Help me!

[oceanfishfan]

I'm just starting my first salt water tank and I want to buy 2 clown fish and a carpet anemone.My question is I have a stock light that came with my tank which is 29 gallons do I have to change the bulb to a brighter blub or get a new fixture?Any tips for this and my new fish would be greatly appreciated. :notsure:

 

[myreef05]

Anemones need prostine water conditions and a new tank is not suited for one. Wait about 1 year, upgrade your lighting and then get a fish eater (carpet anemone)

 

[oceanfishfan]

I can buy my clown fish and maybe get them a simulated anemone for them to host?

 

[myreef05]

Originally Posted by Oceanfishfan
I can buy my clown fish and maybe get them a simulated anemone for them to host?
They do not need an anemone to survive. Mine host in featherdusters. No special lighting needed for them!! Mine also host a purple mushroom, again no special lighting needed really.

 

[oceanfishfan]

I will still have to have a waiting period on buy them though right or can I add them right away?And just one more quick question,what is the different in buying wild clown fish and clowns that have been raised in captivity?

 

[cymbal67]

you can put an anenome in right after you get the light. waiting a year, like mentioned above is nuts.

 

[oceanfishfan]

:help: I asked the person at the fish store and they said right away but I didn't know if they were just trying to just sell me a anemone,thanks for your help now if you call tell me the type of light I should get I will be set to buy!Thank you

 

[cymbal67]

how much can you spend is going to determine what you can get. if you can, get a Metal Halide and some actinics. the best of that? well that will be determined by the dimensions of your tank. for my dimensions, i went with a coral life retro kit (because i had to modify the dimensions a little) it had an HQI (double tipped - more output) 150w Metal Halide, 2 65w actinics (4 bulbs total) and 2 LED moonlights, all with external balasts to hang on back of tank, instead of inside canopy. with something like that you could put most anything in there.

 

[oceanfishfan]

My tank is a 26gal bow front and its 24L and 15wide and 21inches high and right now I have a 150 saltwaster penguin filter with biowheel and stock light and a buble stone and am lost other than I know I want 2 clown fish and a anemone.

 

[darthgoby]

There is a lot of debate about anemones in the fish world. Some people are able to keep them well and others have trouble. Here are some facts everyone can agree to:
1.) Clownfish do not need anemones to thrive. Clownfish can host in anything from a feather duster to a powerhead.
2.) Anemones are not the easiest thing to keep alive in a tank. Some are easier to keep than others. For example, bubble tips are supposedly the best to keep. Anemones are more sensitive to poor water quality than fish.
3.) Anemones require better than usual lighting. Fish don't care about lighting, anemones do.
I would suggest getting the fish first, making sure your tank is stable, and then add an anemone later.
On a side note, I'm curious about your set up. You didn't mention any live sand/live rock you might be keeping in your tank. Is your tank cycled?

 

[myreef05]

Originally Posted by cymbal67
you can put an anenome in right after you get the light. waiting a year, like mentioned above is nuts.
I won't even stoop so low to respond to that.

 

[oceanfishfan]

I have live sand in my tank yes and is it cycled?I'm new at this so I would have to say no it is filtered and has a foot long bubble stone but that is it.

 

[darthgoby]

If you don't, I'd like to go back a bit and give you some general information. There are a couple of stickies in the New Hobbyist thread which gives you some general information about tanks and goes into more detail that I will. You can also get one of the various books. One of the ones I got was "The New Marine Aquarium" by Michael Paletta, which explains a lot.
Some tips I can offer:
1.) You should consider some kind of live rock for your tank. The live rock provides a place for beneficial bacteria to live on which will consume wastes in the tank. Suggested stock levels for live rock is about 1 pound/gallon.
2.) Cycling refers to the process by which the bacteria in the tank develop to the point they can process waste from the fish. It may take 2-4 weeks after you start your tank for the cycle to be complete.
3.) You have to be very careful what you put in your tank while it cycles. Some people add some damsels to cycle the tank. A better way is to add a piece of shrimp to the tank and it will start the cycle as it decays.
4.) After your tank is done cycling, you can slowly add fish and inverts. I'm thinking in a tank that size you might have 3-4 fish and other assorted inverts. There is nothing to say you can't have an anemone, I would make sure your tank is able to have one and you understand how to care for it.
5.) Don't always trust the fish store guys. I have gotten some really good advice and some not so good advice. Just because he says it is okay, doesn't make it so.

 

[oceanfishfan]

Thanks so much for your help I'm printting it out and with research I have done will help me greatly when I actually start to buy my fish!

 

[mar1376]

hi Oceanfish

don't buy damsels they are a pain in the but to get out of the tank. I'm trying to catch my little monsters right now. I am on day two of the fish trap and the damnsels are winning

Good luck on your new setup

 

[oceanfishfan]

Thanks my main thing I want to do is to set up better lighting so I can add my anemone,it is my understanding you have to have 5watts per gallon to maintain their health and im wondering if I have to have a protein skimmer or a better filtration other than my penguin biowheel and since I have live sand if I still have to cycle my tank or if it is good for me to be able to buy my clown fish now? :notsure:

 

[bs21]

well Darthgoby gave some good info about further research. For long term success anemones prefer strong lighting and good water quality (doesn't mean that some haven't had success keeping them alive in a newly established tank or under lower lighting but why take the chance when you are paying for it). Any way the 5 w/g rule for lighting is not 100% accurate because it is the intensity of the light you want not the watts. The reason the w/g rule is used is because wattage affects intensity. You want strong enough light to penetrate down into the water so VHO, T-5, or halides are what would be usually recommended but it may be possible to keep one under PCs if the lighting is intense enough. Another reason to get fish first is so you are able to become comfortable with taking care of them and the regular tank maintenance before moving on to corals/inverts which can be more demanding. The book by Paletta ( i think was mentioned above) will be a great help to you and has step by step on setting up your tank. As far as filtration goes for a smaller tank the biowheel filter is ok but you should definately consider getting live rock because of its filtering capabilities and is one of the key parts in the nitrogen cycle as a place to hold bacteria. You don't necessarily need a skimmer as long as you stay ontop of water changes and you may also consider adding a powerhead in the near future or down the road to increase the ammount of flow in the tank (a maxijet 1200 would be good for your size tank). Hope i covered everything and make sure you research and stay patient.
P.s. carpet anemones can get ginormous ( giant/enormous) which is something to consider with the tank size you have

 

[myrtle beach]

I would agree. You need a powerhead and LR. I'd add about 15-20 lbs. and make sure there are hiding spots. The good thing about starting with damsels is that they are cheap and you know if fish will survive, just be ready to pull out all the LR to catch them.
I didn't use raw shrimp method, but I hear it works well from the people on this site. I used a bacterial addative with oxygen booster along with LR to get it started and my damsels seemed fine (not breathing heavy or signs of stress) when I put them in. I wanted to make sure my tank had cycled and it did. You can't see signs of this but you can test your water. I tested it and had LFS guy test it before buying damsels. They were about five bucks a piece and they took them back when I wanted to upgrade fish. I started with two clowns, always a good idea, they are hardy, friendly, and you have to be an idiot to kill them.
Best of luck

 

[kanicky]

Patience is key, my friend
As it was said before, clownfish do not need an anemone to survive. They host just about anything and everything (mine have hosted a colony of zoo's and a powerhead.)
Anenome's are best suited for an established tank, and, as already said, require great water conditions and above average lighting. Some people do not like the artificial look, but I have seen clownfish host those fake anenomes that they sell at LFS', and it's really funny to see. They will even defend the fake stuff! Perhaps you should wait a few months to get an anenome. Do some more reseach, both here and on other SW forums before you get anything for your tank. You will be happy you did.
That said, go out and invest in a Master Test Kit for saltwater aquariums. I don't recommend the test strips, but rather the liquid test kits, as the test strips have been proven to be pretty inaccurate.
A Master Test Kit should come with supplies to test:
Ammonia
pH
Nitrates
Nitrites
Ammonia levels should always be at 0. (Any amount of ammonia in the system, especially greater than .5, becomes toxic to the fish.)
Your pH should be between 8.0 and 8.4.
Your Nitrates should be between 10 ppm and 15 ppm, although there isn't really a hard rule as far as these go, as long as they're not, like, 80 ppm.
Your Nitrites should also be at 0.
If you use the search feature of this forum, you will find a graph somewhere of the cycle of these parameters, which will help you to better understand how it works.
I also suggest you invest in "the Bible" of the saltwater aquarist, The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Dr. Robert Fenner. This will be a valuable asset in your quest for the perfect saltwater tank.
Also, lose the bubble stone. It's not necessary, and powerheads are so much more efficient.
And while many people have had success with bio-wheel filters, you may still want to use the search feature on this site, and read the posts regarding bio-wheel filters.
Best of luck to you! This is an exciting adventure!

 

[oceanfishfan]

You guys are fantastic!!!!Thanks for taking the time out of your day to educate a rookie like me!!!!