55gal First Tank
- Thread starter 600k4
- Start date
600k4
Member
Originally Posted by hot883
Very nice and welcome to the boards. How long ya been set up?
Thanks, this is the 7th week the fish have been in there. I am going to do my first water change tomorrow. I posted some questions in the New Hobbiest area last night but here is what I have and where i'm at:
Penguin Bio Wheel 350
200 watt Marineland Heater
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
Very nice and welcome to the boards. How long ya been set up?
Thanks, this is the 7th week the fish have been in there. I am going to do my first water change tomorrow. I posted some questions in the New Hobbiest area last night but here is what I have and where i'm at:
Penguin Bio Wheel 350
200 watt Marineland Heater
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20
600k4
Member
LOL, yea the clam gets dirty fairly quickly. I started researching keeping fish in late October of this past year and bought this tank for my girlfriend for Christmas. I brought it home and set it up 2 weeks b4 xmas while she was at work. Then we went to the LFS and picked out the decor. I had never looked on these forums otherwise I would have probably just bought LR only.
600k4
Member
It appears you ride motorcycles, I also ride. I have a 2004 GSX-R 600 (600K4). I went to the Chicago Bike show today and met Matt Hotch and saw Billie Lane but the line was waaay too long to meet him, Matt had just got back from lunch so there wasn't a line or anything... I have to go for now and look forward to all comments and suggestions to the set up.
~Thanks~
~Thanks~
fishboy091
Member
Looks nice and clean. Good job on keeping it clean. When are you gonna add some more LR?
600k4
Member
fishboy091 said:Looks nice and clean. Good job on keeping it clean. When are you gonna add some more LR?[/QUOTE
My LFS just got some new LR in but it's definately not cured, I only have 2lbs right nowI had never looked on these forums untill after buying the decor otherwise there would probably only be LR in there. Of coarse the LFS is more interested in $$$$ so they never suggested using it from the start. Now when the fish had been in there for 6 weeks and the ammonia was just above zero still then they were like "i'd like to see you invest in some LR" I am pretty dissapointed in my LFS, I have read they just want your money but they proved it to me. There is another store about 30min from my house so I am going there tomorrow and if they have LR that looks good I will pick some up.
sorry.
fedukeford
Active Member
looks nice, id suggest getting rid of the damsels, and the fake coral
fishboy091
Member
In a way I guess it's good not to have much in there while you have damsels because you don't have to knock anything over to try to get them out. I get all my livestock from a store about 45 minutes from my house because the places around here aren't that good.
600k4
Member
I will be taking out the damsels and in the end I want a perc clown, purple dottyback, lawnmower blennie, 6 line wrasse, shrimp, fromia star and some crabs. Right now I am going to start w/ a water change and gettint LR. After that do you think it's safe to get a clown and purple d (after damsels are gone)? Or can I get a couple of clowns? what kind of fish do well in groups?
I am considering getting a powerhead to get more water movement, is it helpful (maybe to push any particles toward the filter)? or should i get another pengiun 350? protein skimmer? UV sterilizer? I just want the water to be immaculate and want any fish I add after the damsels to live in a clean environment as possible (so I dont lose fish). What add-ons do you recommend and why? Thanks
I am considering getting a powerhead to get more water movement, is it helpful (maybe to push any particles toward the filter)? or should i get another pengiun 350? protein skimmer? UV sterilizer? I just want the water to be immaculate and want any fish I add after the damsels to live in a clean environment as possible (so I dont lose fish). What add-ons do you recommend and why? Thanks
anonome
Active Member
Welcome aboard! :cheer: You have a real nice set up so far. You definately are going to need to get a good protein skimmer--don't waste your money on a UV sterilizer. Many successful tanks are up and running with just a really good protein skimmer and powerheads. Remember, you want to have a 10 time turn around on your water flow. This hobby is very rewarding if done with thought and lots of patience. :happyfish
fishboy091
Member
Originally Posted by 600k4
I will be taking out the damsels and in the end I want a perc clown, purple dottyback, lawnmower blennie, 6 line wrasse, shrimp, fromia star and some crabs. Right now I am going to start w/ a water change and gettint LR. After that do you think it's safe to get a clown and purple d (after damsels are gone)? Or can I get a couple of clowns? what kind of fish do well in groups?
I am considering getting a powerhead to get more water movement, is it helpful (maybe to push any particles toward the filter)? or should i get another pengiun 350? protein skimmer? UV sterilizer? I just want the water to be immaculate and want any fish I add after the damsels to live in a clean environment as possible (so I dont lose fish). What add-ons do you recommend and why? Thanks
If you want fish to school you could get some chromis' and I would put the clowns in first. Thats what I did and added my lmb yesterday. You have to take it slow and don't add too many fish too fast. Also, are you going to go reef or FOWLR? And I also think that you should get snails instead of getting crabs. Don't get hermits, they get too big and knock over rockwork. Good luck.
I will be taking out the damsels and in the end I want a perc clown, purple dottyback, lawnmower blennie, 6 line wrasse, shrimp, fromia star and some crabs. Right now I am going to start w/ a water change and gettint LR. After that do you think it's safe to get a clown and purple d (after damsels are gone)? Or can I get a couple of clowns? what kind of fish do well in groups?
I am considering getting a powerhead to get more water movement, is it helpful (maybe to push any particles toward the filter)? or should i get another pengiun 350? protein skimmer? UV sterilizer? I just want the water to be immaculate and want any fish I add after the damsels to live in a clean environment as possible (so I dont lose fish). What add-ons do you recommend and why? Thanks
If you want fish to school you could get some chromis' and I would put the clowns in first. Thats what I did and added my lmb yesterday. You have to take it slow and don't add too many fish too fast. Also, are you going to go reef or FOWLR? And I also think that you should get snails instead of getting crabs. Don't get hermits, they get too big and knock over rockwork. Good luck.
600k4
Member
Thanks to all that gave feedback. I just got back from the LFS and got 10# of LR and a marineland powerhead. I tried hanging the powerhead by the suction cup provided, then tried the hanger and I am not happy with either way. It kinda vibrates and makes too much noise so I took it out. When I held the PH in my hand it made zero noise. Any suggestions on mounting it? We also took out the clam, it was dirtier than I thought... the foral (fake coral) is next... Thanks goes out to all that replied
whitey
Member
Hey 600
I notice that you're in South Elgin, which means your LFS is probably Sea Escapes.
I've been going there for years, and it's a nice little store, but since you're new at this I gotta let you know that they will sell you ANYTHING and say it's okay.
They want the cash and know that if you lose fish, you'll be back for more.
I still buy fish from there on occasion, but I don't ask them if something is okay for my tank because I've learned that they will always answer yes. Do your research beforehand.
This site is a great place for that. Ask here, and not the LFS.
Reef Plus is a small store on Randall in N Aruora at the light after Orchard Road.
He's cheaper than Sea Escapes, and won't sell you anything you want.
He's closed on Mondays.
Just some info that might help.
Good luck with the tank
I notice that you're in South Elgin, which means your LFS is probably Sea Escapes.
I've been going there for years, and it's a nice little store, but since you're new at this I gotta let you know that they will sell you ANYTHING and say it's okay.
They want the cash and know that if you lose fish, you'll be back for more.
I still buy fish from there on occasion, but I don't ask them if something is okay for my tank because I've learned that they will always answer yes. Do your research beforehand.
This site is a great place for that. Ask here, and not the LFS.
Reef Plus is a small store on Randall in N Aruora at the light after Orchard Road.
He's cheaper than Sea Escapes, and won't sell you anything you want.
He's closed on Mondays.
Just some info that might help.
Good luck with the tank
laredo300c
Member
a few weeks ago i was asking the same question on mounting powerheads....many people adviced on getting a cleaning magnet and to super glue the powerhead to one end and place the other outside the glass.............even though told not to i went to wal mart and bought a cleaning magnet for about $4 and it has worked amazingly well.....no problems so far....55 gal and 29 gal have been up and cycling for about 4 weeks now....almost ready...