New 55 gallon tank and some inquiries -Try number 2

[chanceafrance]

I'm just going to dive in with a thousand and one questions. I jumped in with little money and less experience, but everyone's gotta start somewhere"¦ right? Things are going well so far. Feel free to add your critiques.


55gal
Amm 0 Nitrite 0 Nitrate 5
Gravity 1.025
Calcium ~500ppm
Alk ~1000
Temp 76-81 F I've heard this is just fine and this a terrible fluctuation. My Aqueon 200w heater doesn't do any better.


Dosing SeaChem phytoplankton (one capful twice a week) to promote the copepod population (no terrible algae problems yet, I don't turn my skimmer off so maybe nothing is happening?)


I filled the tank with Reef Crystals and Minneapolis tap water in late September. No problems with the water or algae blooms so far. I've been using Petco seawater at $2 a gallon for weekly 5gal water changes to avoid buildup of tap water impurities. Anyone know anything about Petco tap water? I read it's from too close to shore in Cali to be very good, but I'm in Minnesota so I'm not sure.


I'm running a Seaclone100 protein skimmer, and I understand that it sucks. I already returned the first one within the two month return policy, and will be doing so again in another two months. Hopefully I'll have the funds to upgrade by then. In addition I have a 150GPH water pump that I aim willy-nilly. I hear off the glass is best, but my pump isn't that powerful so maybe more of a direct blast?


Lights, hear me out. I only have button polyps and colt coral, so it's not that important right? Anyway, I'm running two 36watt full spectrum T5 flourescents 12 hours a day, and then a blue/white 10 watt LED light during 12 hours at night. The LED is more for mood lighting, is it a problem to have it on at night? I figured any extra light helps since I don't exactly have a lot. I'm planning on getting real lights, right after I get a better skimmer"¦


Only 10 lbs of liverock so far. I paid $12 a lb for two pretty purple and green rocks from A World of Fish. The nitrogen cycle was a success in spite of my pathetic amount of liverock after about two weeks.
Some hitchhikers I found just recently while cleaning include a red caterpillar looking worm, and some probable feather dusters (or weird snails that look like little hard tubes on the liverock). A patch of dark green (hair?) algae is growing on a small corner, could this become a problem? I have lots of what look like roots running through my liverock. Any idea what they might be? It's definitely dead now.
I just used rocks outside and some to layer the bottom and make a nice little cave. I keep rearranging things on impulse. Is this okay, or am I risking my animals' health by constantly moving things around?


I added a fire shrimp (from Petco, I suck I know) two weeks in. He's molted twice now, and he seems to be doing well. I hand feed him flakes, and he's my favorite. I meant to buy a $10 shrimp and when he rang up at the register he was $37. Needless to say I'm stoked he's still alive. I didn't get any snails for my CUC. I just don't like snails. Should I get snails?


A week later came the Banggai pair. I definitely added them too soon I know. A World of Fish had a pair for $100, but my cheap *** got a pair from Petco for $30. They love frozen brine shrimp and baby brine shrimp but won't touch flakes. I've been heavily feeding them, and I have brine shrimp eggs on hand in case I ever see a mouth bulging with babies. Any suggestions to encourage this?
I have an upside down heated two liter with an airstone for the BBS. I tried using light to separate the BBS from the old eggs but have had zero success. I just pour it in slowly and most of the eggs stick to the sides of the 2 liter. It seems to be working. I hope I'm not doing it wrong?


Onward with my terrible decisions! Two weeks later (~3 weeks ago) I bought a $15 (colt?) coral frag from Petco, and the guy gave me a button polyp frag for free. I figure I'll never know if coral will live in my tank until I try. The button polyp has been doing well, although it's reaching for the light quite a bit? Or is that just how they look?
The colt coral is all over the place. From what I've read that's just kind of what they do sometimes, but also could be because my water quality sucks. It's slumped over shriveled up with no polyps, and a few hours later 4x bigger and covered in polyps. Not sure what to make of it? I recently aimed the pump at it to avoid a mucus build up, but it doesn't necessarily like the current. Should I run the pump on and off every half hour, or just during the day, or not aim it so directly at the colt coral? Not sure if having inconsistent currents like on a real reef actually matters or if a constant current does the same? The Banggai's also seem to enjoy the extra current as compared to without it. I hope dosing the phytoplankton helps both of these corals either directly or in a round-a-bout way.


As I read about Banggai babies I came across the longspine urchin. They were $15 at Petco so I once again jumped in and got one about a week after the coral. He's been cleaning my liverock and glass and is so cool. He bumped a frag but hasn't knocked any over yet. He's really small right now, but I think he may need a bigger tank someday if he gets huge? Does anyone know how long that usually takes? I'd like to upgrade eventually anyway. I spot fed him a few algae pellets right when I got him, is this necessary or should there be plenty of coralline for him in general?


My last addition was just four days ago. I noticed I had an absurd amount of copepods on my glass and rocks, so I thought my tank would be able to support a dragonet in spite of the warning that you should wait months before adding one. This time I went to my new favorite LFS called Aquatropics. They only sell marine fish and coral and have a beautiful shop. I went in with the intention of buying a green mandarin, but the one in the tank just didn't look the same as the internet. He was dull and didn't move or eat at all which from what I've read is a huge red flag? Anyway I noticed the ruby red dragonet and decided it was BEAUTIFUL, and it was eating! And better yet they had a pair! So instead of one $30 difficult to care for fish, I walked away with two $40 difficult to care for fish.
I am under the impression that you shouldn't quarantine dragonets if you can't feed them properly, so I didn't. So far one of them is eating quite a lot of the copepods, but the other has mostly just been hiding in one spot. I read this is normal, but I am concerned about the one. They are just under an inch long and so damn cool. The Fire Shrimp actually cleaned the bolder one. Is there anything I should know about these guys?
I figure as long as I see copepods they must be fine. I also feed BBS to the tank as a backup food source (the Banggai's love the BBS and I know button polyps can eat them too).




I'm going to try to wait awhile to add another fish. I know I rushed it a bit, and I"˜ll need to set up a quarantine for any newcomers now that I have some $ in fish in there. I'm planning on avoiding Petco for future purchases as well, although my local one has a very dedicated employee.
But when I do get another fish, what should I get? I need a centerpiece, and I want something big. Most people would say tangs need a little more space. I've read a flame angel would do just fine, but the guy at Aquatropics said they needed at least 75g? This same sort of fine line seems to be drawn for a whole bunch of fish. So what do you guys think would work well? If my colt coral and button polyps do well I hear they can actually become a problem, so coral nibblers aren't necessarily out of the question. I was thinking I could get a little saddle puffer at the risk of my fire shrimp, or even a dwarf lionfish at the risk of my red dragonets? Or is a dwarf angel a better bet? Another LFS said a (I assume dwarf) yellow angel they had would do fine?
Other additions could be some pretty rainbow looking wrasse or a hawkfish. Would all filefish take out my shrimp or are any small enough?


Any other cool invertebrates that I could look into? I'll look into coral if I see success in my current frags and upgrade my lights.


On a side note, Aquatropics sells Macroalgae. Should I buy some? Or would it just be weird in my main tank since I don't have a sump?


Anyway there's my rant. Thanks for your input!

 

[chanceafrance]

Sorry I posted this twice on accident. Please ignore

 

[adambom]

I've been using Petco seawater at $2 a gallon for weekly 5gal water changes to avoid buildup of tap water impurities. Anyone know anything about Petco tap water?

I'm sure it's fine but an RODI with salt mix will pay for itself in around a year's time. Faster if you count the money and time you'll spend hauling boxes of water from Petco. You'll also need fresh water for topping off. Not to mention you'll for certain need the ability to make water in a hurry and Petco may not be open. BRS is having its Black Friday sale right now if you're interested in getting one on the cheap.

In addition I have a 150GPH water pump that I aim willy-nilly. I hear off the glass is best, but my pump isn't that powerful so maybe more of a direct blast?

Flow will depend on what livestock you ultimately want to keep. Other than that your main goal with flow is to keep detritus and uneaten food suspended in the water column so that it can be filtered out and does not settle on the rocks or sandbed. This will help to keep algae growth down. 150GPH is probably too low for a 55g, but it all depends, so you'll have to judge for yourself.

Some hitchhikers I found just recently while cleaning include a red caterpillar looking worm

Most likely a harmless bristle worm.

and some probable feather dusters (or weird snails that look like little hard tubes on the liverock).

Could be a couple of things. Hard to say without a photo. Probably harmless either way.

A patch of dark green (hair?) algae is growing on a small corner, could this become a problem?

Do your best to remove as much as you can using your fingers and a toothbrush. If you can remove the rock to do this all the better. It's always better to prevent an algae outbreak than it is to deal with it later.

I just used rocks outside and some to layer the bottom and make a nice little cave. I keep rearranging things on impulse. Is this okay, or am I risking my animals' health by constantly moving things around?

Should be fine.

A week later came the Banggai pair. I definitely added them too soon I know. A World of Fish had a pair for $100, but my cheap *** got a pair from Petco for $30. They love frozen brine shrimp and baby brine shrimp but won't touch flakes.

If you can get them to eat frozen Mysis even better. A lot less work than cultivating BBS IMO. You may eventually be able to wean them onto flake or pellet food over time.

Onward with my terrible decisions! Two weeks later (~3 weeks ago) I bought a $15 (colt?) coral frag from Petco, and the guy gave me a button polyp frag for free. I figure I'll never know if coral will live in my tank until I try. The button polyp has been doing well, although it's reaching for the light quite a bit? Or is that just how they look?

Zoanthids will close up if they're really unhappy. If they're open then they will most likely survive. You can try moving it to different areas of the tank if you're concerned they're not getting enough light.

The colt coral is all over the place. From what I've read that's just kind of what they do sometimes, but also could be because my water quality sucks. It's slumped over shriveled up with no polyps, and a few hours later 4x bigger and covered in polyps. Not sure what to make of it? I recently aimed the pump at it to avoid a mucus build up, but it doesn't necessarily like the current. Should I run the pump on and off every half hour, or just during the day, or not aim it so directly at the colt coral? Not sure if having inconsistent currents like on a real reef actually matters or if a constant current does the same?

Softies are pretty hardy. My guess is the flow is irritating it. I have a neon green nepthea in my tank that contract significantly if I aim a powehead at it. If you plan on adding more softies I would recommend running activated carbon. Soft corals tend to release more toxins into the water than stony corals. Carbon removes those toxins and allows you to reduce the chemical warfare that goes on in your tank.

I figure as long as I see copepods they must be fine. I also feed BBS to the tank as a backup food source (the Banggai's love the BBS and I know button polyps can eat them too).

I take back what I said about the BBS. You'll need this. Hopefully the dragonets will eat them because they're going to eat all the pods in your tank in short order. You may want to consider returning at least one. 55g is borderline for one dragonet, and even then only if you have an established refugium. The competition for food in your tank may cause one of the dragonets to kill of the other.

But when I do get another fish, what should I get? I need a centerpiece, and I want something big. Most people would say tangs need a little more space. I've read a flame angel would do just fine, but the guy at Aquatropics said they needed at least 75g? This same sort of fine line seems to be drawn for a whole bunch of fish. So what do you guys think would work well? If my colt coral and button polyps do well I hear they can actually become a problem, so coral nibblers aren't necessarily out of the question. I was thinking I could get a little saddle puffer at the risk of my fire shrimp, or even a dwarf lionfish at the risk of my red dragonets? Or is a dwarf angel a better bet? Another LFS said a (I assume dwarf) yellow angel they had would do fine?
Other additions could be some pretty rainbow looking wrasse or a hawkfish. Would all filefish take out my shrimp or are any small enough?

55g is too small for any tang. A flame angel or any angel of the genus Centropyge should be ok as long as you know they are sometimes not reef-safe.

Not sure about the puffer, but I'd definitely avoid the lionfish. They are predators and will eat anything they can fit in their mouth. A hawkfish will most likely eat your fire shrimp.

A small reef-safe wrasse could be a good addition. There are a number of gobies and dartfish that would be good for your tank. A pair of clowns is always nice.

Here's a useful thread about some beginner-friendly fish:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1158122

On a side note, Aquatropics sells Macroalgae. Should I buy some? Or would it just be weird in my main tank since I don't have a sump?

I tried this in my last tank, which was very similar to use. I bought some Chaeto and put it in the tank but it broke apart and got everywhere. It was a mistake. So if you do try macroalgae, I'd avoid chaeto.