new guy needs some input

[wallie]

hi every one im farly new to saltwater. i have a few questions for you guys let me first explane my set up. ok i bought a 55 gal tank that had been established for 2 years it has 2 penguion 330 filters, a proten skimmer, and 2 power sweep 228 power heads, 2 65 watt 21 inch coralife 50/50 compact florescent lights,35 lbs of live fiji live rock, 1 yellow hawaiian tang, 3 ocellaris clownfish,1naso tang, i green mandarin gobie 1 eel that i have not identified yet it is black with yellow verticul strips it seems to be frendly with the other fish. 2 large top grown snails,12 blue leg hermits 1 sponge grab 25-30margarita snals, 1 fancy brittle star,1 fancyserpent starand 1 blood red srimp so thats my set up my questions are 1. should i add more live rock it seems like ther should be more
2.i want to put corals in there two,i think that i want soft corals what ones would you sugjest and is ther anough water movment/ light
3. could i add more fish? and if so wich ones would you guys sugjest
4.i would also like to get a anemone if it is fesabule.
thank you guys for your help any coments or sugestion would be greatly aprecheated sence my ifs dont seem to no anything
wallie

 

[jtp18]

Ok, to answer your question about the adding more fish into your tank, I dont' think that you should b/c you have two fish that really need a larger tank, the yellow tang and the naso tang. I think that its not the amount of fish that you have but how long you can keep a small amount of fish alive. Anywho, as for the coral situation,I think that you could manage to keep some soft corals and definately mushrooms.However if you want to keep hard corals you will need more light than you have.Also the same goes for anemones. Although i have had success w/ keeping a sebae anemone under 2x15 watt 10000K lights. So I think that you could and can keep anemones under your lighting. So I say go for it. Even w/ all the advice the people on the forum will give you, it is still up to you.So good luck

 

[spmnarciso]

As for the fish, NO! Those two Tangs require a six foot tank at minimum. They will get big and they do like the swimmimg room from side to side. Alot of people will suggest that you place them in no smaller than a 75G.
If you are interested in a reef setup, your lighting is a bit low. Mushrooms, star polyps, and some other low light corals are the only ones right now that will survive in those lighting conditions. Try to aim for 4+W/gallon of PC, VHO, or T5 lighting, and you can keep almost anything in regards to soft corals and some LPS. From what I have read anemones require a high amount of light, however there are some that will do fine under lighting stated before. The problem with anemones is that they have a tendency to move alot, which causes problems for other reef habitants and not to mention their short lifespan. I've never kept one and have been offered many, but I'm one of those neat freaks that like order in his display tank. Also the eel in the reef tank is not really advisable. If I were you, I would bring the eel and the two tangs back to the LFS for credit...that's if the reef idea is the way you want to go...and invest in more lighting and start with some easy corals and definitely buy some more LR. Do you have a sand bed? I would also implement a refugium into the mix for pod reproduction...for your mandarin.
In your case right now, everything seems good for a FO tank, except for the tangs in there.
Good Luck

 

[bang guy]

Welcome Wallie!! :cheer: :jumping: :cheer: :jumping:
Is there any chance that your "Eel" is an Engineer Goby?

 

[caryn_ia]

I agree with most of what spmnarcisco said, except for the part where he said that anemones don't live very long. Anemones have been known to live hundreds of years in the wild. It's just that most tank setups don't have the requirements for them. You might want to look into metal halide lights. Not required, but corals seem to do so much better under them(imo), due to the intensity of the light. I think you have a bit of work to do before you start a reef, but that's half the fun in this hobby. Good luck, and hth!

 

[saltyrich]

I agree with most of what has been said already. Please take the tangs and eel back. I would totally try to discourage you from getting an anemone at this point. I prefer as much live rock as possible. It has numerous beneficial effects for your tank. In a 55, I would have at least 100 pounds of rock if not more. I like a lot of rock work though. It provides great filtration for the tank, it looks great, and it provides habitat for your reef inhabitants. As foar as the lighting goes, we could easily strike up an arguement on this board about what you need. I feel that if you want to keep anything other than some polyps and mushrooms, you will have to increase the lighting. You need to evaluate right up front what types of coral you want to keep. Do you want a clam? Some things really need the intensity of metal halide lights, but many do not. I have VHO lighting and have successfully kept any soft or hard coral that I want to. Many will argue that you need metal halides for sps corals. I do not believe this is true in all cases. I now several people that have had great success with sps corals under vho lighting. Some argue, with some validity, that having metal halide lighting allows you endless options (given the proper setup). Think about what you want in your tank and PLAN accordingly FIRST. Don't just go out an put things in the tank that look great. You are on the right track by asking questions on this board. There are some very knowledgable people here that have helped me tremendously. Always research and welcome!

 

[spmnarciso]

I've been through many-a-changes with my setup. At first I wanted FOWLR and then corals were fancied, so I went there, and now I just finished installing MH lighting and introduced several SPS frags. In other words, If i knew then what I know now, I would've did it differently. For instance, closed loops, larger refugium, overflows, right lighting from the start, detrivore kit, etc. Ultimately, what i am trying to say is, sit down and think about what exactly you want to accomplish and what you wouldn't mind spending tons of hard earned cash on.(because you gotta know that it costs alot of money to maintain a successful saltwater reef) And then ask a question like, "what do i need, to do this?"

 

[wallie]

thank you guys so much as for corals ive decided agenst them i dont think that i have anougf experence with saltwater yet and i do think that the eel isent an eel any more it is a engerner gobie.i will be adding live rock in the neer future but i seem to be having a new problum my live sand is stating to turn a rust coler any ideas what this is?

 

[spmnarciso]

Diatoms!

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by wallie
i do think that the eel isent an eel any more it is a engerner gobie.
Sometimes I impress myself.
LOL sorry, I had a bad day at work. This helped

 

[wallie]

ok guys the red rust stuff isent going away and i need help how do i get ride ofit. ther seems to be less of it in the morning. my levels are all fine.so its not that could it be from the lights just dont no.

 

[bang guy]

Try a search on Cyano*