Hello All!
well i finally got a new camera after mine broke so i decided i would start a tank journal to get some help and share my progress..or de-progress...with everyone on talking reef! so i guess i will start off with my "history" in fish. i got my first 10 gallon tank for my11th birthday from the lfs. it was a aga kit with the whisper filter.i had tiger barbs, clown loaches (yes i know ..abuse) serpae tetras, and a pleco. in my tank i had the classic fake plants and corals and bubble wands. whenever i was at the fish store, i would always drool over the beautiful reefs and wish i would someday get a tank like that, but i knew it would never happen. then i eventually turned the 10 into planted tank with java ferns,moss, anacharis and other plants and drift wood along with a new 33 gallon with a fluval and about 15 cichlids. then at the beginning of this year, i got into saltwater since i had family members who had tanks and my mom works part time at an aquarium. so i did a lot of research until around august, i got my 50 gallon tank with a stand and light for 100 bucks from a family friend. so i sold away all my cichlids moved the 33 to the garage and placed the new 50 gallon tank in its place. so basically this is where i am today.
so here is the "stats" of my tank:
-50 gallon seaclear system 2
and for everyone who doesnt know what that is..
-coralife superskimmer 125
-36in JBJ PowerCompact lighting
-Small Refugium
-maxijet 1200 return
-maxijet900 w/hydor rotating deflector
-seio m620
-rougly 60 lbs of live rock
-crush coral sand My Livestock
-pearl bubble coral
-xenia
-green striped mushrooms
-furry mushrooms
-candy cane coral
-purple and green zoos
-2 unknown corals
-fighting conch
-6 astrea snails
-unknown amount of blue legged hermits(bought 15)
-emerald crab
-pepermint shrimp
-nassarius snail
-and other misc. mushrooms and hitch hikers
so right nowall i have is coral. i plan to get a brain coral and a torch,hammer,anchor,or frogspawn in addition to what have, and that will probably be about it unless there is something else i really want. then after i finish my corals, i will slowly add about 8-10 fish. i know it may seem weird that i am doing it in this order, but this is how i am being taught how to do it from my lfs. and i believe this is a good one because he never tries to sell me anything, he gives me coral that arent in the condition to sell, he tells me to buy things from other people or online to save me money instead of paying much more with him, AND most of all, he told me to stay away from saltwater because it is too hard and too expensive for kids and i would have a hard time. so despite what most people say, i am very happy with this guy and i bring 95% of my business to him. so anyway he was directing me through the setup and he told me to get the corals first the slowly add fish because i could get better water quality without the fish and the mess they make,i shouldnt have a algae breakout, and also the coraline will grow quicker. then if i can slowly add fish after that. and it seems to be working for me because my tank is doing well ..I THINK.. and i think i started in august of this year.. and since then, i have coraline on all my rocks when i only bought about half with it, and i have coral line on the glass and powerheads.
and now...to my PROBLEM. well my main problem is basically...how can iget a sump on this tank!?!? because i really dont think my cheato in my refugium is doing all that well and i have the hardest time with micro bubbles coming from my skimmer. if you look at the picture above of the back of my tank...i have my cheato and some rocks in the first 2 compartments and i have my css125 in the big middle compartment and i took off the provided pump and used a mj1200, tubing,and a U tube to push the was back to the display tank side. so any input,ideas, comment,or ANYTHING would be much appreciated..and THANKS A BUNCH for taking time to read this LONG post....so for your reward..you can look at pictures and have a happy holidays!!
-Mark
PS sorry if some of the pictures are just close ups of others..but i was just going crazy with my new camera and i just was so amazed!
AND THIS IS WHAT MY SKIMMER PULLS OUT...im not that satisfied with it..but i hope its because my bio load isnt that much..and this is also where my water level is in the skimmer and a picture of it next to my fuge
o yeah!!! about the sump thing...i would really appreciate cheaper ideas that are affordable...since you know im only a 9th grader and cant get a job yet so...i just have to save whatever i get...and also i feed my tank kent liquid calcium,kent zooplex,and phytoplex
thanks a lot carmie!! yeah..well the problem with the 33 gallon is
1. its 36 inches long,which is the length of my tank, and i have no clue where it would go
and 2. the openings on the top arent that big, but i think i might be able to fit my skimmer and fuge in there anyways..but the main problem of where it would go still lingers. i wanted to put it in my stand.
oh, and welcome to TR Miner Niner (teehee) i dont know if you just started high school, but thats the year we start here .im currently grade 11, muhahaha, i eat grade nines for breakfast i woul=d never eat a fellow reefer though, you're safe ;p
But yeah, good lookin tank, good luck with the fuge,
and good reefing to joo
hey josh i dont know if youre going to read this..but..i just thought i would continue over in my thread to stop bothering george..yeah of course i took out the bio balls!! lol and the foam filter as well..and also sorry, but i didnt really get what you were saying about the durso and the inlet, but i did check out that DIY thread on dursos and i have just one question:: whats the airline for?..well thanks a lot!! you have no idea how helpful this is!
sorry mark, came down with the flu so i wasn't able to stumble over to the computer until now, so sorry.
What i was tlaking about is that your durso has to be below the inlet (its fairly obvious but just in case). Basically im just saying that the durso should be below water level, and won't suck dry (see other people with durso's).
The airline tubing ium not quite sure on, but i believe it provides the durso with an alternate method of getting air, this was it does not mix with the water and stuff to get bubbles, which pop and gurgle. Im not totally sure on this so i'd ask someone else.
and have a happy holidays!!
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