New 55gal tank. -need help coordinating fish

[bernabei]

I have been testing it I just brought a sample to my dealer on friday. It was high and they said to put this TLC stuff in it that helps with all that.

 

[tony detroit]

It does help, but it won't solve your problems, and it certainly is not the natural approach the we are trying to recreate with a cycle. You may want to reconsider your filtration as well. If you are going to try to keep a lot of fish you should most definitely get a good skimmer, wet dry filter, and have a powerful pump powering your return.

 

[bernabei]

Well I am feeling much better today about my tank! I called my dealer and he gave me some live rock, a bag of what looked like mucky water filled with pods and bacterias from one of his coral tanks and some live shrimp for the gobi!He also told me that my fish would be fine because they were put in the tank before the nitrites went up and that I can't add any more until it is back to normal range and that is is normal for it to go up after I added the fish the first time.I am still adding the TLC every other day and will be bringing a sample to him on Sunday to see how things are going. When I told him about the golbi starving he was thinking that I set up the tank with live sand and I didn't .As for bringing my fish back I really like them all and he did say he would take them back if they become a problem. did I read somewhere that you can have 2-3 inches of fish per 5 gallons of h20? Thanks everone for your help!:cheer:

 

[tony detroit]

I would definitely ditch the damsels if I were you, they get very agressive later and will be harder to catch once your tank is filled with rock. Even if the lfs gives you live sand, mandarins eat a LOT of live food, and I am pretty sure you will not sustain the mandarinfish for more than 6months. As for the tang, he'll need a bigger tank in a few years, but it's not too big of a deal right now.
How many pounds of live rock do you have in your tank?