New aquarium; Please help

[babykitten]

Hey everyone. This is my first time posting here, but I hope I can get some help.
I just bought a new 65 gallon tank. I'm using a BioWheel 330, it might be a penguin. I can't remember, but it came with the setup. They thought it would work fine with the saltwater. I'm using crushed coral, and I have about four live rocks so far. Two are over 4 lbs, and two are under 1 lb. The store we went to said we could get some green chromis a few days after setting up. It was probably about 5 days before we got three of them. Also, we went back about a week later to get more supplies, and the clerk said we could also put in some percula clowns. We weren't buying from just a general pet store; it's a store specializing in marine and freshwater fish. We now have a CAP-1200 aqua pump. My question is did we get the fish too early? Also, should I get better filtration? I just need some help with the basics, I guess, based on my situation. What should I do about the cycling? I don't fully understand that, but I do have some books. They're old though, so maybe I'll get some new ones. I know this is a lot of info, and a lot to read through. I believe the clownfish might have Ich, and the others possibly do too. I bought medicine for it, and I will use it soon. I'm just hoping someone can tell me if I totally messed up my tank or not! I was just going by what the store owners said should work. Obviously, they have more experience than I do! Thanks in advance for anyone's help! I appreciate it!

 

[shadow678]

Unfortunately, and I'm not trying to be in any way condescending, they have very much misled you. I would suggest taking all the fish back immediately, as the cycle is extremely stressful on fish. Now, as for proper setup...here we go... The filter you have is in fact a Penguin. The Bio-Wheel is a very good bio-filter, but it needs time to be set up, which usually takes 4-6 weeks. How much crushed coral do you have? The debate over CC and live sand is a long-argued one and will probably never be over. Remember that crushed coral often requires periodical vaccuming, where live sand can be cleaned by inverts such as crabs and conchs. You said you have approximately 10 pounds of rock, correct? for a 65 gallon tank, you would need about 100 pounds for proper bio-load and to provide plenty of hiding places for your future fish. Once you get all your rock and substrate in your tank, put in a few fresh, uncooked table shrimp from your local grocery store. This will begin the cycle as the shrimp decompose. You may remove them after the fourth or fifth day. Now it is a waiting game. Average cycle takes 4-6 weeks. Get a good water testing kit and check your water perameters once a week. When your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings all show 0, you are ready to begin adding fish and other inhabitants. Also, you will want some cleanup crew, in the form of hermit crabs and snails. SWF.com has some very nice preset-size cleanup crews that will keep your tank looking good. If you are considering putting any types of corals or anemones in your tank, you will have to look into getting a higher-output lighting system than what typically comes on a tank. There are many options for that, but I will not get into that unless that is your specific goal for this tank. HTH (hope this helps)

 

[aileena]

Well congrats on the new tank first off.
Cycle Explaination...Usually there is as you know a cycle Amonia breaks down into nitrites and nitrites into nitrates. Where did you get your water? Was it premixed from the fish store? If not you needed to let the tank cycle longer, At least for a week or two. You may have jumped the gun, go out and buy some test kits or take a water sample to the fish store and tell them to test it. If the levels are high in any catergory more than likely you didn't let the tank cycle and the fish may or may not make it. You may want to get premixed SW from the fish store and replace 10-20 gallons. NEVER use tap water.
If you put Live Rock in your tank and medicated the fish with some copper solution the Live Rock is probably dead since you cannot medicate tanks unless they are FISH ONLY! Take the LR out of the tank if you medicated it since it dying will increase amonia which will kill the fish. If you want to medicate take out the rock and put it in another small tank.
As for filtration the big wet/dry filters are really not that good for SW. You need to get a protein skimmer and two powerheads. Its ok to use the penguin but clean the filters out everyday since they trap crap and produce Nitrates which is again bad.
OVERALL 1) test your water! Everything should be 0 you can get away with nitrates 10ppm. 2) Get a protien skimmer and take out the penguim eventually since only the protien skimmer is needed. 3) Never medicate fish when ther is LR, inverts or corals in the tank. and never use tap water for water changes. If your going to medicate take out LR and put it in small tank with powerhead. Good Luck

 

[babykitten]

Thank-you for the help! I just want to make sure I do this right. Few more questions, then. This medicine I bought says it's safe for the inverts, and life rock, etc. It's called Herbal Ich Attack, by AquaHerbals and Kordon. That's what it says on the bottle. I was planning on setting up a 10-gallon hospital tank. I'll probably do that within a few days. Is the powerhead the aqua pump? I think, what I'll do, is put the live rock in the new hospital tank, and then try and treat the fish. Can the rock be put in a little while after the 10 gallon tank is set up? I do know I have to have more live rock, but I'm trying to go little by little on that. I eventually want to get a Mandarin Goby, so I know you need lots of rock for that. All right, so my plan is to use the medicine on the fish. I might as well try that. If it doesn't work out, I'll try and take them back. Do I need to take out the carbon filters when I put the medicine in? I didn't understand that part.
I didn't buy pre-mixed water. I bought the salt crystals and mixed it myself. I just figured 65 gallons was a lot to haul from the store. I'm just trying to figure everything out! Thanks for your patience!
Oh, I forgot to mention, but I don't think I'm going to be putting any of the plant inverts. It sounds like those should mostly be left to people more experienced, which is obviously not myself. I do want some shrimp and horshoe crabs, though. I think I was going to buy a better light. Any suggestions for lighting? Maybe a certain brand or something. I think that's it! Thanks again!

 

[shadow678]

Okie dokie, let's see. hehe The aqua pump is the powerhead. If the ick medicine says it is safe for inverts and rocks, then chances are it is not copper-based and will be fine to add with the live rock in the tank. You are correct that mandarin dragonets need a LOT of very well-cultured rock to survive, and even then it is good to have a hang-in brine shrimp hatchery to supplement their diet. I would still highly recommend going ahead and taking the fish back, as your current setup is much too new to properly house healthy fish. As for the medicine, yes the carbon filters should be removed for the duration of the treatment, if you choose to do that. As for the water...where the water came from has nothing to do with bio-filtration. Bio-filtration is supported by live rock, live sand, wet/dry filter media such as bio-pin balls, or power filter media cartridges. The water is simply a means of carrying the contaminates to the filter. In fact, if you were to buy water premixed from the LFS, it would be the exact same water that you yourself mixed, as all they do is mix fresh purified water with salt crystals in the proper salinity. Horseshoe crabs would not be a good addition for a CC (crushed coral) substrate, as they are burrowers. They are not particularly good for your sand bed, either, as they will descimate all of the beneficial organisms in it, including the copepods that your mandarin will need. This was upsetting to me, also, I love the way they look and how they swim when they are out. Lighting will be based on what you intend to put in the tank. If you are going for FOWLR (fish only with live rock), then the lighting that comes with the tank will be sufficient. If you intend to have corals, you will have to upgrade. How much upgrading will depend of what kind of corals you intend to keep, as some require more lighting than others. My suggestion on that subject is to read up on corals and determine what types you would like to have and how much light they require, and then try to decide on what type of lighting you will want. Researching will help you avoid many headaches in this hobby, but you obvisouly are aware of this or you wouldn't be asking for suggestions.

 

[wamp]

Let's start all over....
Your tank , as stated, will go through a cycle. During this cycle you will have an ammonia spike. This is caused by wastes breaking down. The bacteria responsible for breaking the ammonia down is called aerobic bacteria. Simply put, this bacteria needs oxygen. Once you establish this , cycle, the ammonia will then be broken down into nitrites. This is where it all gets fun.
Once the nitrites get broken down, the become nitrates. These are a whole new bag! This "waste" needs anaerobic bacteria. This only grows in low to no oxygen areas. This is where most aquariums have problems. High nitrates lead to numerous problems. Less toxic to fish then ammonia or nitrites, still long term affects are detruimental. They are usually removed by water changes or other natrual filtering. Deep in rocks or a deep sand bed. Nitrates can also be found in your water source. This is why a good source is important. You do not want to add more!
Now onto filters. A filter is nothing more than a place where wastes get broken down. Thats it. Now, the efficency of a filter depends on many things. Size, flow and oxygen levels play a big part. This is where wet/dry filters have a big advantage over others. They are big, have lost of surface area for the bacteria to grow, allow lots of flow and have a tremendous amount of oxygen added to the water. They are one of the most efficent filters on the market.
Onto fish and cycling. A cycle simply put is the growing of bacteria. This can be started several ways. You can add food to the tank and allow it to break down. A picec of shrimp can be used or even fish. Now, alot of people do not like cycling with fish. I have no problem with it if done corectly. SLOWLY!! Frequent water changes will remove ammonia and allow the bacteria to grow slowly to the level of waste. The amount of waste is directly proprtional to the amount of bacteria. Meaning, as your waste goes up, your bacteria will grow. BUT!, slowly, you have to allow your tank time to settle. Thats why you should never add fish to fast.
Fish selection, a damsel is a good first fish due to the ability to handle lots of diffrent situations. It is a tough fish!
When you have a disease in the tank, such as ICH, it is alot easier to medicate that fish in a smaller tank than a large one. Not to mention safer! There are lots of medicenes out there. Most do not work. There are other methods other than medicene. Hyposalinity being one of the most proven methods. BUT, I do not recomend this if you are new to the hobby. It requires alot of patients and know-how to avoid killing the fish. Your LFS may be able to do this for you! Some will and some will not. Hit or miss on that one.
Anyway, Welcome to the hobby! It is an awsome way to spend hundreds, even thousands of dollars. It is more addactive than Crack though so beware!
Be patient and read, read, and read, but take it all with a grain of salt. Listen to all advice and find your own way.
Wamp