Need Help

[nemo4tater]

Hello,.
OK we have a 3 year old that is in love with Nemo, so we have decided to create Nemo Land in our home. So we got a 45 gallon tank and filled it, used instant ocean, put some decorations in there and tested everything. All levels were perfect so we put some damsels in and they are doing great. We didnt use sand or live rocks, the woman at the store said we didnt have to, is that correct?We used the little rocks that are commonly found in freshwater tanks. Also she said 2-3 days and as long as everything is ok with the water we can add clown fish and Dori...We have 150 watt heater , and pretty good filter and a light. What else do we need? I am so confused and lost ... i have looked on thenet and i couldnt find much. PLEASE HELP.

 

[sammiefish]

i am so sorry to hear your story... especially with a 3 year old watching every minute!!! is his or her nickname tater?
If someone flames you, remember... Its really not your fault...the fish store lady just told you what you wanted to hear in order to make the sale!!! (darn retail types!!) as far as the levels being OK after 3 days with nothing in there... OF COURSE, there are no fish in there "P'ing" (eliminating nitrogen in the form of ammonia) in the water!!! Now I bet you are asking yourself..... whatever happened to a fishbowl and a goldfish?
It is so good that you found this place and stopped in!!!
to answer your question directly... no you dont NEED rock and sand but you will be depending on your filter... I recommend no more than one inch of fish / 5 gallons... in fact in my tank I go 1 / 10 gallons.... not much fish / gallon it seems huh?
anyway.....
Up at the top of this page push the search button and search for "cycle" you will get more info than you want!!! try that out and see if it helps.... then when you have more Q's (and you will) let us know...... It can be somewhat overwhelming but I think that is the best way to start... Just hang in there and im sure everyone here can help you out....
something you may want to consider, is being ready to make water changes when the ammonia gets too high for your fishes comfort... but damsels are pretty tough...
For that you will need a couple of 5 gallon buckets (cleaned drywall compound buckets are good ... drywall compound is not toxic) and a small heater to heat the water up before you add it to the tank... You might plan on changing at least 5g each week... maybe more during the early stages...
to do a 5gallon water change:
mix the salt with ~5gal water the night before you plan to change the water, a small powerhead will make mixing easier if you have one. the next day,... using the second bucket, siphon water from the tank into the bucket until the level reaches the same level in the bucket as the new saltwater you made the night before, that way you can add the new water to your tank without worrying about overflowing the tank or making too much water.
remember to check the SG of the water in the tank each day to get an idea of how much water evaporates each day... for that you only add "pure" water to replace what evaporated....not saltwater...
Good luck, keep us posted...

 

[mbrands]

The woman at the store doesn't know what she is talking about. My advice would have been to purchase a book and/or do research before buying anything.
1. There is no way your tank will cycle in 2-3 days without anything in it besides fresh water gravel.
2. There is no way you can keep "Dori" (Blue Hippo Tang or Regal Tang) in a 45 gallon tank for more than a few months. They are also very succeptible (sp?) to ick.
3. What else are you planning to keep in the tank, if anything? Depending on your livestock, you should also consider adding a protein skimmer.
Please do more research before putting any fish in your tank.
Thank you!

 

[nemo4tater]

Well I was thinking about a clown fish, maybe some crabs and shrimp or something. Something simple yet pretty. I have damsels in there now ..... why does the tank have to cycle, i am just not understanding this at all. :happyfish

 

[mbrands]

I'm sorry that the woman at the fish store didn't explain any of this to you. I'm sure she has "helped" a lot of new hobbyists get started, only to get discouraged and quit the hobby.
Start your research here:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...threadid=80022
Scroll down and you will find a link telling you all about the cycle.
Good luck!
BTW, a clown would do fine in the tank you have, just not a tang ("Dori").

 

[sammiefish]

yeah, this cycle thing is a bit confusing... but...
there are bacteria that grow in your tank that will "eat" (metabolize) the waste from your fish (the pee or ammonia)... without enough bacteria the ammonia stays in the water....
ammonia is very toxic to fish....
once there is enough bacteria to "eat" the ammonia fish waste the ammonia levels drop and therefore it is not toxic to fish but the bacteria turns the ammonia into nitrITE... less toxic than ammonia but still toxic...
then another bacteria "eats" the nitrITE and turns it into nitrATE... less toxic than either ammonia or nitrITE....
SO, It takes ammonia in the tank to feed the first bacteria so enough can grow so it will get rid of the ammonia in your tank quickly.. so the fish dont die every time one of them "P's".. the same applies to the second bacteria....
but during this initial time there has to be ammonia but ammonia is toxic to fish... so how do you start the ball rolling? Well you could put tough fish in the tank which is what the fish lady had you do... but, imagine if you were swimming around in ammonia... I bet you wouldnt be too comfortable... well neither are the fish... Another way to do it is to put food in the tank (without fish) and let the food decay which will provide ammonia for the bacteria to grow... then when you have enough bacteria you no longer can detect any ammonia or nitrITE ... that is the best time to put fish in.... but since you already have fish in there I guess you gotta go with it. If you really want to understand the cycle... use ammonia, nitrITE and nitrATE test kits and test the water every other day and write down the #'s you get... you will see that the ammonia will go up and get quite high.. then the nitrITE will follow... when those both get to zero, you have all the bacteria you need to metabolize the ammonia and nitrITE...
this is "the cycle". the same thing happens in a freshwater tank but since the pH is lower in a freshwater tank there is less risk of toxicity, (any more would be a chemistry lesson which you probably dont need/want right now) which is why many people who have had freshwater tanks have never heard of this cycle thing...
keep us posted

 

[molamola]

After reading this post, I have to share my favorite Nemo experience from when I worked in a LFS. This man had bought a 30L with a Penguin 280 and stocked it up with lr and damsels and a regal tang and an ocellaris clownfish (all coming from another lfs that had no soul).
When he entered, he was frantic and desperately needed to replace Nemo because Nemo had died that morning and his water was total poo. I explained the cycle, what was going to happen, what else was going to die and he insisted on picking up another clown because his daughter would be devastated, and I insisted that he was nuts.
Finally, we came to this agreement. I sent him home and had him tell his little daughter that Nemo and crew had gone back to the sea to go on vacation and pick up a few things for the tank and they wouldn't be back for a long time, but when they did come back, they would bring presents from far away.
He told his daughter, his daughter bought it, and Nemo returned three weeks later with gifts from afar and Dori got married and stayed in the ocean. The end.
Good luck with your tank! Lots of people have gone down the same path as you. I had a similar experience ten years ago. As soon as I named the fish, they were all dead and I didn't know why, but damsels are tough and it could have been much much worse.

 

[mbrands]

Good story. Very creative! Here is my most recent experience . . .
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/vb/show...nny+true+story

 

[molamola]

I've had a few of those experiences myself, whether it's a 1 gallon with two goldfish, or a ten gallon with 12 cichlids, or the volitan lion that a man demanded for his 10 gallon that he was setting up that night, which came back dead the next day. I was the lowest seller there because I spent the majority of my time talking people out of their purchases. Of course, a lot of prepackaged tanks have pictures on the front, of the tank, as small as it is, crammed with damsels, tangs, and whatever else looks good on the box. It's easy to get the wrong idea.