My 1st adventure in to salt water

[firefighter15]

Hello!
Here is a somewhat clear picture of my set up (80 gallon bow front) I just added all the rock today. Hopefully it doesnt thow off my levels to badly. The fish I have in there have adjusted well except for one that died today but when i got him it seemed his left fin was injured.
I have 2 clown fish, royal gramma (R.I.P), a 3 stripe damsel, a cloud damsel, yellowtail blue damsel, jewel damsel, and a domino damsel
I have a new light fixture, protein skimmer, and heater coming from ----.

Id like to start to get some coral and other fish / inverts any suggestions?
PS when handling stinging or poisonous fish / inemonies how do you keep from getting stung? (cleaning or moving stuff in tank or during the acclimation period when you have to touch them)
THANKS

 

[nissan577]

what light fixture did you get? if its odyssea and a MH fixture return it. ive read and seen many people that there lights have crash and or burn in that matter.
how long have you had the tank before adding fish?
why did you add damsels? Did your LFS tell you to? if you can take them back since they are aggressive fish and will be aggressive towards others.
anemones you shouldnt want to add till your tank has been good for atleast an year or matured.
BTW i see you have spongebob? lol really nice! and nice tank.

 

[fishkid13]

WELCOME!
Did you let your tank cycle before you added fish?
If you just added rock, then the fish have been living with not decor right?
Nissan, some people really do like damsels.

 

[montecarloz38]

I dont see sponge bob, all I see is Patrick.

 

[deejeff442]

damsels get a bad rap.i have had mine for probably 10 yrs.he hides from everything.
that looks like base rock to me.
what is that substrate?
is there a sump? i dont see any powerheads in the tank are there any?
this tank looks like a freshwater tank set up.
might want to post what is there so we can help if there is something out of the ordinary.
i wouldnt trust a lfs if i were you.

 

[firefighter15]

Thanks
No sump they said i didnt need it, do I? im running a marineland c-360 pump/filter. I put in half live sand and half "regular" sand.
As for the powerheads, those are coming also they shipped off on thursday. (2 -1300gph powerheads)
as for the light i cant link it but it was this one - 48" T5HO T5 Aquarium Light Cichlid T-5 Reef Lighting on that auction site. I think it will be ok?
I did the damsels cause they were cheap and I was told were "hardy" fish.
Oh and it is base rock, will that eventualy tuen in to some tyor of active reef?

 

[deejeff442]

just weird that the sand is half black looking.
no you dont need a sump.
i would go and buy a nice 5 lb piece of lr to seed the rest.

 

[king_neptune]

you can add a sump at a later date as your skill/preference dictates. it will definitely be a welcome addition once you do.
for now a good Clean Up Crew and possibly even a canister filter(although Im not a fan of them...to much upkeep) would do great work as it will draw water out of your tank, filter it, then pump it back in. your lights will be ok for a few corals ect. but your limiting yourself in variety until you go MH.
for now, its ok, it will be enough to wet your apatite.
got a refractometer yet?
and um...
cycling is a really important thing to do. its what kick starts all the natural filtration in the LR.
Also,
that rock you have is just dead furniture. nothing more. it will take close to three years to see your base rock into live rock(and that's if you see it with some real live rock). *the surface will become live in about 6-12 months...but the inner core will take much longer.*

 

[pete159]

what kind of skimmer do u have
also, the spelling is anemone, not inemonies, so if you can't spell it, you most likely can't keep it.
adding 80lbs of live rock while you have fish in the tank is a mistake.
Start reading up on ""inemonies""...and decide if your tank can support them before you buy them.

 

[king_neptune]

thats a little harsh to the new comer, he came here for help. i cant spell anenomies either. I hope that was meant in humor, and not anything aggressive.

 

[pete159]

grrrrrrrrrrrr

...im always aggressive...**grumble**

 

[king_neptune]

 

[firefighter15]

thanks guys
no offence taken, and I appretiate the help.

I will look in to everything you advised and consider brushing up and entering the first ever saltwaterfish.com spelling bee with you

If I do get a live rock to attempt to seed the other should it go in the bottom or the top of the stack?
How often do you recomend to do the water cycling, is it 20% once a month?

As far as the refractometer goes, i have a hydrometer and I get readings of 1.022

 

[shrimpy brains]

I'd like to back up and ask you a few questions. It seems like a lot of advice is being offered based on assumption. Because it seems odd that you would be just now adding base rock or any rock to a tank already containing fish.
So, the biggest question is how long have you had this tank??
How long was it set up before you added fish??
Cycling is something that you do when you first set up the tank. Most people on this board wold recommend that you leave it fishless in the beginning and throw in a raw shrimp from the grocery store or just feed the tank as if there were fish in there.
The reason for this is to build beneficial bacteria, that breaks down the toxic ammonia that occurs in your tank from food and waste. Many local fish stores will sell you fish to do this with(mostly cause they sell fish). Commonly, damsels and clowns are recommended for this cycling process. The problem here is that many fish will not survive thru the spikes in ammonia and nitrite which occur and those that do still have a tough time during this process.
Water changes are generally 20% monthly but this varies according to the needs of you r tank.
There are some great threads on this board for newcomers, here's a couple you should read:
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/301033/101-tips-to-beginning-and-maintaining-a-saltwater-aquarium
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/264597/a-list-of-extremely-helpful-threads-for-all-hobbyists
Anyway, not to overload you(if I have'nt already) but hoping this helps.
Welcome to the wonderful and frustrating world of saltwater. You will find it very addicting!

 

[nissan577]

addicting yes!

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by pete159
http:///forum/post/3100904
grrrrrrrrrrrr

...im always aggressive...**grumble**
I've deleted that post. It was rude, and I would ask that you please reread before posting to the board. Some hobbyists can get by it, and others will never feel comfortable asking a question again...

 

[ophiura]

Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains
http:///forum/post/3101036

I'd like to back up and ask you a few questions. It seems like a lot of advice is being offered based on assumption. Because it seems odd that you would be just now adding base rock or any rock to a tank already containing fish.
:
Excellent post

 

[king_neptune]

I'd like to back up and ask you a few questions. It seems like a lot of advice is being offered based on assumption. Because it seems odd that you would be just now adding base rock or any rock to a tank already containing fish.

I didnt want to say it because it might have come across as rude. But he got taken in. I mean he really got noobed. I'm glad he came hear for help, but this system is already off to a very rocky start until it gets re-worked. I didn't want to scare him away so I sugar coated it a lil

But since someone already brought it up *deep breath*
The LFS sold him a complete setup with no Live Rock(borderline), told him he wouldn't need a sump(borderline as well), gave him a skimmer...ok first good news good.
No refractometer...but a hydrometer?!?!
Those things jam up and eventually you will get false readings. That is fatal. Yes people still use them...but its not recommended.
What else...I cant tell what is that at the bottom? pretty decorative rock from a fresh water setup, i hope that noneof those peices are slate.
Where is the live sand, what is that stuff, decorative substrate? that goes in FW, not SW.
Oh and to put fish in from day one w/out a cycle. Not that it would matter since he got a tank w/o Live rock anyways. Already one death. A wounded fin isn't really enough to do that...it took something more...maybe...but definitely worth looking into.
ok. thats the bad and the ugly.
now the good:
You can salvage this. but very possible you will lose livestock.
I would personally set them in a temp Quarantine tank till the main tank is done proper. Use weekly water changes to keep them alive, and hope they survive.
Next dump the decorative gravel and put in real genuine Live sand. Or at the very least a couple pounds to seed it all.
Then the rock....if its base rock and nothing more, go buy some LR and place it on top, otherwise it will always remain base rock.
Now that you've done this do an actual cycle. Do it right, and do it from the start. The result is your tank will have the natural bio-filtration needed to keep up with fish/corals/inverts. Once the cycle is done, get a clean up crew. Once they are in and everything is stable...put your other fish back in the tank and your ready to go right.

And remember, the local fish store is filled with teenagers who don't care/know, or owners who just want to make a buck. Coming hear was a great start because you will learn everything they wont tell you ...or don't know.
And I didn't want to sound mean in any way shape or form. Its not your fault. Were all hear to help. Its a rocky start, but you will be ok. And yes, I sound like chicken little, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"

 

[deejeff442]

how are you going to put these fish in an uncycled qt?
that would be putting them through two cycles.
by this time i am sure the tank has done some cycling and will be fine.
damsels can almost live in tiolet water .
i hope the lfs didnt charge you for live rock.base rock is half the price .
base rock will function just fine as a biofilter you just wont get the critters,sponges and coraline (which is fine with me it has taken over my 90 reef).
just make sure you buy a good test kit and learn the readings of the tests.
keep some mixed saltwater on hand and get some amquel plus in case there is an ammonia spike .
i would leave this tank running the way it is for at least a few months plus the powerheads you have coming.

 

[king_neptune]

the fish are already in an un-cycled tank, so putting them in a QT w/out LR and just using mechanical filtration will be like putting them in the same environment, only smaller.
now with the fish gone and out of the main tank you can poison the water via the cycle without hurting them. after the spikes are done put them back in. and they never had to go through a cycle. damsels are the exception. I was looking for a solution to the problem without killing the whole population.