pictures of my 55

[compjtc]

I got a couple new fish and a bunch of inverts today, so I figured I'd take some pics. (Please forgive the hair algea and crappy pictures. until this order came in my cleanup crew was near nothing. I have yet to figure out how to take decent aquarium shots without glare with my camera)

and the refugium....

Please post any comments or constructive criticism you might have!

 

[tibbs2]

I like the barnacles you have in there. I think 3 or 4 barnacle blennies would be really cool in your tank.

 

[phishcrazee]

Looks like a good start! Certainly a lot of rock It looks like you only have one powerhead in there now? I would get 2 more......... what sort of tank is it going to be? FOWLR or Reef?

 

[compjtc]

Thanks for the comments. Those barnacle blennies look pretty cool. I'm not so certain that the tank isn't already overstocked a bit. The tank is 55 gallon, with a 30 gallon refugium and a 10 gallon sump.

My livestock currently is:
2 percula clowns
1 foxface rabbitfish
1 lawnmower blenny
1 flame angel
1 firefish goby

1 cleaner shrimp
1 brittle star
3 emerald crabs
1 cleaner clam (in refugium)
and a bunch of blue leg hermits and snails.

I'd like to get a mandarin dragonet sometime, but don't really know if the tank can support one. Anybody have any thoughts on that?

Currently the tank is fowlr, because I only have cheapo flourescent lighting and because I'm an ISU student. I'll have to move the tank when I graduate (moving to Cedar Rapids) and I didn't want to hassle with moving corals. I'm already wondering how I'm going to manage moving the fish...hopefully they make it! When I move I definitely want to try my hand at a reef tank. This is my first saltwater tank, I've been doing freshwater for years. It's so addicting

 

[phishcrazee]

I don't think it sounds overstocked, but I guess it depends what kind of skimmer you have too. What is a "cleaner clam"? I've never heard anyone use that term before.

I'd stay away from a mandarin until your tank is more established and you're sure you have an ample supply of amphipods, copepods etc. in the rock to support their big appetites. I've heard some people have had success feeding them other frozen foods, but I think it's always best to try and stick to a fishes natural diet as closely as possible. So many of these beautiful fish face a slow process of starvation over several months, eventually dying because people didn't have a good food supply for them or they refused to eat frozen food.

 

[tibbs2]

I had a few of the cleaner clams. The ones I had were about the size of a quarter and live in your sand bed.

I'd give it at least 6 to 9 months before getting a mandarin. Take a look at night to see if you can see many pods running around your tank. I had a mated pair of mandarins in my 75 until 1 dissappeared while I was on vacation and I have less rock than you.

 

[atram]

Once you get your tank fully established you can get a Mandarin. be careful about other fish that thrive on copepod's and amphipod's. But if you decide to get other fish and a mandarin you can teach them to eat prepared foods by hatching brine fish and feeding the mandarin in a diner. Then start adding frozen brine shrimp enriched with selcon, you can also include enriched mysis shrimp. It requires timely discipline to ensure that the mandarins nutritional needs are met.

http://www.melevsreef.com/mandarin_diner.html

The key to fish keeping is a well established aquarium. This guy was breeding mandarins in 24 gallon cube.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=8582652#post8582652

As in all things reef patience is a must.