Equipment for a 50 gal
- Thread starter sman
- Start date
sman
Member
Whats going in first? I have no Idea clean up crew wise, thats where im looking for some imput. But after that I want to do a firefish goby, a pair of clowns, a hawkfish would be cool, and so would a dwarf angel, but im not sure about care/temperament on those last 2.
But my lfs gets all the SW stuff in on mondays and tuesdays. So if someone could tell me what to get Clean up crew wise, ill have it put on hold, so hopefully I can get something put in this weekend.
Also what is the main diet for most SW fish, I give my FW fish flake and they get bloodworms 3 times a week. Im guessing this is nothing like what SW fish eat.
But my lfs gets all the SW stuff in on mondays and tuesdays. So if someone could tell me what to get Clean up crew wise, ill have it put on hold, so hopefully I can get something put in this weekend.
Also what is the main diet for most SW fish, I give my FW fish flake and they get bloodworms 3 times a week. Im guessing this is nothing like what SW fish eat.
bgrae001
Member
It really depends on the fish you have. Each have different diet requirements. Most will accept forzen brine shrimp, but I would add an additional vitamins though.
As far as the clean up crew. I would start with a few snails and hermits. You can always add more later. If you start having problems with hair alage add an emerald crab or two.
As for a dwarf angel youcould add a coral beauty. They will get along fine with what you have listed.
As for the hawk, I think that they are coral nipers so be careful!
As far as the clean up crew. I would start with a few snails and hermits. You can always add more later. If you start having problems with hair alage add an emerald crab or two.
As for a dwarf angel youcould add a coral beauty. They will get along fine with what you have listed.
As for the hawk, I think that they are coral nipers so be careful!
bgrae001
Member
It really depends on the fish you have. Each have different diet requirements. Most will accept frozen brine shrimp, but I would add an additional vitamins though.
As far as the clean up crew. I would start with a few snails and hermits. You can always add more later. If you start having problems with hair algae add an emerald crab or two.
As for a dwarf angel you could add a coral beauty. They will get along fine with what you have listed.
As for the hawk, I think that they are coral nippers so be careful!
As far as the clean up crew. I would start with a few snails and hermits. You can always add more later. If you start having problems with hair algae add an emerald crab or two.
As for a dwarf angel you could add a coral beauty. They will get along fine with what you have listed.
As for the hawk, I think that they are coral nippers so be careful!
lecithin
Member
I have to agree w/ bgrae make sure to check and see if all the fish are coral safe. If you're anything like me you'll want corals regardless of what you think now 
As for clean up, I tend to avoid hermits, they like to eat your snails. As for snails get a few Astrea or Turbo Mexican snails (or maybe a few of each) and a few Nassarius. The Nass go in your send bed and keep that churning, the others get on the LR and glass and clean that up some.
As for clean up, I tend to avoid hermits, they like to eat your snails. As for snails get a few Astrea or Turbo Mexican snails (or maybe a few of each) and a few Nassarius. The Nass go in your send bed and keep that churning, the others get on the LR and glass and clean that up some.
lecithin
Member
if your tank is finished cycling the fish can go in right after. I say can, but I would wait at least another week to make sure everything is stable. 2-3 Astrea and 2-3 Turbos I guess, I'm not sure how much your tank has to munch on but that should work for the glass and LR since your tank is young. The Nassarius stay in the sand bed so you may want 2-3 of those for now as well. Don't overdue it as they will starve. Add them as you see the need.
sman
Member
Just checked levels, oddly enough ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10. Could this really be right? Up time with live rock and sand is about 12 days, shrimp was in there from day 2 or so. I am getting hair algae all over one of my large peices of live rock, Ill have to look for an emerald crab locally, not real big on any crabs locally other than arrows and hermits. Any other advice? Could I really have fish in here by this weekend?
Just ran tests again to make sure, levels are exactly the same. Using api saltwater tests.
Just ran tests again to make sure, levels are exactly the same. Using api saltwater tests.
lecithin
Member
well you're going to have to buy some SW food soon anyway for when you get your first fish.... but until then just drop some flakes in every day. Enough so that you can tell if the tank can handle it.... I would say a little more then you would feed your fish, then you can really tell if it can handle the load.
bgrae001
Member
What the heck does "ghost feeding" mean? I've never heard of it. I've been doing SW for 5 years and I've never done that.
I would not feed my tank without anything being in it. It could cause another ammonia spike. I would just add the clean up crew and one fish. Wait at least 2 weeks before you add another fish.
Have you thought about setting up a QT? After you add the first fish you will want to quarantine all new fish after that for a minimum of 21 days to make sure that they don't have any diseases. It is very difficult to treat any thing like Ich in the main tank, especially after you add the clean up crew. If you add any copper based meds to your DT you could kill all your inverts.
I would pick up some frozen mysis and brine shrimp. Like I said before it all depends on the fish you add as to what type of food you serve. As for my tank I feed frozen mysis, frozen krill, frozen brine, flake, pellet, liquid vitamins, garlic extract, and Phytoplankton. I have a 54 gal reef and i stagger my feedings.
I would not feed my tank without anything being in it. It could cause another ammonia spike. I would just add the clean up crew and one fish. Wait at least 2 weeks before you add another fish.
Have you thought about setting up a QT? After you add the first fish you will want to quarantine all new fish after that for a minimum of 21 days to make sure that they don't have any diseases. It is very difficult to treat any thing like Ich in the main tank, especially after you add the clean up crew. If you add any copper based meds to your DT you could kill all your inverts.
I would pick up some frozen mysis and brine shrimp. Like I said before it all depends on the fish you add as to what type of food you serve. As for my tank I feed frozen mysis, frozen krill, frozen brine, flake, pellet, liquid vitamins, garlic extract, and Phytoplankton. I have a 54 gal reef and i stagger my feedings.
sman
Member
Went out on lunch, I picked up some formula 1 frozen stuff. The guy at the LFS recomended it(I know dont trust the fish guys, but I have heard of others on here using it too. If its not the right thing I can take it back np. And I had them hold a really nice false perc clown for me.
If everyone thinks its ok, as readings hadnt changed this morning, Ill get the clown and some turbos on my way home from work.
QT, I have a 10 gallon that I will be setting up as a QT as soon as I find a spot to put it, I already have the tank filter light and some non live sand, I hope to(when the DT is up and going for a while pull water from that and use it in the QT).
If everyone thinks its ok, as readings hadnt changed this morning, Ill get the clown and some turbos on my way home from work.
QT, I have a 10 gallon that I will be setting up as a QT as soon as I find a spot to put it, I already have the tank filter light and some non live sand, I hope to(when the DT is up and going for a while pull water from that and use it in the QT).
lecithin
Member
Ghost feeding is exactly what you do so that you make sure you WON'T get another ammonia spike. If you add food and get an ammonia spike then you don't have enough bacteria in there to handle the fish and the food you drop in there.
Don't dump a ton of food in there, just enough to feed 1-2 fish every other day and watch the levels. If your tank can't handle that then it can't handle fish. They tend to produce waste and they won't get every little piece of food you put in there, thus ghost feeding is the test to see if your tanks ready.
Don't dump a ton of food in there, just enough to feed 1-2 fish every other day and watch the levels. If your tank can't handle that then it can't handle fish. They tend to produce waste and they won't get every little piece of food you put in there, thus ghost feeding is the test to see if your tanks ready.
sman
Member
I am starting to get (what appear) to be diatoms in the sand, and they are spreading FAST. I just thought the sand looked a little weird when I left this morning, but in between shifts (got asked to work a double) I went home and checked on the tank. There is alot more whatever it is in the sand then what there was when I left.
Also retested, levels about the same, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10ish, looking more like 15 now. I think I may get some snails on my way home tonight. Will they help with the diatoms, or will I just have to wait for the algae to take over the diatoms. BTW the hair algae is getting LONG up to an inch in some places.
Also retested, levels about the same, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10ish, looking more like 15 now. I think I may get some snails on my way home tonight. Will they help with the diatoms, or will I just have to wait for the algae to take over the diatoms. BTW the hair algae is getting LONG up to an inch in some places.
lecithin
Member
nah they don't really eat the diatoms. Actually the diatoms will disappear soon as the tank balances out and all the diatom's food gets expended. Just clean the glass in a bit and all of the sudden you'll have 99.8% less!
I say (just my opinion) do a ghost feed today and friday, test the levels and if they're ok add the crew on Saturday.
Buuut, if you think the levels are ok add a few of the clean up crew.
Get that hair algae out of there if you can, its spreads like grass.... get it? because it looks like grass? Yeah I know, terrible joke.....
I say (just my opinion) do a ghost feed today and friday, test the levels and if they're ok add the crew on Saturday.
Buuut, if you think the levels are ok add a few of the clean up crew.
Get that hair algae out of there if you can, its spreads like grass.... get it? because it looks like grass? Yeah I know, terrible joke.....