Advice for a newby

[walshy]

Hi guys I have been following you all for a bit learning lots from you all so I thought it was time to join you all.
So my questions I have a 3foot tank ( sorry Australian not sure on gallons ) I have
clown fish
2 damsils
Picasso trigger
Blue tang
Clown wrasse
Dwarf lion
I have a refugium protein skimmer bio balls and a canister filter also a phosphate reactor 2 blue light tubes and a metal haloid
And I'm getting algae all over the gravel oh sorry forgot I have crushed coral very fine I clean the gravel and within an hour or two the algae is starting to grow back?
What am I missing? I had red algae all over rocks but I used a toothbrush and that is all gone but can't get on top of the gravel algae?
On a positive I have almost got my dwarf lion to eat frozen I started gut feeding ghost shrimp in my sump and I give him 1 and then some frozen but if I give him frozen first won't eat it lol
Also what do you think of my fish list too much? If not I was thinking about getting a hawk?
Thanks everyone nice to finally say hello sorry there is quite a few questions I probably should have split questions into different threads next time ????

 

[jay0705]

You have a few too many fish lol. Your biggest issue will be your tang. They need a large tank

 

[walshy]

yes the blue tang is a prob unfortunately it came with the tank. I am thinking about getting rid of it and the two damsels as I want to get the flame hawk fish?
But do you think he will get harassed to much?
Also my biggest prob is the algae on the gravel do you think it would be better if I got sand instead of crushed coral? But as I said it is very fine CC ?
I'm in the process of doing up my garage into a room then I will trade up to a 4ft tank ( fingers crossed )
I am trying to up load some photos so as soon as I figure it out I will post
Thanks again

 

[walshy]

some pics of my tank

 

[flower]

Hi, welcome to the forum!
You have a at best a 30g tank if it's 30 inches across. The tang can't stay in that tank at all, it has already outgrown it. Sell the fish or give it away ASAP. That doesn't look like a dwarf lion to me, but I'm no expert, maybe it's the illusion created by the small aquarium... It already looks too large for that tank. The foxface needs at least a 55g tank.
Damsels are evil little fish, they will kill everything in the tank more timid then themselves, and bite your hand drawing blood when they mature.
You can't keep a good CUC (clean up crew = snails, shrimp and brittle or serpent stars) with a lion because it eats them.
A good CUC would take care of the algae for you. Sand (IMO) is always better then crushed coral, sand is easier for the CUC to keep clean...I never cleaned my sand in the 13 years I have kept SW tanks. Also with the over flow of fish too large for the tank, contributes to the filth on the sand.

 

[walshy]

Thanks flower I'm in the process of getting rid of the blue tang and the damsels.
My tank is 36 inches across and 19 inches front to back and 21 inches deep don't know if that makes a difference ?
Do you think this is ok for my dwarf lion ( well I hope its a dwarf ) that's what the lfs man said?
He is the one fish I have added but I don't want to keep him if tank not suitable for him
Also with the damsels biting they are good so far but the little clown fish smashes me every time I clean the glass
So by the week end my tank will have
Dwarf lion (hope that's what he is )
Fox face rabbit fish ( sorry forgot him on original post )
Picasso trigger
Clown fish ( the biter )
Clown wrasse
Is the new list better?
And do you think I am at my limit? Or can I get a flame hawk fish and is he compatible?
Thanks again for all your help
P.S. with the coral sand you said its better for just sand for clean up crew but as I can't have cuc is there anything beneficial about changing to sand?

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Walshy still way too small for the foxface and the trigger. Get rid of them, and if you want the bright yellow...go for a Lemonpeel angelfish. The only problem with dwarf angels is that you can only have one per tank.

 

[flower]

Also, get this book...let it be your next purchase instead of a fish.

 

[flower]

For some reason this site is only allowing me to post one picture and not in the same reply...here is a page so you can see the info the book has. I really find the adult fish size, and minimum tank size very helpful.

 

[jay0705]

Sucks doesn't it. Your tank is fine for the lion. Depending on your equipment you could upgrade the tank. I'd try a 75. There the same length as a 55 but wider and higher. W your hawk. The lion could eat it if it's small enough. To me it does look like a dwarf but it's hard to tell

 

[walshy]

Thanks all for your help ????
I have a 48 x19x24 in my back yard but I swapped for this tank as the other one has heaps of scratches in side and I don't like the look of it but I am going to get another one the same size or maybe a bit deeper? Thoughts?
Should I swap to that one till I get the new one?
I got that book flower I'm just waiting for it to arrive. And I also spoke to my LFS and they said they would take the tang and damsels so I will do that this weekend ?
Do I need to do anything to help the other fish not stress out as I'm sure I'm going to need to take out all my rocks to get those damsels?

 

[sweatervest13]

Research fish traps. Might be a whole lot easier than breaking down the entire tank to catch a fish.
Just an idea for you... I feed my fish using a net to strain and rinse the frozen food cube. I shut off my powerheads then dip the net in the tank to release all the food. I have to try hard not to net fish. I am not joking. With some food and a net I think I could catch almost all the fish in my tank. Maybe try feeding that way for a couple of days and see if you have some luck.

 

[walshy]

Thanks sweatervest13 I will give it a try not sure if it will get damsels though will defiantly get the tang but the damsels don't come up to get the food now they wait at the bottom for the food to come to them. But I will give it a good go anything to not pull apart unless everyone thinks its better to swap tanks to the bigger one out the back even though all scratched then I will catch them then lol
Thanks guys appreciate all the advice.

 

[mohawkninja]

Using a trap is much easier that chatching with a net with smaller fish, I am not s whether a trap Will work for your damsels because they dont feed from the surface but it is worth trying. Also there is a another aussie besides me on SWF which is new to me LOL. Anyways definetly get rid of your damsel, they are evil. Sorry for typos, on a tablet right now. (Broken laptop)

 

[walshy]

Thanks mohawkninja and nice to see another Aussie. There doesn't seem to be to many of use in this hobby that I can fined lol
I have looked in to some fish traps and am going to try that first lol there are a few make your own on utube so will let you know how it goes.
I got rid of the tang but as was said those damsels are a lot harder to get so hopefully the trap works.
I am also researching how to get rid of scratches from the inside of your tank as my 4ft tank is out the back and would like to use it as it has all the holes already in it but has hundreds of scratches.
So if anyone has any links or advice would be appreciated. Thanks ????

 

[mohawkninja]

I have seen an epoxy resin that dried clear and doesn't distort light too much. If the scratches are on the inside, that might not work, but I am sure some product has been invented to help with scratches. I know some auto repair services will do it for you because they use the same thing for windshields. I would just look around for something.