First Tank

[600k4]

Hello All,
I am looking for opinions, advice and suggestions on my setup. I am looking to have fish that are non agressive or less agressive. I wish that I came to this forum prior to buying decorations because I would have bought a lot of live rock, my LFS never recommended it, they just aimed me to the expensive fake crap... I am new to keeping fish, my setup is:
55 gal glass tank
Penguin Bio Wheel 350
200 watt Marineland Heater
2lbs of LR
Started tank with 7 damsels (LFS gave me two that were not healthy and didn't last very long)
After 7 weeks I have 3 damsels left- 1blue, 1yellow tail, 1blue fin.
pH 8.2
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Do I need more filtration? Protein Skimmer? I am going to purchase more LR this weekend but need to remove some of the decor that is in the tank (fake tri level coral, large fake clam shell & a fake rock- i stacked my 2 pieces of LR on top of)
I was thinking about the following fish: Lawnmower Blenny, Purple Dottyback, 6 line wrasse, perc clown. after a lot of LR is added would also like a shrimp, crab(s) and a Fromia Star.
~Thanks~

 

[ktsdad]

Welcome to the hobby! Sounds like you are starting down the right track.
I used to have fish only tanks with fake stuff, while it looked cool - my water parameters were very difficult to get stable. I see your nitrate is already starting to rise, keep an eye on this you don't want it to get out of control.
Anyway.....I would definatly get more live rock, I really can't believe how much easier it is to keep water param in check with lots of live rock as your main bio filtration. Make sure you are getting "cured" live rock from your LFS so as not to start another cycle from the new rock! Just ask them how long it has been in the tank. It they have had it for at least 3-4 weeks in their tanks then you should be safe adding it to your tank.
I would also get a skimmer, best one you can afford. Some will say you don't need one, but I would say yes! Of course which one is best is another highly debated subject, similiar to the old Ford and Chevy debate!
What kind of substrate are you using? Sand or Crushed Coral? If you are using CC then make sure you vacumm it regularily or else it could cause nitrate problems.
Good Luck!

 

[archon210]

I would definately get a protein skimmer.
How long did you have the tank setup before they gave you the damsels?
I think the reason you had damsels dying was because either your tank wasnt ready for fish yet, or your other damsels where harassing them.
When I started my 45g, I started with only 3 damsels and kept them in there for a few months while adding all the rock I wanted then I got 2 clowns. But one thing you're going to have a hard time getting those damsels out when you want them out.
Do you have live sand? If not, I suggest buying some live sand.
The fish you are looking at should be fine for the tank. The only thing I cannot comment on would be the dottyback, as I have never looked into those fish. You may want to wait till your tank is very established to put the lawnmower blenny in because they feed on algae. The perculas are very good and hardy fish so those should be fine. The only thing I would say about the 6 line wrasse, is to watch out because they can jump out of the tank. Mine jumped out on me and I accidently stepped on it =( Although I do not know if that was just a freak accurance or what.
Now I noticed your nitrate levels are 20, they should be at 0. This can be caused by using tap water for water changes, lack of water changes, or over feeding. In a FOWLR(Fish only with live rock) you could get by with these parameters, but I noticed you wanted some inverts, and inverts are not tolerant to high nitrates. They will die.
So to prevent this, you will want to use RO/DI water for water changed and top offs and dont overfeed your fish, if that happens to be the reason why your nitrates are high.
Good luck with your tank!

 

[600k4]

Thanks for the input, I am using sand for the substrate, it's not LS tho... I am pretty sure the LR I have is cured, there is purple coloration to it and it was in the LFS for at least a month b4 I bought it. Do you think the fish I outlined will be good tankmates? I have not done a water change yet, I am planning on doing that this week then taking out the damsels and adding the others one at a time... Thanks for your input...

 

[ktsdad]

Originally Posted by 600k4
Thanks for the input, I am using sand for the substrate, it's not LS tho... I am pretty sure the LR I have is cured, there is purple coloration to it and it was in the LFS for at least a month b4 I bought it. Do you think the fish I outlined will be good tankmates? I have not done a water change yet, I am planning on doing that this week then taking out the damsels and adding the others one at a time... Thanks for your input...
Using sand for the substrate is good, don't worry about it not being LS when you got it.
It will become live on it's own. You can speed this along by adding a cup of sand out of an established tank. Maybe a friend can give you some, or I have heard about folks buying a cup from their LFS.
The rock I was referring to is the new rock you plan on adding. Now that you have a cycled tank, you don't want to do anything to cause another cycle - like adding more live rock that isn't cured and has lots of dead growth that will rot in your tank and cause another ammonia spike (cycle).
I would get rid of the damsels before you add anything else. They get territorial and aggresive.
Good Luck!

 

[600k4]

I bought the water from the LFS and I belive it's RO. It sounds like I should do a water change now, the LFS said wait a little bit. I was going to wait to put in any fish untill I changed the water and definately not get any inverts untill I have a lot more LR... Can I add LS to my tank with fish in it? Should I remove the sand that is in there or just vaccum some of it out? I must admit I do feed them twice a day but only a little bit each time, is that ok? One LFS said feed every other day and the other was like "how many times a day do you eat" so the second recommended at least twice a day... I eat 5 times a day so I dont think fish should be compared to people that loosley...

 

[ktsdad]

Originally Posted by 600k4
I bought the water from the LFS and I belive it's RO. It sounds like I should do a water change now, the LFS said wait a little bit. I was going to wait to put in any fish untill I changed the water and definately not get any inverts untill I have a lot more LR... Can I add LS to my tank with fish in it? Should I remove the sand that is in there or just vaccum some of it out? I must admit I do feed them twice a day but only a little bit each time, is that ok? One LFS said feed every other day and the other was like "how many times a day do you eat" so the second recommended at least twice a day... I eat 5 times a day so I dont think fish should be compared to people that loosley...
I am only talking about adding a cup or so of LS from another tank, so yes you can do it with fish in your tank. You don't need to remove any sand currently in your tank. You don't want to vacumm your sand either, that will remove the stuff that makes it 'live".
I do 10% water changes every week, if you haven't changed any water since you set up your tank then yes you need to start.
I feed once a day, just enough for them to eat all of it within a few minutes.