Beginner Here..

[flower]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3259305
I use the bag acclimation method but I do a lot more than float for 15 minutes
I temp acc first....then open bag, take out a little bag water, add a little tank water...let sit 15 minutes...I repeat this step many times...then dump the bag water and add the fish to the tan
the neons I lost I think were due to their itty bitty size....

Not acclimation

+1
I use this method as well, I do it for over an hour sometimes two. I attach the bag to the side of the tank with a clip, or it may fall down into the tank and accidently acclimate the critter before it should and all at once.

 

[treid022]

I have had the first fish I started off with for the past 3 years, dwarf angel (flameback)..I'm not sure how hardy he is, but I am not the most experienced guy either. he has withstood my trials and errors and is an actually nice companion... She/he seems to be very happy and thriving..

 

[chella81]

I want to say thank you to everyone for helping me! it means a lot another question i have is a temp. question..When i had my heater plugged in..my tank read at 80-82F..i unplugged it had been reading at 78F...now this morning it is reading at74-76F..should i plug my heater back in and just leave it at 80-82F even though the ideal temp. is 78F?

 

[meowzer]

YES....Plug your heater in so the tank stays at a constant temp.....too much temp fluctuation is more harmful than the actual temps sometimes

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Chella81
http:///forum/post/3259486
I want to say thank you to everyone for helping me! it means a lot another question i have is a temp. question..When i had my heater plugged in..my tank read at 80-82F..i unplugged it had been reading at 78F...now this morning it is reading at74-76F..should i plug my heater back in and just leave it at 80-82F even though the ideal temp. is 78F?

Flowers marine lesson 101...LOL

With saltwater critters, consistency is what you want. The ocean changes very, very little and the critters of that part of our world never learned to adjust to change over the millennia of time.
What you are striving for is a tank without change. You want the SG, temps, water quality…everything to remain as close to the ocean as possible and stay there. That is near impossible but we can get very close. Tank raised critters can handle those very small changes in our tanks better than wild caught.
So adjust your temp to not swing more than 2 degrees if at all possible.

 

[chella81]

Thanks! I'm so glad I join this forum..I'm learning more and more...I know you don't want major flucuation..just wasn't too sure if 80-82F was going to be to warm

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Chella81
http:///forum/post/3259505

Thanks! I'm so glad I join this forum..I'm learning more and more...I know you don't want major flucuation..just wasn't too sure if 80-82F was going to be to warm

I kept my tank at 82/84 for 2 years for a certain fish that liked it warm. So 80/82 isn't bad at all. Very close to normal reef temps. People keep their tanks cool 76/78 to slow things down like algae growth. A properly maintained tank can handle warm temps without fear of algae blooms getting out of hand.

 

[beaslbob]

If it is your very first fish you could use a common FW male molly. Just acclimate slowly.
I don't use any heaters in air conditioned and heated room comfortable to humans.
my .02

 

[mrdc]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3259298
LOL...OH....I have never been able to keep a neon goby alive
Me either ... what is it about them?

 

[chella81]

I posted a picture of my tank on my profile

 

[meowzer]

Originally Posted by Chella81
http:///forum/post/3259543
I posted a picture of my tank on my profile

Nice tank...BUT...I would add more live rock, and a couple of Powerheads.
I think you should post the pic in this thread too!!

 

[chella81]

Yeah I'm gonna add some more eventually and get some powers heads.. another question I have is: could my loss of fish be due to using tap water verses RO water? And is brown algae normal on live rock?

 

[pirates]

my 55 i used tap water and just had alge problems could have heavy metals in the water you need to have it tested i tested my water first before i put it in my tank just had phos. .50ppms i now use a ro on my 90gallon tank its
looking good so far just hope you can get some fish in the tank i would test the waters my metals

 

[flower]

Use RO water not tap. Tap water didn’t kill your fish (chlorine is out after 24 hours) Until you add even one fish, nothing is happening in the tank…waiting two months did nothing. Use a product called Cycle and some frozen shrimp in a mesh bag to kick start your cycle, good bacteria will grow rapidly to consume the ammonia from the rotting shrimp. When the ammonia test reading returns to 0 you should be able to house a fish.
The good bacteria grow on the rocks and sand more than living in the water itself. That’s why lots of rock is a good thing.
Brown algae on the rock is the norm…after the cycle I mentioned above, get a some hermit crabs, they love to eat brown algae. IMO Meowzer is right you need some more rock and a power head on each side of the tank.

 

[meowzer]

Yeah I started my 225G with tap water....I didn't get the ro/di unit until 6 months later, and I didn't lose any fish during that time....I also didn't have any algae issues.....just lucky I guess

I would get more rock, let it re-cycle (or cure) get the powerheads and protein skimme (I don't see one)
them after adding all that, test your water like in the beginning....after all the readings settle back down, start with your cuc (clean up crew) and go from there.
I would NOT add any more fish until after you at least add the rock

 

[chella81]

The things is i have tried adding fish and they didnt live for then what seem like 10 mins..After my tank cycled I had tried hermit crabs, but they died by the next day. So I wasn't sure if it was because I was using tap water. I used microb-lift which is similiar to Cycle..and I have also used bio-enzyme as well. The only thing i didnt use was live sand yet. So today I'm going to go buy some RO water to do a half water change and also put some live sand in my tank..Then let it run for awhile.

 

[meowzer]

Did you buy this tank new? Just curious cause maybe copper or something like that was previously used.....If your water is testing "normal" as you say, NOTHING should die that quickly
where are you getting these fish and inverts from? maybe you need to try somewhere else
I believe you asked about acclimation in another thread...right?

 

[chella81]

I got the tank from my mom. She had one goldfish in it. Yeah I brought 3 samples of water to 3 different LFS and all said my water tested fine. Well thing is I got my fish and inverts my work which is ***** and the funny thing is I'm head of the aquatics department. So I take care of all the fish. I just never had a tank at home before of SW. So I have watched and fed the fish to make sure they were healthy. I've had co-worker/friend buy fish and put it in her tank and they have done just fine. The only thing is she lives in a different town then I. Yeah I did ask about acclimation in another thread. I've talk to another friend and he said he has done the float method and he now uses RO water. Before he said he was using tap water and was told buy another fish store that the stinker the live rock is the better, but his tank became toxic he said. He told me when he switched to RO water and that he was able to keep fish. So he assumes that is my problem. Though my other friend uses tap water and her fish are fine..So i'm confuse to what the problem is with my tank.

 

[meowzer]

I can tell you unless your tap is contaminated...which I am guessing it is not.... that is is NOT the tap...I will say ro/di is better, but again TAP will not kill you fish. Have you had the tap tested? Do YOU drink your water? Are you okay...LOL....I think if your water was contaminated you would know
What have the lfs stores tested for? any testing been done for copper or metals????

 

[chella81]

LOL Yeah I'm ok..

I do drink my tap water. The lfs just tested the normal things- nitrates,nitrites, ph, ammonia, salinity, chlorine, hardness, alklinity, etc. They all said turned out fine. The first store said unless there is something in my water that they are unable to test for that is killing my fish. The second store gave me the answer that I have to do a 10 gallon water change every week for a 29 gallon and just went on about my fish getting ich, which I told him I have nothing in my tank. The third store said they would have no problem with selling me fish. They recommended a type of poly filter that tested for other things. It test by turning different colors. I havent tested my tap for copper or metals yet.