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my 55g
- Thread starter fishboy12
- Start date
Looks pretty good 
Congratz on the set up.
The hardest part from here on is remember to be patient... Only bad stuff seems to happen fast in this hobby
~Nick
Congratz on the set up.The hardest part from here on is remember to be patient... Only bad stuff seems to happen fast in this hobby
~Nick
Nothing wrong with that, Just make sure the fish you get are reef safe, if you plan on going reef or keeping the fish.
I've only got 2 damsel fish which i've been trying to get rid of for awhile :-\ lol but if i can ever catch them, I had planned on getting a dwarf angle, a pair of clownfish, a fire fish and maybe a wrasse. That IMO has a show fish, the angle, and a few colorful fish. But you might wanna try looking on like www.liveaquaria.com and see what fish you like and then see if you can keep them together.
I hate to say it but a 55gal is to small for a hippo tang Tangs are open water fish which a 55gal doesn't provide for them. Everything else would be fine. As for an anemone, The clowns will find it ether way.
Good luck,
~Nick
EDIT, Hmm I'm not sure but i believe if you get 2 types of clowns they might fight :-\ I'm not 100% sure on that though.
Tangs are open water fish which a 55gal doesn't provide for them. Everything else would be fine. As for an anemone, The clowns will find it ether way. Good luck,
~Nick
EDIT, Hmm I'm not sure but i believe if you get 2 types of clowns they might fight :-\ I'm not 100% sure on that though.
fishboy12 said:
The recommendation is to wait and only put anemones into mature tanks (at least 9-12 months). They are not the easiest thing to take care of.
Slow down. Get some rock and sand in your tank and let it cycle (at least a month). Buy a test kit. Learn how to use it. Read as much as you can. Once the tank has cycled, then consider some inverts. Build slowly! Saltwater is not an instant tank. The slower you go, the greater the chance of success.
yep - resist the urge to rush and get stuff. We all do impulse buys but saltwater tanks make you regret it as there's nothing like seeing a prized possession croak on you.
the black/white clowns are the same species as the Amphiprion ocellaris - but I believe they are tank-bred to be that color. I could be totally wrong. Anyways - you could conceivably have both together. The order by which you load your tank should be "least aggressive" to "most aggressive".
Note that size does not always equal aggressiveness.
With a 55 - I'd first be on the look out for LR. Have you purchased a RODI yet? If not then you want to think about what LFS you will go to to buy your water. You'll need saltwater to start, and then as the water evaporates, fresh RODI water to topoff.
If you have the money, I'd first invest in a good book. I list a bunch here. I've read all of them except Reef Aquarium Vol3 - still in shrinkwrap...going to get to that. You don't have to go and get all of them like I did - I'm a bit of a bookworm. Maybe go to and LFS and leaf through a few, or perhaps find a reefer who can loan you one. Perhaps even the library has one.
Anyways - before any fish go in the tank- read up, consider the water situation, then try and get some LR, powerheads, heater, perhaps if you're worried about blackouts, some kind of powerback up. Oh man the list goes on and on.
But if you have christmas money - maybe a skimmer is something to consider!
the black/white clowns are the same species as the Amphiprion ocellaris - but I believe they are tank-bred to be that color. I could be totally wrong. Anyways - you could conceivably have both together. The order by which you load your tank should be "least aggressive" to "most aggressive".
Note that size does not always equal aggressiveness.
With a 55 - I'd first be on the look out for LR. Have you purchased a RODI yet? If not then you want to think about what LFS you will go to to buy your water. You'll need saltwater to start, and then as the water evaporates, fresh RODI water to topoff.
If you have the money, I'd first invest in a good book. I list a bunch here. I've read all of them except Reef Aquarium Vol3 - still in shrinkwrap...going to get to that. You don't have to go and get all of them like I did - I'm a bit of a bookworm. Maybe go to and LFS and leaf through a few, or perhaps find a reefer who can loan you one. Perhaps even the library has one.
Anyways - before any fish go in the tank- read up, consider the water situation, then try and get some LR, powerheads, heater, perhaps if you're worried about blackouts, some kind of powerback up. Oh man the list goes on and on.
But if you have christmas money - maybe a skimmer is something to consider!
I second the importance of taking it slow and reading as much as possible . If your local library is short on reef books they can order just about any book you wish . It usually takes a few days for another library to ship it to them . Its a great way to keep busy while waiting for the tank to cycle . Good luck !
well, i got water and crushed coral in her. she looks great i also got the room painted. wow i had an adventure putting the filter together. first it had poor suction. then it spit water all over me. then i go back to the store to get a new part it was missing but then i find out its not needed cause the instructions are the same for all the sizes. wow the water has been in for 20 hrs. and it is finally clearing up. pics soon probably later tonight.
No Fish! Your tank has not cycled. Wait. If you get live rock, put that in...it will be part of the cycle.
Buy a test kit...that's your next step.
Buy a test kit...that's your next step.
looks like you need to invest in some lemon pledge for that poor dresser!
you are ready for live rock and a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. phosphate and calcium are good to have too, but you don't really need to worry about those just yet.
don't rush to get the light up and on. rocks don't need light. you'll only be wasting bulb life and electricity. get as much LR as you can afford/fit in the tank and start arranging, then start monitoring your cycle with the test kit.
you are ready for live rock and a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. phosphate and calcium are good to have too, but you don't really need to worry about those just yet.
don't rush to get the light up and on. rocks don't need light. you'll only be wasting bulb life and electricity. get as much LR as you can afford/fit in the tank and start arranging, then start monitoring your cycle with the test kit.
Edwardw771
NJRC Member
Hey we were just talking about you at Jen's office party. Glad to see you got the tank. The cheapest place to get live rock around here is The Hidden Reef. just over the Bridge in PA. I'd say about 50 pounds is a good start. Its $2.89 a pound. Let me know if your parents will not let you swing that. I'll hook you with a few peices to get you started.