Beginner At Saltwater!!!!!!!!!!

[swimrnum1]

HI,
I have just gotten into the salt water fish craze. I have been researching for about two weeks now. I had freshwater fish for about 1 1/2 - 2 years. i have about a 35 gallon tank the dimensions are 18'' deep 24.5'' side to side and about 17'' back to front. The tank is in a half octagon shape. I know that this hobby is very expensive. My tank has an underground filter, and a uv light, i know i am going to have to buy an additional filter . By just browsing i have noticed that i am leaning towards these fish:
coral beauty
true percula clown
black percula clown
royal gramma
cardinal????
tang????
butterflies???
some kind of starfish??
i would definetely like to have the clowns in there please someone tell me what if any of these fish would be compatible together or able to fit in my tank
i would just like to have a few coral and rocks in my tank
Please offer any help possible
thank you

 

[swimrnum1]

y not any corals

 

[swimrnum1]

one person told me not to get two different species of clown fish and dont even get more than one clwonfish??
i dont think thats true??

 

[duke13]

You can very well have more than one clown in a tank. However, not all species of clowns will get along. It really is a matter of luck sometimes. The best thing to do is to introduce all of the clowns at the same time.
Corals ARE NOT for beginners and require well established tanks. Stick with learning the ropes first with live rock and fish. Once you get the hang of things, you'll appreciate the hobby more. SWF is about patience and appreciation. Corals will come in time. If you have no patience, then you're in the wrong hobby.
Also, get rid of the undergravel filter and buy a good protein skimmer. I would suggest an Aqua C Remora or CPR Bakpak.

 

[dedwards]

You can get corals as a beginner. Don't listen to people that say that they need a well established tank. Make sure that you know what you are doing and you will be able to keep several beginner corals. Polyps are a good starting coral and are fun to watch while feeding.

 

[swimrnum1]

based on response from other threads this is probably what i am going to get:
black percula clown
true orange percula clwon
royal gramma
bangai cardinal fish or pygmy angel
chocolate chip star?
what is ich?
what kind of light would be recommended for my size tank/
i am probalbly not gonna get live coral but i might get some live rock i went to my lfs and the guy there recommended some fake coral
how would you guys recomend cleaning out my old freshwater tank??

 

[duke13]

Your fish list is good for a beginner. I probably wouldn't get anymore fish than that, you may be pushing your bioload. Also, don't buy all 4 fish at once, the sudden dramatic increase in bioload can throw your tank into a spiking haywire. I'd get the 2 clowns first and your cleaner crew. Wait at least a couple of weeks before getting the other fish. Also, add the Royal Gramma last because it can be territorial. Regarding the Bangai Cardinal, they're really cool fish. I've heard from some people say that they're hard to keep. A Pygmy Angel would be a good addtion.
A chocolate chip starfish would be a good starter star to get. They're very hardy. However, they're not reef safe so if you decide on corals later, he has to leave the tank. Most starfish aren't reef safe with the exception of a few like Linkia and Brittle starfish. Linkias are beautiful starfish but are hard to keep. The Brittle is hardy but not much to really look at. Some Brittle stars have been known to eat your cleaner crew and sometimes slower fish.
Regarding about cleaning your old tank, I would just spray it out with hot water and use a soft sponge to work out the grime. Try not to use chemicals.
BTW, if your LFS has the name '*****' on the building, NEVER buy fish there unless you feel like paying for diseased fish. You might as well just give them the money and watch the fish die in their tanks, this way you don't have to clean up the dead body. ***** should be banned from selling SWF.....

 

[minitrucke]

Why does everyone bash *****'s name? Every salt water fish that I have bought from there has thrived (except my anenemes), sp? What the deal guys?

 

[swimrnum1]

so waht do you recommend for the order that i put in my stuff?
sand? live rock? fish?
what if any special thing do i have to do to live rock when i get it

 

[duke13]

Originally posted by minitrucke
Why does everyone bash *****'s name? Every salt water fish that I have bought from there has thrived (except my anenemes), sp? What the deal guys?
You are one of the lucky 1% who actually have a ***** that doesn't neglect their tanks and livestock.

 

[duke13]

Originally posted by swimrnum1
so waht do you recommend for the order that i put in my stuff?
sand? live rock? fish?
what if any special thing do i have to do to live rock when i get it

Get about 20 lbs of Live Sand and put that in first. Then add the Live Rock. The tank will stay cloudy for about a day. Make sure you're running your powerheads and skimmer during this time. If you're buying your LR from a LFS, you don't have to do anything to it but put it in the tank. You want to 'cycle' your tank for at least 3-5 weeks. Maybe after the first couple of weeks, introduce some Damsels to help speed up the cycling process. When you're tank is good and ready (stats wise), then it's time to get your fish of choice.

 

[swimrnum1]

why damsels if i was thinkning of getting;
two percula clown
royal gramma
bangai cardinal fish or pigmy angel
and a chocolate chip star
what if i do get my live rock online?
someone said i could get sand from home depot

 

[benter]

Damsels won't die!!...PERIOD... Just be prepared to take them out before you add your other fish..They are very hardy and will help cycle the tank faster...Be prepared to take your live rock back out to catch the little beep beeps or you will never catch them after you get prepared to put your other fish in..I've tried for two months now to catch the 2 little blue devils in mine, think I'm just going to give up and have to accept them until I get a bigger tank!!

 

[ophiura]

Originally posted by swimrnum1
My tank has an underground filter, and a uv light, i know i am going to have to buy an additional filter .
Please do not use the undergravel filter. It is really important to look into proper filtration and an undergravel definitely will not work out well! Look into Live sand, live rock, power heads, additional filters, protein skimmers, cycling a tank (very important), test kits.
The number one rule in this hobby is patience. It is really nothing like freshwater, where you can get away with a lot right from the start. There are no shortcuts in this hobby, and you don't get many breaks. There is lots of information out there, lots of books, and I definitely encourage you to continue to plan and ask lots of questions before you spend a single $$ on this...it will save you lots of $$ and heartache in the end.

 

[greatfullreefer]

Originally posted by Benter
They are very hardy and will help cycle the tank faster

i disagree

 

[benter]

Wow I have 4 of them that I have used to cycle a 29g, 2 55g's, and a 40g and dropped them in from day one pretty much..guess mine are just very tolerant of amonia and nitrites!!

 

[greatfullreefer]

I meant that damsels do not speed up a cycle, i agree they are quite hardy but it is cruel to put them through the toxic conditions of a cycle.

 

[ophiura]

This is a "traditional" difference of opinion in cycling a tank. The idea is to give the tank a worst case scenario. In cycling a tank with damsels, you are really supposed to use one damsel per 5 gallons...which is basically the maximum stocking level of the tank. You feed them heavily, and when the die (which indeed some will) you leave the bodies in there. Once you start seeing nitrite levels increase and ammonia decline, you cut back on feeding and take out the dead fish. This is the "classic" cycling with damsels.
It is pretty clear from this that just throwing large quanitities of food in does effectively the same thing, for far cheaper and with much less stress on the fish. Not to mention, you won't be left with potentially aggressive fish that you don't know what to do with.
I sold a lot of damsels working in an LFS, and, IMO, it is an effective sales technique. We took them back, but for less money than was paid for them...and of course you had to catch them.
Damsels are tough fish and cycling with them is a long standing and effective method. But there are far cheaper alternatives that enable you to push the tank extremely hard to get a really good cycle.

 

[dedwards]

The cocktail shrimp method is another method that you could use. Just go to the seafood counter at any grocery store and pick up a few shrimp. Toss them in the tank and let the bacteria do it's work. I cycled my tank this way in about 1-1.5 weeks. No Damsels to fish out and no stressed fish.

 

[trigger78]

Yeah, get about three jumbo shrimp and put them in some kind of netting, media bags or stockings will work. Have you ever treated your aquarium with any medication for your fresh-water fish? And, do you understand the process of getting started? Step 1. make sure you have all the equipment that will be needed now or in the near future.....powerheads, all major test kits, carbon, filters, a large quanity of ro/di water. 2. fill aquarium then mix the water if you want to do it this way since it is the first fill-up. 3. Add live sand and live rock. you can pour the live sand through a pvc pipe to help prevent cloudiness. 4. Add the jumbo shrimp then do the water tests to see where your parameters started for better observation. 5. check water periodically for 2-4 weeks to see when cycle is complete. 6. Add a major clean-up crew. try to stay away from snails that can't get back up if turned over and stay away from electric blue hermits. Try to get atleast twenty hermits and 10-20 snails. Then wait a couple days maybe a week and get your first 2 fish at the MOST. Lighting should be around 5 watts per gallon. Oh make sure you stay away from your undergravel filter and don't get crushed coral. A penguin or emperor filter with 7 times gph turn over rate is suggested. Good luck and hope atleast some of this helped.