Luke's 55 gallon build thread!

dirtyclownfish

New member
Just recently my 55 gallon setup crashed when an unknown foreign substance was introduced, I had the system for almost two years and the loss of my Kole Tang, Coral Beauty, and Foxface, not to mention my corals was extremely difficult. However, fortunately, I had the resources to start all over! My only fish left are two damsels, within an inch of death, and one wrasse who does not appear to be doing well at all.

On a lighter note: I picked up a new tank at the LFS, it is a Perfecto 55 gallon with black silicone and black trim. I also bought a new 10 gallon tank for a sump until I get a proper one with a fuge and all. I am using a relatively new Euro-Reef RS-100 skimmer, a Mag-5 Return Pump, and two Koralia 2 Powerheads on opposite sides of the tank.

Here is how under the stand is looking:

100_1887.jpg


Here is the setup half full:

100_1886.jpg


The lighting is a current USA T-5 retrofit kit, which has been very good to me.

The Skimmer is a thing of beauty, given to me for Christmas, by my clueless mother.

The Circulation in the main tank is provided by two Koralia Powerheads which I purchased the day before the crash.
 
Awesome. I'll be following this one. I'm in the process of planning a 55 as well and I'd love to see how you do it.
 
Great, I am going to put a black background on today. The water is pristine and clear. The skimmer cup is full of aragonite dust. I might go buy some percs today. I have enough biological filtration to handle them.
 
Looking good so far.
But calling mom"clueless"after shelling out cash for a new skimmer for your birthday?Gee,wish my parents would donate?lol
I've had a 55 set up for 8 months now.There's a few pictures in my gallery.I just recently added a basement sump/skimmer.
 
Alright, another 55er! Good luck w/ the set up and I'll be tagging along. BTW, this may seem a stretch, but what did the tank look like after you put in your Koralias? Just thinking that maybe they stirred up more detrius than the power heads you had in there before...? Could this have made your other tank crash? Not sure if stirring up a sand bed, etc. could actually add more nitrates, ammonia or other detrimental stuff? Or, what about the Koralias themselves? Could they have had something on them that caused the disaster? Just speculating here...
 
You know, they did stir up a lot of detritus when I put them in and they kept it circulating for a few hours too. The water tested perfect when I took it to Aquarium World the next day. Maybe the biological filtration removed it overnight but the spike was enough to kill some fish...
 
I wouldn't buy any percs yet! I'm no expert, but the water needs to cycle for at LEAST a week or two. I'd throw some damsels in there to help get it going. Not sure on the CC, but livesand will also help with the cycling....

55's are badass ;)

Also, your light is extremely close to your water with no cover?
 
Crushed coral just traps detritus and really doesn't help out at all by supporting a large colony of denitrifying bacteria.It's probably why you had a crash on the other tank.Look up "deep sand bed" and go that route if you want to have a great biological filtration system.A (DSB) is the way to go.It can either be in your tank or remote.
 
I am going to tag along too! I am on my way to building my 55g.

What is the footprint on the Euroreef skimmer? I have a 10g sump too and was thinking I would need a HOB skimmer because the sump is so small.. then again the baffles may affect it.
 
Some of the HOB skimmer that's out in the market now are very efficient.I ran my tank with one for close to 8 months and never registered nitrate.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12255433#post12255433 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dirtyclownfish
I didn't have crushed coral on my previous tank. Does anybody think that my Koralias will pose any danger to my clowns?

no
 
Well, I emptied my first cup of skimmate today. It is colored like aragonite dust and smells like a steaming pile of poo. I think I will give the water a polish with my micron cartridge today.
 
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