55 gallon tank need advice

[fuzznut]

So I started this tank about 10 months ago. Been taking it really slow while I was finishing setting it up. Its a 55 gallon 30" high

I have 80lb of rock and crushed coral that I put in right away with my light (orbit marine 4103) and power heads only.
6 months ago - installed 30 gallon sump, eshopps overflow
4 months ago - damsel and 2 crabs. The damsel died but the crabs are still going.
4 months ago - added green start polyp
3 months ago - damsel and Ocellaris Clownfish which are still alive.
3 months ago - 2 peppermint shrimp - 1 of which died
1 month ago - Installed Coral Vue Technology AC20284 Octopus Needle Wheel Skimmer for Aquarium Filter, 100-Gallon.
1 month ago - Installed 2 turbo snails due to an algae problem.

All my levels are on check. and my coraline algae is starting to spread.

So I was wondering what should be my next move. I would like to get some advice from people that have had more experience in this. I am hoping for a somewhat mixed coral / fish tank.

I have attached a couple photos to give an idea.

Feel free to critique it.

 

[Shawn O]

Welcome to RC. Not much to critique, it seems to have what's needed. It's purely an aesthetic thing and your opinion is the only one that really matters. Another powerhead would help with reducing dead spots behind the rocks. To me it looks like that rock on the left could stand to come out of the corner far enough to get a magnet scraper behind it, if it doesn't already fit. It also looks like it may lean over towards the wall, although it might just look that way. Possibly another rock structure to the right of the center? Your fish will like more rock to swim around/through/sleep in, depending on the type of fish. If you're into bottom-dwelling fish, more rockwork down low would help them. That's a very tall tank, it would definitely benefit the types of fish who stay out in the water, above the rocks.

I'd get a lot more snails. Maybe a mixed dozen Nassarius, Ceriths and Atrea's? With all that open sand bed a Fighting Conch would also do well. By crabs, do you mean hermits? You could probably do 6-8 more if you're into crabs.

Good start and good luck. I think it's safe to say we would all like to see lots more pictures of your tank as it progresses.

 

[thegrun]

It looks like you are a little short on rock, I would add a couple more pieces of dry rock. Long term the crushed coral is likely to cause you problems as it traps detritus which will lead to higher nitrates. While not an urgent problem, long term I would think about replacing it with a finer grained sand like CaribSea special grade. Your light will support soft corals, but with a 30" deep tank it will not provide enough light for SPS corals except perhaps at the very top of your rocks in the middle of the tank. I agree another power head would be a very good addition, perhaps the first thing I would do.

 

[fuzznut]

Yeah from the picture you can't see it but behind the rock on the top left of the tank I have another power head there. Thanks for all the advice.

I have thought about adding another light so that I would be able to add more variety of coral throughout my tank. Any suggestions?

I was reading about the crushed coral issue and have been contemplating taking out half my CC and putting in half sand. Would this work? What I was concerned about adding all sand is how do you clean around the rocks without disturbing the coral that will eventually grow.

I am also thinking about getting another 80lb of rock to have some additional structures. Little tight on cash at the moment.

I will definitely keep the pictures coming throughout my process.

 

[SFish]

I would get rid of the damsel. They are little butt heads and will cause problems.

 

[Mcgeezer]

My only critique would be that you need a lot more live rock, not only to fill space, but to increase biological filtration. Your fish losses are probably related to bio load causing intermittent ammonia/nitrite spikes as the minimal live rock can't keep up.

I would also run GFO to prevent your algae issues. Beefing up your CUC as mentioned before is also a good idea.

 

[CStrickland]

80# of rock is not minimal in a 55. I've got 30# in mine and it keeps up just fine.
If you spread it out some you might have more options for placing coral and hidey holes for fish. The way it is now there's not much territory to fight over so when they go to sleep they are bunched up, they don't like that.

If your thinking about upgrading the lights I'd get them in place for a while before you move forward with coral, just to make sure you don't get a big algae bloom once you have something that really lights up all the way to the bottom of such a tall tank.

Are those photos recent? Your rock doesn't look very lively.