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Compatibility questions???

885 views 9 replies 4 participants last post by  ShankStripedLyretail 
#1 ·
Hi, everyone :wavey: so there's an upgrade planned for 2015. I'm getting an empty 55 tank and stand this weekend as my Christmas present. Upgrading from 30g hex.

Since I'm trying to plan ahead, I've been looking at options for fish, inverts and lighting.

I'm planning on cooking some dry rock and/or using completely cured rock from my 180 DT. (It's going to be rescaped in a couple weeks and has entirely too much rock in it. Whatever gets removed is going to the sump.) My bedroom carpet is going to be replaced by hard floor before the tank ever sees water. So, time is not an issue here. I want to take everything in stride and enjoy the ride.

Fish Stocking List :fish:

Fish by order of introduction. The clowns and firefish I have already. Once I have everything for the upgrade, they will be going in. I also have a six line that will be going in my 180, because he terrorized a goby added after him.

2 ocellaris clowns 3"
1 firefish 3"
1 orange stripe goby 4"
2 Banggai cardinals 3" (juvies)
1 grammistes blenny 3"
2 Conde's fairy wrasses 3" (juvies)

Is this a bit much for a 55? (Skimmer is RO BH-100)

Inverts

I currently have softies with a piece of frogspawn. I want to get into more LPS and will not be keeping SPS. I'm also debating on adding a bubbletip for my clownfish, as I believe they're wild caught and would host it. In a 55 with corals, is this asking for trouble since BTAs can wander/split, and get to be 1' across? I can live without it, just thought it would placate my clowns and keep them from claiming everything.

Lighting :lightbulb:

I've been eyeing the Reefbreeders Value LED with 120' optics. It's 16" long. Would this fixture cover the whole length of the tank (4') and put out enough PAR for everything? If not what about the Photon 32"?

Sorry for such a long post! Thanks for the input! :)
 
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#2 ·
Congratulations on your up grade! Sounds like you have a good plan going.....ENJOY!
Hack
 
#4 ·
Just thought I'd update this!



Needs some lovin'. Whenever it warms up, new flooring and paint in the bedroom will be in order. The rest of the house will probably be getting painted, too. Hopefully by then my car's transmission will be replaced, and I'll be back to working part-time and get all the stuff I need to transfer to this tank. I'll probably be assuming full care of our 180 as well and be changing a few things about its setup.

I'm starting to consider a pair of longfin fairies as they're easier to find. They'll still be added last and maybe my firefish will be established enough to stand up to them.

Happy New Year, everybody! Hoping for some good things this next year.
 
#5 ·
Congrats on the upgrade, Shank! 55's aren't the easiest to keep clean, I've scraped my knuckles on rocks more times than I can count, but I'm betting it's way easier than that hex! I give it one more time of you knocking rocks over before you say screw the new floor and paint and start transferring. :p
 
#6 ·
Yay to Christmas upgrades! I admit that I'm leary of 55's after my experience, but I've seen many others who haven't had issues with them and has gorgeous tanks. I'm sure you'll be one of the success stories. :) Either way, it's got to be a heck of a lot better than a 30 hex! Upgrades are so exciting!

I'm with Chi here - no way you'll be able to hold out that long! *starts taking bets on how long Shank will hold out before transferring* :D
 
#8 ·
I can wait! :D need to buy a lot of equipment and to do that I need my car and a new job. I'm gonna do this the right way darn it! And by right way I mean setting it up for success!

I was kinda leary about the dimensions of the tank, but it LOOKS like it's going to be so much easier to manage... Hoping that isn't wishful thinking...
 
#7 ·
Thanks, chi :) I'm gonna try to be really conservative with the sizes of rock I'm gonna be putting in. I have some dry rock that needs to be cleaned I'll probably go through it to see if I want to keep any. But I'm going to try to use small/medium pieces from the 180 along with most of what I've got in the hex to avoid a huge cycle.

I'm gonna try to up the flow, too. I don't have much in the hex now and that's probably part of my problem (besides ease of cleaning).

Haha I wish I could just dump it all in the 55, but I've gotta wait for several things to happen before I do that. Nothing good happens fast!
 
#9 ·
I'm with you on taking things slow and steady. :agree: I've been doing that and it's been much better on the pocketbook and my house. We remodeled the house before I started the salt tank. Well, we remodeled the big things like flooring, painting, and kitchen. We still have more to do but those were the major ones I wanted done before setting up the tank. My tank was sitting empty in the garage for 6 months while we remodeled. But that tank kept pushing me forward to get it done faster LOL! I wanted it up! :) So good for you for being patient! It will definitely be better in the long run. :)
 
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