New to the Hobby. Just got new setup

[justinrp97]

Well, this is my first real post here. I've been running a 23g tank for about 6-8 months now and realized it was time for an upgrade. I found a used 54g bow front corner tank with sump, skimmer 100lbs live sand and about 30lbs rock for $500 bucks, so I snagged it. Did a big change yesterday pulling out my 55g freshwater, emptying the 23g reef into a rubbermade tote, cleaning it and turning the 23g back to freshwater so i could keep a few fish i liked that were in the 55. then I started setting up the 54. Put in my sand, and started adding DI water that I made with the tap water filter. This was all quite a project. Got it filled and my rock and livestock from my 23g transfered over to the new tank. Here are some pics. The Skimmer isn't working because the power head is broken so i have to get a new one. After one night the water started to clear up nicely, and the 2 damsels, and one clown are looking good. Also have a peppermint shrimp, a few crabs, and snales as well as a serpent star. Any suggestions or comments would be helpful.

 

[Amy83820]

Tank looks nice! You might want to slowly get rid of those bio-balls. Don't take them all out at once, just a bit at a time or your tank will crash. If you leave them in, you'll have quite a nitrate problem. Also, most don't generally keep damsels and clowns together in such a small tank. They are agressive and harass/stress out the clown.

 

[Randall_James]

Yes nice looking setup

I would not have added any fish for at least a couple weeks however. This tank needs to cycle (with fish food or a dead raw shrimp) before livestock goes in. DO keep a close eye on your ammonia levels as they are sure to rise and you will have to get on top of it right away or lose your fish. (I would keep this at .15 or lower no matter how much water changes it takes)

I would also leave the bioballs where they are for now as they are going to be needed until your sand bed gets up to speed and/or you add more live rock. If this is going to be a FO or FOWLR then the bioballs could in theory stay there without any trouble as nitrates are not really to much an issue for you. If you are going to eventually add corals, then you do need to get more live rock (cure it separate from the tank) and then start SLOWLY removing bioballs over a couple weeks.
The problem is the bioballs will reduce ammonia and nitrites but can not complete the process of removing the nitrates. Live rock can remove the nitrates.

Being new to this hobby, you will find a very steep learning curve so be ready.
Patience is a BIG part of this so take your time and avoid impulse buys at all costs. While your tank starts to cycle ((I really would remove your fish and find a temporary home)) you can start reading here at RC and avoid some costly mistakes

 

[IslandCrow]

You actually may be OK with the damsels and clowns. My father has had damsels and clowns together in a 30g for a couple years now with no problems. I'd watch out for them, though. Keep an eye on your water parameters (ammonia mainly). I'm guessing the rock is cured since you bought the setup off someone, but I've heard many people go through a second cycle when tearing down and setting up a new tank. You may also eventually want more rock (1lb per gallon seems to be the accepted minimum) if you want it to handle all of your bio-filtration needs.
Anyway, I'm pretty new at this as well, so I'll leave any more advice to the experts. That's a really nice looking tank, though.

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

i agree with everyone else but need to add
[welcome]

 

[justinrp97]

I had to add the fish right away because i had a 23g tank set up which i had to break down to convert to freshwater. 23 gallons of water in my 54 are from my existing tank as well as the rock. since I bought the tank used and it has been up and running for a year (although with no fish) the sand should be filtering properly. i also added a bottle of 1 day cycle that i was recommended to get. the stuff was pretty expensive though, about 30 bucks. I am definitly getting more rock, will be buying it as i go. It's expensive to get all at once! So the rock that's in there is from my 23g tank and 2 pieces that were in the new tank i purchased. So, the tank started runninng last night at about 11:00pm. As of this morning at 6:30am these are the water specs.
ammonia - .3
ph - 8.2
nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 20
sg - 1.022

 

[Randall_James]

ammonia .3 OUCH (.20 is typically fatal for many fish and will blind others IME)
get on the water change, you need sub .20 and prefer .15

I would also slowly bring salinity up to 1.025

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

yeah the amm is pretty high, be sure to do water changes untill that comes down.

 

[justinrp97]

I will plan on doing a water change today. Since I finished at 11:00 at night, and had no choice but to put the 3 fish i have in the tank hopefully they'll live. Looking at them this morning, there weren't any signs of stress. Maybe my am level isn't that high after all. I will have to re-check when i get home.

 

[PatMayo]

I don't think you want to add any dead shrimp or anything like that. The tank will cycle with the live rock.

Regards,

Pat

 

[Randall_James]

with ammonia at .30, last thing his tank needs is more bio matter to decay..However it would have been much better to use a dead shrimp rather than live fish as is the case here