Hello everyone

[MI0706]

First time poster here... Actually, I am a newbie to the reef hobby...

I just set up my first tank (actually set up a month ago), here are the specs:

55gal
Penguin 330 bio-wheel
CPR-Bacpak 2 protein skimmer
Custom Sea life PC light setup - 2 10k white, 2 6.5k blue, and moon lights
20 lbs live sand
50 lbs dry sand
40 lbs base rock
50 lbs Marshall island live rock
Water mixture of RO water and Instant Ocean salt
Temp kept at 77F - 78F
SG - 1.024
pH - 8.2
NH3 - 0 ppm
NO2 - 0 ppm
NO3 - 0-5 ppm

I haven't put any "live stock" in it yet. But my next move is to put in some snails and crabs. After that, I will start adding a couple hardy corals at a time. Eventually this will be a fish and coral set up.

On a side note. I live to the west of Indianapolis in Crawfordsville, IN. I've been to Premium Aquatics and they have a pretty good set up. As all here have said, they are very helpful. I bought my live rock through them.

For those who live near Terre Haute, IN, I also personally recommend Inland Aquatics. They are extremely helpful, prices are competitive and their facility is about 5 times the size of Premium Aquatics. This is not taking anything away from Premium Aquatics, this is only a little bit of information for those of us who are budget minded and like to shop around.

 

[Anonymous]

<applause> Great set up! And good job taking your time and getting it right. 8)

The only thing that you don't NEED is the bio-wheel. All that LR and sand will do the trick without the bio-wheel, but then, I have a bunch of rock and sand too and I still use bio-balls.

I envy you because you get to stock a whole new system from scratch. :mrgreen: What will your first corals and fish be?

good luck

 

[MI0706]

The first thing I will put in will be a mushroom (got a friend who will give me one) to see if everything jives in my tank... After that, I have no idea yet what other corals are going to go in... Any suggestions?!?

As for the fish... Saving Nemo was a movie I shouldn't have let my wife watch... :lol: We are going to get two clown fish, I want a blenny, and she also wants a blue tang (we may not get a tang considering the smallish tank size)... She also wants a shrimp or two and one star fish...

I only added the bio-wheel because 1. I read conflicting things on whethere I would need one or not... 2. It didn't cost that much... So I thought I would play it safe and get one... So far, it hasn't been a problem concerning NO3... But I will see how it does...

 

[Anonymous]

Welcome to RDO!!!!

Sounds like you're doing the right thing--taking things slow and learning before you jump in head-first.

 

[Anonymous]

You have a long way to go before your tank is fully stocked, but sinse you're planning for the future, get two shrimp (they come out more if they have a friend) and consider a Kole tang (they are not as pretty as some other tangs, but they are great algae eaters and they don't mind living in a 55gal because they usually stay smaller than most tangs)

Good Luck

 

[MI0706]

I just put in 12 blue leg crabs and 6 snails... Starting to get a real algae boom now (some green, some red, and some brown)... I'll see how these do combating the algae. If they can't keep up, then I will add some more...

Also have another question... I get my R/O water at work... They have a huge R/O filter set up... The only problem I've seen with the water is that it has a pH of 8.3 - 8.5... I understand this is a little too high... Would it be a problem taking this water and neutralizing it to 7.0 and then adding the Instant Ocean salt mix??? Or should I just buy some premade system water for $0.85 a gallon and use it as change out water and top off water?!?

One last thing... With water, what do most people do?!? Mix their own or buy stuff that is already mixed and ready to go, etc...