Originally Posted by
LKGRenegade22
http:///forum/post/2833724
If you have something you would like to share by all means please do, I'm all ears.
okay a few things you should be aware of:
1. the bioload is too high for a 72g. you must have started with cured liverock and you have plenty or everything would be dead already. that puts you a little bit ahead of the game however you still can not exceed the bioload of what the bacteria present can process into nitrates or your water will be diluted with nitrites or ammonia that hasn't been broken down (toxic to the livestock). you put a high load on biological filtration and stuff is going to die before it catches up. your reading of 0-0-0 across the board is a clear sign that the storm just hasn't come yet. With functional biofiltration you should have nitrates thru the roof (the end result of biological processing). even with a functional biofilter you are going to have nitrate problems without gigantor and frequent water changes. its simply too many fish for the volume of water. this would be an appropriate FINAL (not all added at once) final stocking and I consider that a heavy load (maxed out):
1- Flame Angelfish
1- Coral Beauty Angelfish
1- Lawnmower Blenny
2- False Percula Clowns
1- Pink Spot Sifter Goby
1- Rusty Clown Goby
1- Sixline Wrasse
4- Turbo Snails (these arent the best choice either but with the grouper may be the only choice).
you shouldn't have bought the other fish to have "something in there until I got other fish". they could have taken them back to the pet store or sold them to somebody with the appropriate conditions to take them. you dont do saltwater tanks overnight. everybody starts out with an empty or almost empty tanks and builds it over time.
2. grouper doesn't belong. 3" is big enough to eat some of your fish stocking. you dont have anywhere near "by next year" as you put it. its going to take about that long before you have a full understanding and are ready for another bigger and better set up. even if you can buy it overnight you cant learn it over night.
3. cleaner wrasse doesn't belong. survival rate of cleaner wrasse in captivity is next to nothing. has nothing to do with eating either, they eat fine and still drop dead.
4.sebae anemone doesn't belong. even under the BEST conditions they usually dont make it a year in captivity. you have inadequate lighting, high bioload and lack of established filtration thats going to kill it sooner or later.
5. same for the starfish. chocolate chip stars are hardy but you dont have the conditions or establishment for any starfish yet.
6. coralife 65 is inadequate for a regular load in your size tank (the 65 is for up to 65g). you should have the best skimming has to offer attempting what you are attempting and you have an undersized entry level skimmer.
I wont even get into multiple sourced fish with lack of quarantining, the appropriateness of the tang, the copper band ect ect. I can actually understand somebody wanting a saltwater aquarium and ending up doing something like this but the fact you "read online for many months and purchased many books" I have to admitt is a bit disturbing.
