Defect's 50G build

[austinl]

I hate receiving damaged equipment, always one of my fears/pet peeves.

 

[Defect]

Tank on the stand. Next is the plumbing but I have no idea what to do with that. Is it really as easy as just putting PVC from the overflow then figure I'm going to use flex PVC for the return. Seems to simple to me because of all the setups Ive seen on here. Any tips appreciated. Also need to buy some shims tomorrow as well. Floor of this place is not level. Dont mind me in the reflection.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[Defect]

Well.....Got all my plumbing done. Water going in later today. Need to make about 4 trips to the LFS for RODI water. Cant wait to get it up and running!

 

[Defect]

And the day I have been waiting for........wooo. I haven't got a chance to make a real standpipe yet so its noisy as all hell but I got it up and running and got the heater and pump and powerhead moving water! Super happy and now the wait begins for the cycling to start.

 

[Defect]

Tanks cleared up. Not sure if I'm going to add a shrimp or not. I have 40 lbs of live sand and 2 lbs of live rock in the sump.

Question....keeping tank at 79.2 to 79.9 degrees. Should be fine correct?

 

[inkedsparkster]

Nice setup man! Looks to be coming along great! Quick question. Did you use the putty cement they sell on the websites like marine depot or the other ones? Or What did you use? Just curious. I am playing with rock setups right now and just seeing what people use. Ready to see that thing with some fish/coral!

 

[Defect]

Thanks! What I used is E Marco 400. I got all the rock from Marcos rocks so just got some of that as well.

 

[Defect]

Figure since I am waiting for my tank to cycle I would share the stock I was planning on putting into the tank as far as fish go to see if anyone had any thoughts about it. Since this is my first tank I dont have any experience with aggressiveness of certain fish with others or their effect on coral. I have read about all of these fish and seems like everything would be ok. Would love some feedback on the list.

1.) Highfin Perchlet
2.) Mystery Wrasse
3.) Swissguard Basslet
4.) White Banded Possum Wrasse
5.) Yasha Goby w/ Pistol shrimp
6.) Yellow Headed Pearly Jawfish

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[Defect]

First signs of life

So I woke up this morning checked the temp on the tank. I noticed some hair like stuff stuck on the rock, thought maybe some of my wifes hair got into the tank and was gonna try and get it out. At a closer look I noticed that it was actually something alive......what it is I have no idea. There are 2 of them coming out of my dry rock and they looks like feathers. They are about 4-5 inches long when fully extended. They looked like they were catching food then retracting quickly. Anyone have any ideas? If not I will post a ID thread on it. hahaha

Sorry for the bad picture but they are almost clear.

Thanks,

Aaron

 

[Defect]

Lights on!

So got my light the other day and so far love it. Haven't got a chance to program it or anything. Not sure exactly what light cycle to run. The light itself is a lumentek 120 pro from reef radiance. Rick at reef radiance is amazing and so is the light. I would recommend him to anyone looking for an LED light.

Also found some algae starting to form finally.

Thanks for looking

 

[Defect]

Well, just an update. I dosed ammonia to around 2ppm a few days ago and now my readings have changed a lot.

Ammonia : .2
Nitrite : .5
Nitrate : 35 or so

Question--The brown algae on the glass and sand are Diatoms correct? Also it looks like I have a tiny bit of GHA popping up which I know is normal but would anyone suggest getting it off with a toothbrush or just leaving it be?

Thanks

 

[Defect]

So....Ammonia is 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate around 15 and my PH is 7.4 which I tested this morning before my lights came on and I have read that PH is lower in the morning...true? I have diatoms all over the place....is now the time to put my clean up crew in?

Thanks.

 

[Defect]

So I have a very small CUC in the tank and also got a Red Eared Blenny and he is going to town on all of the diatoms in the tank and has a huge personality.

Thanks for looking!

 

[FLipp]

Sweet setup.

 

[Defect]

Thanks, glad to have my first fish in there. Been a long wait....haha

 

[inkedsparkster]

I like that blenny man. More pics!

 

[Defect]

So.......I decided to see if I could handle keeping a zoa alive. My LFS had these at 5 bucks a polyp....I think they are Rastas?

 

[Defect]

Little Update

So have a little update. Everything is running great just figured I would post some pictures of the new comers. Got a Possum wrasse which is very hard to get a shot of and a couple of Zoa's.

Thanks for looking!

 

[Defect]

Just a couple of pictures. Trying to learn how to use this new camera. I have no idea what I am doing when it comes to photography.

Thanks for checking it out.

 

[Daddio]

Congrats! The tank has turned out beautiful. A piece of art...