Is my stock ok?

[agunn6997]

I recently purchased an established aquarium from craigslist. It has the following fish:
1 huma triggerfish
1 clownfish
1 blue tang
1 yellow longnose butterfly
1 orange tail puffer
1 firefish goby
1 flame angel
50 lbs liverock
It is only a 55 gallon.
My list of questions:
How big of a tank will they eventually require?
I have read that some of these are in the 'caution' category. Is there anything I can do to protect my non-agressive fish from the aggressive ones?
The rock only provides so much cover-are there suitable fake coral* decorations that fish will actually use?
Should I swap out the pebble substrate for live sand?
Are there fish* I should add (once we have an appropriate-sized tank) that may make the environment more natural?
*Note: This tank was treated with copper by previous owner. Levels remain at .25ppm
I also want to add color. Live rock doesn't do much for color.
I appreciate any good advice you can give me, thank you!

 

[sweatervest13]

Quote:
Originally Posted by agunn6997 http:///t/394941/is-my-stock-ok#post_3515507
I recently purchased an established aquarium from craigslist. It has the following fish:
1 huma triggerfish
1 clownfish
1 blue tang
1 yellow longnose butterfly
1 orange tail puffer
1 firefish goby
1 flame angel
50 lbs liverock
It is only a 55 gallon.
My list of questions:
How big of a tank will they eventually require?
I have read that some of these are in the 'caution' category. Is there anything I can do to protect my non-agressive fish from the aggressive ones?
The rock only provides so much cover-are there suitable fake coral* decorations that fish will actually use?
Should I swap out the pebble substrate for live sand?
Are there fish* I should add (once we have an appropriate-sized tank) that may make the environment more natural?
*Note: This tank was treated with copper by previous owner. Levels remain at .25ppm
I also want to add color. Live rock doesn't do much for color.
I appreciate any good advice you can give me, thank you!
I replied to your more color question in a different thread...
But if this new tank was treated with copper and its only a 55g. Keep an eye out for *****'s $1.00 per gallon sale. And pick up a new 55g for $55.00. In SW the tank is usually one of the cheaper pieces of equipment. What kind of filtration came with the deal you purchased from CL?? All the equipment might be tainted with copper. I would have passed on this system if I ever considered doing a reef tank. If you are 100% fine with a FOWLR tank it works.

 

[agunn6997]

Thanks! We don't want a plain, rectangular tank. We have a column tank and and looking for something bigger, a true hex, half circle, cube, etc between 75-100 gallons. We are looking for a larger setup, and if we can get a good deal I can get rid of the tainted tank and equipment and just transfer the fish to the clean tank. I did not know it had been treated with copper until everything was taken apart and some loaded into my car. I did not know what it meant until I got home and looked it up. I would like a starfish and some shrimp once my copper levels are at zero-in the new tank.

 

[saxman]

If you decide on going with an odd shape, you'll need to consider both footprint and surface area for the livestock you have now (for one thing, tangs are big swimmers). Also, the shapes you've mentioned can be tuff to distribute flow in, so you'll want to consider that in your design (I'd consider using a closed-loop for suplemental flow). Finally, lighting can be a challenge in these tanks, as it's often hard to find something to fit over them.
As for the pebbles, yes...I'd replace them as anything with a large grain size will trap detritus, uneaten food, etc, which will decompose and add to your nitrate levels. I'd go with #3 grade aragonite, as it "lays down" much better than sugar-fine, but won't trap detritus like CC or pebbles.
HTH

 

[agunn6997]

Thanks! I will look into it.