Cali Kid Corals

55g shallow beginner tank ;P

gabloo

gabloo

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Hello Everyone,

I have been thinking about doing this for awhile. The reason I haven't done it yet is because I wasn't sure how this tank is going to turn out and how long this tank is going to last. This is my second tank and the first tank failed very bad and very fast. I didn't like how it turned out and it only lasted 6 - 8 months. So, I was worry that this tank might end up in similar situation.

Around this time last year, I decided to give it a second shot when I saw someone was selling 55 gallon shallow square tank with equipment. I told my gf that i was gonna build fresh water tank ( Iwagumi ) but I knew it wanted a reef tank ;P. Don't tell her please hehe

I am happy with how current tank is maturing but I still have a lot of things to learn/improve in growing coral. My plan is to have SPS dominate tank and hopefully I will get there one day.

Before I start, I want to tank everyone from this forum. Joining Bareef is one of the right decision that I made.

My current setup

55g shallow tank ( 30x 30x 15 )
30g refugium/anemone tank
30g sump
BRS GFO reactor
SWC 160 skimmer
Reefbreeders LED changed the layout ( thanks to @Newjack )
Apex

This is how I setup my tank last year around this time. I was using Metal Halide and 4 T5 back then.



Here are the fish that I started out with. I was lucky that I found Matt who sell fish in San Jose. He QT most of the fish so I don't have to worry about ending up with ich or diseases. Since I live in an apartment, I only have limited amount of space.

 
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Beginning of this year, I went bare bottom setup. Even though I like the look of sand bed, I was a lot happier with BB setup. I can run my power head with any speed that i want, I don't have to worry about build up and I can siphon out detritus a lot easier. I also switched to LED because summer is coming. Apartment + MH is not a good combo at all.

 
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Here is how my tank looks now

Full setup also include QT tank. I am QTing new arrived leopard wrasse right now



Close up look




Since this is shallow tank setup. It can't be complete without top down shot. Yes, I am battling with hair algae. I was a lot worst about 3 weeks ago. I added 10 turbo snail and fire shrimp to handle algae and some left over food. I am thinking about getting small foxface too.

 
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More pics ...

You will notice a few dead/dying sps and chalice. I could be due to my error or some changes that I made to battle hair algae. I added GFO, reduced feeding, bump up the light and H202. I would say it was my error. I over dosed H202. I don't think it does much to algae but it killed quite a few of chalice and sps :(. I still leave them in the tank and hoping that they will recover.






 
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That is a very interesting size for a tank that's only 55g, 30x30x15 I'm guessing that was a custom frag tank or something? May be a little short to really enjoy from the side, but as a top down tank would be perfectly good (although the reflection could get annoying.
 
Coral reefer said:
Get a tuxedo urchin for the algae. Go face way to big for that tank.
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Ya. I thought about it but I have acrylic tank. I will see how my snail handle the situation first before i go that round. So far they are doing decent job. I will look for very tiny one if I get one tho. Thanks for advice tho!

sfsuphysics said:
That is a very interesting size for a tank that's only 55g, 30x30x15 I'm guessing that was a custom frag tank or something? May be a little short to really enjoy from the side, but as a top down tank would be perfectly good (although the reflection could get annoying.
Click to expand...

I believe it is custom tank. I got it as used so don't know the story behind it. You are right, side view is not as good as top down view.
 
Oh my bad. Yeah you only want urchin in glass tanks. Looking pretty good. Hope you find a bigger tank for you to live in though, looking pretty crowded in that room!
 
Coral reefer said:
Oh my bad. Yeah you only want urchin in glass tanks. Looking pretty good. Hope you find a bigger tank for you to live in though, looking pretty crowded in that room!
Click to expand...

Is this because urchins can't climb acrylic? How about snails?


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