Suggestions getting into corals

How much sunlight is hitting your tank. Might start having algae problems if there is to much.

 

Hey dont knock the plastic's!
They actually sell synthetic anemone's that are so realistic that clowns will host them. Ive been looking to get one, since I have a mating pair of clowns, but have learned my lesson on the risk of owning the real thing!
And kudos to Margie for just adding the plastic to get her fix of color early on, instead of wildly stocking the young tank!:thumb_up:

And you will go into corals, believe me. Everyone does. I started out thinking FOWLR, and am now gearing my tank to be a full blown reef tank. There is a multitude of very easy to keep corals for early on.
As far as books, I dont really know. I have "Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies" and it is horrific. I would highly recommend passing by on that one. This forum should contain all the info you need; it has helped me IMMENSELY, far more than any book ever could.
If you have any questions, just ask! Everyone that I have met here is very friendly and knowledgeable!

 

Oh I understand that! My 55 was green and brown for years. The only color were from my fish and yeah, if you can get an anemone that is fake and clowns will host it, then that is really truly great! Anemone's in the wild live long lives, in our tanks....not a fraction as long.. Too many people do just drop them in without a clue of how to keep them or what they need and they end up dieing!

 

Okay, here's a better photo.


I took out the obnoxious plastics in the center of the tank. But I left in just a little... a girl's got to have SOME color, after all, don't ya think?
;D
I'll be putting drapes on the window soon. I've purchased everything already, just need to install.
Also, I have two Korilina #2's ordered from eBay which should be here in the next few days, so they're not in the tank yet, but will be. I'm planning on placing one on each side.
Any other suggestions from what you see here?
Does it look like a good start to a reef tank?
In the meantime I'll try to surf around for info on easy corals, and guidelines on what they need, how to care for them, etc.
Thanks, and any other tips are greatly appreciated.

 

Welcome to 3reef!

Looks like you are off to a great start. Did you mention a protein skimmer?

 

much better I like the pink and purple! yep I think the orange was scaring people j/k! looks good! are you going to paint the back of your tank or is that a tape on background? I like the way you did your aquascaping! looks good!

 

Thanks so much everyone...
Okay, now as far as stocking the tank goes, does this sound like a good list? Or would that overstock it?

2 Clowns (already in there)
2 Kaudern's Cardinals (pair)
1 Melanurus Wrasse (male)
5 Blue Reef Chromis
1 Watchman Goby
1 Coral Beauty

Plus some soft corals.
I'm guessing that may overstock it, so I'm open to suggestions on what to cut. But would love it if I could add all of them. They are all supposed to be peaceful.

Also, I plan on adding a fish every week or every other week, until it's fully stocked. But what about the Chromis? And the pair or Cardinals? Do I treat the group as one fish? I wouldn't think I'd add one Chromis a week... they're pretty small, and I don't want them to establish dominance with each other if I can help it. I'm adding a group so that they'd school.

Finally, what order would you add everything?

 

I would only do 1 fish at a time, no more than 2 weeks apart. You will probably see an ammonia spike, etc. each time you do. And dont get your hopes up too much about the chromis schooling. More often than not, they will never school in a tank.

 

Honestly, in a 55g reef tank, your fish choices are going to be few. I have a 75g reef. Look at my list in my signature. Notice the overstocking. I am trying to catch four of those fish to return to the LFS to have room for one more and call it good. So you may want to save your "inches of fish per gallon" and skip the chromis school. The Coral Beauty is a pretty good choice, but should be put into an established tank as the last fish. And that is if you want to take the chance. Of the angels, the dwarf angels have the least chance of nibbling on your corals. Mine has been good so far, but it is a crap shoot. And they can change mid stride. Nothing is certain.

Now, let's discuss the lighting you bought. I did the same thing. Bought the same light. Even from the same guy. I was amused when I hit the hyperlink. The fans don't work for nothin'. That set up gets hot as hell. And the light output is not that great. I am not happy with it. I actually had to fix my old lighting setup (got two of the four working) to suppliment the daylight. Sorry to be a bummer on your new purchase, but at least we will be able to feel each other's pain. Again, you can look in my sig also and see what kind of corals I have. They are doing very well under the PCs as long as they are in the top 12 inches of the tank and I keep my ALK up.

Peace.......John.

 

Nice start I would slow up a little but I can only say that because I went fast the first time and well it didn't work out so well. I also started out with a 55 gallon tank and it is a good place to start I think the bigger the tank the more forgiving it will be . I like your fish list but whatever you do add the coral beauty last because she is going to be the most aggressive tankmate and if you put her in first she will bully any later additions. be prepared for the tank to start to look crappy as you cycle brown stuff and so on you have to ride it out it takes time to truly finish the cycle. as far as adding fish I would wait at least a week in between purchases. other than that good luck you are off to a good start now that you have found this site it is incredibly helpful and anything that people say is always with the best intentions.