Just Started Putting Stuff In My Reef

extinct 1ne

extinct 1ne

Member
Well, I'm excited, I just started putting stuff in my 55 gallon saltwater aquarium. Here's what I have so far.
Ocellaris Clownfish
Three-Stripe Damsel
10 Lbs. Live Rock ~ Fiji / Fiji Branching (Getting 15+ lbs. more in a few days)
60 Lbs. Live Sand
Right now I feed them Brine Shrimp and Ocean Nutrition Prime Reef Flakes. I know it's not much, but soon it will have more stuff in it.
I also wanted to ask you guys what are some other fish / invertebrates / corals you think I should put in, and which ones you think are cool. Finally, one last thing...could I put in a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish if I moved the Damsel to another aquarium? Thanks for any help.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
What are the parameters?
I'm concerned that you are moving quickly, and that usually spells trouble in a saltwater tank :(
Watch when adding the additional LR or you can have trouble.
 
extinct 1ne

extinct 1ne

Member
IBEW41 - It is a 55 gallon. T-5 Lighting I believe. Well I let it run for about 1 month with nothing but water, then added the salt and sand and let it run for 2-3 months. I added the rock. Within a few weeks I added the Damsel, and after a few days I added the Clownfish.
ophiura - What do you mean moving quickly? Am I doing something wrong? Why would I have trouble when adding the LR? Today I tested the water with some testing strips, and as far as the charts read everything was ok, but I'm a little concerned about the ph. It reads 7.4-7.8. Which the chart says that is Low-Acceptable. How can I make it read 8.4?
 
janastasio

janastasio

Member
So it sounds like from description that your tank has been running about 3-4 mos. Sounds like you did your cycling. You want to be careful when adding live rock because during shipping, it can have die off. Die off will elevate amonia/Nitrate/Nitrite levels in your tank which can kill your inhabitants. You should cycle any new rock that your recieve in a separate tank or in rubber maid tubs with a power head, thermometer. If you are getting your rock from a local place, make sure it is cycled for at least four weeks in their stores!! The test strips are not a good way of testing. They are not accurate enough. Buy a saltwater test kit. You want to test for PH, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Alkalinity, Calcium, Phosphates. Your PH could actually be better than what the test strip is telling you. Are you doing weekly water changes? That in itself can help with PH. Generally when you start adding inhabitants, you want to begin with your clean up crew. Snails, hermits, ect. Then you start adding fish slowly. One at a time. I would wait to add any fish for awhile. Saltwater tanks are always more successful when you go slowly. Watch, be patient, and you will have an amazing tank! Sounds like you are off to a great start!
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by janastasio
http:///forum/post/2899398
So it sounds like from description that your tank has been running about 3-4 mos. Sounds like you did your cycling. You want to be careful when adding live rock because during shipping, it can have die off. Die off will elevate amonia/Nitrate/Nitrite levels in your tank which can kill your inhabitants. You should cycle any new rock that your recieve in a separate tank or in rubber maid tubs with a power head, thermometer. If you are getting your rock from a local place, make sure it is cycled for at least four weeks in their stores!! The test strips are not a good way of testing. They are not accurate enough. Buy a saltwater test kit. You want to test for PH, Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites, Alkalinity, Calcium, Phosphates. Your PH could actually be better than what the test strip is telling you. Are you doing weekly water changes? That in itself can help with PH. Generally when you start adding inhabitants, you want to begin with your clean up crew. Snails, hermits, ect. Then you start adding fish slowly. One at a time. I would wait to add any fish for awhile. Saltwater tanks are always more successful when you go slowly. Watch, be patient, and you will have an amazing tank! Sounds like you are off to a great start!
That sums it up!
 
extinct 1ne

extinct 1ne

Member
cool, thanks for that info. I thought I was doing somthing wrong...and pretty soon I will get a nice test kit, for now the strips will have to do, yes I do weekly water changes. So maybe my next purchase would be some snails (I like the conches & the Turbos). Could I possibly add in a starfish right now? Ohh and another thing is how do I clean live sand? I have one of those aquarium vacuums, but I'm not sure if it will suck up the sand or not. Thanks again guys.
 
subielover

subielover

Active Member
I would recommend going to the new hobbyist section and reading the top 3 threads. Very informative and will answer a lot of your questions.
 
ophiura

ophiura

Active Member
Originally Posted by Extinct 1ne
http:///forum/post/2899632
cool, thanks for that info. I thought I was doing somthing wrong...and pretty soon I will get a nice test kit, for now the strips will have to do, yes I do weekly water changes. So maybe my next purchase would be some snails (I like the conches & the Turbos). Could I possibly add in a starfish right now? Ohh and another thing is how do I clean live sand? I have one of those aquarium vacuums, but I'm not sure if it will suck up the sand or not. Thanks again guys.

Please do not add a starfish, as they are some of the most delicate animals we try and keep.
You need to get a reading on your pH, as well as alkalinity and calcium. Do not add anything to your tank, animal or otherwise, until you figure out why the pH is low. There could be several reasons, that is why alkalinity and calcium is important to know.
 
M

mr.reef

Guest
the damsel as nice as they r, watch them they r mean and will chase alot of ur stuff i know that anything that i add that is smaller then it is he chase all the time.....
 
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