My 55 gallon

[mac1gt]

I'm new to this site but it looks great so far.
Here is my 55 gallon tank I got for Christmas it has be up for around 2 months, had some ups and downs but I think it's all leveled out now.
This I my first tank. Let me know what you thing, there's alot more work to be done.

-gt

[Pineapple House]

Looks good so far.

Here are my comments:

1. You have a large colony of what looks like to be a table Acropora. I Personally, your tank is way too young to be housing such corals. Your tank is only 2 months old. You should really be waiting until your tank is around 7 months old before getting into the large Small Polyp Scleractinians. They will require a mature tank to thrive. In a young tank, your water conditions are still trying to stable. It can take up to 7 months to full sustain even the smallest bio load (even though corals don't contribute too much to the bio load). I personally wouldn't keep stocking the tank with Stoneys this fast :)

2. I can also see you got the 'Orange Linkia' or the 'False Linkia' up in the top of the tank. Again, your tank is way too young for these kinds of creatures. They will all need very mature tanks. Linkia starfish (even though the Orange linkia is not a ture linkia starfish) will need a very specific diet, which is not found in new tanks. They will seem to feed on algal films that develope in the tank, which only developes in very aged tanks.

Regardless,
It does look like a very nice tank! So far, from what I see, your inhabitants do look quite healthy. Could we get some specs on your tank (Lighting, Filtration, all inhabitants, etc.) Just remember to go slow in this hobby. It all comes down to patience. Adding things that do not do good in new tanks can turn out aweful.

Graham

PS. Welcome to Reeflounge.com! Hope to see you around the board! :-D

[Mikeaveli21]

Sweet looking tank. Gives me hope for my 55 when its time to fix it up. Look forward to seeing more of it.

[RazerCorals]

Nice tank, in the top right is that a corner CPR in tank refugium? and do you use it as a quartine?

[mac1gt]

No, it the overflow box for my wet/dry.

[reefrunner]

You have a large colony of what looks like to be a table Acropora

It is also oriented wrong. Table acro shoule be pointed straight up and as level as possible.

[mac1gt]

It's not alive, it was dead when I put it in, just put it there when nothing else was in the tank. It's about to go.

[reefrunner]

It's not alive, it was dead when I put it in, just put it there when nothing else was in the tank. It's about to go.

LOL, OK thanks for the clarification, the tank looks great!!

[mac1gt]

Can anyone help me ID these things in my tank, I think I have been given the wrong names on some of them.
Any help would be appreciated.

As you can see I really new to this, kinda jump into it to quick now I'm trying to correct things.

Thanks!

[mac1gt]

More

[mac1gt]

Last Ones,
Thanks again for the help.

-gt

[RazerCorals]

3-aptasia 5-clarkii clownfish 6-pom-pom xenia

[on_fire_8]

Pictures 1 and 2 I believe are a anenome, but I am not sure what type.
Picture 3 is aiptasia, you dont want these in your tank. Inject them with a kalkwasser paste.
Pic 4 Zooanthids, and some beautiful ones I must say.
Pic 5 is a Clarkii clown, if that was what you were trying to ID
pic 6 pulsing xenia, looks healthy
pic 7 green star polyps, also look healthy
pic 8 majano anenomes, you dont want these either, use the same method you used on the aiptasia to get rid of them.

[mac1gt]

Thanks for the help to both of you,
what about the 2 that need to go, what will they do and should i remove the rock and pick them off?

[RazerCorals]

Mix kalk and inject them.

[on_fire_8]

You can go to a local vet and get a serenge. Then mix kalkwasser with scalding hot water. Inject it into the center of them. Works like a charm.

[pete_ra]

dude, nice tank! your corals look good. That tank looks like it has good potential. Listen to pinnaple house. I have a 46 that i wish had as much room as your. what lighting and other specs in ur tank?

[mac1gt]

I have VHO lighting 4ft bulbs
Wet/Dry with skimmer

[sinasster]

forget trying to pick them off, youll just rip it apart. Than you will end up with more.

They need to go cause they are super hardy, and fast spreading. They are agressive and will sting and kill your prized corals

[mac1gt]

i well inject them tomorrow.

thanks for the info.

javascript:emoticon(':D')

[pete_ra]

what is kalkwasser? i need it.

[mac1gt]

Not sure what it is, but the LFS guy gave me some to try.
It was made by "Kent".

I'll let you know if it works.

[Mikeaveli21]

Pete_ra,

Just run a search on it and you'll find some info. In a nutshell it's calcium hydroxide and it provides the needed Calcium for your inhabitants plus helps stabalize your pH. But the biggest thing you need to watch is the rate at which you dose it. If you dose it too fast, then you'll have a pH spike, sending your fish etc.. into shock. Good luck.

[pete_ra]

what do you mean dose it too fast

[Mikeaveli21]

what do you mean dose it too fast

You need to add the kalk to your tank slowly, often using a drip method. This all depends on the size of your tank of course. A 200 gal can handle a higher rate of administration than a 55 gal. I know kent makes a drip device, which is basically a plastic bottle connected by plastic tubing to a drip chamber (about $30 where I live). You can always take the DIY path as well.

HTH

[RazerCorals]

I truly don't believe that kalk needs to be dripped. When I add mine I shoot in a couple shots from a turkey baster. I've had 0 problems. Plus the dripper can be a pain sometimes. Please don't but a Kent Marine Kalkwasser Dripper it sucks.

[Mikeaveli21]

I was referring to it as top off, not just to add it. If I add a few gallons of RO/DI with kalk all at once then it might shock em. :shock:

[Salt Creep]

Not sure what it is, but the LFS guy gave me some to try.
It was made by "Kent".

When you run out of the Kent stuff, you can get some pickling lime and use that because it's pretty much the same thing at a fraction of the price. I use Mrs. Wage's pickling lime on my tank and it works pretty well. A lot of supermarkets carry it only during the canning season but you can get it online at http://store.yahoo.com/mrswages/mrswagpiclim.html

Ken

[Mikeaveli21]

Saltcreep, how do you figure out how much pickling lime you need ? For example, with the kent kalk I would just follow the directions listed to make a mix. But with the pickling lime I wouldn't know how much of it to mix. Assume this is my first experience with this stuff. Would it be better to use kent first then switch to pickling lime? Thanks.

[pete_ra]

can my kent marine essentially elements be used just like kalkwasser

[Salt Creep]

Mikeaveli21,

You can use it just like the Kent stuff, it's pretty much the same. I use about a tablespoon per gallon of fresh water, plus around a teaspoon of white vinegar added to help the calcium dissolve.

pete_ra,

I don't think Kent Marine's Essential Elements can't be used in place of kalkwasser, but I've never even seen the ingredients yet. As far as I know, they're trace minerals, which have to be kept at trace levels. You can't use it as makeup water like you do with kalkwasser, and it's probably best to add it separately rather than to the kalkwasser because it might react with the high pH and high calcium level.

Ken

[Ty_05_F]

#1 is not an anemone its a Long tentacle plate coral :D

[Ty_05_F]

#1 is not an anemone its a Long tentacle plate coral :D

[Fishmonger]

I don't think there is any real replacement for kalk, i'm ordering in some new liquid stuff, but thats to add on top of my kalk to bring it up, the kalk is a maintainer and a good one at that