am i doing this right???

[shroomie2u]

i have a 24g aquapod, no modifications, no skimmer.
started as a FOnly
1 bicolor blenny
1 blue spotted puffer
1 false perc
1 true perc
1 black&white damsel
have had these guys for amost 5 months with no prob, but we have had issues with keeping inverts alive.
we just added 10lbs of live rock and 6 hermit crabs(lil blue guys very tiny ones) we wanted to try getting into corals and such. fish have seemed to slow way down and stressed out since adding LR
current levels
temp 78
amonia 0
nitrites 2
nitrates 0
ph 7.8
SAL 1.20
any advice on what to expect from LR and any advice on whhat we are getting into is greatly appriciated! thanks

 

[shroomie2u]

forgot to include 1 small yellow tang
a pic of my beautiful work-in-progress

Attachment 201024

 

[errattiq]

Hello, congrats on your tank. You wanted some advice so here's my take on your situation. I have a few initial concerns. Since your tank is only 24 gal with no skimmer, you seem to have a bioload problem. The number and type of fish in your aquarium produce a heavy bioload and I'd have to advocate a skimmer for your case, hands down. The excess wastes aren't being cycled out and you don't have enough live rock to assist there either. Remember, as a general rule, you should have at least 1lb of live rock per gallon of your system (especially with no skimmer), the same for live sand. I'm pretty sure with the number/types of fish you have and the lack of biological filtration from those two elements(live rock/sand), is contributing to your growing nitrite problem. In terms of the fish being slower and more stressed, the nitrites can cause that, a PH of 7.8 is quite low and can attribute to that as well. Usually a lower specific gravity like 1.020 like you mentioned is ok for fish only tanks but that is still sort of low. Try to boost is to 1.022 or 1.023 and see if that helps the fish perk up. Almost forgot but in order to successfully keep corals, you MUST keep your specific gravity at 1.024-1.026 (typical SG of natural seawater) for them to thrive. Also, your yellow tang is going to quickly outgrow the aquarium, most people generally accept tangs of that species in 55gal or larger aquariums. Next is your puffer. If you would like to have corals in this system this fish needs to go, they are not reef safe which means they will essentially try to eat your corals. Lastly, corals do not tolerate poor water conditions which means those nitrites got to go. I know this is a lot to take in but the BEST advice for you right now is to get more live rock in there to balance that system out, do a decent water change of at least 40% to dilute the nitrites(don't freak out its not a huge problem yet) and wait it out to get your parameters in check, you should have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrite at least, keep the nitrates below 20ppm. If you have any other questions let me know
-Josh

 

[lando101]

Well said Josh!! And good luck shroomie2u!!

 

[spiderwoman]

All I can say is that your bioload in that tank is way too big (too many fish). You have a fish in there that doesn't belong to tank size of yours. You need more real LR. From the picture I'm pretty sure to say that the large white rock is base rock.
Water parameters are off, pH is too low, salinity is too low, nitrites should not exist at all. You can get this to clear up when you take the Yellow Tang back to the LFS or upgrade him to a larger tank. Do a large water change, add real LR and remove fish.
I forgot, please get a skimmer!

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by SpiderWoman
http:///forum/post/2651707
All I can say is that your bioload in that tank is way too big (too many fish). You have a fish in there that doesn't belong to tank size of yours. You need more real LR. From the picture I'm pretty sure to say that the large white rock is base rock.
Water parameters are off, pH is too low, salinity is too low, nitrites should not exist at all. You can get this to clear up when you take the Yellow Tang back to the LFS or upgrade him to a larger tank. Do a large water change, add real LR and remove fish.
I forgot, please get a skimmer!
+1 If you have nitrites I would bet you have ammonia. You have 3 fish too many in your tank IMO. Your fish slowed from stress your correct, and the stress was most likley caused by toxic water. And if not corrected soon they will most certainly die.

 

[errattiq]

hey perfect dark, what part of RI are you from? I'm in the New Bedford, MA area and I'm down @ Sea Creature aquarium on mineral spring ave in Providence all the time.

 

[paintballer768]

Tang police are on their way. Im just going to say it now, but the yellow tang requires something like a 75 gallon or a 125 to be happy, even at that size. The puffer needs a 55 or so I believe.
My biggest piece of advice would be to read up on information regarding cycling a tank, clownfish and mated pairs, and google the names of fish before you purchase them. This will save you many dead fish and hopefully create a better environment for the fish you do keep.
And puffers eat inverts.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by errattiq
http:///forum/post/2651727
hey perfect dark, what part of RI are you from? I'm in the New Bedford, MA area and I'm down @ Sea Creature aquarium on mineral spring ave in Providence all the time.

I am in the Cranston area. Sea Creature? I went there early on when I started in this hobby. I was not impressed, his placed looked like a garbage truck threw up inside it. I havent been in a while, but I might have to take another look. How far from Framingham are you? Tropical Isle is an enormous SW Fish store, and if you are around North Providence you should take an extra 15 minutes and head to Jefferson Blvd in Warwick, Something Fishy Inc. they have a very very nice establishment, unbelievable staff, biologist and more...
What is good at Sea Creatures? Any one thing in particular?

 

[touchthesky00]

as said above,
i would take out everything but the clowns and blenny
raise ur salinity
reserach here more
welcome to the boards and dont be afraid to ask lots of questions

 

[errattiq]

Well, I don't know how John was at first, but I can at least say he has great livestock, his tanks are always clean and he has excellent prices. I mean just as an example I picked up my 4 inch Hippo tang there for $31.99 which is miles below anywhere else I've checked. His coral prices are very fair too, I bought a 10 inch Colt coral there for 32.99 . I heard of Tropical Isle, I think now that someone I know has good things to say, I'll check them out, how are there prices??

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by errattiq
http:///forum/post/2651872
Well, I don't know how John was at first, but I can at least say he has great livestock, his tanks are always clean and he has excellent prices. I mean just as an example I picked up my 4 inch Hippo tang there for $31.99 which is miles below anywhere else I've checked. His coral prices are very fair too, I bought a 10 inch Colt coral there for 32.99 . I heard of Tropical Isle, I think now that someone I know has good things to say, I'll check them out, how are there prices??
You have to know what your buying, some prices are fair, some prices are high and some are a steal. At least the last time I went thats what I saw. I bought a Zoa rock with over 150 polyps of 3 different colored zoas, whamin watermelons, nuclear greens, and blow pops, for $50. I considered that a steal. But the selection is phenomenal, IMO

 

[shroomie2u]

ok so far i am screwing this up quite bad

the tang i just bought like 3 weeks ago and he seems happy. but i will look into getting back to a pet shop. as far as the puffer is concerned, i read that this was as big as he would get, we have had him for 3 months. he is so cute i have to wait a few days before i can come to terms with parting with him.
i had no idea that we had to raise the salinity! the guy told us that it would help our tank and brighten things up....wow, i feel dumb! ok so i'm gonna raise the salinity and do a big water change ASAP.
thank u all for ur advice, i hope i don't seem ungrateful but this is sooooo expensive and it really is a constant learning process. i mean i have had the tank for a while and all was good except for a few starfish and a shrimp, and it turns out that i knew lil bout moving onto live rock!

thanks again and i will post my new readings soon.

 

[spiderwoman]

Hey, we all makes beginner mistakes. Don't beat yourself up for it
Raise the salinity slowly through water changes. Do you have refractometer or hydrometer? If you are using a hydrometer I recommend you get a refrac because it will give you more specific reading on your water salinity.

 

[shroomie2u]

should i start to raise it by taking some out and adding some water with a slightly higher salinity? trying to figure out how that works. yes i do have a hydrometer, never even heard of anything else to measure it with!!
this is kinda hard for me to understand how much i don't know. i am book smart like that and i read alot bout SW tanks but i think i just got bored and jumped at that LR without knowing anything. but i'm gonna get it! i'm gonna end up with a tank like yall's! I CAN DO IT!!!

 

[shroomie2u]

ok i took out some water and added a lil more with a higher salinity. my readings are now:
amm =0
nitrite= .2
nitrate= 0
PH= 7.8
SA= 1.020 - 1.021 (in the middle)
temp 78 (even tho water feels a lil cold)
and the fish are a lil more active.
tomarrow we are gonna go grab a protein skimmer and a power head ( i think thats what they are) for better water flow, and a ph riser since that is still low. if we have the $ we are gonna grab some more LR too. we have also been thinking that the temp always says 78 but that the water is always kinda cold so we might have to get a heater as well
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
thanks for ur help and i will keep posting cause i'm suure we will continue to

[hr]
this up!!!

 

[errattiq]

Great! A Protein skimmer is definitely one of your first priorities. I wouldn't worry about the heater too much though with your temp already consistent at 78 degrees, with the addition of a powerhead into a 24gal tank and depending on if you get a hang on skimmer or not ( I use a hang on) you'll have plenty of extra heat in there. Just wait and see how much brown/green sludge it'll pull from your tank! You'll be soooo surprised to see what was in that seemingly clear water. But yes, definitely grab a skimmer first, but the next priority would be live rock. With the additional water movement from your powerhead, the Ph will more than likely stablize as well. Don't beat yourself up, it truly is a learning experience and we've all messed up lol believe me. but for future reference, if you want a decent tank with more than a few inhabitants, as a general rule, start with the tank, pounds of live rock and live sand equal to or more than the number of gallons in the tank, a good filter, heater, powerhead and a protein skimmer. Those are the absolute necessities. Lighting is a whole other animal. Get whatever suits your needs. But lik already stated, if in doubt ask here first, there are plenty of VERY experienced hobbyists and even professionals willing to make your aquarium successful.
-Josh

 

[shroomie2u]

i wake up to find my blenny and the tang are dead!!!!!

my puffer looks like it is next, the clowns and the damsel look fine tho and the crabs are wayyyyy more active then they were.
so today we are getting a power head thingys and a protein skimmer fo sure! i don't know why all this is happening but we are trying to salvage what we can. i have a few questions tho
any brands we should look for? could we pick up a skimmer cheaper at walmart or something?
we don't have live sand in the tank, is this going to be a problem? i know ur supposed to, but we didn't know we were gonna want to switch to LR, so we just went with the crushed coral.
even tho i been changing the water to raise the salinity, should i change it again because the tang died???
thanks for ur advice and hopefully we will be able to save a few of our fish.

 

[perfectdark]

I briefly read the above so if anything is repeated ignore it.
First....get your own test kits, liquid test kits are preferred, you want ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, pH, alkalinity. Make sure you test what your SG or Salinity is, a refractometer is recomended over a hydrometer. At the same time get a batch of salt water mixing. Your preparation for a salt water change should be done 24 hours prior to the actual change. You want to mix your salt water and have it match the salinity of your tanks water, also matching the temp. You should have a separate container for mixing salt water, a small power head to airate the water and mix the salt, and a small heater to match the temp of your tank. If you had that many deaths this quickly I fear that your whole tank is going to suffer. Water change is very important but it needs to be done correctly or you can still kill your inhabitants. I would recomend nothing less than a 50% change. Test your water with your test kits and prep another batch of salt water for a change if necessary.
Now that your on your way to correcting your mistakes, you need to understand a bit more about a tanks cycle, bioload and what inhabitants can safely live in the environment you have set up. Tangs, and puffers should not be on your list. Also for the size tank you have your limited to 3 maybe... and I stress MAYBE 4 small fish. And this depends on what kind they are. All your live rock should be in your tank, if your intention is to have live rock. And your cycle needs to be complete before adding any live stock at all. Testing your water will tell you when you will be ready to add any live stock. HTH and good luck.

 

[touchthesky00]

a lot of people would recommend getting rid of the crushed coral