My 55 in progress/ 10K XM review

[nanoreefer22]

Cool. I'll let you know how i like it when it comes. Got my mom to chip in on the bulb, very happy.=D With the MH bulbs it takes some time to get the real color out of them right, they have to burn in? or something like that.

I saw on www.acropora.net that he had the rio seios for i think $45. Thats a good price, compared to what I've seen. That will be the next thing on the list of "Must Haves".

For a protien skimmer what do you think i should get? Would it be neccesary, If i went softie only?

 

[House of Laughter]

Skimmer shold be based on tank size and bio load - I wold overdrive it for sure.

What size is your tank?

House

 

[nanoreefer22]

It's a 55 gallon.
By bio-load you mean fish/crabs/snails? For fish I was just thinking of a pair of maroon clowns. And maybe a goby or 2. Coral wise I'm not sure yet. But most likely it wont be very heavily stocked.

Kris

 

[jackson6745]

Kris, it's kind of hard to get a stong skimmer without a sump. Besides a deltec skimmer wich is over $400 one of the best hang on skimmers is an aqua c remora which you can pick up for the same price as a small euroreef skimmer (about $135 used). The ER skimmer blows away the aqua c skimmer (I've used both) but the ER is an in sump model. You could use the hang on skimmer or make youself a cheap sump out of a rubbermaid container or a 20g L fishtank, and use the stronger ER skimmer. I know the hobby is not cheap and there are countless upgrades to spend $$ on, its a bit overwhelming....BUT, when things are setup properly you will enjoy a successful reef and watch everything flourish.

[ February 01, 2005, 12:07 AM: Message edited by: jackson6745 ]

 

[nanoreefer22]

I do have a 15 gallon and a 10 gallon not in use. What would it take to convert it to a sump? How much money?

That success is something I want to have.

If I end up going with the sump it will probably be in about 2 months. The hobby really isn't cheap at all, just thanking god I can get frags from locally for a lot less than what it would cost in a pet shop.

First thing I'm getting is the bulb tommorow, then the rest of the rock and the powerheads and hopefully put together the sump and get a skimmer, just need to know how much it's gonna cost.

For the rock, bulb, and powerheads, its gonna run me up about $200. After that I'll save for a while and do the sump/skimmer. Thanks again for the help.

 

[jackson6745]

The skimmer will run you $135 (used) and you can probably pick up a hang on overflow for $25 (used). A rubbermaid container for $5 at homedepot + a sheet of acrylic for baffles $10, and a used mag 5 returnpump for abot $35.

So the whole thing can be done for a little over $200. Watch the F/S forum here and on reefcentral for deals. If you need help when the time comes for the sump, you can pass by my house with all the supplies and I'll help you.

 

[nanoreefer22]

That would be great. I check out the F/S forum a few times for the day. I just got done ordering the new bulb. Can't wait for it to get here. I got my report card today and its gonna deserve a little money from the parents. So the extra cash will go towards the sump. Can i begin to stock the tank before I get the sump in place? Could I use the 15g as the sump? Or will it need to be bigger?
What I'm doing with the rock is trying to have it spaced out nicely. I'm starting on one end of the tank and building up the rock as i go along. Right now I have about 35 lbs altogether. Still got a long way to go but im nearly there.

 

[jackson6745]

kris, i would have patience on the stocking. Hold off until everything is in place. Put your $ into the equipment first. You can use the 15gal tank for a sump. A 20L or a 30L would give you a nice sized space for a refugium also.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Gotcha... I'll be patient, for once I wanna make sre that I do that tank right. If i can get rid of my freshwater fish in the next 2 months I'll have a 30 gallon to turn into a sump. That would be the best thing. I'll try to ease the idea onto my mom, she hates when i get rid of fish. But that would probably be the best thing. I'll let you know what i decide 15g or the 30g.

 

[nanoreefer22]

This is what i have so far in the 55. Thats about half of the tank and about 35 pounds of rock. Just thought I'd share.

 

[ShaunW]

Looking good. Your well on your way!!

If you looking to fill out the tank with rock you could buy base rock/slate rock from New World (it's like $2 per lb) to fill in the rest.

More than half my tank is NOT live rock from a natural reef somewhere. But after being placed in my tank has become encrusted with coraline algae and coral growth. You wouldn't be able to tell the difference between original live rock and not. I have large slate pieces that form shelves thought-out the tank that you can place coral pieces on.

[ February 01, 2005, 10:56 PM: Message edited by: solbby ]

 

[nanoreefer22]

Thanks Solbby. I'll go by New world this weekend. I'll probably get another 20lbs this weekend and finish up with the rocks for now and focus on getting some more equipment in there. I'm doing the same thing you did with half live and half base. Hopefully it turns out nice.

Do you think that 3/4 the way up the tank is good enough for height on the rock? I like the way it looks cause i can place corals anywhere even at
the highest points in the tank.

 

[marrone]

You need to careful not to put to much rock as when you start to buy corals they're going to come attached to pieces of rock and your going to run out of space in your tank. Don't outstock your tank with rock and plan how you want to rock to be setup.

Look on Reef Central at some of the pictures and also here and see the many different setup. You can have it uniform going accross the tank or build up the sides and leave the middle open or build up the middle and leave the sides open. Do a little planning what you want your tank to look like down the line.

 

[ShaunW]

Good advice Michael, ditto what he said,

.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Thanks for headups Michael. I really never thought about that. So maybe another 10-15 pounds should do it for the rock. It is true, a lot of the polyps and corals are the pet shop come attached to something, sometimes big. Thanks again. I'll post more pics this weekend when i get the last set of rock. I'm also going for the uniform look, all the at one level accross the back and it gets a lot as it comes to the front.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Went by New World today and decided to go with the tufa rock. They had it for $1.49 a pound so i got $25 dollars worth of it. It filled up just exactly the amount of space i wanted it to and went to the exact height the way i fixed. I'll try to get some pics up later. Still no sign of my bulb .

Bad news is that my mother made me take the tank i had on the floor holding my corals into the new tank last night. Everything looks fine today, open just like they were in the smaller tank. I wasnt happy about this i wanted to wait another week to 2 weeks . I guess the tank had enough time with the established water and live rock and sand.

 

[ctxmonitor]

hey nanoreefer, I am a few week behind you..

I just got my LR last weekend, and in the process of curing it. I am setting up a 75 gal and I currently have like 40 lb of LR.. My live rock is stink in the water.. I think I might do a full water change this weekend, and see if the smell would go away.. How long have you cure your live rock so far?

 

[nanoreefer22]

My live rocks been established for more than 2 years now, before it was mine it was my neighbors and when he left for Florida he gave it to me. I've been the owner of it for about 9 months now. It's only about 20lbs and the rest is base rock. It actually doesn't look bad at all with the base rock. Just cant wait til the algae starts to cover the base rock for the more realistic look.

Does anyone know how long it takes for tufa to start growing coralline, I've been watching one rock for coralline growth and I've been seeing growth in the past week or so. It is very steady growth adn the change from last week to this week is very noticable. I'm on the last thing POWERHEADS, just the extras got a whole lot of other stuff in there right now for flow.

CTX, are you going to do all live rock or put the rest as base rock?

Your from Brooklyn too. I'm in Park Slope, what part are you in?

 

[ShaunW]

I would estimate about 4-6 months for coraline algae to start to cover the base rock, however, that time frame depends on your water conditions and Ca/Alk parameters.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Thats a lot of time, but it should go by pretty quickly. Thanks for the time frame.