New to the hobby, and R2R!

[obct537]

Hello!

Since I've been lurking on R2R for the last couple months while setting up my tank, I figured I should probably join the conversation!

I just recently setup my first reef tank around mid October after spending what felt like a literal month reading to make sure I knew what I was doing (If only it were that easy...). I tried to go the used/DIY route wherever I could, so sadly my tank isn't as jaw-droppingly perfect as some I've seen on here, but for a first attempt, I'm quite pleased.

Anyway, I'm more here humbly hoping for constructive criticism than to show off Please feel free to comment if you see anything out of line.

I've managed to add a few fish and corals to the tank, and so far so good!*

*minus that dang hair algae

My setup thus far:

• 55 gallon display tank
• 20 gallon poorly-diy-ed sump
• Current Orbit Marine Pro Dual LED lighting
• Some crappy, used canister filter I got free with the tank?
• Octo-Reef Skimmer
• BRS carbon reactor
• 1 Hydor Koralia powerhead (have 2, but that much flow seemed to annoy the fish)
• DIY overflow
• Artica chiller (my apartment is apparently a sauna)
• 10 Gal quarantine tank with some cheap filter/lights that came with.

Waddles, the DaVinci clown, hovering in his favorite corner. The firefish and the blenny weren't feeling very photogenic today.

Unbeknownst to me, my tanks stand was too small for a sump, so until I can find a suitable along-side cabinet, I have to stare at this mess of cables/tubles/pumps

QT tank....I apparently need to clean the glass before taking more pictures

Anyways, if you've made it this far, let me know if you have any suggested improvements (particularly if you're adept at eradicating hair algae).

Thanks for stopping by!

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Jason mack]

Hello!

Since I've been lurking on R2R for the last couple months while setting up my tank, I figured I should probably join the conversation!

I just recently setup my first reef tank around mid October after spending what felt like a literal month reading to make sure I knew what I was doing (If only it were that easy...). I tried to go the used/DIY route wherever I could, so sadly my tank isn't as jaw-droppingly perfect as some I've seen on here, but for a first attempt, I'm quite pleased.

Anyway, I'm more here humbly hoping for constructive criticism than to show off Please feel free to comment if you see anything out of line.

I've managed to add a few fish and corals to the tank, and so far so good!*

*minus that dang hair algae

My setup thus far:

• 55 gallon display tank
• 20 gallon poorly-diy-ed sump
• Current Orbit Marine Pro Dual LED lighting
• Some crappy, used canister filter I got free with the tank?
• Octo-Reef Skimmer
• BRS carbon reactor
• 1 Hydor Koralia powerhead (have 2, but that much flow seemed to annoy the fish)
• DIY overflow
• Artica chiller (my apartment is apparently a sauna)
• 10 Gal quarantine tank with some cheap filter/lights that came with.

Waddles, the DaVinci clown, hovering in his favorite corner. The firefish and the blenny weren't feeling very photogenic today.

Unbeknownst to me, my tanks stand was too small for a sump, so until I can find a suitable along-side cabinet, I have to stare at this mess of cables/tubles/pumps

QT tank....I apparently need to clean the glass before taking more pictures

Anyways, if you've made it this far, let me know if you have any suggested improvements (particularly if you're adept at eradicating hair algae).

Thanks for stopping by!

Nice set up !! Great tank .. welcome too R2R .. happy reefing

 

[pugcrush]

Anyways, if you've made it this far, let me know if you have any suggested improvements (particularly if you're adept at eradicating hair algae).

Welcome to R2R! Nice looking start! I've been battling hair algae in one tank that I've neglected. At the end of the day, you have to combat phosphates & nitrates. Did you start out with dry rock though? Unfortunately, algae can be part of the life cycle of starting a new tank. Your tank pictures look good to me though?

 

[Tahoe61]

Welcome , fantastic start.

 

[kschweer]

Welcome to R2R!!

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R

 

[FishGuyBri]

Welcome! You'll love it here

 

[Mike_J]

Welcome to the hobby and R2R! Kudos for doing all that research and for having a QT right off the bat. Great start so far! Consider taking the canister filter offline since you have a sump plumbed in. Add a filter sock where the water drains into the sump. The canister is really unnecessary and can be a headache if not thoroughly cleaned on the regular. Just my .02 cents. Best of luck and happy reefing!

 

[melypr1985]

Welcome to the hobby and R2R! Kudos for doing all that research and for having a QT right off the bat. Great start so far! Consider taking the canister filter offline since you have a sump plumbed in. Add a filter sock where the water drains into the sump. The canister is really unnecessary and can be a headache if not thoroughly cleaned on the regular. Just my .02 cents. Best of luck and happy reefing!

Agree completely with this! Welcome to R2R! The canister will be more problems than it worth and since you already have a sump, then you are good to go there. Very smart going for QT right away. You'll need another tank though, to QT your fish in. You're doing great already.

 

[MaiReef]

Welcome to R2R!. Looks good. Sumps in stands can be a problem. You could try trigger systems as they make a 30 crystal that may fit.

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R. It looks like you're off to a great start....congrats.

 

[Nano man]

Welcome to R2R, you will always find help here when you need it.
Especially by mature individuals!
"For the most part" lol

 

[obct537]

Welcome to R2R! Nice looking start! I've been battling hair algae in one tank that I've neglected. At the end of the day, you have to combat phosphates & nitrates. Did you start out with dry rock though? Unfortunately, algae can be part of the life cycle of starting a new tank. Your tank pictures look good to me though?

Thanks!

I've been testing nitrate/phosphate religiously for weeks. I've consistency been at 0-"some, but too low to measure" on nitrates, and I've never seen the faintest hit of phosphate. I recently had to take all the rock out and scrub the algae off of it, so everything looks OK for the time being, but I can tell it's already taking a hold again. This is what the rock looked like before:

I started with a few pieces of live rock, and a bunch of dry rock. Only afterwards did I realize that going 100% dry rock is probably a better approach (at least where keeping the tank pest-free is concerned).

 

[obct537]

Welcome to R2R!. Looks good. Sumps in stands can be a problem. You could try trigger systems as they make a 30 crystal that may fit.

Thanks! I looked at that one, and sadly the dang stand is too skinny. There's about 10 inches of internal clearance in the tightest spots, so there's next to no prebuilt sumps that are small enough.

 

[obct537]

Agree completely with this! Welcome to R2R! The canister will be more problems than it worth and since you already have a sump, then you are good to go there. Very smart going for QT right away. You'll need another tank though, to QT your fish in. You're doing great already.

Yeah I'm working on phasing the canister filter out. I dont currently have any filter socks, or a reliable way to mount them in the sump, so once that's sorted, it'll be gone.
As far as having a separate QT tank, I've thought about that, but space limitations are a problem for me, so I've been just purchasing in phases, so I'll only have one or the other in the tank at a time. I clean it up as well as I can, and change the lights between "phases"

 

[obct537]

Welcome to the hobby and R2R! Kudos for doing all that research and for having a QT right off the bat. Great start so far! Consider taking the canister filter offline since you have a sump plumbed in. Add a filter sock where the water drains into the sump. The canister is really unnecessary and can be a headache if not thoroughly cleaned on the regular. Just my .02 cents. Best of luck and happy reefing!

Haha thanks for the input.....I'm working on doing exactly that. Just trying to find a reasonably affordable source for filter socks.

 

[domination2580]

Welcome! You will love it here

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

Welcome!