Just Moved Tank

[blaine3119]

New member and new tank owner here. Was just given a 55 gallon tank and moved it to my house Tuesday night. Removed all but maybe 3 inches of water from the tank, set it up at my house, and filled it with "Real Ocean Water" from the LPS. Used all the test kits she gave me with it, all levels are good, temp is at 76, all the fish survived the move and doing well. 55 gallon tank, FluVal 404 filter, Penguin Powerhead, Red Sea Prizm Protein Skimmer, Heater, 50 pounds live rock, live sand and gravel. My question finally is what do I do now. Let it circulate for a month or so before doing anything ??? Or since it is not really a new tank and setup and all levels are good, can I go ahead and add a new fish or 2. Right now I have 2 clowns, 2 damsels, 1 angel, 2 hermit crabs and 1 crab. Any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.. Thanks for any Help.

 

[ray28576]

What are you exact levels? Also what kind of lighting do you have?
Where in Indiana are? just a few questions, lol.

 

[ray28576]

Oh yeah, nice tank so far.!

 

[blaine3119]

Originally Posted by Ray28576
What are you exact levels? Also what kind of lighting do you have?
Where in Indiana are? just a few questions, lol.

PH 8.2
Nitrite 0
Amonia 0
Salinity 31
That was all the test kits I received with the tank. Do I need any more?? I live about 60 miles north of you in Kokomo. Lighting is 2 48" Zoo Med Ocean Sun 10,000 K tubes. Thanks for the relpy, Any Suggestions?

 

[slick]

I would not add any more fish at this time. Even though your levels appear ok now moving a tank can dissturb things and cause some die off. Just wait a while and make sure its stable.

 

[ray28576]

You really need a nitrate test. Do you plan to add any corals or anemones? If so the lighting needs upgraded. Are you familiar with the Uncle Bills Pet centers here. They are good to get your water from. They sale really good premixed RO/ saltwater for about $5 for 5 gallons. Its great to do your water changes. Other test you might want to get are Calcium, and Alk. Do you know how many Lbs of LR you have? Also, just a suggestion, plain blue and black back grounds look great on SW aquariums. But that is totally up to you.

 

[blaine3119]

Originally Posted by Ray28576
You really need a nitrate test. Do you plan to add any corals or anemones? If so the lighting needs upgraded. Are you familiar with the Uncle Bills Pet centers here. They are good to get your water from. They sale really good premixed RO/ saltwater for about $5 for 5 gallons. Its great to do your water changes. Other test you might want to get are Calcium, and Alk. Do you know how many Lbs of LR you have? Also, just a suggestion, plain blue and black back grounds look great on SW aquariums. But that is totally up to you.

Thanks for all the tips, yes I am familiar with Uncle Bills. I will go out tomorrow and get the nitrate test. I would like anemones but every web page I have read suggests different lighting so I am kind of confused on which type of light to get, I would like to buy something that would cover all the bases no matter what I want to put in the tank, if such a unit is available. I have about 50 pounds of live rock. I don't care much for the background either, it is what came with the tank, I will check around for a solid blue one. Thanks again for the help.

 

[ray28576]

If you want a light that will pretty much allow you to have what ever kind of coral or anemone you want, then you will need about 330 watts of light IMO

. Metal Halide are the best way to go. They are on the more expensive side, but IMO are definatley worth the money. For a 55 gallon tank, lighting will cost between $400-$600. The auction site has pretty good deals on lighting systems. Also, you probably already know this, but lighting is not the only thing that it takes to keep corals and anemones. You will need excellent water quality. (Frequent water changes).
I think you might look into getting some more LR for your tank. Base rock will work, but the rock from this site is pretty good, and its cheap. IMO you should not get rock from the Pet Shop. It is way too expensive.
After you get your nitrate test, can you post the results. Also, do you know about how long the aquarium has been established? You will probably want it to be at least six months old before you start to add corals or an anemone.
So to sum it all up, to keep corals and an anemone in a 55 gl you will want to have at least 330 watts of lighting, (MH mainly.) And excellent water quality. One more thing, if you have any questions, come here and ask. Don't ask the LFS, they will tell you anything to make a sale, and the person at the LFS probably won't know anyways. Hope this helps.

 

[ray28576]

Bump.

 

[blaine3119]

Just tested Nitrate level, and it looks to be between 30 - 40 ppm. I think that is a little high, any suggestions. Thanks, Blaine

 

[medic79]

I was just wondering if that was a picture of your tank because if it was it looked to me like you had a yellow tang in there. But that might have been the angel you were talking about.

 

[blaine3119]

Originally Posted by Medic79
I was just wondering if that was a picture of your tank because if it was it looked to me like you had a yellow tang in there. But that might have been the angel you were talking about.
That is the background that came with the tank, It has pics of 2 yellow tangs.

 

[medic79]

THats a pretty convincing background lol I thought that those were all fish you had.

 

[ray28576]

Yeah, I thought that was a yellow tang too. But then I noticed the second one was in the exact same position as the other. LOL. Any ways, you are correct that is high for your trates. You should probably go ahead and do about a 10 gallon water change.

 

[blaine3119]

Nitrates still high, preparing a 10 gallon water change. Question, the gravel is dirty, I have one fish that likes to stir things up, when I chage the water, should I suck out the gravel, or is all that "stuff" in the gravel and sand good for the fish. I received a super gravel sucker with my tank. Thanks for the help.

 

[kimc]

Is it really "gravel"? :notsure: Gravel is not good for saltwater... should be sand or crushed coral. Most folks prefer sand.

Water change is good and you should vacum out the crud... JMO!!! Nice looking tank!! Your lucky to receive such a nice gift!!!

 

[am3gross]

the folks from indiana.... do you ever go to premium aquatics? what do you think about them?

 

[blaine3119]

Originally Posted by kimC
Is it really "gravel"? :notsure: Gravel is not good for saltwater... should be sand or crushed coral. Most folks prefer sand.

Water change is good and you should vacum out the crud... JMO!!! Nice looking tank!! Your lucky to receive such a nice gift!!!
No my bad. It is Premium Marine Substrates, on top of about 3 inches of sand. I have never been to premium aquatics. Will the vacum suck up the substrate since it is so much smaller than gravel? Thanks.

 

[ray28576]

To answer your question, the bacteria in the sand are good for the tank

, you should never stir the sand up. However, crushed coral, gravel, and what ever else, can be nitrate factories. IMO, it is best to have just live sand in a saltwater tank. Can you get a close up pic of the substrate on top of your sand? A lot of new aquarist wish that they would have never used anything but sand to start there aquarium, and end up changing it after they have had the setup for a while. It ends up being a lot of trouble for them. So, this is just my opinion, but since you have live sand in the tank already, I would go ahead and get the other substrate out while I knew it would'nt be a whole lot of trouble. But it may be fine, because I can't really see how big it is. Is it smaller then gravel, is it smaller than crushed coral?
Oh yeah, I have never been to premium aquatics, where is it?