55 gal SH build thread (pics pics pics)

[tagraham]

well i has lots of eperiance in fresh water tanks i love the cichlids i have, but it was time for something new. i have been resurching marine tanks for about 8 months now with the entintion of doing a reef tank. i decided one day wile watching blue planet, that i was interestid in the bio diversity of the mangroce forests and the grass flats. so i wanted a lot of bottom feeding life like gobies, snails, crabs, sea horses, and so on. i turned my attention to sea hoses and i fell in love with the bio typ. well here is my build thread. i started about a month ago and now that my rock is curing i guess i have time to make this thread. here it goes.

please feel free to comment on this and guide me along i am in no hurry and feel my patience and willingess to listen to others will bring me success.

here i am building the stand. its a two story stand dsigned to hold a cichlid tank on bottom and the Sh tank on top. it will eventually be inclosed and look like a nice piece of furnature.

more building

done with cichlid tank on bottom

the lighting is temporary untill i can make a nicer more permanent fixture

 

[tagraham]

this is the first order o got in from drs foster and smith

here is my filter i will run carbon and phos ban all the time. what else should i run in there?

here is the little refugium i diyed got this of a thread on this forum.
im going to put LR rubble and chato in there with a bit of sand

 

[tagraham]

well i got the LR inn from DRs foster and smith. 24 lbs of tonga branch rock. i like the looks of it. not as much life as i hear fiji has but i think it will be fun for the horses. should i add more? i will not have but 2 or 3 gobies/somthing, a clean up crew, and 2 h Erectus.

verry pleased with the m only 3 pieces of breakage offage

a good attemps a aqua scapping if you ask me

the bag has my rubble in it for when i move it into the fuge yes i will take the rubble out of the bag.

 

[tagraham]

crappy pics and lighting im not sure what lighting to go with i think some 50/50 s

 

[tagraham]

wow i just proof read my posts. i really should spell check!!!

 

[tagraham]

oh yeah and i do have ro/ di this is the ro/di salt mixing area in the basment

 

[tagraham]

i also plan on some macro like cheto and Gracilaria. eventualy if it all is in ballance some mangroves

 

[tagraham]

bump

 

[fishymann]

looks like its coming along nicely. the aquascaping is very nice, i like the idea of making almost pillars out of the branch rock i may give that a try. I'd say if you think theres more room in the tank for rock than go ahead and get some more. What typa cichlids ya keeping?

 

[Fredfish]

Now that you have posted pics, you definately have more than enough live rock. Aside from looks, the live rock is a place for bacteria to attach and grow. Surface area is important and live rock is nice an porous.

The 1lb/gallon rule of thumb was in the days before live sand and did not take sand into account as a filtration medium. Your sand also has lots of surface area for bacteria: probably more than the rock

Edit: Nice stand. I do a lot of DIY, but for some reason I have a lot of trouble squaring up 2x4 framing.

Fred

 

[tagraham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9382670#post9382670 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fishymann
looks like its coming along nicely. the aquascaping is very nice, i like the idea of making almost pillars out of the branch rock i may give that a try. I'd say if you think theres more room in the tank for rock than go ahead and get some more. What typa cichlids ya keeping?

alll mbuna i have 2 acis, 1 dimasoni, 1 red zebra, 1 blue zebra ,1 yellow lab, and a bumble bee that may have to go when he gets bigger

i know its a mi but they all get allong and i have them feeding out of my hand

 

[fishymann]

sounds like a nice setup, i think my tank almost goes against a lot of what some say but they all get along and its a beautiful setup.

Whats next for your SH tank?

 

[tagraham]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9383104#post9383104 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Fredfish
Now that you have posted pics, you definately have more than enough live rock. Aside from looks, the live rock is a place for bacteria to attach and grow. Surface area is important and live rock is nice an porous.

The 1lb/gallon rule of thumb was in the days before live sand and did not take sand into account as a filtration medium. Your sand also has lots of surface area for bacteria: probably more than the rock

Edit: Nice stand. I do a lot of DIY, but for some reason I have a lot of trouble squaring up 2x4 framing.

Fred

thanks on the stand i cant wait untill its finished up to look nice.

i thought i might have enough but i wasnt sure. i like the island of rock in the middle of the tank and the rest for macro. it gives a shallow flatts look to the tank.



another question i have is i am thinking about ordering some micro clams the kind that burrow into the sand. youknow those little things that you find in the surf at the beach. what do you think of those. im also geting some pods and an order af bristle and spaggetii worms to sead the sand with more life

 

[tagraham]

bump

 

[Fredfish]

Don't know much about the micro clams. Most non-photosynthetic filter feeders don't survive long in our aquariums. thats a quwstion best asked Dr. Schemik over on the MD forum.

Fred

 

[c-horseman]

how many horses do you plan on putting?

 

[tagraham]

2

 

[tagraham]

i dont like a crowded tank

 

[tagraham]

bump

 

[c-horseman]

so it's just going to be 2 horses in the water column and some bottom dwellers? ... remember some horses don't swim alot, they just cling. so you might have lots of empty space.