55g reef

[cocoa_pleco]

im finally going to try something ive wanted to do for a while. make my 55g a reef. i would have 500W of MH lighting, and corals. for a fish ive always wanted a yellow tang, and their minimum tank size is a 55g. is it true theyre hard to care for

[zackish]

Dude your crazy...what do you do for a job ahaha.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, work at a dept. store, and got a raise to 16$ a hour.

ive always wanted a 55g reef so it should be cool.

[squirt_12]

Yeah that would be cool but ALOT of money to start up. lol. WEll i wish i had a job that alows me to have all of this stuff. lol.
GOod luck. You will have to post pictures when you are done.

:thumb:

[cocoa_pleco]

i will. the bad thing is a large reef takes LOTS of time. complete date for it would be january-march 2008. the 55g's few current fish would be moved.

i bought a bag of salt now for it, and tonight im doing the switch. one bag of salt makes 50g of seawater so im fine there

[squirt_12]

Wow thats alot. lol
And that takes alot of time to do that. I would have thought like maybe a month or 2 but not that long. lol. I wouldn't have the patience. lol.

[cocoa_pleco]

theres alot of equipment. the lights would be around 400-500$, skimmer about 200$, full LR stock 400$, and i already have filters. hopefully in the end its worth it

[squirt_12]

theres alot of equipment. the lights would be around 400-500$, skimmer about 200$, full LR stock 400$, and i already have filters. hopefully in the end its worth it
HOLLY COW!!! I could never afford all of that. lol. Well are you going to buy the stuff over time or buy it all right now???
cause that is a big chink out of your pocket.

What are you thinking of all putting in there?

[Drumachine09]

You better get a coral beauty angel, or I will be angry...

[jttt3]

LOL go for it!

I priced it out many times, it all comes down to what you pay for your live rock and lighting. You could spend $1500 without fish or corals, but if you want to do it right, $2000 without fish or corals =)

Though, if you have stuff already, you could drop that price a bit

[~Erik3.8.07~]

should come out beautiful, wish i had the money just for a nano reef

[squirt_12]

should come out beautiful, wish i had the money just for a nano reef
Yeah i know what you are talking about. I want to just put up a little 5-10g nano tank but i don't have the money to support it at the time.

Jeeze we are really missing out here.

[cocoa_pleco]

MAN, that was hard. i got most of the fish out, just some fast serpaes are left.

and i almost dropped something by the dottyback, and he FREAKED and leaped out of the tank, hes fine though.

my couch and pants are soaking, but im close to done. since my last post ive been working straight.

drum, i was thinking a coral beauty angel, maybe i'll get one

hopefully by mid 2008-late 2008 i'll have this

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/tankphotos51to55gallon/ig/Top-51---55g-Reef-Tank-Photos/Eliseo-Martinez--55g-Reef-Tank.htm

[zackish]

Your already starting!!??
And of course it will be totally worth it.
Honestly SW for me now is where it's at. I enjoy watching my 10 with just LR and one snail in it more than my fully stocked planted 29. I still love working with my 29 but the SW is a whole different world.
Even another kid I know at my LFS said he used to be into planted tanks and as soon as he got his 55g reef that he ahs currently he just dropped FW all together.

[squirt_12]

MAN, that was hard. i got most of the fish out, just some fast serpaes are left.

and i almost dropped something by the dottyback, and he FREAKED and leaped out of the tank, hes fine though.

my couch and pants are soaking, but im close to done. since my last post ive been working straight.

drum, i was thinking a coral beauty angel, maybe i'll get one

hopefully by mid 2008-late 2008 i'll have this

http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/tankphotos51to55gallon/ig/Top-51---55g-Reef-Tank-Photos/Eliseo-Martinez--55g-Reef-Tank.htm
WOW....that would be one amazing tank to have. i wish that i could afford something like that. Wow..you have been working for a long time. Keep up the good work. lol.

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, im liking SW way more than FW now. to me FW isnt too big of a challenge, and SW is a good challenge. im sure soon i'll drop FW alltogether besides my oscar tank.

i got EVERY last friggin fish out of the 55g, the kuhlis, tetras, EVERYTHING. all thats left is 3" of water and some substrate. if im up to it i'll remove the substrate and remaining water tonight, then tomorrow re-fill it with saltwater (could have left the water in the 55g but plant debris was in it).

the 55g wont have a sump, since it cant be drilled.

[cocoa_pleco]

and heres a coral beauty angel, i definitely want one

[squirt_12]

Wow....that is really nice so i would def. get one. How much would 1 go for?

[cocoa_pleco]

havent looked at the price, but im estimating 75-125$

[squirt_12]

wow that is TOO much for my liking. and how long of a warranty would you get? approx.?

[cocoa_pleco]

maybe 2 weeks. the store i buy my saltwater stuff from quarantine the fish themselves in the back room for 2 weeks, so all for sale fish are healthy. thats the downside of saltwater, screw something up and hundreds of dollars are gone

[cocoa_pleco]

well, i got some starbucks, so i have enough energy to remove the remaining substrate and water

[cocoa_pleco]

boy, this day just gets better! im almost done cleaning the 55g and i won the ac lottery! 177,000 points!

[cocoa_pleco]

FINALLY, success. got it filled, salt mixed (took a whole big bag of salt), lights going, and a start of 20.5lbs of live rock, im aiming for 60lbs total, maybe 65. whats left are-

40-50lbs more LR
skimmer
more lightbulbs
argonite
and of course, fish and corals! i will be transferring my arrow crab and coral banded shrimp from the nano to the 55g too.

i tried to upload pics but my phones not letting me like the problem 2manyfish had.

[cocoa_pleco]

suddenly my phone is being cooperative. here it is with the daylight and blue actinics on, and 20.5lbs LR

[Rue]

A 55g is a nice size (although 75g would be perfect!). My 55g used to be SW before the previous owner upped to a 90g.

Shoulda kept your 33g Cocoa! Then you just could have moved everything in that one over!

[cocoa_pleco]

i dont really miss the 33g. it was an older tank and i didnt mind ditching it.

the main reason im happy with the 55g is its the minimum size for a yellow tang. theres also more ways to fool around with aquascaping and corals!

[Rue]

...no, no...I don't mean to keep the tank...I mean to keep the contents of the tank! Like the liverock and the inverts...

[cocoa_pleco]

i kept the inverts and some LR. all the buyer got was the tank, basic lighting and equipment, and only 7lbs LR. the damsel died from age a few days before and the shrimp got transferred to another salt tank.

[spudbuds]

Very exciting cocoa! I'll look forward to watching your progress. Keep the pics coming!

- Bill

[TowBoater]

You can get one for 25$ here. I am seriously thinking about it, taking my 30g and putting everything on a 55g except the lighting. I would have to get the tank and stuff and bribe my parents into letting me, that would be awesome, good thing to put money back for.

[zackish]

lol, im liking SW way more than FW now. to me FW isnt too big of a challenge, and SW is a good challenge. im sure soon i'll drop FW alltogether besides my oscar tank.

i got EVERY last friggin fish out of the 55g, the kuhlis, tetras, EVERYTHING. all thats left is 3" of water and some substrate. if im up to it i'll remove the substrate and remaining water tonight, then tomorrow re-fill it with saltwater (could have left the water in the 55g but plant debris was in it).

the 55g wont have a sump, since it cant be drilled.
That is the exact same thing the kid at my LFS said. Now he has a 55 gallon reef.
TBH I have been having more fun with my 10 gallon nano than I ever did with my 29 planted.....
I don't know what's going to happen but this nano is going to be insane. My 29 is stocked to the max and getting full with plants. All I need on that is a few more plants and I will be done spending money on it. All I am doing every week is trimming and such. My money now will go toward my reef.

[cocoa_pleco]

crap i made a big mistake. i filled the 55g with freshwater, and threw in a bag of salt (one bag makes 50g). i should have mixed it in buckets because now 12 hours later i still have 1.5" of salt at the bottom and the hydrometer reads 1.010, and now i have to stir it with a net

[2manyfish]

The picture you posted Cocoa was not a coral beauty...it's one of the large angels and totally not suited for a 55g. I am not up on the large angels so I can't give you a positive ID but I do know it will outgrow your tank....

This is a coral beauty.....they stay small around 6" and will do well with a yellow tang.
BTW my yellow tang has proved to be very hardy. I have heard of others having problems though. I think the main thing with them is to not stress them with their tankmates and to provide plenty of nori for them to eat. They will appreciate the occasional macro algae (like feather) too.

(Pic taken from marinedepotlive)

[cocoa_pleco]

oh, so thats a coral. very pretty!

i read that sometimes the cause of yellow tang death is no airstone. true?

[squirt_12]

WOW...that coral beauty (or whatever its name is) is REALLY NICE...well with all of these thread about saltwater it makes me want to clean my FW out and convert it into a SW tank. lol

Good luck with everything cocoa!!! :thumb:

[cocoa_pleco]

lol, i had to get my head on straight after the SWAT incident, i can think now.

I read that tangs will die from abusive tankmates, duh. makes sense. i also read that they like to pick at LR, no prob. i also read that they are susceptible to ick, so he'll be the first fish in the tank. i also read that they need aeration by surface agitation or airstone.

as for feeding, they like veggies right? so would spirulina flakes and chunky dried seaweed clipped on be alright?

[2manyfish]

No airstone just good surface agitation because tangs do need well oxygenated waters. I aim a powerhead at the waters surface to get a nice roiling effect (not splashing!).
Any nori you buy, make sure it isn't seasoned...I buy mine at the grocery store, it's just cheaper that way.

Yeah, yellow tangs can be ich magnets but really good water, good food, and decent tankmates and it should be fine!

[cocoa_pleco]

well, guess i'll try a yellow tang and a coral beauty together then!

[jttt3]

Can't wait to see your 55g in its stages Cocoa! =)

I think I might pull away from saltwater, the price tag is hitting me too hard and just stick with freshwater.

[cocoa_pleco]

Can't wait to see your 55g in its stages Cocoa! =)

I think I might pull away from saltwater, the price tag is hitting me too hard and just stick with freshwater.


are you still gonna have your 24g saltwater though?