Location
New York
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thanks for the tips roy, very helpful. I think I'll wait on a coral setup for a while, I want to do it right and make sure I'll be staying in that apt for a while.

I did a 10% water change last night, also added about 20lbs of live rock and took out some dead rock. Total is around 50lbs live and 10-15 of dead. I had to add 2 fish as well (clown and tang) due to an emergency with a friend.


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This is how the tank looks now, any advice on the picture showing the tank leaning back slightly? To be honest I can't imagine being off a degree or two would really mess it up, also not sure how to fix it at this point.
 

njreefer

Experienced Reefer
Location
West Orange, NJ
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+1 on getting a better filtration system, protein skimmer is a must for 30 gallons and above i think. A hang on one would be ok for fish only.

Also those decorative corals you have in there will get pretty dirty with the other live rock you have and the algae that will start to grow. They won't stay white for sure.
 

Awibrandy

Old School Reefer
Location
Far Rockaway
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Hope you have invested in an ro/di! You may think (like I did) that they are only fish, they can handle the tap water. True as long as you treat it with a good water conditioner that does not lock up ammonia, nitrates, and such because you then will not get accurate test results.
But much more important is the fact that all your lovely live rock is sitting there absorbing all the phosphates from the tap water. Once you decide to go reef, you will regret not have gotten the ro/di from the beginning as it will take a long time before you rid your lr of all the phosphate. High phosphates will cause you to have algae problems, as well as inhibit certain corals from living or thriving in your tank.;)

There are many different RO/DI units out there. Do your homework, and you will find one you like, and is affordable.

I also agree that you should have a protein skimmer on your tank. It will help greatly with your bioload.;)
 
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Hello,

Sorry crazy busy work week (nearly 100 hours). So if I disappear im at my desk in a mess :)

So for plumbing I wrote a DIY article that should really help you with everything.
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum...ific-list-parts-required-build-sump-tank.html

It tells you all of the parts you need , where to order them, and how much the cost. It took me several months to find all this information. So hopefully that sorts you out.

More specifically what is your problem? You shouldn't still be cycling by now. It took me about 4 months with is long but a year! Try a trick.... give your tank a couple vodka shots. It breaks nitrates. do it over the course of a week... thats how I finished cycling my tank getting nitrates to zero.

If you dont have a skimmer - you should consider it extremely strongly. If you dont have a sump tank you should consider that too because if your skimmer ever overflows you want it to overflow into your sump - not onto your floor. The skimmer for a 50 gallon should actually be rated for 65 gallons (because your sump will be about 10-15 gallons of water) and should cost $80'ish.

If you dont have an RO/DI you should check out bulkreefsupply.copm. I got their stage 5 system (basic) and its absolutely great. I think it was about $150.

Overall I know the RO/DI, Sump (plumbing), and Skimmer should set you back btwn 350 and 500 which isn't easy month to just come by. But my advice would be to build the sump first. This will take you about a month and cost you about $150 - $300 depending on how many used part you can get online here. Just adding the sump, more live rock to it, and getting macro algae into your tank will be a big help. The skimmer you can then chuck in for about $80 and will be a MASSIVE step in breaking nitrate. Then having a pure water system is an extremely important #3. All of this will make your worries go away. It did for me.

Like I said just focus your time and money on building the sump. While your building it try to sock away another $80 for the Skimmer. Continually check the posts here for a used one being sold. People part with these small skimmers for as little as $30.

I don't really advise buying an RO/DI system used as all the filters in the kit could be "used" meaning you'll buy a $150 for $70 thinking you got a deal and then you'll have to spend $50 buying all new filters and then you'll realize that saving that small margin of cash wasn't worth it.

I hope all these tips help... it's all I really got.
 
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Here are some photos that give you the "big picture"

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I hope this helps.
 

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