:
http://www.nano-reef.com/

[jamestown478]

Anyone have opinions on those smaller saltwater setups that are like 15gallons and self contained?

I am running a 10 gallon saltwater setup on my desk at work. It works perfectly fine.

[EvolvedRegal]

Return is finished

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011638.jpg

This is just in case the drain is slower than the pump, Ill be able to throttle the water flow if needed, and its a handy place to do water changes.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/P1011639.jpg

[Bobby "Big Daddy" Flay]

tank looks real good

[-stew-]

You set up looks awesome! Albeit complex. I have a forty gallon. It has a light, a filter and one powerhead. 40lbs of live sand and prolly 70lbs of live rock now. No fish just a clean up crew (a cleaner shrimp, two brittle starfish, assorted snails and crabs) some soft corals. A fucking million little white starfish that came from god knows where. I do little to nothing to take care of it, and from every thing I've read/heard this tank should have died a long time ago. Its been running for two years now. Soft corals are doing well, coraline algeas are growing beautifuly. Take from that what you will. Maybe I'm lucky, maybe these are easier to have than they say.

[VroomPshhTsi]

I just went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago last Friday. I took the behind the scenes tour and saw all the pumps and some of what they do to keep that place up to par. Fun place to visit if you are really into aquatic life.

But with that said, I've never had fish so I have no advice lol.

[jakedrew]

looks great.

My neighbor built a set up like yours. I think he is ready to give up. He cant keep things living in it. Not sure what the problem is/was but it didnt work out for him.

When his tank was clean and the fish he had were living, it was a impressive setup and the fish were cool to watch.

(this is coming from me who has a hard time changing the water/filter every 3 months in a fresh water fish tank)

[jamestown478]

looks great.

My neighbor built a set up like yours. I think he is ready to give up. He cant keep things living in it. Not sure what the problem is/was but it didnt work out for him.

When his tank was clean and the fish he had were living, it was a impressive setup and the fish were cool to watch.

(this is coming from me who has a hard time changing the water/filter every 3 months in a fresh water fish tank)

if you hear about him getting rid of his setup lemme kno. I am always looking to upgrade.

[EvolvedRegal]

Everything is going along just fine so far. Added 3 clowns and a Rose tip anemone in the last few days.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/179287_10150171104614517_619234516_8580730_6580057 _n.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0043.jpg

[michelle]

Nemo!

[jamestown478]

why 3? usually you want them in pairs.

[EvolvedRegal]

1 went MIA, cant find it anywhere.

[jamestown478]

hmm that is weird. Clowns aren't normally jumpers either lol.

[SSLEVO]

1 went MIA, cant find it anywhere.

Lol, how the hell does that happen?

[IcePickFreak]

Did you check the sump for the heck of it?

I had salt water tanks for quite a few years, had a 30g with a clown, anemone, a few assorted damsels, and a little clean up crew. Then I setup a 55g and kept triggers along with an eel and those guys were great and waaay less expensive to maintain. They started getting too big for the tank though (had them for about 7 years) and at the time I didn't have the room for a bigger tank so had to give em up. I want to do a big tank sometime in the future and definitely will go with triggers and some other aggressive fish again.

[EvolvedRegal]

Thats the first thing I checked. I also checked around on the floor to see if it flopped out. Ive checked everywhere and even brought out a mirror to see the nooks. Turned the pump and skimmer off to make sure it didn't get sucked up anywhere.

So far no luck on the clowns hosting the anemone, might have to do the picture trick. Or else if that fails the percula clown is getting banished to the sump so the other 2 can pair up and make some babies. I have a 10G breeder ready to go for when that happens.

[Exitspeed]

Looks cool. I wish fish tanks didn't all look like they are out of the 80's. No offense.

[jamestown478]

Thats the first thing I checked. I also checked around on the floor to see if it flopped out. Ive checked everywhere and even brought out a mirror to see the nooks. Turned the pump and skimmer off to make sure it didn't get sucked up anywhere.

So far no luck on the clowns hosting the anemone, might have to do the picture trick. Or else if that fails the percula clown is getting banished to the sump so the other 2 can pair up and make some babies. I have a 10G breeder ready to go for when that happens.

most clowns won't host the anemone and if they do it will take them a while to. ocellaris clowns usually are the easiest to get to host them but most prefer soft corals over anemone's.

[IcePickFreak]

most clowns won't host the anemone and if they do it will take them a while to. ocellaris clowns usually are the easiest to get to host them but most prefer soft corals over anemone's.

This. Also, certain types of clowns prefer certain types of anemones.

I had my clown for a good 6 months before I introduced an anemone for him, and it took a month or two for him to take to it. It started out by him spitting food at it to feed it and shortly after that they paired up.

[EvolvedRegal]

Hmm

When I came home today 1 of the clown was nipping at the tentacles, from what google says thats a good thing.

[TheRX7Project]

Can someone explain what you guys are talking about with the clowns "hosting" the anemone?

[EvolvedRegal]

Hosting means swimming through it. They actually feed the anemone by pooping in it. It's actually their natural defense against predators.

Better way to describe
http://www.ximinasphotography.com/lessons/lesson06/images/6_5_05.jpg

[jamestown478]

it basically becomes their home.

[EvolvedRegal]

Well, good news. 1 of the clowns has a new home. That was great to see tonight, the anemone loved it. Ill try and get a pic tomorrow since the lights are off on the tank for the night

[pOrk]

That didn't take long, have any photos of the overall setup?

[EvolvedRegal]

This is a picture from 2-3 weeks ago. It has about 20lb more rock in it with a pedestal on the left side where the anemone resides. Ill snap a new picture when I get home today. I have another powerhead on either side, and the plumbing is completely re-done w/bubble traps. Although I still have a small micro bubble issue it seems like it is better than a week ago.

I think this was during the initial freshwater fill to level the tank.
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0026.jpg

In the sump below I have about 4lb of rock with a deep sand bed and Chetomorpha growing on a 24hr light schedule.

[EvolvedRegal]

And here is what it is now Sorry for the bad pic, Im not sure where my dig camera is ATM. Im in the middle of a diatom bloom hence all the brown looking stuff.

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0049.jpg

[IcePickFreak]

Nice setup and sounds like you did your reading. Having a sump to put the skimmer, heater, and a mini-refugium is the way to go. Cheto does wonders for making a marine aquarium a lot more self sustainable.

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

[EvolvedRegal]

Here are a few more pics.

Finally got one of the clown in the anemone
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0056.jpg

http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/dryad001/IMAG0058-1.jpg

1 of the ocellaris clowns will be going to a new home, or the sump. I think he has been banished from the other 2 which I knew was coming.

[jamestown478]

if you are looking to get rid of it I will buy him from you.

[EvolvedRegal]

Ill try and catch him today.

[EvolvedRegal]

if you are looking to get rid of it I will buy him from you.

After a week or so I captured him. So if you want him he's yours for $10