Halelorf
01-23-2009, 04:37 PM
Since my brother finally took the fish he dropped on me when he moved back I had a freed up tank to use. I moved my Amazon tank over to the evicted 30 gallon tank and had an empty 55 on my hands. So I painted the back with black krylon and decided that since I had a good amount of baserock left sitting in my closet that I would do another saltwater. Filled up my 55 with RO/DI and instant ocean salt that I got cheap and transferred all the cured rock from my 10gallon frag tank over with the new baserock. I didn't want to load it up with high lighting or anything so I decided to go with a bare bottom fish only with live rock setup. Right now it is sitting with a rena XP3 with some ceramic media for more bacteria and an aquaclear power head with a media attachment for flow and to run carbon and GFO. The ultimate plan is for a species tank with a snowflake moray eel but that won't be for a long while. Not until I get a proper skimmer and build a tight fitting canopy. Here is a list of things gotten and approximate prices if anyone wanted to duplicate the setup.
----::Inventory/Price List::------
-55 gallon tank - free (had this sitting empty. I think I paid around $60 new for it some years ago. You should be able to get one fairly cheap/free checking local ads and craigslist.)
-55 tank stand - free (also had this from when I originally got the tank. Think it was $50 or so new.)
-300w Stealth Heater - Free (again had from previous tank. Should be able to find them fairly cheap online.)
-1 can satin black krylon fusion spray paint -$3
-Hood and Light - Free (previous tank yadda yadda.)
-Rena XP3 canister filter w/ ceramic bio media -Free (previous tank. They have gone up in price a good deal since I bought mine new for around $100. Should be able to find a deal on one if you are patient.)
-Aquaclear power head and attachment - Free (previous tank yadda yadda.)
~40lbs base and live rock mix - $15 (This was acquired from a LFS sale awhile ago and about half the rock was seeded and cured using rubble from my reef tank in a 10gallon frag aquarium for a few months.)
-1 Female Blue Damsel Fish - Free (Bought at Petco because of the price and my father was mad that I had a "tank of just a bunch of rock!" So he bought it for me for $4. Looks in great health and ate NLS TheraA+ pellets on day one so hope it does good.)
=================================
Totals so far - $18
Projected Cost if purchased everything new now ~ $600+
Here are items not yet gotten for the tank which is the skimmer, good canopy, and the snowflake eel.
The skimmer I am looking at is Octopus hang on skimmer with Sicce pump which will be around $250. The canopy should be easy to build pretty cheaply or I may just get glass and weigh it down with some bricks so the eel can't push it out.
Now here are some pics.
Here is filling up the tank with water and right after dumping all the salt in.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/tankfill1.jpg
Here is the tank completely filled with proper salinity and temperature and the rock placed in.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/tankfill2.jpg
Here is the tank today with some quick aquascaping done.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/FTS1.jpg
Here is a close up of the right side of the tank with the camera hog joining the photo.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/right1.jpg
----::Inventory/Price List::------
-55 gallon tank - free (had this sitting empty. I think I paid around $60 new for it some years ago. You should be able to get one fairly cheap/free checking local ads and craigslist.)
-55 tank stand - free (also had this from when I originally got the tank. Think it was $50 or so new.)
-300w Stealth Heater - Free (again had from previous tank. Should be able to find them fairly cheap online.)
-1 can satin black krylon fusion spray paint -$3
-Hood and Light - Free (previous tank yadda yadda.)
-Rena XP3 canister filter w/ ceramic bio media -Free (previous tank. They have gone up in price a good deal since I bought mine new for around $100. Should be able to find a deal on one if you are patient.)
-Aquaclear power head and attachment - Free (previous tank yadda yadda.)
~40lbs base and live rock mix - $15 (This was acquired from a LFS sale awhile ago and about half the rock was seeded and cured using rubble from my reef tank in a 10gallon frag aquarium for a few months.)
-1 Female Blue Damsel Fish - Free (Bought at Petco because of the price and my father was mad that I had a "tank of just a bunch of rock!" So he bought it for me for $4. Looks in great health and ate NLS TheraA+ pellets on day one so hope it does good.)
=================================
Totals so far - $18
Projected Cost if purchased everything new now ~ $600+
Here are items not yet gotten for the tank which is the skimmer, good canopy, and the snowflake eel.
The skimmer I am looking at is Octopus hang on skimmer with Sicce pump which will be around $250. The canopy should be easy to build pretty cheaply or I may just get glass and weigh it down with some bricks so the eel can't push it out.
Now here are some pics.
Here is filling up the tank with water and right after dumping all the salt in.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/tankfill1.jpg
Here is the tank completely filled with proper salinity and temperature and the rock placed in.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/tankfill2.jpg
Here is the tank today with some quick aquascaping done.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/FTS1.jpg
Here is a close up of the right side of the tank with the camera hog joining the photo.
http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh166/halelorf/55%20FOWLR/right1.jpg