So I have just recently started my saltwater aquarium. Its a 75 gallon tank. I have an undersubstrate filter that is made to fit 75 to 90 gallon tanks and I have a tetra 500 side mounted filter that pumps 500 gph. I was wondering if this set up sounds alright or if perhaps it could be tweeked a little bit. Also I have some live rock to help with some filtration. Right now I only have a spiny urchin and a choclate chip starfish, I bought a Yellow Tang but it was suffering from Ich apparently when I purchased it and it did not live through the night in my newly set up tank. I also noticed at the place I bought it several other yellow tang had died since when I purchased it yesterday until I went in today. Any advise would be greatly appreciated though.
Newbie
- Thread starter Terminal
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kpk
Been Reefin'
Welcome, always good to see new peeps. Honestly I think I would get rid of the under gravel filter, it is a nitrate trap to say the least. Go either deep sand bed, or barebottom. I hate to be telling you this considering you just got it setup, but better to tell than for you to have problems later. Also consider setting up a sump and adding a protein skimmer, will be way better down the line, but money is always an issue for me so...
As for the ich you better not add any more fish for at least a month. After a month the ich should be cleared out of the tank...
Kyle
As for the ich you better not add any more fish for at least a month. After a month the ich should be cleared out of the tank...
Kyle
Thanks, I planned on putting something in it to clear up the ich. The undergravel seems to be doing its job for right now until I can get the money and time to install a sump. Cutting glass doesn't sound too fun to me at the moment place I am planning on moving when my lease runs out at my apt and upgrading to a house so I think I might wait until I have it emptied out again.
Well I went to buy stuff for the ich but they told me since I don't have anything else in the tank right now besides the starfish and urchin and I had only had the Tang over night, that my tank should be fine. I only have 6 pounds of Fiji in it right now but its really porous. Im still working on getting some pics but I was going to wait until I got it a little more stocked to do so. I also went back to the store where I bought the tang and they had several more dead tang and only two live. They also had a harlequin tuskfish in the same tank and it looked dead too.
djc1026
New member
Welcome to the addiction. 
Your experience line says "75 gallon saltwater 1 week." If that's all it's been set up, did you use "dirty" water from someone else's tank? Did it cycle in a week? How much "live sand" did you use? These may be more pertinent questions and possible cause/contributing factor of the tang's death. Need more info on your setup process and time frame.
Dave
Your experience line says "75 gallon saltwater 1 week." If that's all it's been set up, did you use "dirty" water from someone else's tank? Did it cycle in a week? How much "live sand" did you use? These may be more pertinent questions and possible cause/contributing factor of the tang's death. Need more info on your setup process and time frame.
Dave
I used about 40 lbs crushed coral and about 40 lbs live sand along with a rougher gravel substrate to put on top of the gravel filter inorder to prevent some sepage of the sand into the filter. Also I had my water premixed before putting it in the tank and I added the live rock. I know Im kinda jumping the gun but my water has stablized and I test my water several times a day to make sure it doesn't jump into regions I don't care to explore. My only true experience in marine is through what Im reading in the books I have purchased and what I have learned because its a whole different monster from my freshwater.
captbunzo
Premium Member
I don't mean to be too harsh, but you need to do some serious slowing down on your tank and start doing some serious reading. What books are you getting your information from? Here are a couple of suggestions:
1. Undergravel filters are not really useful in this hobby. The tetra filter isn't much better. Most of your nitrogen cycle will live in live rock, sand, etc.
2. A saltwater tank should probably be setup 3-4 weeks before you starting stocking it. And then that should be done slowly with hardier critters first. Stars and urchins and tangs are ALL non-hardy creatures. For your next addition, wait 3-4 weeks, then buy a pair o ocellaris clownfish or something similarly hardy. Most of all, SLOW DOWN...
3. Instead of spending more money on livestock that will probably die in a non-established tank, buy a protein skimmer. I'd recommend an AquaC Remora. You'll spend $175 - $200 for one online. That will help your "filtration" process quite a bit.
4. Did I mention that you need to slow down and stop buying livestock for now? The bacterial populations, etc, in your tank are not established enough to be able to handle rapid additions, etc.
5. What sort of flow are you currently producing in the tank? That is important for a saltwater tank.
6. Don't dump Ick killing stuff in your tank. It will kill a lot more then Ick, even if your star and urchin survive. Their are countless critters alive in the rocks that you want to KEEP alive. Plus, some of the things you dump in to kill Ick will actually bind/stick to the rock and make it hard to keep invertebrates alive later. For treating Ick-ridden fish in a main display, the club recommendation is typically Thera-A fish pellets mixed with Minced Garlic. And, btw, it was the newness of your tank that killed the tang, not the Ick. He might have gotten over the Ick in a stable tank (might).
Anyhow, I hope that helps some. Again, I apologize for being harsh. However, I truely believe we have a responsibility to the creatures for which we are caretaking.
Lastly, I am a little unimpressed at a fish store that would sell a tang to you to put in a tank that had only been up a week.
1. Undergravel filters are not really useful in this hobby. The tetra filter isn't much better. Most of your nitrogen cycle will live in live rock, sand, etc.
2. A saltwater tank should probably be setup 3-4 weeks before you starting stocking it. And then that should be done slowly with hardier critters first. Stars and urchins and tangs are ALL non-hardy creatures. For your next addition, wait 3-4 weeks, then buy a pair o ocellaris clownfish or something similarly hardy. Most of all, SLOW DOWN...
3. Instead of spending more money on livestock that will probably die in a non-established tank, buy a protein skimmer. I'd recommend an AquaC Remora. You'll spend $175 - $200 for one online. That will help your "filtration" process quite a bit.
4. Did I mention that you need to slow down and stop buying livestock for now? The bacterial populations, etc, in your tank are not established enough to be able to handle rapid additions, etc.
5. What sort of flow are you currently producing in the tank? That is important for a saltwater tank.
6. Don't dump Ick killing stuff in your tank. It will kill a lot more then Ick, even if your star and urchin survive. Their are countless critters alive in the rocks that you want to KEEP alive. Plus, some of the things you dump in to kill Ick will actually bind/stick to the rock and make it hard to keep invertebrates alive later. For treating Ick-ridden fish in a main display, the club recommendation is typically Thera-A fish pellets mixed with Minced Garlic. And, btw, it was the newness of your tank that killed the tang, not the Ick. He might have gotten over the Ick in a stable tank (might).
Anyhow, I hope that helps some. Again, I apologize for being harsh. However, I truely believe we have a responsibility to the creatures for which we are caretaking.
Lastly, I am a little unimpressed at a fish store that would sell a tang to you to put in a tank that had only been up a week.
Welcome to the forum.
Here are a couple of links that you might like:
Guide for beginners
Reefkeeping FAQ
Both are articles from ReefCentral's homepage.
I agree with the previous posts in regards to your undergravel filter. You only have a small amount of rock currently...no better time than now to get the UG filter out. Are you powering it with an air pump or with powerheads? You could use any powerheads for circulation. If an air pump is being used, put it in the closet with the UG filter. The Tetra hang on back filter is ok for pulling solid materials from the water column (I actually like the Tetra/Whisper pads better than Emporer pads for water polishing), but make sure you don't leave the pads in too long.
The easiest (and cheapest) way to cycle a reef tank is with live rock. Live rock is expensive, but you have to have it anyway...so use it to cycle your tank. You can purchase sand from a local fish store (LFS) to seed your tank with critters. Or better yet, find a hobbyist near you that can spare a cup or two of their existing sand.
I wouldn't buy a hang on skimmer if you plan to upgrade to a sump. Plan your future filtration equipment according to your sump plans.
Six lbs. of rock isn't going to provide enough bacteria to cycle your tank. At least, not enough to support livestock. You can add rock in a lump sum or slowly...up to your budget. If you add it slowly, you can go through "mini cycles" each time you add rock. Not a bad thing really, just requires more patience. One sponser of ReefCentral sends 1/2 of a rock purchase to cycle a tank and the other half after the cycle is complete. You can do the same thing with rock purchased locally.
I also agree with Paul in that I would find and meet some of the other LFS owners. I don't want to slam your current store, as they may not have fully understood just how new your set up is. If they did know, I would definately look for a store with a different outlook on what to put in a brand new tank.
I would start with reading articles and books. I like the articles here because they're free. ReefCentral also has a "new to the hobby forum." It can be useful as well.
Good luck with your tank! Go slow, research, ask lots of questions, plan your equipment in advance, and have lots of fun!
Ronnie
Here are a couple of links that you might like:
Guide for beginners
Reefkeeping FAQ
Both are articles from ReefCentral's homepage.
I agree with the previous posts in regards to your undergravel filter. You only have a small amount of rock currently...no better time than now to get the UG filter out. Are you powering it with an air pump or with powerheads? You could use any powerheads for circulation. If an air pump is being used, put it in the closet with the UG filter. The Tetra hang on back filter is ok for pulling solid materials from the water column (I actually like the Tetra/Whisper pads better than Emporer pads for water polishing), but make sure you don't leave the pads in too long.
The easiest (and cheapest) way to cycle a reef tank is with live rock. Live rock is expensive, but you have to have it anyway...so use it to cycle your tank. You can purchase sand from a local fish store (LFS) to seed your tank with critters. Or better yet, find a hobbyist near you that can spare a cup or two of their existing sand.
I wouldn't buy a hang on skimmer if you plan to upgrade to a sump. Plan your future filtration equipment according to your sump plans.
Six lbs. of rock isn't going to provide enough bacteria to cycle your tank. At least, not enough to support livestock. You can add rock in a lump sum or slowly...up to your budget. If you add it slowly, you can go through "mini cycles" each time you add rock. Not a bad thing really, just requires more patience. One sponser of ReefCentral sends 1/2 of a rock purchase to cycle a tank and the other half after the cycle is complete. You can do the same thing with rock purchased locally.
I also agree with Paul in that I would find and meet some of the other LFS owners. I don't want to slam your current store, as they may not have fully understood just how new your set up is. If they did know, I would definately look for a store with a different outlook on what to put in a brand new tank.
I would start with reading articles and books. I like the articles here because they're free.
ReefCentral also has a "new to the hobby forum." It can be useful as well.Good luck with your tank! Go slow, research, ask lots of questions, plan your equipment in advance, and have lots of fun!
Ronnie
The guy I bought the aquarium from suggested that I buy the filtration I currently have, apparently he was just trying to get more of a sale or something. I got much better advice after purchasing the current method of filtration I have from a different store. Thank you for all your advice
mskohl
Active member
Welcome to the forum and to COMAS, Terminal. I'm glad you found us. I started out reading and talking to people too and I decided that I would take all opinions and then formulate my own. I have to admit it, the opinions on here and some trusted people in COMAS, have proven an easier route.
Please consider coming to the meeting next weekend if you can make it. We always welcome newcomers.
Take a look at the meeting thread, the library thread (if you decide to become a paying member of COMAS for $25, you can borrow any of these books), and the list of Local Fish Stores on the website www.mycomas.com.
I hope you learn a lot and don't get discouraged.
Stephanie
Please consider coming to the meeting next weekend if you can make it. We always welcome newcomers.
Take a look at the meeting thread, the library thread (if you decide to become a paying member of COMAS for $25, you can borrow any of these books), and the list of Local Fish Stores on the website www.mycomas.com.
I hope you learn a lot and don't get discouraged.
Stephanie
Russ Braaten
New member
An easy way to fix the under gravel filter is to just pull out the lift tubes and plug the hole with something. It will act like a plenum or deep sand bed. Then you need to get some test kits and let the tank cycle.
