Hi everyone, newbie reefer here. I've always been fascinated by the ocean and love the idea of having a little slice of it at home. I have a 55 G All-in-one mixed reef that I started in November of 2023. This is my first tank since my freshwater tank I had as a kid. This hobby has been so satisfying not with out hardship, but overall I'm loving it.
Build Thread 55 G AIO Reef
- Thread starter Jdlc
- Start date
Dec 9 Update
Learned that 2 heaters is better than one during the winter. I remember this is when I lost my clowns due to a dip in the tank tempature.
I left the windows in the living room open while I was away for work. Came home around 11:30 pm that night and the ambient tempature in the room dropped the tank temp to 71 from 80.
Added a second heater
Later that week introduced a flame angel and lawnmower blenny.
Learned that 2 heaters is better than one during the winter. I remember this is when I lost my clowns due to a dip in the tank tempature.
I left the windows in the living room open while I was away for work. Came home around 11:30 pm that night and the ambient tempature in the room dropped the tank temp to 71 from 80.
Added a second heater
Later that week introduced a flame angel and lawnmower blenny.
Attachments
Feb Update
February was a good month. The tank was thriving. I had my desired fish [at the time haha] all in the tank. I was done stocking the fish and was now on the hunt for torches and hammers. At this point the total stock of the tank was:
Flame Angel
2 Red firefish
2 Purple firefish
2 Green Chromis
1 Purple eye Anthia
1 Target Mandarin
1 Blue Damsel
1 Lawnmower Blenny
Inverts:
2 small emerald crabs
6 small hermit crabs
2 mexican snails
2 turbo snails
1 peppermint shrimp
1 conch
February was a good month. The tank was thriving. I had my desired fish [at the time haha] all in the tank. I was done stocking the fish and was now on the hunt for torches and hammers. At this point the total stock of the tank was:
Flame Angel
2 Red firefish
2 Purple firefish
2 Green Chromis
1 Purple eye Anthia
1 Target Mandarin
1 Blue Damsel
1 Lawnmower Blenny
Inverts:
2 small emerald crabs
6 small hermit crabs
2 mexican snails
2 turbo snails
1 peppermint shrimp
1 conch
Attachments
March Update
By March I had discovered a second LFS. This one seemed to have a large selection of fish and the staff was friendly. Don't get me wrong the people at this LFS are nice and helpful however looking back I see how they were driven a little more by making sales.
Anyway I purchased my green chromis from them. One died a day later. And the second seemed to be doing ok until the end of the month I noticed he was swimming strangely.
I added some additional rockscape this month to make additional space for more corals.
I was very happy to add a dragon soul torch, green frogspawn, and yellow tip hammer.
LPS corals looking beautiful.
By March I had discovered a second LFS. This one seemed to have a large selection of fish and the staff was friendly. Don't get me wrong the people at this LFS are nice and helpful however looking back I see how they were driven a little more by making sales.
Anyway I purchased my green chromis from them. One died a day later. And the second seemed to be doing ok until the end of the month I noticed he was swimming strangely.
I added some additional rockscape this month to make additional space for more corals.
I was very happy to add a dragon soul torch, green frogspawn, and yellow tip hammer.
LPS corals looking beautiful.
Attachments
April Update
Green chromis seemed to be making a recovery. Swimming in corners mostly, but very active while I'm feeding.
Lost a purple firefish, sad day. Had a pinched belly when I pulled him out. Fins were banged up. My guess he was bullied and stressed enough to affect the appetite.
Added a 24k Torch and I'm in love with it.
Corals doing good overall.
Green chromis seemed to be making a recovery. Swimming in corners mostly, but very active while I'm feeding.
Lost a purple firefish, sad day. Had a pinched belly when I pulled him out. Fins were banged up. My guess he was bullied and stressed enough to affect the appetite.
Added a 24k Torch and I'm in love with it.
Corals doing good overall.
Attachments
May Update
Chaos and decimation.This has been the most difficult month by far. I believe that my biggest mistake was introducing a Purple Tang. I know I know "Purple Tangs don't belong in a 55g tank" hindsight is 20/20.
I visited the 2nd LFS and saw the tang for sale. I asked the shop owner if it would be a good fit (mind you I've been coming here since March) and he said yes. I know I should have done my own research before hand, however my 1st LFS had never steered me wrong so I figured the 2nd wouldn't either.
Well I took the Purple Tang home acclimated and introduced what I planned to be the last addition to my display.
The first week was smooth.
Week2
My Anthia died. It caught me off guard because he was swimming fine and eating regularly. No pinched belly. But the tail was nipped up so I suspected the tang. 2 days later i found my Green Chromis dead in the same condition.
Week4
The weekend I was away for work. My roommate watched my tank for the weekend and maintained the routine, minus my weekly water change. Came home Sunday night to find my Red Firefish and Target Mandarin pretty banged up. I caught the Mandarin in a breeder box hoping he would recover but he did not. Neither did the firefish. To top it all off the Purple Tang was now covered in Ich!
I scrambled to find a solution. I went to my 1st and now only trusted LFS store for help. I picked up some medications and got to work remedying the situation.
Chaos and decimation.This has been the most difficult month by far. I believe that my biggest mistake was introducing a Purple Tang. I know I know "Purple Tangs don't belong in a 55g tank" hindsight is 20/20.
I visited the 2nd LFS and saw the tang for sale. I asked the shop owner if it would be a good fit (mind you I've been coming here since March) and he said yes. I know I should have done my own research before hand, however my 1st LFS had never steered me wrong so I figured the 2nd wouldn't either.
Well I took the Purple Tang home acclimated and introduced what I planned to be the last addition to my display.
The first week was smooth.
Week2
My Anthia died. It caught me off guard because he was swimming fine and eating regularly. No pinched belly. But the tail was nipped up so I suspected the tang. 2 days later i found my Green Chromis dead in the same condition.
Week4
The weekend I was away for work. My roommate watched my tank for the weekend and maintained the routine, minus my weekly water change. Came home Sunday night to find my Red Firefish and Target Mandarin pretty banged up. I caught the Mandarin in a breeder box hoping he would recover but he did not. Neither did the firefish. To top it all off the Purple Tang was now covered in Ich!
I scrambled to find a solution. I went to my 1st and now only trusted LFS store for help. I picked up some medications and got to work remedying the situation.
