55 Gallon Reef Tank build

Yea the guy at my LFS seems pretty old school now that I think of it haha.. But I took the fish back so no blood no foul.. I think I'm going to pick up a few more pounds of live rock today or tomorrow.. I found a light less aptasia on the back of one of my rocks which is annoying.. I tried picking rocks from his store that came from tanks with racoon butterflies or peppermint shrimp to avoid the aptasia.. So much for that..
 
25 Day Update


Okay guys sorry I haven't given an update on my system for a while.. I've been super busy with school starting and some other random stuff.. But a couple days ago I tested my Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates and I got zeros across the board.. So the two Chromises I got a little early I put in my cousin's tank until my system finished cycling.. So I put them back in and they're happy and healthy.. I also added a protein skimmer 2 weeks ago and it's pulling out great nice dark skim.. I cleaned my filter sock with hydrogen peroxide and it did a great job braking down all the grime in there.. It's a safe alternative to bleach and doesn't cram your sock full of chlorine.. Anyways it's time to clean it again so that's next on my list of things to do.. I'm starting to get algae growing on the walls of the Refugium.. I don't know if that's good or bad but it's there.. In my main tank I have virtually no algae growing on the glass.. Just a little bit is forming in my overflow box.. I added some more live rock as well.. Despite my best efforts to pick rock without Aptasia, it seems that some of it is growing anyways.. So I'll be adding a Peppermint shrimp to fix that problem... Damn Aptasia..... Other than that I'm having fun and not spending that much money which is a good thing.. Do let me know if you guys notice anything that's messed up or not looking right.. Or if I'm doing anything wrong.. Thanks!!

Tonga Branching
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Damn Aptasia.........
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I have the Protein Skimmer return into the filter sock to stop bubbles.. The filter sock is also covered right now because the guard I made needs to be remade.. So I have a rag there to block any splashing and reduce noise..
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45 Day Update!

Okay so it's been 45 days and everything is still going great! I did my first water change (15 gallons) yesterday with fresh ocean water from 15 miles out (we were Mahi fishing).. I'm growing a ton of algae in my tank (green hair) and Refugium (red hair).. I know its not normal so what am I doing wrong?! Other than that I added 2 clown fish and a scarlet skunk cleaner shrimp who doesn't clean anyone.. I also added 3 turbo snails and I will be adding 25 or so hermits this weekend.. Time for some more live rock too!! These pictures are a day after the water change..


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Green hair algae... What do I do??

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Refugium red algae.. What do I do??

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Hair algae is common in new tanks, but dont let it get out of hand by overfeeding and over stocking your tank. One issue with using natural sea water is that it is so full of little organism that tend to die in our tank without being eaten by filter feeders that they it ends up contributing to algae growth
 
Two month update

Hey guys.. I'm battling this algae and I think I'm winning! I have diatoms on my sand and green hair algae on the rocks.. I did an 18 gallon water change last weekend and brought the feeding down to once a day.. The algae receded a little in the past week! This weekend I did a 10 gallon water change again to hopefully pull some more nutrients out of the water.. Before I changed the water I brought some to my LFS and all my parameters were perfect so I added 24 hermits and 4 smaller snails.. Hopefully the crabs will take car of some of the diatoms. Here's a few pictures of how the tank is looking now.. Oh, and I found one of my clown fish in the filter sock.. It happened during the night so I'm not sure if he died and floated up or he just found his way up there in the dark.. All my other fish seem to be doing fine.. I really need a background -_-

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Sorry about your loss. I normally paint the back of my tanks. Since you cant do that now go get a tape on, will make a world of difference.
 
You paint the outside of the tank. The best way is to use spray paint. Over spray into the water would kill your tank.I paint the tank empty in a well ventilated area. I tape off everything that I dont want painted and then go for it. I did the back two panels of my corner tank. Basically I paint what is against the wall. You can do more if that meets you needs. Either paint or a back ground works. For me I didnt like the back ground because I kept getting stuff between the tank and the back ground. Some people use back grounds and change them when they feel like it.
 
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Dang, I wish I would have done that before filling it up.. Fitting tape to the back of my DT is going to be a real hassle and definitely wont look as good.
 
Yes I don't like the tape on..unless you cut your tape precisely on edge ..and if your tank is not exactly even where the glass is silicones together it is even more trouble to get it to stick..I have taped background on my freshwater and it also is reflective wich I don't like
 
JohnnyDanger said:
Dang, I wish I would have done that before filling it up.. Fitting tape to the back of my DT is going to be a real hassle and definitely wont look as good.
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Been there, dont sweat it now. Work with what you have. This is a hobby after all. Have some fun with.
 
Yea I'll figure it out.. I'm having too much fun with this hobby.. My savings account is getting man handled!! Seems like everything i go to the LFS I walk out with 50-75$ worth of whatever haha..
 
Videos

Here is a video tour of my tank's flow path from the overflow box to the outlet of the return pump.. Hope you enjoy!!


Here's part 1 showing the overflow box.. I took the covers off so it sounds louder than it normally is..



Here's part 2 showing the overflow tube into the drip sock (also has the cover and silencer removed). Also the protein skimmer and first stage wall of my sump refugium..




And here is part 3 showing the refugium and stage walls leading into the return pump. You can also see my outlet from the return pump hard pluming..

 
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