55 gallon TruVu - new to me

[petes97]

I wanted to get some pictures posted tonight of some coral and fish in my new tank. My wife and I bought this tank last Thursday night from a local who has since moved out of town. Details on the equipment to follow. It had been established for about 2 years before we got it.


I think these are Zoos... Anyone have a more positive ID?


Candy Cane


Some sort of leather?


Sun Corals


Red Colt


Purple Tang (a bit big for a 55 gallon)


Pulsing Pink Xenia (on of my favorites)


Orange and Green Montipora Caps


I think it is a Maximus Clam

All right, more details to follow tomorrow. There is more coral to photograph, as well as the green mandarin, yellow watchman goby, mated Clarkiis and a Coral Beauty.

[petes97]

Here are a few more... Still more to come.


Kenyan Tree (I have frags all over the tank)


A few green star polyps (also a few frags here and there)


One of two green star polyp colonies


Frogspawn, I think


The lone Chromi survivor (I was told he was the ony of six to make it in the previous setup)


Some brain coral? It doesn't look too healthy


A very large blue Crocea clam

[drummereef]

Nice looking corals. Here's a link to some coral care sheets you will probably benefit from. All your corals are there. just find them. The second pic is candy canes. Positive ID on your frogspawn, nice colony.

http://www.asira.org/caresheets

Hopefully you have a plan for keeping up on alkalinity and calcium demands with all those cool corals. Here's a good read for you.

How to Select a Calcium and Alkalinity Supplementation Scheme
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/feb2003/chem.htm

[petes97]

Thanks, I'll read the links in the morning. I've been dosing with Kent ALK and pH buffer and calcium on opposite days to get things where they need to be 8.3 ph - 4 meq/L - 425ppm calcium.

The previous owner dosed weekly with 15ml B-Ionic, so that was my plan. I think a calcium reactor is out of the question until we go larger.

[rhythmicfire]

very nice corals; love the xenia

[triggerjay]

2nd pic, candycane.... 3rd pic looks to be devils hand.

Jason

[petes97]

I still have pictures of the following to take:

Branching Hammer Coral
Blue Green freckled Mushrooms
Bright green hairy mushrooms
Green montipora frag
Pink Polyps
Pipe Organ Polyps
Yellow green gonipora frag
Yellow Toadstool
Pagoda rock (not cup)

[kau_cinta_ku]

we need a full tank shot. also give me a pm when your ready to frag those zoas. their beautiful.

[vallon]

How much did you pay for this tank?

[Reefmack]

Looks great petes97! I think the sun corals need to be target fed (if I remember correctly), as they aren't photosynthetic - but check on that.

I think you have way too many corals - you better send me a few!

Good luck & keep us posted on the new acquisition.

[WinnipegDragon]

Nice tank Petes!

[Myka]

Originally posted by Reefmack
Looks great petes97! I think the sun corals need to be target fed (if I remember correctly), as they aren't photosynthetic - but check on that.

Yep, you HAVE to target feed the Sun Coral. Each polyp needs to be fed. But watch out they will grow fast if you feed them lots, and then you have twice as many polyps to feed!!! Haha!

I agree with Devil's Hand leather.

[Shagsbeard]

It might just be my monitor, but it looks kind of dark.

[digeetech]

Pretty nice plug and play you aquired! I've had my tanks for awhile now and I don't have as much stuff as you. heheh

[petes97]

Thanks everyone for the comments and questions. Sorry for the delay in getting back. Here are answers, more pictures and specifications.

I'm still planning on rearranging the rock and corals this weekend. I may be offering up some of the corals my wife and I don't care for this weekend.

The zoas are tiny, so it will probably be a while before I have enough to do anything with.



Full tank shot


I paid $1175 for the tank, fish, coral and equipment.

For that price I got:

55 gallon TruVu with stand and canopy
Hamilton 175w and 2 36" VHO retrofit with an extra set of VHO bulbs
1 dual LED moonlight (I've since bought a second one and daisy chained it).
2 power strips and timers
15 gallon acrylic sump
Rio 2500, Rio 2100, Rio 1100, (2) Seio 620s, Rio 1000
CoraLife Turbo twist 9x UV steralizer
Kent Nautulis TE Protein skimmer
Fluval 204 cannister filter
EBO Jagger 150watt heater
Tons of test kits and supplements

I also got all the fish, inverts and coral seen in the tank. I have added nothing to date.

I purchased a JBJ Arctica 1/5 HP chiller for $350 last weekend used from Craigslist, in near new condition.



My sump (kinda messy, I need to clean it up).

I plan on building a larger sump and fuge when I have time and removing the cannister filter, but its been running for 2 years this way, so it works.



Hamilton/PFO/IceCap retrofit



Another full tank shot



Chiller and ballasts (and rats nest of wires)



Picture of both tanks. I'm getting my 2nd replacement for the Red Sea Max tomorrow. This on has a bubble and hair in the glass. The first replacement had something in the glass. Here's to hoping the third unit has quality controlled glass. It has just had a diatom bloom and the Amm/Nitrite/Nitrate levels are all effectively 0.

If anyone is interested in the green brain coral, send me a PM. I have 3 pieces, from 3" to about 5-6" in size.

[drummereef]

Originally posted by petes97
Thanks, I'll read the links in the morning. I've been dosing with Kent ALK and pH buffer and calcium on opposite days to get things where they need to be 8.3 ph - 4 meq/L - 425ppm calcium.

The previous owner dosed weekly with 15ml B-Ionic, so that was my plan. I think a calcium reactor is out of the question until we go larger.

You'll find a 2-part suppliment will be much more advantageous than dosing seperate suppliments like you are currently. There is much less risk of overdose, precipitation, etc... The B-Ionic the previous owner is a fine product. You can also make your own for really cheap. I use Randy's 2-part DIY suppliment. Works great and is super cheap to make/use. The pH buffers are not good for the long term. pH is dealt somewhat seperately. I wouldn't worry about pinpointing your pH numbers. Concentrate on alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium and you'll be fine. The tank looks great, btw!

Use this calculator when dosing any alkalinity, calcium, or magnesium suppliment.

Reef chemicals calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html