to soon for tangs?

endlessblue

New member
the tank is 1 month old with some clown fish. Green alge has started to grow and I've always wanted tangs should I wait some more?

125gal
MH + t5
great skimmer
tons of flow,

thanks
 
Great Skimmer? care to elaborate?
Tons of Flow? again, can you elaborate?
What are your water parameters? Great or Fine are not adequate answers.

~Michael
 
Need to know if the tank has cycled or not. One month does not seem like enough time to cycle and Stabilize. Do you have live rock? If so how much?
 
the tank is 1 month old with some clown fish. Green alge has started to grow and I've always wanted tangs should I wait some more?

125gal
MH + t5
great skimmer
tons of flow,

thanks

It is not a matter of just waiting long enough; quite possibly the nitrification activity in your tank will not increase much with time no matter how much longer you wait.

I definitely would not have added the clown fish in.

You should never cycle with livestock. You should have added sources of ammonia instead of the clown fish. The little fish will never given enough ammonia to allow a cycle strong enough so that when you add tangs there will be no ammonia subsequently.

If you do not do any extra step, you will have another cycle (may be a milder one) when you add any larger fish.

The extra step is to cycle another medium in a separate container now to process the ammonia from the tang. You add this cycled medium into the sump and then withdraw it gradually over a few months.

You can also feed your clown fish gradually more and more excess food in the next few weeks.
 
Give it time. Not only is the bio-activity in your tank low as yet, you haven't, I'm assuming, made your ritual share of new-tank mistakes, like the classic topoff accident, temperature adjustment snafu, overdose of something, salinity rise, water-change foulup, etc. It's like learning to drive a car. Don't take the system onto the superhighway until you're sure and steady. You could start a tang into quarantine---that's 4-6 weeks in a separate barren tank under carbon filtration with frequent water testing; learn to manage your system, run your requisite tests, and above all be sure that wild-caught tang isn't bringing little passengers in with him who will multiply in your tank and do great harm.
 
MY TWO:

IMO - Let's wait another 5 months or so...do some research on which tang to purchase(most demanding more space to swim than others)....and go from there. While you're waiting, add on a refugium - this will help stabilize your reef...if that's your overall plan...test out other species of fish in a couple of months(community friendly fish). Not saying that you can't place a tang in your tank....JUST NOT AT THIS TIME!!!

Allow your tank to mature and stablize...If purchasing other fish isn't your thing - purchase corals first. Again, allow your tank to stablize.

FROM MY OWN EXPERIENCE - Plan on waiting...Planning on waiting is THE BEST STEP that anyone can take when it comes to taking care of fish...you'll save yourself a lot!

Good luck and keep us all posted on your progress.

Larry
 
Like waterman said, give your tank some time to stabilize and while your waiting do some research on the species you want. Good luck. :)
 
Just my $.02. I started my 90g in August and it was filled with SPS by September. I did dose MB7 and vodka in small amounts to jumpstart biological filtration and have not lost a piece yet. The fish did not fare as well as I didn't feed often enough or with the proper foods. My new 225 was set up in mid-December and I've had multiple tangs in since last week. No QT, no ich or HLLE, nor any issues so to speak. When setting up a tank, establishing biological filtration and available microfauna is a must. This depends on multiple factors including amount and condition of LR (from an etablished tank or not), flow, size of fuge, lighting, feeding practices, etc. I'm not telling you to just toss them in, I'm just stating that I don't agree with waiting 6 months to introduce any substantial livestock. It is safer to do so however, with proper practices and monitoring, I've had success in what I've done. Do your research and ascertain what you believe to be most helpful. Every reefer has a different way of doing things (a local guy I know grows acros and other SPS out of control with just VHO's).
 
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