Benj's 50 Gallon Reef

[BenjMD]

This is my first marine aquarium. Feel Free to post comments on how I can improve my aquarium. This is a short write up on how my aquarium evolved within two months.
Take note I am not a patient person so here goes:

Initial Setup


Please do not follow my example. I was impatient that on the second day I added two clown fishes after water parameter testing. Bought 50 lbs of cured rocks and bacteria additives to hasten the cycle.

Started with LPS Corals after a week. Also added a blue hippo tang. Because of my impatience there was a bacterial bloom but thankfully no livestock were lost. They were really hardy.


Additional Pictures


Still with bacterial bloom. Was sales talked in cartimar, I bought a bleached anemone which grew smaller and smaller until I opted to terminate it's life.


First attempt at SPS. (No chiller and inadequate lights) Almost all died. I had great luck with LPS, Soft Corals but it ended here. Also I did not have a sump. I only used a cannister which ultimately lead to an ammonia spike. I used a band aid to rescue the aquarium by throwing in purigen and sea chem sea gel in the cannister.



Hard Head as I am I attempted another Anemone (Heteractis Magnifica). Bit the bullet without knowing how to care for it and upon going home it was the hardest to take care of. (By the way thanks Mike for a very healthy and hardy one)


Miscellaneous pictures:


First time clown hosted anemone


More pictures:


Adding a Sump (Should have done this earlier)
Thanks Hilton for the hang on back overflow, Mang Ramon for the Sump tank


This is now what my aquarium looks like:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlDpjoFaw0M

Anemone (heteractis magnifica) hosting ocellaris
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFI0KEKVQQc

I will be adding more SPS corals in the weeks to come. This is all for now
Thanks to aquareef, Mike, Ghraf11, Ritchie, Mike, Preston

[radj]

wow bro. the fast and the furious!!!

hope everything will go well.

[BenjMD]

I hope it does. I've been monitoring water parameters daily. All is well. But I do have scientific background though.

[yoki]

[BenjMD]

yes tama ka need ng patience. Ito lang kasi ang 2 month gap ko bago bumalik sa work. So minadali. Well sps are coloring up (with the addition of 8 bulb t5s and a chiller). Newbies should not follow my example. I do have coralline growth after 1 month. Having a very new tank with stable parameters kept me on my toes. A good way also for me to be always awake especially now studying for boards.

[yoki]

[BenjMD]

Thanks. Ive been a lurker for sometime and was viewing your tank all the time. It has been one of my inspirations. SPS though is very expensive to maintain. Lucky me I have a small tank and the chiller only works for 3 - 4 hours a day. I have 8 t5 light bulbs and when I've calculated the costs of it per month to give the anemone and the sps what's due them. I never redid the calculation. I'm imagining how much you are spending on your 200gs hehe.

[yoki]

[BenjMD]

I will be investing on an inverter chiller if it does come out. I did buy an external thermostat because hailea chillers tend to kick in and out frequently. I really am still doubting the capacity of LED's if it can sustain the PAR needed before I replace the whole setup and get my money's worth. I've heard a lot of setup using leds and cannot sustain anemones. Because it's still new in the market. T5's are proven to work on SPS. Metal halides are a No-No especially it's in my bedroom. I did invest in a good return pump Eheim compact +. I'll be able to determine my actual bill after 3 - 4 months.

[yoki]

[BenjMD]

ok will observe as of the moment. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. I'll be viewing your tank photos every once in a while so I can get tips on how to grow difficult corals.

[mazach]

Nice tank, puno na, ilang gallons yan sir? That's quite a big anemone you got there..
Btw, good luck on your boards, is it next month?

[BenjMD]

It's only 50 gallons. Yung sa left side na bato balak ko pa punuin ng sps pero wala pa yung supplier ng sps so I'll wait a bit. I dedicated the other half of the aquarium to the heteractis. Doesn't move nor bother any livestock just basking under 8 t5's. Yes board exam is next month.

[Leica]

[alvinbam2728]

nice tank good luck din sa SPS on T5s why not invest on branded LEDs since you have the bucks for a T5 bill and a chiller are you a doctor na rin?