My new tank..any help appreciated..long

[aceiswild7]

i just set up a 125 reef and while i have had many salt water tanks and smaller reef tanks none ever really lasted due to one problem or another some being totally my fault while others still a mystery. this time i set up a 125 will an overflow which pumps into a giant ehiem which returns to the tank but not before going through a UV light. also i have a protien skimmer which i am getting a pump for next friday. i put in a lot of base rock and live sand once i started the tank and it seemed to have cycled immiediatly or close enough for fish life so i speared right into it i presently have 6 anemones a sea apple a flame angel,tamato clown, 2firefish, 2cleaner wrasses, 3clown gobys, 3royal grammas although one lost its tail in 2 nights i suppose he was the black sheep, a manderin and lastly a canary blennie all of the fish are relatively small and i have not started with the corals as of yet or inverts but will soon enough i want the tank to establish itself a bit i am slowly gathering live rock with good growth on it some from a smaller reef i broke apart that i had and picking individual pieces from stores hopefully i will get some pics on here soon but i was hopeing for any advice from those with more reef experience then i have ive always had a thing for morays and always focused on them
thanx

 

[got krabs]

I think that it was a little TOO soon to add corals and all the other fish except maybe i would have added a few cheapy

[hr]
damsels to help cycle. Second i wouldn't go addeing you pskimmer for another 3 mos. Third: Good things come in time and I believe your rushing it,haate to hear of those type of exspensive loses.
wish you luck
Duane

 

[burnnspy]

I recommend that you go out and buy an up to date reef keepers manual, your planned reef has holes in it.
Your choice of fish has a lot of conflict and will probably result in more casualties. Multiple royal gammas are not recommended. The Mandarin has too many competitors for food and may starve. I know of no eel recommended for reef tanks. The sea apple may single handedly destroy the reef and all it's occupants.
BurnNSpy

 

[andymi]

To expand on BurnNSpy's comments, the sea apples can expel some sort of a toxin when they die (i believe) that can completely kill your tank. Secondly, the mandarins are typically only good in a tank that has been established for quite some time and has an abundance of copepods and amphipods. 6 anenomes is also quite a bit. If they ever move they could quite easily sting some of your other corals and such when they do. Not to mention, these things grow! The live rock should have been the first thing you added and there should be approximately 1lb per gallon if not more. This will help provide some of the beneficial filtration you will need. With a bio-load as big as you seem to have you could quite easily run into nitrate/nitrite problems very soon. I would suggest scaling down the # of fish in the tank and researching a little more about the inhabitants. Rushing too fast will quite often cause you more problems. My reef tank is only 6 months old and still looks somewhat bare because I am taking my time and adding things slowly. As most of us know , this hobby is very expensive and huge losses can break a checkbook.
HTH
-Andy
P.S. Not to mention you didnt state what you have as far as lighting and complete setup. Would be interesting to hear.
[ September 21, 2001: Message edited by: andymi ]

 

[aceiswild7]

as far ass eels i have no intention of putting any in the tank merely saying they are some of my favorite fish and a few past tanks have been dedicated to them alone, as far as lighting i have 2 double strip lights each with one actinic bulb once the tank gets started i want to go with the halide bulbs but i dont want to put in that money until i know the tank will last. also some of the sand has turned a little brown im sure its because of the lighting but not sure which aspect of it is doing it if anyone could shed some light on the subject id appreciate it (no pun intended)
thanx

 

[@knight]

you are going to need to upgrade your lighting very quickly if you wnat the anenomes to survive. generally speaking, they are hard to keep and are short lived. Your tank will be its own ecosystem and survive a long time if done right. you have been given some good advice, i recommend you take it and you will do fine.