my first saltwater

lmoore2150

lmoore2150

Member
I decided to try a saltwater for my fisrt time
. I got the crushed coral and salt mix in, bought a new filter, got some tester fish to cycle, and bought 30 pounds of live rock. (only 25 more pounds to go
)I have a 260W light in the mail. I have to say this is definately more money consuming than I thought it would be . I will show you my progress as I go. here are some pictures.
Full shot

Camera shy 3 stripe damsel
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
crushed coral might gv u some problem later on, bc it can contribute to high nitrate level. those 3 shy damsels wont be so shy later on. they r very aggressive and will kill any fish u put in later on. very hard to get them out. how long has ur tank been up?
 
fishygurl

fishygurl

Active Member
looking good! btw u shouldnt cycle with a live fish imo what size tank is it? what is your fish wish list? what are u planning on doing for your clean up crew? how long has the tank been up? are you planning on going fowlr, fo, or reef?
 
fishygurl

fishygurl

Active Member
Originally Posted by nycbob
http:///forum/post/2601404
crushed coral might gv u some problem later on, bc it can contribute to nigh nitrate level. those 3 shy damsels wont be so shy later on. they r very aggressive and will kill any fish u put in later on. very hard to get them out. how long has ur tank been up?
+1
 
lmoore2150

lmoore2150

Member
Thanks , about a month and a half (2 days with the light). What do you suggest I do with the damsels? get them out asap? ( before its too hard ) And its a 55 gallon.
Thanks, Luke
 
nycbob

nycbob

Active Member
if u want to keep other fish, then i hv to say yes to taking them out. i hv one in my 150, and he already has killed over 5 fish in the past 6 months upon intro.
 
lmoore2150

lmoore2150

Member
I was planning on a reef tank
My fish list is (and if anything looks like it will not get along, or overstocked, or any problem then please tell me, nothing is set in stone yet)
x1 Coral Beauty Angelfish
x2 False Percula Clownfish
x2 Firefish Goby
x1 Mandarin Dragonet - Green
For corals
some zoanthids and a Haddoni Carpet Anemone for the clownfish
as for a cleanup crew I have no clue
Luke
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
If you get two firefish make sure to get them as a pair as they sometimes tend to fight. Also a mandarin needs a very mature tank (a year plus) and lots of live rock (100#) so that it does not deplete the pod population of your tank and then starve to death.
You have a fairly responsible fish list there, it may just need some tweaking. Everything looks good so far by the way.
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
A cleanup crew is the snails, crabs and other inverts that help eat leftover food algae and other unwanted stuff to help keep your tank cleaner. HTH.
 
maelv

maelv

Active Member
Nice start to what seems like a nicely planned reef system. I would take out the damsels as everyone else has stated. The only type of fish in the damsel family I keep in my tank are the green chromis which are fairly peaceful (I have five). I have one that is larger than the others and he chases the smaller ones around in spurts..but doesn't do anything towards anyone else and they are fairly harmless. Plus the light shimmer off of them and makes for a cool little school of fish....And I also have a picasso clownfish....
 
fishygurl

fishygurl

Active Member
a clean up crew like cmaxwell39 said is all the inverts used to eat left over food and algae, although a lot of people do not like putting the hermit crabs in there because they will kill your snails for their shells, ive had 50+ snails die because of this and i had around 200 shells for them to use scattered all over the sand but i guess they wanted the snail shell, even tho after they killed it they tryed it on and decided they didnt like it and went back to their previous shell
i would get nassarius and astrea snails, maybe some nerite
mandaring dragonets and scooter blennies both eat pods as a main source of food, they will starve unless you have a decent sized refugium, and 100+ lbs of rock, if you do decide to get one i would pick one of them, not both as they will be competing for the same food, even if you find one at your LFS that is eating frozen, it will starve if it does not have the pods for its main diet.
you could get a shrimp/goby pair like a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp, or a jawfish if you have a 3+ inch sandbed
i would get rid of the crushed coral and switch to aragonite sand since crushed coral will bring nitrate problems its fairly cheap if you dont buy it live, and then buy just a little bit that is alive to seed your tank.
it looks like you are doing the research before buying everything, which is a good thing, i have had bad luck with impulse buying
lol
so have fun and i cant wait to watch this tank grow, keep us posted
also what type of equipment do u have?
 
lmoore2150

lmoore2150

Member
Ok, I just sold one of my 55 gallon freshwater tanks for 150$, and I am going to my LFS today. So far my list is 25 lbs live rock and some sand and a little live sand to seed it. (and get some store credit for those pesky little damsels).
I am running an emperor 400 and a PF300 for filtration, the compact light is a 260 watt, and a 250W heater.
Thanks for all the nice words, I will keep everyone posted as I go.

Luke
 
lmoore2150

lmoore2150

Member
By the way can I add corals (like a zoanthid) before my rock is cured? or would that kill it? also should I turn my light on 8 hours a day and keep my LEDs on the other time.
Thanks, Luke
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
You will not want to add corals right away. Corals are even more sensitive to the process of a cycle than most fish are. It is probably best to wait at least 6 months before adding corals, but if you are going to add some before then zoas or mushrooms would be your safest bets.
 
C

cmaxwell39

Guest
Most people have their lights on for 8-12 hours a day. I run my actinics on for 10 (12:30-10:30) and my daylights on for 8 (1:30-9:30).
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
Nice looking tank! The aquascaping will take awhile and now is the time to get a lot of LR in there and move it around. And around. Until you get it where you like the look. Agree with comments about sand vs. CC-I changed out my cc to sand about a month ago and after 7-8 years, it was so nasty, even though I did clean it regularly. Ditto on the damsels-suggest removing them now before you get more fish and eventually corals. To quote someone who responded to one of my posts recently, they are "the devils own work" and can be very agressive. They certainly are hardy fish and will do well with minimal care, but oy, what a PITA they can be.
The CUC is essential and will really help keep your tank clean. Yeah, those hermits will kill and eat snails but they also will eat food and other detritus on your LR and substrate. I like 'em "cause they are kinda neat looking as they travel all over the tank looking for stuff to eat. I would suggest waiting awhile before getting a claenup crew package as they won't have a lot to eat (algae) in a new tank. Don't worry-that will comein time!

On your lighting question, keep in mind that more lighting hours=more algae and it looks like your are on the right track there-I have lights on in my 55gal reef tank on about 8 hours a day and that seems to work pretty well for me. Also, keep in mind your tanks placement in your home-light from windows can "feed" the algae depending on your exposure.
Agree on waiting awhile before adding corals. My 55 gal tank had been up for over 7 years before I switched from fowlr to reef and I my corals heve done pretty well so far. I can't say that I have always followed this mantra, but Patience, Patience, Patience, seems to work for sw fish/reef keepers. Some things just can not and should not be rushed and while the expensive mistakes that I have made are a learning experience
, there are better, and cheaper, ways to learn. Like getting on SWF.com!
 
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