my setup. tryin to figure out what i need next..

hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
hello all. i have had my saltwater setup for almost 1 month. this past tuesday i got a new canister filter (Rena Filstar xP2) to run my 20 gallon salt water tank (yea i know 20 gallons is like a drop in the bucket. pun intended). i have around 6 pounds of live rock(5 pounds of the live rock being premium indonesian rock),20 pounds of live "reef" sand and 11 seeded bio-balls in the tank. thats the filtration part as so i have been told.
the fish in the tank at current time are 2 yellowtail damsels, 1 hawkfish, 1 sleeper banded bullet, and a clownfish that im "babysitting" for my friend untill it gets a bit bigger.
the inverts i have in there are 1 tiger brittle starfish, 1 emerald crab, 5 hermit crabs, 3 cerith(sp?) snails and 2 nerith (again, sp?) snalis.
my debait is what to get next. my LFS fish expert knows what i have and he said i can probably safely house up to 40 inches of fish now that i have such a large filtration system. but, should i get more live rock, more live sand, or deck out my canister filter with as much bio/chem/mech filtration media that i can shove in it?
 
contraband629

contraband629

Member
Originally Posted by hawkfishman
http:///forum/post/3210464
hello all. i have had my saltwater setup for almost 1 month. this past tuesday i got a new canister filter (Rena Filstar xP2) to run my 20 gallon salt water tank (yea i know 20 gallons is like a drop in the bucket. pun intended). i have around 6 pounds of live rock(5 pounds of the live rock being premium indonesian rock),20 pounds of live "reef" sand and 11 seeded bio-balls in the tank. thats the filtration part as so i have been told.
the fish in the tank at current time are 2 yellowtail damsels, 1 hawkfish, 1 sleeper banded bullet, and a clownfish that im "babysitting" for my friend untill it gets a bit bigger.
the inverts i have in there are 1 tiger brittle starfish, 1 emerald crab, 5 hermit crabs, 3 cerith(sp?) snails and 2 nerith (again, sp?) snalis.
my debait is what to get next. my LFS fish expert knows what i have and he said i can probably safely house up to 40 inches of fish now that i have such a large filtration system. but, should i get more live rock, more live sand, or deck out my canister filter with as much bio/chem/mech filtration media that i can shove in it?
Just by the LFS "expert" saying you can house up to 40 inches of fish I would say he doesnt know what he's talking about. For a 20g tank 6lbs of live rock isnt enough. You should get like 20lbs total. I'm not familiar with canister or mechanical filters so I will not comment on that. I personally use biological filtration which you may want to read up on. Also, if you dont already have powerheads I would look into adding one or two to your tank. If meowzer saw this she would tell you to get rid of those damsels.
 
contraband629

contraband629

Member
Oh yeah, I should have mentioned you cant follow the inch per gallon rule that the guy at the LFS told you. It really depends on the fish.
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
ok cool. and i do plan on getting rid of the damsels ASAP. i was advised to put them in since they can handle new tanks. and i dont have any powerheads at the moment, but i know that most of the tank has good current. i have put the picture of the outlet for the canister filter for refrence.
and really, the only other fish i would consider getting anytime soon would be a pajama cardinal or a rainford goby.
 
contraband629

contraband629

Member
Oh you have a spray bar. Nice! I was thinking of adding one to my 24g. Did the LFS tell you to cycle the tank with the damsels in it? If you put the damsels in since day one thats like torturing the fish. If so I would just not listen to anything they say ever again.
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
no they said let if cycle a day or 2 then put them in, which i did. plus i dumped a small bottle of the cycle stuff in as well. and the filter system can use either a spray jet or a spray bar. i chose the spray bar just out of the physics of it. more water coming in the aquarium at and even speed along the bar means greater and more balanced flow than 1 single jet.
and i think the exact quote the LFS told me on damsels is that they are the "goldfish" of the see and u pretty much have to try to kill them. they seem ok. they all do actually. except the hawkfish (aka falcon) and the sleeper banded bullet (aka digger) are quite confrontational(sp?) resulting in digger getting a nick under the front of his mouth. i tell them to play nice but they dont listen to me for some reason.....lol
 
contraband629

contraband629

Member
Hmmz well 2 days of cycleing is extremely short. Cycling usually takes anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. Mine took about 2 weeks unless you have established live rock then you may not go through a cycle. I know you said you bought 6lbs of live rock but there is no real way to know now if it was established enough to avoid a cycle. You said it's been a month now so there is no way to go back and test. The only real way to know if your tank cycled initially is to test the water while it is cycling. While it is up to you if you want to listen to the LFS I do have a problem with the idea of using damsels to cycle the tank. In any case, that is all over with now. Have you tested your water recently for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates? Consider adding a refugium with additional biological filtration.
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
i have tested the ammonia. its holding at 0.25 PPM. i do know that the live rock i have has purple coraline(the good algae) growing. the premuim they sell has to have it on there or else its just basically a rock thats been bleached or w/e. and i belive the tank is on a brand new cycle since the new filter system got put in. they said when u take one filter out and put a new one in, its almost starting over which is why i had a high ammonia rate a few days ago. got to 1 PPM them i dumped more cycle in and aqueon's ammonia remover in(worst...smell....ever) and its to .25 PPM
and what excatly is a refugium? i dont think i have seen one yet.
 
mproctor4

mproctor4

Member
It seems like you have accomplished ALOT in one month. Seriously, if I were you I would just leave everything alone for a few weeks. We have always had much larger tanks and only add one fish every month or two. If you keep adding things and don't wait awhile, one of these days your tank will crash. That would be heart breaking. Most LFS will tell you whatever you want to hear, even if it isn't in your best interest. They need to stay in business. Slow down, do some research while you wait and then decide what is best for you.
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
sounds like a good plan. doing this on money i was "loaned" from my mom since im unemployed atm is kinda rough anyways. i do know that a diffrent LFS always askes what ut runnin and how long its been cycling..etc. he wont sell u something if ur tanks not cycled enough for it. for example, my friend wanted a starfish(regular one, not a brittle) and the guy wouldnt sell him it. said he needed it to be cycled for at least 3 months. i may start going there more since he seems to know whats what.
 
mproctor4

mproctor4

Member
I would lean toward the second fish store--who advises people to wait. Still take everything with a grain of salt. We have a great LFS that has been in business 25 years, he gives some great advice, but every once in awhile says some questionable things. Everybody has their own ideas, just keep an open mind, research things yourself, and don't jump into thing.
What kind of hawkfish do you have? I have never had one before and recently have been very interested in the flame hawkfish. They seem to have alot of personality and a great splash of color.
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
i wish it was a flame hawkfish. i actually made my first post on here asking what kind of hawkfish i had but got no reply lol. im leanin towards a mix of a pixy hawk and a spotted hawk. he has up-and-down stripes AND spots with what looks like lipstick on his upper lip lol. they can be mean to new bottom dwellers coming in the tank and mine usually only eats between morning and mid-afternoon and is very selective of which pellets he nabs. :p
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
i went to my friends house last night who got my started in SW and his tank (29G bio-cube) is doing great. i think im gonna do what he has done and just keep some damsels for a while then kinda cycle them out as the tank matures. im not getting rid of my hawkfish or goby though. they're too cool :)
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
yea i found out today when i went back over and gave my friend his false percula clownfish back. the big YTD almost immediatly started beatin up the clownfish, so he said i can have the YTD. he had to take out almost all his rocks to get him and that alone took 15-20 minutes. quick little meanies, arent they? ;)
 
S

saxman

Guest

Originally Posted by hawkfishman
http:///forum/post/3210598
i have tested the ammonia. its holding at 0.25 PPM. i do know that the live rock i have has purple coraline(the good algae) growing. the premuim they sell has to have it on there or else its just basically a rock thats been bleached or w/e. and i belive the tank is on a brand new cycle since the new filter system got put in. they said when u take one filter out and put a new one in, its almost starting over which is why i had a high ammonia rate a few days ago. got to 1 PPM them i dumped more cycle in and aqueon's ammonia remover in(worst...smell....ever) and its to .25 PPM
and what excatly is a refugium? i dont think i have seen one yet.
altho i normally lurk on this site, i felt compelled to chime in. you need to slow down here. if your tank has anything but ZERO NH3, your tank is NOT cycled, and all you are doing is burning the gills of your fish.
adding ammonia remover will crash your pH quicker than you can say it unless you add one that is buffered, and even then, isn't a fix for the problem.
you need to STOP messing with things and let the tank cycle (i'd remove the stock, but that's up to you).
whatever LFS told you how to set up and stock your tank should be avoided like the plague, as they are dead wrong. it sounds to me like all they are after is a quick buck and not helping you to set up a viable system.
i suggest you read up on how to cycle a tank, and understand the nitrogen cycle. invest in a good book, such as "The Consciencious Marine Aquarium" by Bob Fenner.
i'm not blaming you for getting bad info, but it's not too late to slow down and do things right.
*back to lurking*
 
hawkfishman

hawkfishman

Member
Originally Posted by Contraband629
http:///forum/post/3210535
For a 20g tank 6lbs of live rock isnt enough. You should get like 20lbs total.
that has been the only info anyone has given on LR to me besides me hearing that i would need 40 pounds by some pet store or somethin i cant remeber
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top