how many fish is 2 many?

[Chickenparm]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14497818#post14497818 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chickenparm
.... not sure if this 1 is dead or alive i really cant tell it opens up some times and is brown with an orange middle and a cool looking polyp when it opens but for some reason it is always closed :*(

what about this 1? does it seem dead? b/c for some reason it just never opens up :*(

 

[Chickenparm]

for my lighting that i have its not the strongest at all and i am replacing the bulbs within a week. but what do i do about the bleached out montie cap?

 

[jkrentz2515]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14497993#post14497993 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jkrentz2515
Post your water parameters, and what kind of lighting do you have?

answer these questions and we can figure out what your corals aren't doing so hot.

 

[Chickenparm]

well when i test my alk it takes 13 drops for my water to turn yellow and my salt is at the right lvl also but its not all my corls that are doing bad my hammer is doing really well, that green and purple 1 up a few

 

[Chickenparm]

and idk were to look on my light to see which i have, this used to be my brothers tank my tanks the 120g but my bro recently gave him this 100g tanks

 

[Chickenparm]

ok i took some water tests and my No3 is 80, No2 is 0, PH is 8.0 or 8.5 cant really tell, my Alk is around 180 to 240 cant really tell that also, lol its hard to match up the colors on this 5 way test strip. but ya thoes are my water parameters, and i am still trying to see what kind of light i have but idk were to check

 

[Chickenparm]

also i know that i have actinics but still unsure of the name of the light fixture or the brand and idk were to findthat info out

 

[nikon187]

Nitrate at 80 is why your corals aren't doing so well. You want nitrates to be as low as possible ( 0-20 max) Either you have too many fish, are feeding too much or aren't doing enough water changes.

 

[Chickenparm]

well i do a lot of fish...

 

[Chickenparm]

well for the No3 it could of been at 40 its kinda hard to tell and also whats the diffrance between No3 and No2? b/c my No2 is at 0

 

[zack1a]

I want to back up to the mandarin recommendation, if you already have 2 six-line wrasses they are going to wipe out all of your pods. Even if you only had six-line you wouldn't have enough pods to warrant the addition of a mandarin. Personally I think you have maxed out your tank. I probably wouldn't put anymore than that in my 120 but, if you must, I would reccomend adding a Shimp Goby pistol shrimp pair. They don't need much space and are fun to watch.

Judging from your posts I think you may want to reconsider adding anymore life until you do a bit more reading. Even though it's much easy to shoot and ask questions later the hobby is much more rewarding and less disappointing if you research your inhabitants prior to making a purchase. Take your time and it will be less stressful on you and you wallet.

 

[Chickenparm]

ya heheh thanks for the advise, and when u say my tank if full, u mean on fish or corels also?

 

[Chickenparm]

o btw zack1a the tank i have been talking about is a 100g not a 120g i know my sig says 120g but i have 2 tanks and my older brother has a 320g tank aswell so, when some of my fish get to big i will be able to give him some for sell some to my LFS

 

[Chickenparm]

??

 

[jkrentz2515]

With nitrates as high as they currently are corals are going to be very hard to keep alive. Corals hardly add anything to the bioload, but you may have too many fish and not enough skimming/water changes. Some corals require more intense lighting than you currently have and make sure you avoid those. For now I would continue researching about the hobby, and keep up with proper husbandry. Once you see your nitrates drop below about 15 or so then a coral like zoas should be fine to add.

What type of protein skimmer do you have, and how wet are you skimming?
How often do you do water changes / how many gallons and what type of water do you use (RO, RO/DI, tap)?
How often do you feed, what do you feed and how much?

 

[Chickenparm]

frozen food every other day and i do water changes about once a month and from the tap, i also am unsure on my protien skimmer but i do know that i do ahve 1

 

[Chickenparm]

i also, bought some cal buffer to add b/c my cal was a little low, also my nitrates i am trying to get down and the best way 2 do so would be by doing a water change which i am planning on doing within the week, also, besides water changes what eles can i do to lowerthe nitrates? and i know 9 fish is a lot for 100g tank but is to really at the point that 9 is 2 much to handle with out there being constant problems and having my corals lose their colors?, although some of my coals are doing really well, like the hammer 1 that is posted on the 1st page.

 

[jkrentz2515]

Well there are a lot of things to do to lower nitrates. I would invest in a RO/DI unit to get the purest water possible, tap water contains lots of things that can contribute to higher nitrates and increased algae. You can also thaw out your frozen foods and then strain them to get rid of the juice that is in there. With all the fish that you have you really need to be doing more water changes (once a week) and need to have a quality skimmer and keep it clean and efficient.

Your coral lost its color because your lighting is not suitable for that type of coral. There are lots of corals that will do ok with your lighting, but with nitrates the way they are I would advise against adding anything until you get your nitrates under control.
If you are not willing to invest more time and money into this particular tank, I would leave it Fish Only.

 

[BradMugs]

Chickenparm, You scare me. You say you've been doing this for 4 years and you have a 100g and 120g tanks yet you use tap water to mix up your salt for monthly water changes. How often do you top up? Your evaporation has got to be high. Tap water for that too?

You know you have too many fish and one coral doing OK is not all that great.

Do this, read more, do weekly 10% water changes, top up daily and spend your extra livestock money on a RO/DI system. Get a 30+ gal trash can and keep a supply of water around, heck even a small RO system will be able to keep up with your needs, you may have to space maintance between the two tanks out during the week but no big deal.

Also, learn about your equipment. It IS the life support system of your tanks. Throwing more chemicals in just to make up for bad maintance is not the way to do this. Can that skimmer handle your tank size and load? Are your lights correct for your corals? You won't know unless you know what you have.

Sorry about the rant but sometimes..........

 

[MrsHaggis]

My advice to you is to start doing water changes at least once a week to bring down your nitrates and to stop adding corals and fish until you have done a lot more research into reef keeping. If you don't know the difference between nitrates and nitrites (NO3 and NO2) then you need to learn the difference and understand what ALL the water params are and what levels are good and bad and what happens if they are off.