Brand Newbie

[epstein]

1st off I would like to say this is a great forum you guys have here. I am a Moderator on several forums and can really appreciate a well run community.

I am brand new to the hobby and have always been interested and well I finally was "pushed in teh deep end"

A good friend of mine who has had tanks for yrs gave me an empty 55 gal tank that we set up. It currently is a week old has been established with 4 inch of sand and dead coral bits...A large protien skimmer and a very small hang on filter and 2 intank heaters (1 100w 1 200 w) ..has 40 lbs of live rock and the inhabitants that were given to me were two 4yr old clownfish. After adding numerous hermit crabs and turbos I tested all my levels (They were great) and added 2 blue and gold damsels and a 3 stripe damsel (from petco I know now a mistake)a choclate chip and a purple slug from my newly discovered LFS
all my levels were tested again last night and everything looks perfect.
My question ......I have to keep the clown fish(its part of the deal) The one of the damsels is aggressive toward the other I eventually want to add more live rock and then coral in about 3 mos. How much live rock ?...and what corals do you suggest. I also want to know what hang on filter is rec and is one really needed? What light upgrades do you suggest? I know the damsels may have to go due to aggression and I have the luxury of a great helpfull and friendly LFS.

Once again thanks again I look fwd to being a very active member

Brian

 

[Sk8r]

Welcome!

The Aqua C Remora Pro would be the only one I would recommend. What I would more recommend is setting up a sump via a hang-on downflow box, and putting in an Aqua Pro Urchin Pro, or bigger, with heater, mag 9.5 return pump. Add your rock piece by piece, or you could spike a cycle. See if you can trade for some locally, or find some ready to go in.
That mix of fish actually will get along---kind of a balance of terror and don't discount the clowns: you have an aggressive reef---or will have, when you add coral. Do not plan on an anemone for some time, do not really plan on one if you want corals, and get lps corals that are tough enough to withstand clowns---the frogspawn is one of the best; but wait on that until all live rock is in. You need 15 more pounds of very porous rock, and then you can ditch the filter altogether in favor of just the circulation.
T5 lights would set you up very well.

Mmmm...missed that this is a new re-setup. Test daily for nitrate/ammonia and keep your fingers crossed: have some Amquel on hand in case the ammonia spikes high enough to sicken the fish. Change filters religiously every week. And just be very, very careful about not feeding too much...you'll have a tank that is chemically on the edge: you can nurse it through, given that much live rock, but be very, very careful, and do not stir your sand bed. If you get ammonia, run carbon; if that isn't handling it, the Amquel as a last resort only.

I don't suppose you quarantined the new fish. Watch them carefully for spots and dots. If they don't get ich, you've dodged a bullet.

You should get some cleanup crew in there, too: 1 snail or hermit or bristleworm per gallon, within reason.

HTH.

 

[dileggi]

Welcome and good luck!

First, I would recommend on catching the damsels before adding any more live rock. They can be pretty tough to catch, and even more tough with more rock.

As for the rock, ultimately 1-2 lbs of rock per gallon of water seems to be the general thought, but ideally 1.5-2 lbs per gallon. You can probably just get some live rock and some base rock and seed the base rock with the live rock. That'll probably be easier on your pocket.

AS for the lights and filters, I would rather see someone else post on them. My guess would be t5's or MH lights, but I really don't know what to suggest there.

My question is that you stated the tank has only been running for a week or so. Has it cycled since you have it stocked?

 

[epstein]

The tank was put together and the protien skimmer put on with bacteria that the existing rock and clownfish came from. The protien skimmer is a large one and quite good cause my LFS knew my buddy as a loyal and all of his equipment. I test my levels every other day and like I said everything looks great . I wish I could have gone a little slower but he was leaving for fla for several months and it had to be done like this. Protien skimmer is putting out decent sludge and the fish seem quite happy. Clean up crew consist of 6 turbos 6 hermits a sea urchin, chocolate chip starfish and the purple slug. Im thinking of another choc chip and more hermits.......Im really not looking to replace the skimmer but wonder do I need an additional pump ?
I have 40 lbs of live rock and my lfs has tons of cured live rock Ho much more do you guys think? My goal is colorfull fish with colorfull corals/sponges and a possible rock/landscape design.

 

[dileggi]

It's quite possible if everything was already existing in his tank, you may not have any cycle at all. If you do, it'll probably be very slight. I would suggest on maybe grabbing a bottle of Amquel, if you don't have it already. This is very good in case of an amonia spike.

As for the choc chip stars. Do you have any corals in there? I've never had a choc chip star, but I've read that they will eat corals.

As for an additonal pump, do you mean pump as in filter, or as in more flow?

 

[epstein]

filter........or flow.....Im unsure if I will need existing filtration(in addition to the live rock) or is it just flow I will be in need of.
The way I like to do things is once. So when i upgrade it doesnt have to be the best but I dont want to numerous times.

 

[dileggi]

As for a filter, a lot of people on here say a good skimmer and good flow is all you need. The 1.5-2lb of LR per gallon will be enough of a filter on it's own. I don't know if these people also run any type of reactor's for carbon, phosban etc.

As for flow, I've read that 10-15x's your tank should be the minimum. It depends on what you would want to keep in the tank, but most people like 20-40x's their tank.

One or two things you may want to invest in, if you haven't already are a refractometer to test your salinity. Many people don't trust the hydrometer's because they say they lose their accuracy with salt and lime build up. Another would possibly be an RO/DI unit. Depending on how much and how often you do your water changes, it could be cheaper in the long run to purchase the unit instead of continuously purchasing the water.

 

[epstein]

What about powerheads?

 

[ihopss]

The LR is for the fish,to process the waste so it dose not matter how much water you have ,40Lb of LR will be fine.My wife has 2 damsel's in with a clown and a Yellow tang and they do fine together, the chocolate chip Starfish is not a good specimen with LPS.A good skimmer and enough LR to process the fish poo is a good filter with water changes,I do like my sump/refug though,search here for sump/refug(if) I where you I would add this to what you have now.Lights are like politics or religion so I will not recommend except for ,find what you are looking to add(sps,lps) corals and go from there,you will find alot of thread's her on light's.

 

[dileggi]

Yes to the power heads b/c you will need movement in the water. Depending on what you are keeping...this is where your flow comes in. Most have said that 15-20x's your tank is an absolute minimum, and depending on what you want to keep, some suggest 40x's your tank.

It's probably best to have more than one power head as opposed to one big one. This way, you have options on where to direct your flow.