Thedude657 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Well my first tank is up and running. 55g corner tank. It cycled and I bought my first 2 fish. I got 2 sapphire damsels and they appear to be doing great so far, they started eating right away. It really exciting and super tough tonot go out and buy corals yet but I want to make sure I know what Im doing first. I have a 400w mh suspended about a foot off the tank but its still so bright my apartment glows at night lol not sure if its too strong for the tank it look like its at least 24 inches tall I dont have a tape measure and I have read too much light can be bad for corals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Grats on the new setup. Sounds like your doing lots of reading and info gathering first. I would think that the light is to much for your tank and a 250w would be just fine, or even a good T5 setup. Do you have pics or a tank setup thread stared? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
414driver Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 You might reconsider those damsels.....georgeous fish...... but mean as all get out when you bring in other fish.....and really really hard to catch!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 I agree about the damsels!! I wont ever buy any to sell at the store, but I have several that customers have given me because they were terrorising there tank. They are now an amonia source in my live rock tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 [ATTACH]11488[/ATTACH]Here is a pic of the tank the light is suspended up about a foot off the tank now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hozer21 Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Well the tank is looking good and those damsel are a pain to catch sometimes and just reamebr when starting off start slow & don't rush I know it will be hard but in the long run it will pay off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 [ATTACH]11490[/ATTACH] [ATTACH]11489[/ATTACH] Here are some better pics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhowe Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Corner tank looks really good. 400 watt is a ton of light on a 55 gal tank. One thing to watch with the mh lighting is water temp unless you have AC in the apartment. Seriously consider removing those damsels before adding any other fish or corals. The first reef tank I started I put three damsels in it. Massive mistake on my part. Had to tear all of the rock, coral and other fish out just to remove them. (They were torturing all other fish in the tank) Fish traps did nothing for me, with a net I may as well have tried catching them with my hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 26, 2011 Author Share Posted June 26, 2011 With the fans going the water temp stays at 78 right now but its not too hot here yet and I asked the people at the fish store about the damsels and they said these ones arent as bad compared to others and I have no idea how Im gonna get em out they hide really really fast lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhowe Posted June 26, 2011 Share Posted June 26, 2011 Your choice on the damsels. Here's a little reading on the sapphire damsel. You might have checked it out already. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+28+2073&pcatid=2073 Here something that looks really similar to the damsel without the aggression. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+1634+115&pcatid=115 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef165 Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I asked the people at the fish store about the damsels and they said these ones arent as bad compared to others I own a store, and you would never hear me say that about a damsel!! I don't care how slow business is, there's a lack of morality when selling just to make a sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 That is a deep tank. 400 watt will be just fine...as long as the temp stays down...u seem to have a fan blowing across water...perfect. Don't add any corals until you get you alkalinity and calcium dialed in...do some research regarding those two subjects. A good rule of thumb is to wait for coralline algae to start growing on those rocks before adding corals. It looks like you added base rock, so just wait til it starts turning purple and/or pink..at present, the coral you should be growing is coralline algae. Of course most people are impulsive and start chucking pretty coral in ASAP. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Coraline algae is already spreading fast. I see little purple spots growing on all the rock now. Ive been keeping a close eye on the temp and stays at 78 when I turn the lights and fans on no problem now. at first it would shoot up to 80 in about 10 minutes till I raised it up and added the fans. As far as the calcium I dont have any plans to get a calcium reactor with this tank, will I need to supplement or will weekly water changes be enough? I have 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 10ppm nitrates, 500ppm calcium, .5 phosphates, 8.2 ph 125 ppm alk just did a 10% water change fri night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 What's your kH testing at? It should run 8-10. 125ppm doesn't make sense to me,sorry. That's good the spots are already spreading. With stability and good lighting it doesn't take long. Those nitrates are ok, but still need to come down...0-5 is best. Weekly water changes may be sufficient if you are using RO water...if the nitrates don't come down to 0, u should add some macroalgae(chaeto). Aka a refugium. I Always recommend people dose when they need to. Not having any coral, doesn't make much sense to dose...but when you start addin stony corals(sps Lps), then you will need to supplement. Another important test is magnesium, it works in conjunction with the calcium and kH...maintaing mag at about 1300ppm can be quite beneficial. Also, I'd support everyone who says get the damsels out before you start adding coral...you can easily remove the rock and scoop em out. Maybe add a clownfish, which is a much better damsel. The slower the better...at first it seems like it Tass forever, by before you know it your tank will be full of coral: Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandinga Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Also I'd recommend running gfo(granular ferric oxide)...getting those phosphates as close to zero as possible. You can put them in a bag, or run a simple reactor. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Kh is at 8, I want to add a refugium and am looking on craigslist. Its all pretty exciting and Im glad I found this forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 A quick easy addon that I have used is a small waste paper basket, you can easily plumb an overflow into the side with a bulkhead or uniseal and just have a small pump for getting water into it. I will get a pic of the one I use for my live rock. Edit: Heres mine, and heres whats going on inside It'd be easy enough to use an elbow instead of a tee though so you are just surface skimming from a fuge. slap a light on it and you got yourself a refugium, all for under $10. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 Looks like Im building a refugium today!!! what do you recommend I put in it? Deep sand bed, live rock, and algae? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thedude657 Posted June 27, 2011 Author Share Posted June 27, 2011 and what kind of light should I put in it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 I have a little rock rubble and a bunch of chaeto in my refugium, and for lighting I use a flourescent bulb with a spectrum around 5k, I dont remember the exact spectrum. A clip on light with one of those spiral bulbs would work alright, just as long as the spectrum is appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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