DylanJS's 55 Gallon Obsession

[dylanjs]

Hi Reefers,
Here's what's happening in my apartment...

Setup:
-55G AGA
-50lbs of live sand and 100 lbs of live rock from Tampa Bay Saltwater (my first of many splurges). I've never seen a tank cycle so fast. But I might have been willing to wait longer for cycling to finish if I didn't have to spend so much time chasing gorilla crab hitchhikers.
-175W DE 10K Metal Halides and a 65W PC Actinic
-RemoraC skimmer with pre-skimmer box
-Eheim 2026 with carbon (cleaned top to bottom every 4 to 6 weeks)
-Chiller, heater, and some maxi-jets for circulation.

My wish list: digital dosing pump, AquaController III, and KnopC calcium reactor

Projects: DIY Hood with two 250W MHs, two 24W Tek T5s, 4 LED moonlights, and 2 fans. Hoping to have this done by my birthday...March 4.

Livestock: :grouphug:
-Bright green bubble anemone
-4 xenia colonies: Red Sea Pink & White Xenia, Green Tree Xenia (Elongata), Blue Xenia, Waving Hand Xenia
-pair of royal grammas
-pair of ocellaris
-pair of Lubbock's wrasses (from House of Fish)
-3 Croceas (from House of Fish)
-2 peppermint and 1 skunk cleaner shrimp
-1 cucumbers...the other one tried to clean out the protein skimmer for me. ;-)
-some snails and hermits

Pictures to follow...

 

[dylanjs]

Some Pictures...

I'm don't have the photo techniques down yet, but here's a preview....

 

[scarf_ace1981]

wow that's a lot of macro algae. looks very natural. w/ all that macro i would have kept seahorses in there.

 

[masterswimmer]

Dylan, looks very natural. I like the look, it gives a very 'live' appearance. Just make sure you prune that caulerpa often (at least weekly), or it'll take over every rock in there.

swimmer

 

[tosiek]

u know i always wondered why people never kept some macro in their tanks, besides the heavy maintenance from trimming. There has to be a way to put algae growth in check somehow, would help tons in phos and nitrate removal.

Tank looks great btw. =0) i like it. Good luck with the overgrowth of Caul.

 

[SuRFeR BoY]

love the natural look! nice aquascape too. i tryed to add some caulerpa to my awayscape but my tang mowed it all down :banghead:

 

[dylanjs]

The Caulerpa is to prepare me for the suburban lawn-mowing lifestyle. I trim it back every other day. :Yikes: It's worth it, tho. I love the look and the nitrate/phos part of the chemistry is excellent.

Scarf... horses, I'm intrigued! What has to go for them to thrive and what kind of corals can you keep with sea horses?

 

[Deanos]

There are at least 2 anemones in that tank...forget the seahorses.

 

[jhale]

some seahorse info.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/reefs-beginners/20514-seahorse-tank.html?highlight=seahorse

 

[Wes]

nice! i really like the natural look w/ the macro

 

[dylanjs]

Maybe next time...I will stick to the corals for now.

 

[bergerd]

NiiiiiiiiiCE

Cool look Dylan. I used to have macro algae but I got lazy and it took over everything. It has taken me forever and a day to get things under control. Look forward to seeing each others tanks soon. David

 

[dylanjs]

New Shots

Some more shots after feeding of the brittle star...

More to follow, I have an order from HOF coming!

 

[Nsr250NYC]

nice tank. get a tang in there:lol:

 

[scarf_ace1981]

dylan- dean said it perfectly, unfortunately you have anemones and you won't be able to put ponies in there. any coral that has sweepers or stingers should not be housed w/ seashorses. they are very slow swimmers and will just get killed or eaten.

enjoy the 55!
btw is that a goby or something, above the star in the first pic?

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I have two tanks with macro algae as part of the aquascaping and eco system component. I will be setting/moving up one in my cafe soon.

A lot of the European reefers like to put macro algae in their tanks too. Just that we should carefully select the right kinds so that they are easier to control.

 

[dylanjs]

Thanks for the kind words!

One of my anemones (condylactis, I believe) has been wandering around the tank, so it's on the way out.

Any chance of adding a pair of seahorses with just a bubble anemone and some xenia?

 

[dylanjs]

Could I really put a tang in a 55G tank, btw? The dimensions are 30" long x 24" high x 18" deep.

I always thought this would be too small, but the yellow tang is a favorite from my childhood. Are there other breeds that are smaller and maybe more appropriate?

 

[Deanos]

Any chance of adding a pair of seahorses with just a bubble anemone and some xenia?

No. Plus seahorses are recommended for advanced reefers.

 

[dylanjs]

OK, OK. I'll let it go.... What about a tang?