Is everything going wrong?!?!?!

[autofreak44]

Im now on this website for like 45 min a day and i keep learning more and more. although, it seems to me that the problems in my tank seem to be more than average. its my first tank, and ive had it for a month and a half. my first fish was a clownfish, and he has survived till now with no problems. i had to relocate my tank, bucause of improper placement to close to a window, and algae out of control. now its in a spot in my living room where theres no sunlight so that problem was fixed. I got a domino damsel & a large hermit about 3 1/2 weeks into my tank. they seemed to be getting along fine, and healthy, untill one morning my crab jumped on my damsel and tore it to shreds. (firsh death

) so i sent the crab back to the store andwaited a while to get a new fish, and my clown seemed lonely, and inactive. i finaly got 2 new fish: a green chromis, and a yellow tail damsel, and they seemed fine.
I got a yellow tang (for a 12 gallon, i know... guy at the lfs is kninda loopy and told me it would be ok). After 6 hours of having it, it turned pale white with only its fins yellow, and Ich looking spots on him. but after that night, he turned yellow again, and was fine. everything is going good untill my yellow tail damsel got some kind of cut or scrape looking thing on its side, and about a week after it stopped eating and died. three days later (2-8-07), i got a fire shrimp, and a sand-sifting star. imediately, my tang started to pick at my shrimps tentacles. i brought the tang back to the store (where it should have stayed in the first place) and traded him in for a six line wrasse. he has been hiding untill tonight, and he finaly came out, but hes just laying there on his side, looking half dead. Its only been a month and a half, and all ready, 2 deaths and 2 returns. I feel like im a bad tank owner, but please correct me if im not, because i dont want to beat my self up over it all night. any and all suggestions are welcome to help me straighten out my tank apocalypse. thanks for reading

 

[dperna]

Dont get discouraged, im new myself to the hobby and theres a million and one things you can do wrong. and its not hard to either. But, my suggestion would be to do more research about your inhabitants before you just go to the lfs and buy them. i mean a yellow tang in a 12 gallon is pretty...unheard? of to say the least. i think you should just take it slow for a while, stick to one fish and make s ure hes healthy and fits your tank properly, then as time goes by look into another and so on. cant really rush things in this hobby. good luck with the rest of your learning experiences! dont give up

 

[stephish]

hehe "tank apolcolypse" made my laugh. Not criticizing but it sounds like you may need the same advice i've been given many times...patience. Slow down a bit and be sure to QT your new acquistions. Also part of patience is research research research, don't be afraid to ask questions on here, somebody will always answer them. I've learned not to exclusively take the word of the lfs, they want to sell fish so alot of times they'll tell you what they think you want to hear.

 

[promisetbg]

Get that sandsifting star out of the tank please right away. Take him back to the LFS, if it is the same LFS that sold you a YT for a 12 gal..I would suggest you find a new store. The SS star needs a huge tank, and even then it is a bad addition. It will eat all the infauna from the sand, and in your tank won't last long at all. It will starve to death. How are you acclimating your fish? How is the tank set up? What are all the parameters{please do not say 'good'...post real numbers}. What is the source for your water? Are you topping off with freshwater daily? Also, the sixline is not a good nano choice IMO, it is a very active fish. Please research thoroughly before you buy, and SLOW down.

 

[teresaq]

I agree with promise- slow down. research. there are very few fish suited for a 12 gal. you will only be able to stock 2 small fish. may three if you get clown gobies or neon gobies.

 

[thegrog]

I agree with the above.
Research, research and research!!!

Be patient and things will come around.

Smaller tanks like yours are IMO more difficult to keep with salt water. The smaller volume tends to lead to larger swings in tank parameters with even small changes in the tank (addition of one fish, death of something, evaporation, ect). Tanks with more volume "buffer" any sudden changes so the parameters stay more stable.
This site is great for info. I would also HIGHLY recommend the book entitled "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner. He is one of the leading authorities on marine tanks and the book is a treasure trove of info.
Conscientious Marine Aquarist
Good luck

 

[leftyblite]

WEclome to the boards.

This is a great place for help. A 12G is going to need a lot of work. I had a 12G and a 150g for awhile and I spent about 3 times more energy every week monitering and adjusting the 12G as I had to on the 150G. Good luck!1 :happyfish :happyfish

 

[sly]

You say your tank has been setup for a month and a half. It seems like you have tried to add too much too fast to such a young tank. You should slow down drastically. The tang is a problem. It will always be agressive and territorial in a tank that small. IMO, you should not have a tang. The chromis is a good choice. They are peaceful and easy to keep but they need to be in schools. You should have at least 4 of them.
If the clown is lonely then get him another clown and they may become a mated pair. End of lonliness.
However before you start all this you need to get your tank established. You need live rock. I didn't see that you had any mentioned... but you need about one pound per gallon. If you don't have any/enough. Then buy a cheap 10 gallon tank to use as a quarantine tank and put the live rock in there for a few weeks to cure before you put it in your tank with the fish. The rock will provide much needed biological filtration for your tank.
You should have several powerheads stirring the water. You don't need any dead spots in the tank. Dead spots become very low in oxygen satruation and can lead to hydrogen sulfide production which is a deadly poison. Keep the water moving.
What do you have for a filter system? Do you have a skimmer? Sorry if you already mentioned it in other threads but I missed it. You need a skimmer and you need to clean your filter out regularly so that it doesn't build up dirt in it. By cleaning the filter, I am talking about any foam or floss prefilters that serve to only strain the water. These need to be cleaned and if you don't have one somewhere, then you need to get one. You should always clean the water with a prefilter before it enters your main filter.
Only use reverse osmosis water. You can get by with "The tap water filter" from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals but follow the instructions and don't let the water go through too fast... Never use ordinary tap water or well water in a saltwater tank.
You need to get your tank stable and established before you go off and add more fish. When you do get ready to add more fish, then use that 10 gallon tank as a quarantine tank. Put them in there for about a month and keep their water clean through weekly water changes. They need to be in quarantine because parasites like ICH need to find a new host or it will die. In a quarantine tank the parasite has no new host and it will die off. This takes about a month. After this time you can put them in your main tank. It is very important to acclimate properly. There are instructions on this site. Acclimation will make a big difference in how long your fish live and how well they do.
Also before you add more fish, make sure you have a good cleanup crew. If your nitrates have stabilized and are between 0 and 20 ppm (0 prefered) then you can add some snails and crabs to clean the tank for you. IMO, this is a requirement. Get a good cleanup crew after your tank is stable and you have added live rock and then and only then will you be ready to add more fish. Then when you add more fish only do a few at a time. Don't make the mistake I did and try to add 6 fish at a time only to have them all die. Spread them out over the course of several weeks (except for the chromis, you can add them all at once).

 

[maxsmart]

I wouldn't worry about the placement near a window - it's something that never made sense to me, and I know people who place near windows with great results. Why people keep their tank away from sunlight, then spend $1000 on lighting to immitate sunlight is beyond me.
You need algae. Besides water changes, it is the only way to remove harmful nitrates. If it is out of control, you need to adjust your stock. There are lots of tools to use - crabs, snails, and macroalgaes are the cheapest. Your fish produce wastes that turn into nitrates - so if you don't have some mechanism in place to remove nitrates, your tank will become toxic.

 

[sly]

I have two tanks each set up differently. One of them is in direct sunlight on purpose... the other one is not. Sunlight has its advantages and disadvantages. For one thing, $1000 lighting does not mimic natural sunlight... at least not at the surface of the water. The lighting we buy for our tanks is designed to mimic sunlight at a depth of about 50-100 feet. As light passes through water, reds and infrareds are absorbed first and blue last. Meaning that reds do not penetrate very far through water. The light that hits a coral reef at 100 feet down is not the same as the light on the surface. Our lights mimic the light that would be on a coral reef at depth.
Surface light has a lot of oranges and reds in it. This light can grow some lower algaes that could not grow at 100 feet in depth. By putting your tank in direct sunlight, you are more likely to have problems controling algae if everything is not right. Also putting it in sunlight means that your tank will absorb a lot of solar energy, meaning heat. It is harder to keep a tank's temperature consistant if it is in direct sunlight.
I do have a tank in direct sunlight and I have it there to encourage growth in my chaetomorpha algae. I WANT algae. However I also have a good cleanup crew in there and so I don't have any algae problems in the tank itself. I've set that tank up to be as natural as possible... no skimmer, no chemical filtration and direct sunlight. It actually is doing very well.

 

[cjason3041]

why don't you post your paramaters so we can see if that might be adding to your problem. PH, Nitrites, Nitrates, alk, temp and salinity. plus anything else you test for. and how long do you leave the lights on, and what type they are...anything you can think of

 

[autofreak44]

thanks for all the advice, and if you can, keep it comming. this morning my 6 line wrasse died, and i took him out asap.
How do i get around the need for a qt tank, because i hardley had enough money for the tank i have now. I guess that means that i cant acclimate fish properly, or cure rock properly... is there any way around that??? I have 4 lbs of live rock in there now, and im probably gonna pick up 6 more soon, but whats the best way to put it in there?
also someone said a "fresh water top off" whats that and how do i do it (it sounds easy, but then again what do i know ...nooooob) since my 6 line just died, do i have to do a 20% water change? Ive never put straight di fresh water in my tank.
what kind of powerheads do i need for my tank? what do power heads do? how much are they? same with skimmers what do they do, what should i buy, and how much are they
also it sounds like i need to get a better established clean-up crew, i was thinking a snail, and a crab on top of what i already have (ss star and a fire shrimp). also, my sand sifting star is only like 4" across, i just need confirmation that hes to big for the tank before i go and return him.... thanks again for all the advice, and keep it comming
water specs:
nitrates:20ppm
pH:8.0 (still not budging)
gravity: 1.022
alkalinity: 200ppm
nitrites: .5ppm
:help:

 

[autofreak44]

temp:80

 

[maxsmart]

Go get a $60-70 "saltwater aquarium starter kit" from a LFS. I got a 15gal kit with hood, light, hang-on filter, thermometer, heater, net, fish food, and more for $50 on sale.

 

[sly]

You can buy a quarantine tank for $10... They are not that expensive. However you do not need to worry about fish for now. You need to get your tank established. Get some more live rock and give your tank some time before adding more fish. You do not necessarily have to quarantine live rock if it has been sitting in water for awhile at the LFS. Just get it home quick and put it in your tank. Monitor your levels and do water changes as needed so you don't kill your existing fish.
What are you feeding them? Are they eating or do they look listless? Is there a lot of movement (by you) around the tank that could be stressing them? Stress kills fish. Are you putting your hands in the tank with contaminates on them? You should not put your hands in your tank very often if you can help it. At least rinse them off BEFORE you put them in there. Use activated carbon to absorb any contaminates that may be in the water. Do this AFTER a water change. Change out your water as needed and then put in some carbon (in a filter sock) after the water change.
Take your time. An aquarium is like a garden. If you mess with it too much you will kill it. It takes time to grow on its own.
Also, use maxijet 1200 powerheads. You will not be sorry. You need probably 1-2 in your tank and one in your quarantine tank (when you get one).

 

[autofreak44]

Originally Posted by Sly
You can buy a quarantine tank for $10... They are not that expensive. However you do not need to worry about fish for now. You need to get your tank established. Get some more live rock and give your tank some time before adding more fish. You do not necessarily have to quarantine live rock if it has been sitting in water for awhile at the LFS. Just get it home quick and put it in your tank. Monitor your levels and do water changes as needed so you don't kill your existing fish.
What are you feeding them? Are they eating or do they look listless? Is there a lot of movement (by you) around the tank that could be stressing them? Stress kills fish. Are you putting your hands in the tank with contaminates on them? You should not put your hands in your tank very often if you can help it. At least rinse them off BEFORE you put them in there. Use activated carbon to absorb any contaminates that may be in the water. Do this AFTER a water change. Change out your water as needed and then put in some carbon (in a filter sock) after the water change.
Take your time. An aquarium is like a garden. If you mess with it too much you will kill it. It takes time to grow on its own.
Also, use maxijet 1200 powerheads. You will not be sorry. You need probably 1-2 in your tank and one in your quarantine tank (when you get one).
where can i get a $10 qt tank, and how much are the power heads

 

[tuna dan]

Like TheGrog said get this book Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Bob Fenner. I is very useful and you will refer to it often. As for your readings I would try to get the salt up to 1.024. 1.022 is a little low but as long as you acclimate your purchases correctly they should be able to adjust but 1.022 is a litte low for inverts and such. You should be toping off the aquarium with fresh RO water daily. Evaporation will take water away but will leave the salt this can cause flucuations is the specific gravity. Also, When was the last time you did a water change if its been 2 weeks do one. Welcome and many people here are happy to answer questions.

 

[tuna dan]

wal-mart has 10 gallons for about 20 bucks.

 

[autofreak44]

thanks for the advice, im going to do a water change right now, but its only been aweek

 

[autofreak44]

Originally Posted by Tuna Dan
wal-mart has 10 gallons for about 20 bucks.
what all does that come with, and what do i need to get