Reef tank setup

My goal is to one day get salt-water tank placed in the wall of my hallway.  I know it is a grand expenditure.  

Go ahead and shoot down my aspirations and give me some estimate ranges on a 55-gallon setup.
The cost will be in the lighting and live rock. I have about $1500 invested in my 36. What you don't see in the pics is the full sump/refugium and other equipment under the stand! If I was going to keep it, I would spend about another $500 on Metal Halide lighting but I'm going with a larger set up. You can set up the basic tank and add Live Rock as funds permit. That's what I've been doing. Right now between the 36 gal, 18 gal and my sump, I have almost enough live rock to fill a 90gal. When I'm ready I will only have to buy the tank, stand an lighting and I'm ready to go.
 
Awesome FL!!!  What a hitchhiker?!  Why is it that I always get the unwanted hitchhikers that destroy my livestock?!  
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I've ordered from TB Saltwater in the past; good place...
Yah! I've actually had two of them. They are cool but totally wiped out my cleaning crew, several time over. It took weeks to finally catch both of them. It set my tank back several months in development. Pulling out all the liverock does no good, they get inside and hide really well!!!
 
I actually have 4 more things that I did not have pictured. My buddy gave me a frag of a purple finger leather and a green finger leater. His flower pot coral is huge and it split, so he gave me the small one and then cut off a piece of the xena. Every thing is doing pretty well.
 
Rich,

My tank is maxed out. My bio load is OK but I just plain ran out of space for any new corals or critters. My bubble tip anemone is HUGE, I may end up giving it away. I'll post a recent picture soon. If I had a tank the size of yours I'd be critter shopping and draining my bank account!!!
 
My goal is to one day get salt-water tank placed in the wall of my hallway.  I know it is a grand expenditure.  

Go ahead and shoot down my aspirations and give me some estimate ranges on a 55-gallon setup.
The cost will be in the lighting and live rock.  I have about $1500 invested in my 36. What you don't see in the pics is the full sump/refugium and other equipment under the stand! If I was going to keep it, I would spend about another $500 on Metal Halide lighting but I'm going with a larger set up.  You can set up the basic tank and add Live Rock as funds permit. That's what I've been doing. Right now between the 36 gal, 18 gal and my sump, I have almost enough live rock to fill a 90gal. When I'm ready I will only have to buy the tank, stand an lighting and I'm ready to go.
I hear ya. I spent all kind of money on the sump/refugium/lighting/skimmer. I got a retro kit that has 2 250 metal halides and 2 96 watt 50/50 atinics, then I added my own leds for the "Moon Light". That set me back and then the 100lbs of dead rock/100lbs or live rock, 100lbs of dead sand, 40lbs of live sand. The miracle mud for the refugium. I am not sure how much I am into it. I actually put it into the "Media Niche" the was that my living room is setup I was not going to use it anyways. So once I get the cabinets done it will look like it is built into the wall
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Rich,

 My tank is maxed out.  My bio load is OK but I just plain ran out of space for any new corals or critters.  My bubble tip anemone is HUGE, I may end up giving it away.  I'll post a recent picture soon.  If I had a tank the size of yours I'd be critter shopping and draining my bank account!!!
That bubble tip anenome is awesome. I want to get a bubble tip and/or a rose anenome, and a pair of gold bar maroon clowns.  My lady is about to kick my but if I keep spending money on it.  I am done for a little while (after the cabinets that is).  Next is finishing the backyard and then adding little my little.  I would like to get a couple more corals and fish.  Then get all sorts off pollups and mushrooms through out the tank.



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Heres one of the orange spotted watchman gobies.  I have a pair.
It's SpongeBob!  That's what my kids named ours...

So, how old is the setup?  Just get the live rock?  Questions, questions!!  You get that thing going, and we'll exchange frags for free!  I've got tons of frags; just broke up my candy cane coral because it's going nuts...
That is one coral that I want to get (candy cane coral)
 
Hey Wag, technology probably hasn't changed much, but my husband did come up with an great way to do water changes...

He had a hole drilled in the bottom right side of the tank, toward the back...put a ball valve on there, then took the piping and plumbed it in to our house plumbing...to do a water change, I just flip this valve open, drain water out, then use a pump and hose to pump in the newly made salt water...takes about 5 minutes to do a water change now...

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Sounds like a nice setup. I have to run my big hose from the top and drain then hook the hose up to a pump to pump in the water from the the trash can (holds the RO water).
 
Hmmm saltwater...someday maybe...but for now I have 4 tanks, 2 with Koi in them. I love my Koi, they are very friendly fish, they love attention.
 
Hmmm saltwater...someday maybe...but for now I have 4 tanks, 2 with Koi in them. I love my Koi, they are very friendly fish, they love attention.
I have another tank (a 125 fresh) I have a 18" Arowana, 6" Midas, 7" Oscar, 7" Manguense, A breeding pair pike, 6" buttekoferi.  I will add some pics tomorrow.



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Awesome pics. My dad has a 125 gallon salt water in the hallway in the house and it is awesome. I keep trying to get him to go ahead and get some live rock, we used to have a bunch when we lived in Florida, but it is truly a lot of work to keep it running correctly.
 
Rich,

My Bubble Tip is about the largest one I've seen that hasn't split. The clown brings it food and actaully over feeds it. It's about 10" across and can almost span the width of the darn tank!! I need to get a bigger tank in the works ASAP!!

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This is the "earthmover"

This guy will turn over the sand bed 3 times per day in the 36. Kind of makes a mess but the sand bed is always spotless, we love him anyway
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My first attempt at fragging.  I cut this piece off my large hammer coral and put it in my nano.  After about a month, it's doing fine.  The hairy legged crab is another hitchhiker.  He behaves so he stays!!



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This is the "earthmover"

This guy will turn over the sand bed 3 times per day in the 36. Kind of makes a mess but the sand bed is always spotless, we love him anyway
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That is cool, kind of reminds me of the gobies that I have they turn the sand over like crazy. Mine stays pretty clean. I really like the bubble anenome.
 
My first attempt at fragging.  I cut this piece off my large hammer coral and put it in my nano.  After about a month, it's doing fine.  The hairy legged crab is another hitchhiker.  He behaves so he stays!!
My hammer head is pretty big but I am not sure if I want to split him. How would you split them? I have heard with a sharp chissel.
 
My first attempt at fragging.  I cut this piece off my large hammer coral and put it in my nano.  After about a month, it's doing fine.  The hairy legged crab is another hitchhiker.  He behaves so he stays!!
My hammer head is pretty big but I am not sure if I want to split him.  How would you split them?  I have heard with a sharp chissel.
I had a local reefer show me how to do most of the soft corals. I use a flat, tupperware dish about half full of aquarium water for the "operation". Mushrooms are easy, just cut them mid stalk and stick the top in a new location with a toothpick. After about a week, the stalk will grow a new top, the top will attach and grow normally and spread. I don't think I've killed one yet.

Hammer and Frogspawn is easy too. I just cut through the soft tissue with an exacto knife and then split the lower, hard portion with an old knife. Once to take it out, it looks kind of like cauliflower, you should be able to see where it's best to separate. I used crazy glue gel to attach mine in its new location. It works under water with a little practice!! You might want to buy a bunch of live rock chuncks to attach the frags to. That makes things easier. I keep my spare chunks in the sump.

Good luck!!
 
My first attempt at fragging.  I cut this piece off my large hammer coral and put it in my nano.  After about a month, it's doing fine.  The hairy legged crab is another hitchhiker.  He behaves so he stays!!
Oohhh..that little guy reminds me of my little hitchhiker that turned in to a BIG monster...

SHE tore up my tank...I had no idea that I'd lost my turbo snails to her until I bought a dozen or so, dumped 'em in the tank and then she came out, grabbed two and carried 'em in to a cave...she was eating 'em like candy! We tore the tank up trying to get her...

I gave her back to the guy I bought live rock from; she must have hitched a ride on that...

Here she is, taunting me days before I got her out...she looked like yours, just black...so, watch him!

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