55g SW tank Journal

[jdak]

You could call it a FOWSR. I would advise against slate. If you are needing to go cheap on LR, some LFS sell rubble for $1.99/lb. My LFS, you can still find some good chunks in the rubble...

[MeggyPuff25]

So all the cichlids are gone to a very nice 150g FW tank with a few other cichlids I took out everything else, cleaned the sand by rinsing (not fun LOL) I put in the marine salt and a decent sized piece of live rock. I know the bacteria from the freshwater part will be totaled but it should bring me my ammonia spike and aid in the cycling process Im SO excited to see this tank go to marine!!! I will be moving everything from my 10g nano into the 55g once it's ready, my nano has 2 caramel clowns and a pistol shrimp. Along with the move I will take all the sand from the 10g along with the LR. The corals I have in it will be transfered to the 45g for a bit till I get the lighting figured out for the 55g.

As for the slate, I have spoken to a few SW tank keepers and as far as I know because it was in my running 55g tank for over 2yrs its safe leaching wise and I'm not worried about what will grown on it as I will just be using it to add a little bit of support and make easier caves. I will be keeping a VERY close eye on how things progress in the 55g and I'm just really excited to get this going, this hobby is way to addictive LOL.

[MeggyPuff25]

Well I think Ive changed my mind on the slate thing. I siliconed some caves up last night but I don't think Ill put them in the 55g after all There just isn't enough info around to help me make the decision, its a 50/50 info thing some say yes some say no.

Today I will checking the salinity to see where it stands and I'll do a water test as well so I can keep track of the cycle. So far all I have to stock it afterwards is my 2 caramel clowns, which are gonna look even smaller in the 55g after being in the 10g nano lol.

[Pufferpunk]

Did you let the salt mix overnight before you added the LR, to be sure you had the correct SG? What is it at? I suggest buying as much LR as you can to cycle this tank, otherwise you'll have to cure all new rock in a separate vat.

[MeggyPuff25]

The salinity is at 1.024 which is where my 45g is at and my 10g nano to. Right now I have about 7 - 8 lbs in the tank, I know I should have more but I'm broke till the 20th. I will be buying some tuffa and live rock on the 20th but I can also take a few pieces from my 45g and maybe a piece from my 10g nano. What do you guys think? How much LR should I have in the 55g atm to help cycle??


All the LR I get is fully cured with coraline on it, its actually really great rock and Ive never had any problems with it.

[Pufferpunk]

Skip the tuffa. RTR was recently complaining about how it tears up fish's skin. Go to http://www.reefcentral.com & look for a local reef club near you. I've found local reefers tearing down their tanks & selling LR as cheap as $1/lb for cured rock.

[MeggyPuff25]

Ok so Ive beenwondering what other kinds of fish to put in my 55g once its cycled. Right now the only fish going in are the 2caramel clowns other than those Im not sure what else to add. I don't know if I want a valentini puffer yet. What are some types of fish that I could add?

[Pufferpunk]

The possibilities are endless... Look though this site. There are compatibility charts there & most of their info is good: http://www.bluezooaquatics.com.

[MeggyPuff25]

I now have almost all my rock, 8 lbs of LR atm, and about 40 lbs I think of tuffa like rock. I will be also adding the 15 lbs of LR from the 10g nano once the 55g is cycled I did rinse the new 40 lbs of rock with very hot water and it was easy because the rock was 3 big pieces which we broke up with a hammer into a bit smaller pieces. The tank looks really cool now and I can't wait to add the other rock from the 10g and to see how my 2 caramel clowns are going from basically and appartment home to a huge mansion LOL! They are 1 1/2 " is the big one and the little guy is about and inch so they will look itty bitty in the 55g lol. I will try to get some pics up shortly here.

[MeggyPuff25]

Ok so here are a few pictures of the 55g with the rock, its a bit cloudy because I stirred up a bit of sand. Sorry for the quality, had some glare from the window in the kitchen and from the tv.

http://s967.photobucket.com/albums/ae16 ... 0progress/

I will also be getting better lights later this month

[MeggyPuff25]

Did a water test today to see where everything stands, so here's the results:

Ammonia 1.0 ppm
Nitrites 1.0 ppm
Nitrates 10 ppm
Ph. 8.0
Salinity 1.024

Im not sure if I like the rock scape though, I have about 15 lbs in my 10g nano that I will be adding after the cycle but I don't know if I like the bigger rocks in the middle or if I should rearrange it differently. Any ideas or tips anyone can throw my way would be awsome. Im rained in and really don't have much else to do today lol.

[MeggyPuff25]

Does anyone have a 55g FOWLR tank that can post some pics of their aquascapping? I'm trying to figure out how I want to arrange my rock and I'm in need of some ideas.

[Brent]

I would suggest moving the scape to the left a little. It seems too centered and thus, unpleasing.

Try and leave the central area of the tank as an accent towards your focal point.

[edit]

Also, why not give more of a busy and 3d display by positioning your rock at different points width-wise rather than having it just straight along in a uniformed line?

Good luck!

PS: Sorry for the wording there, mom is being obnoxious / singing / trying to get my attention. >.>

[MeggyPuff25]

So should I try and make two sections on the left and one on the right and have some of the middle open?

[Brent]

Up to you.

You could make an archipelago-style tank by giving three unconnected mounds of rockwork with an open front-center.