So, I need help with starting my aquarium. - Page 2

as weird as it sounds, yes. Take it out after your ammonia spikes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottbry 

Do I just let the shrimp sit in there and decompose?

 

yes but only leave the shrimp in there long enough that you see your ammonia spike, then take the shrimp out and test your water every couple days and you will see ammonia slowly turn to nitrites, then the nitrites will turn to nitrates. def don't cycle a tank with a yellow tang, first of all it's cruel to put a fish in a enviroment thats basicly poisoned,(with ammonia) and second they are expensive if they didn't make it through the cycle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainbow grouper 

the fish I recomend is a yellow tang they are very hardy I started marine six months ago and the yellow tang is the only fish I still have from when I first started and don't say I'm incompetent as I had only just started marine and keeping a reef tank is no walk in the park so I just want you to know what you're dealing with a lot of you're fish will die & to have minimal deaths I will give you a list of fish that are very hardy and easy to look after

blue damsel, talbot damsel, yellow tang, possum wrasse,common and the common clownfish are all very good for beginners

LOL....DO NOT get a yellow tang as a beginner fish.....newb or not that is totally irresponsible..ALSO....you have a 55g...so I would not even consider adding a tang of any sort

you will have 4-6 weeks to think about what fish you want as your tank goes thru its beginning cycle.....you MUST research the fish you like and make sure they are compatible with each other AND that a 55G tank is a suitable home for them

IMO...STAY AWAY from all damsels...they are mean

Live rock and sand and SW first.....dead shrimp....cycle.....CUC......fish...this should take a couple of months to get to the fish

Quote:

Originally Posted by ottbry 

What is CUC?

CUC = Clean up crew.....you know your snails and stuff like that

+1

Quote:

Originally Posted by meowzer 

Live rock and sand and SW first.....dead shrimp....cycle.....CUC......fish...this should take a couple of months to get to the fish...

yep yep agree with meowzer....shes the local SW mom and has prob been doing this a lil longer than I! I do it the same order.

Info in this hobby is wide spread and a lot of pps do it diffrently.

Welcome to the site and the addiction of SW!

There is a lot of useful info and helpful people here.....no question is to silly or unanswerable! (<---- is that even a word) LOL

If you ever plan on going to a reef tank start selecting fish that will allow you to add lighting and go. If not you may have to completely break down the tank to remove 1 fish in order to start your reef.

there are several good points in the posts above. take your time do it right and spend the money on quality products and you wont be disappointed.

good luck

Mike

@ottbry i would really recamend insted of a  canister filter going would go with a Sump refugium such as this one  ****************

but you will also need an over flow box and 1 or 2 return pumps and make sure you get a good protein skimmer.... if you go with that sump refugium i go with a hang on protein skimmer... also watch http://www.youtube.com/user/newyorksteelo all the vids newyorksteelo has to offer THEY ARE GREAT FOR PEOPLE JUST STARTING OUT! and if you have any questions about his vids you can leave a comment and he always gets back to you. just remember in salt water filtration THE BIGGER THE BETTER.

also remember this hobby can get expensive so take your time and do it right ;p

you should also look into RODI water aka RO water and if you cant get RO water from you LFS you should look in to buying an RODI filter

yes

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1guyDude 

yep yep agree with meowzer....shes the local SW mom and has prob been doing this a lil longer than I! I do it the same order.

Info in this hobby is wide spread and a lot of pps do it diffrently.

Welcome to the site and the addiction of SW!

There is a lot of useful info and helpful people here.....no question is to silly or unanswerable! (<---- is that even a word) LOL

 

+1   Gotta agree with Meowzer and the Dude!!!   I also do it in the same order and it has worked great.  You just need a little patience.   Please do not get a yellow Tang in a 55g (unless you are upgrading to a much larger tank in the next year, even then it is not nice for the fish).  Do not cycle the tank with any fish!!  The chunk of shrimp is the best way to go.  RO/DI water is the way to go too, you can buy it from walmart for like $.37/gallon.  You just need to pick up some 5g jugs (I got mine at walmart also for $7.99 each)   A good RO/DI unit cost around $150.00, so you can do the math and see that if you are going to be in the hobby for a while (when I did the math for my tank the RO/DI unit paid itself off in a little over a year)  it really does pay for itself. 

Now for first fish, you will have lots of time while the tank is cycling to do research and figure out what you want.  A pair of clowns is always nice and they are a hardy fish (damsel family).  What kind of fish do you like so far???

Welcome to the site and the hobby!!!  

Oh and PS.  Lots of folks say they are just gonna start out with fish only (with live rock), but the reef bug bites hard and most will eventually get some coral.  LOL  Be prepared to start saving some $$$ for some lights. 

Flower,

Your absolutely right. There are many ways to skin a cat. I felt like the best protein skimmer for the money is the Coralife Super Skimmer. I've used them for years and have had very few problems, none of which I couldn't fix or wasn't my fault. I'm just saying that to each his own. Some skimmers may be rated for a 75g tank, but only work really well on a 30g tank. The reason being is how much you feed depends on how big the skimmer should be. For people who think their fish are always starving - I recommend a larger skimmer. But to each his own!

yes

Quote:

Originally Posted by btwk12 

yes but only leave the shrimp in there long enough that you see your ammonia spike, then take the shrimp out and test your water every couple days and you will see ammonia slowly turn to nitrites, then the nitrites will turn to nitrates. def don't cycle a tank with a yellow tang, first of all it's cruel to put a fish in a enviroment thats basicly poisoned,(with ammonia) and second they are expensive if they didn't make it through the cycle.

 

sorry I thought you were talking about the stocking list

Quote:

Originally Posted by meowzer 

 

LOL....DO NOT get a yellow tang as a beginner fish.....newb or not that is totally irresponsible..ALSO....you have a 55g...so I would not even consider adding a tang of any sort

 

you will have 4-6 weeks to think about what fish you want as your tank goes thru its beginning cycle.....you MUST research the fish you like and make sure they are compatible with each other AND that a 55G tank is a suitable home for them

 

IMO...STAY AWAY from all damsels...they are mean

 

ok then the person who I got  my first tank from was an idiot he gave us a 55 gal that contained yellow tang dwarf angelfish tomato clownfish and 2 other 3 inch fish

if your thinking of buying a fish research it. it will tell you everything there is to know about that certain fish like minimum size tank, what to feed, how aggressive they are and so on then you can put together a stock list that suits your tank and experience level. some fish take more work than other's.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rainbow grouper 

ok then the person who I got  my first tank from was an idiot he gave us a 55 gal that contained yellow tang dwarf angelfish tomato clownfish and 2 other 3 inch fish

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by btwk12 

if your thinking of buying a fish research it. it will tell you everything there is to know about that certain fish like minimum size tank, what to feed, how aggressive they are and so on then you can put together a stock list that suits your tank and experience level. some fish take more work than other's.

 

If I were you I would take this time to go shopping, shopping you ask? Yes. Go to the book store and pick up two books, they are called Marine Fish and Marine Invertebrates. These are great books to research with and are excellent resourses. if you still have concerns, you can still post questions here for clarification (always good to get a second opinion).