Samantha's 50 Gallon Reef Aquarium

SaltwaterNoob17

SaltwaterNoob17

Reefing newb
Well guys, after much debate, I ended up buying a 50 gallon aquarium and stand. The tank and stand arrive tomorrow, and I plan on breaking down my 46 gallon bowfront and moving everything over to the 50 gallon (which I've decided to place in the living room instead of my bedroom where the 46g has been set-up). I know, I know - I would have saved money by just moving the 46 gallon. However, the 50 gallon will allow me to fit a larger sump in the stand, it is 3" wider (allowing more room for coral growth ;)), and it is 2" shorter so my light will reach the depths of my tank better. Plus, my bowfront has caused me lots of hassle (mainly because it was really hard to fit a sump/fuge under it) - And hopefully this new 50 gallon will allow me to start fresh. I'll keep you all posted with the move! Wish me luck!! :sfish:
 
Okay, making progress! :helm2:

The new 50 gallon is set-up (almost)! I've got a 20 gallon sump in the stand with filter floss, carbon, chemi-pure elite, my Odyssea PS-75 Skimmer, and my Via Aqua 1800 return pump. I've got my Eshopps PF-300 overflow box on the back of the 50 gallon along with my Aquafuge HOB Refugium. The fish and inverts are drip acclimating, and about a third of the LR and corals are in...

Oh! And, I have a Penguin Filter running on the tank to try to clear the water up quicker; It's kinda hard to aquascape when you CAN'T SEE!!! :frustrat:

DSC02987.jpg

DSC02989.jpg
 
All of the LR is in now, as well as the fish and inverts (including corals). Unfortunately, I struggled quite a bit trying to place the LR in the tank, and I managed to smash and/or break a number of corals off of the LR in the process. :grumble: I'm hoping that when the water clears up the damage isn't too bad... :(
 
The water is finally clearing up. The corals seem "OK"; hopefully they'll pull through. Harry (my leopard wrasse) and Chip (my starfish) seem fine; I haven't seen my watchman goby or my cleaner shrimp, though... :sad: I thought I had the LR aquascaped nice and sturdy; however, I was heading off to bed and checking the tank one last time, when I saw that a LR piece had toppled downhill - Luckily it didn't land on any of the corals!! :faint: Hopefully everything stays safe through the night...

Here's an updated FTS pic:
(All of the corals in the sandbed near the perimeter of the tank are the ones that I knocked off the LR while aquascaping...Whoops!:chair:)
DSC02990.jpg


I still have the Penguin Filter running. And, the egg crate top is makeshift from scraps I had laying around; I'm going to cut a new piece to fit the 50 gallon tomorrow.

Still a lot of work cut out for tomorrow. I didn't realize what an adventure this was going to be...:helm2:
 
Pretty much everything is in order now. AND, my GOBY and cleaner shrimp finally appeared!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Today I cut egg crate for the top of the tank, set-up the rest of the sump and HOB fuge, set-up the ATO, and glued down most of the corals - Sadly, I ran out of glue before finishing the rest of the corals... :grumble:

Sump:
DSC02991.jpg

Aquarium:
DSC02992.jpg

Close-Up:
DSC02993.jpg

Current FTS:
DSC02994.jpg

Goby
DSC02995.jpg

Harry
DSC02996.jpg
 
My leopard wrasse keeps swimming in circles around my Koralia. :neutral: He's never done it before, so I'm worried the "move" went to his head or something. I just fed them, and he left the Koralia to get his shrimp bites like normal, but now he's back doing loop-de-loops around the Koralia again. Any guesses why??
 
Your tank looks great, can't wait to see some of those corals start to grow in. Your wrasse will be ok, probably just needs some time to adjust to the new tank
 
Water Parameters before WC:

Salinity: 1.024
Temp: 78
pH: 7.8
Alkalinity: 7dkm
Calcium 420ppm
Nitrates: 5ppm

Did my first WC on the 50 gallon today. Should bring up the Alkalinity and bring down the Nitrates...

Heading to Largo today for some new zoas!! :mrgreen: I'll try to post pics when I can... ;)
 

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