is my tank ready for fish & corals?

[reef dude]

Hey everyone, first of all let me say that if it wasnt for this site, i could have had some major disasters, so thanks for all the great advice guys!
Ok, heres the scoop: my tank has been up for about 2 months plus a few days. pH is 8.2, ammonia is 0.02 ppm, nitrite is 0.0 ppm, phosphates are 0.4 ppm, and my nitrates are at 10.0 ppm which i am told is pretty good for nitrates. Are these conditions quite stable? they have been at these levels for about 1.5-2 weeks. I would like to add 2 small true percula clowns friday, safe idea?
but there is one thing thats still confusing, i can still see a few bubbles up against the glass in my DSB,(nitrogen i believe). Is it ok to add 2 percs if there is a little bit of these bubbles left over?
As for corals, i just got a calcium test and my calcium is reading about 350 ppm. This is a new tank, (well i believe its just finished cycling by the readings above.), so is it normal to have a low level of calcium after 2 months? Is this not good enough for some corals? if not, how do you increase the amount of calcium?
I know this was a long post but if you could help me out with it i would appreciate it sooo much.. I am almost there!! i really want a fish and i have been patient, what do yyou think???

 

[striker]

Calcium can be increased to the appropriate levels by dosing and/or regular water changes. There are several products out on the market but if you do a quick search you should be able to find some good choices. There shouldn't be any traces of ammonia in your tank after a cycle. Maybe the test is a little screwy? I started my tank out by cycling with 2 damsels and a percula(recommended by the lfs) but luckily they survived. Perculas' are very hardy and a wonderful addition to any saltwater tank. It was the most active and fun fish I had(unfortunately he was stressed by my sebae and finally killed by my bristle starfish). You should be fine by adding them to your tank. Try to get a mated pair because there is always a chance they will fight.

 

[reef dude]

yea actually the test i have for ammonia is a little screwy. It has this chart where you have to match up your pH and temperature, and it gives you a number for those things and then you have to multiply it by the ppm number next to whatever color your water was. However the pH and temperature on the chart do not exactly match my pH and temp. so i have to sort of make a really educated guess in between so it comes out to around 0.02 give or take .01 Ok, i think i am going to add 2 percs in a day or two. I work at a LFS and i had them specially ordered and have been watching them in the store for a good week now, they look great and healthy.
Any suggestions about corals? is it too early to start dosing calk wasser stuff? My protein skimmer isnt even in yet, i think i'll add that a little while after the fish are situated for a few weeks.

 

[reef dude]

my plans for the fish are:
add 2 true perculas, then about a week or so later, if all parameters look good, then add 2-3 carpet anemones.
then maybe an algae blenny and 2 marroon clowns.
But.....my real wish is to get a school of some medium sized tangs. I'm talking a good 7 months down the road after all things are looking good. I would like to get a powder blue, achilles, blue hippo, and a Naso. If i get them all at medium-small sizes and acclimate them all together or 2 at a time, or one a day, hopefully they wont pick on eacthother or get territorial.
they should do ok in a 90 gal. right?

 

[memnoch]

Call me crazy but I think it will be bad news putting more than one tang in with the others. Also sounds to me like you may be stocking too quickly. Start slow one fish at a time or you will be "ich"y before you know it, take it from someone with experience, with Ich that is

 

[byrself]

definitely go slow and light with the fish, especially if you are going with corals later. i would wait a while before adding corals. way after you are done adding fish. i waited 6 months before i added even mushrooms. i could have probably started earlier, but i felt the 6 month mark was a good safe time period. gave my tank time to mature enough to be stable and also to avoid problems that often occur months after a tank has started, like nuisance algae probs and such. keep the fish small, and as few as possible for best results imo. don't add fish and corals at the same time for sure. every time you add fish, your tank has to readjust to be able to keep things stable and safe for corals. good luck.

 

[m1rodrig]

2 percs definately are a great addition.I don't know much about the Maroons but I think they can be aggressive.I would'nt put more than 1 tang in that tank.

 

[reef dude]

ok, if you only recommend one tang, what other semi big colorful fish could i add later on? Is it possible t o have 4 tangs, i mean even if its not the smartest thing to do? can it successfuly be done?

 

[bosco0633]

percs are great. Dont go to big of a fish, it will take away from the reef. I would say one tang is more than enough. Maybe a few smaller fish rather than one big one. Try a royal gramma it is a great fish. The only thing that worries me is that your amonia is still traced. You either have a bad kit or there may be a small amount of amonia in it. Remember if you add anything to your tank, either fish, rocks or coarls you can bet that your tank will go through several small cycles that may affect what you put in. My advice is a few things at a time, so you dont kill you system, good luck.

 

[wrassecal]

IMO - once you start adding fish you should add a skimmer. 350 calcium is normal for a new tank you should get it to between 400 -450 before adding any corals. Decide on what product you want to use for calcium and get that started. Can the lfs test your ammonia to be sure you are correct? The perculas should be fine for now. I agree no more than 1 tang in that size tank. It sounds like you have a great start with your set up and have really used patience. Keep that up. If I worked at lfs I'd go crazy wanting to take everything cool home!

 

[reef dude]

yea, theres so many awesome fish i would love to take home where i work. The marine betta in particular, by the way, how do those do in reef tanks?
if i drip kalk wasser stuff into the sump, will that take care of my calcium levels?
but what about the tangs, i mean what if i got 4 of them, each 3-4", wouldnt they be ok because if theres at least 4 of them, i heard that they wouldnt pick on eacthother?

 

[reef dude]

I actually dont plan on adding too many corals, i mean i do want to, but i dont want to have them be the main focus of the tank. I actually want the fish to be a little more flashy then the corals. Maybe like 5-10 assorted corals

 

[ed r]

As everyone has already told you stick with one tang. The group of medium sized ones would be an awful lot of fish for that tank even if they got along. Adding them all at once would be major overload. It is either the Perculas or the Maroons. Don't do both or the Perculas will probably be toast. If you have 2-3 carpets, you may be wise to not have many corals. Moving anemonees can really hurt corals. Good luck with the tank and do get that ammonia test kit straightened out. That is one test you can't afford to have come out wrong.

 

[reef dude]

Ed R, i am not trying to argue but im still not exactly sure why the tangs wouldnt be able to go? it would only be 4 medium sized fish along with like 2 or 3 other small fish. Wouldnt they have plenty of room and hiding spots in a 90 gallon? I know they could get pretty messy but that can be taken care of by water changes right?

 

[sgt__york]

Just my 2cents regarding the TANGS - i understand your love for em.. they have great body shape, color and behavior.
I have had a 75gal with 2 tangs that always were peaceful together. A blue-hippo and an Achilees.
I understand everyones reluctance to say only 1 tang - because it is safest. Tangs don't always get along together.
HOWEVER, the general rule i've learned is - different body shapes. In a 90 gal you could easily have 2 tangs (3 maybe, if you don't get an aggressive one).
From the ones you listed, I would FIRST add the blue-hippo - he is dosile. Second, the Naso. Third, the Achilees (altho he can be a bit fragile).
I would stay away from the 'yellow' tang as he's a bit more aggressive. If you like the bright yellow color he brings - try the yellow wrasps.
A side note about ANGELS - only 1 per tank (if that)! lol AND make sure he is the very "LAST" fish you throw in. Angels can be very territorial and make adding any other fish very challenging.
Best of luck to ya!

 

[reef dude]

thanks for the 2 cents sgt. I thought that if you wanted tangs, you could only successfully get them in schools of 4 or more, or just 1tang. Can you have just 2 or 3? I thought that if you had only 2, that they would constantly fight. Having them in a school would distract them all and have them less prone to attacking eachother, correct?

 

[fshhub]

getting any number of medium sized tangs, does not matter, they will still grow, so you should stock them according to how big tehy will get, and i also would not ad more than one in a 90 gallon tank, not only is there the fact that they may not get along, but the fact that they need their space too(big and strong swimmers), a 75 or 90 gallon is the smallest i would use for ONE
and lets not forget about the hostility some may exert towards each other too
PLEASE DON'T add more than one tang to a 90 gallon, this is a hobby we take seriously and advise only to do what is best for the fish in the long run, we are not borrowers of fish, but adopting parents,a dn try to look at the long run aspect, and this is the type of advice you have ben recieving, good long term advice looking down the road not advice saying that you could maybe for a while do something, and BELIEVE me almost every one of us has experienced your feelings adn questions regarding tangs, we all want or wanted them just the same and though some may not be able to answer clearly they are all answering your questions, tangs NEED space adn lots of it, not to mention that tehy grow large, adn a hippo can get to 12 inches(don't worry about it will grow to the tank, they don't and i have seen them grow that big) and a 12 inch fish in a 90 gallon is near complete stocking, not ot mention the tank is only 4x's as long as the fish(which is a hard swimmer, not one that jsut hangs around)

 

[reef dude]

thanks fshhub, I understand everyones passion for fish as well as mine too. Tangs are so beautiful and i was told that some can go together in my sized tank so i just wanted to clarify that. I really appreciate the input. I think i'll go with just one.
Got any suggestions, have you had good luck with any particular tang?
i was thinking about powder blue OR Naso.

 

[mrmaroon]

Wow...I would certainly wait in this carpet anemones if you get them at all. Usually they require a very mature tank any any poepl ehvae a lot of trouble keeping them. I do keep to tank-raised marrons in a 55g (no anemones).

 

[bradsmack]

The naso tangs get very big, as well as achilles tangs, a 90 gal would probably be too small for all of them. Maybe just do 2 tangs. The achilles are very suseceptible to ich, so he might be a bad choice since they are pretty expensive.