Fresh Meat

kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Okay so I am a new aquarist and am anxious to learn all that I can. However, I am in that stage of constantly checking levels and adding water and mixing PH buffers trying different foods etc......and I am wondering, is all this really necessary? Here is what I have and maybe some of you experts can tell me where my focus should be!
Specs:
36 gallon tank (small I know but designed to fit a space)
Outflow box
Sump tank with bio balls, protein skimmer and heater
Return pump
2 power heads for circulation
24 inch flourescent light that came with the aquarium (nothing special)
Fish/Inverts:
clown fish (2)
purple pseudochromis
punctato butterfly
blue hippotang
clown gobie
royal gramma
pajama cardinal
green mandarin (I have been told that he won't survive much longer)
I bought the 20-55 gallon reef package from this site with snails clams, crabs, brittle stars etc...
200 copepods
Foods:
I have been feeding the fish a varied diet consisting of flake food, pellets, frozen and freeze-dried brine and algae sheets.
Levels:
Temp: 78-80F
SG: 1.022- 1.024
PH: I use a buffer to maintain 8.3
No high levels of ammonia, nitrate, or nitrite
I haven't checked alkalinity
Where should my focus be at this time? Thanks for any help you all can give. This message board is great and I appreciate all of your efforts!
Kevin -

[hr]
Head
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
Well your a bit overstocked. The tang and butterfly are going to get too big. Also I agree about the mandrin. I'd lower your temp a couple of degrees to around 77, i don't know, just what I like to keep mine at. 80 seems kinda high.
Also how long has the tank been set up?
I'd get Emperor Power Filter for 50g(the more filtration isn't going to hurt anything) hang over back filter to help keep everything stable.
 
doktorj99

doktorj99

Member
first off the tang police will be visiting you very soon....the hippo has to go...tank is way to small...it's only 3" now but will reach a foot....butterfly too...how much live rock do you have??....once again the Mandrian you already know.....keep checking levels and remeber....take this hobby SLOW....it's better to research for months, than to make a bad choice....good luck and get rid of some of those fish!!!
 
kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Originally Posted by BadBoyJ
do you have live rock??
Yes I forgot to mention I have about 15 pounds of live rock. Also I was using a formula of about .5 inches of fish per gallon. Right now I'd say that I have about 20 inches of fish. Is that too much? I thought I was being patient because my tank was set up and running for about 1 month before I added any fish/inverts to it.
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
Add more live rock, get rid of the mandrin, tang, and butterfly, and you should be fine. You could even add another fish or two.
 
kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
Well your a bit overstocked. The tang and butterfly are going to get too big. Also I agree about the mandrin. I'd lower your temp a couple of degrees to around 77, i don't know, just what I like to keep mine at. 80 seems kinda high.
Also how long has the tank been set up?
I'd get Emperor Power Filter for 50g(the more filtration isn't going to hurt anything) hang over back filter to help keep everything stable.

Thanks! I'll check into the Emperor.
Kevin
 
kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Originally Posted by rudedog40
saltwater is 1" per 5 gallons
Uh oh! I got someone elses opinion! That's one thing that I have learned so far is that there are a lot of opinions out there. I will try and give a couple of them to a friend. Thanks for sharing!
 
kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
Add more live rock, get rid of the mandrin, tang, and butterfly, and you should be fine. You could even add another fish or two.

Thanks! Will do!
 
kevin5500

kevin5500

Member
Originally Posted by BadBoyJ
I want an emperor so bad ....just not ready....good luck to ya.

I just checked on the internet and they're only about 50 bucks at PetSmart. Good luck to you too!
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
Are you joking? I got my powerheads, and heaters from there. Go ahead, there is no difference in the product. I see some emperors there when I do go which isn't often. If you got the money, I'd rather order it online from a saltwater fish store online. two doc's.
 
doktorj99

doktorj99

Member
usually you wanna wait 3 months before you add fish....it just gives the tank a chance to get established and so you won't have any major problems....if you get rid of the fish Mike and i said you should be fine....good luck and research,research,research,....good luck
 
mike22cha

mike22cha

Active Member
Oh fish, no don't get from there. They don't sell any I think. ***** does. Emperor is the filter we're talking about. Not emperor angel, penguin or emperor powerfilter.
 
badboyj

badboyj

Member
oh sorry .....had 1 too many beers i guess......work late than had a few ...my bad!...........dont but fish from ***** or pet smart!!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top