New tank and a few questions

[calikit]

I have a 40 gal tank that I set up in June and now have 2 per clowns, and a striped damsel, and a yellow tail blue damsel. Also, 2 turbos, 2 bumble bees, 2 other type of snails I can't remember what they are, but they burrow and come up when I feed the fish LOL, and 2 starfish. I have used about 35 lbs of LR and 20 lbs of LS. What else can I put in my tank? I want to eventually add some corals and anemones, and a yellow tang, but I am assuming I still need to wait for that. And that leads me to another question, how long do I have to wait to add those? My water tests have been good so far. Nitrates have been around .20 to .40 before water changes.
Thanks for any help!!

 

[big-fish]

sounds good to me,,but i would not get the tang,,,because they need more room than a 75 gallon,,,trust me i have heard that tangs will go crazy,,i also had one in my 24 gallon

,,,it killed my shrimp and one of my fire fish,,,,i would also get some corals too,,,what kind are you looking for???

 

[calikit]

I'm not really sure..something not too expensive since I am poor LOL LOL and have already put over $1000 into this new hobby of mine. And, something hardy that I can't kill while I am learning the ins and outs. I don't want to hurt anybody. Already had a feather duster die on me.
About the tangs..do they really require more than a 40 gal?? They are sooo cool and colorful

 

[big-fish]

how did it die,,,when i got mine the whole thing came out,,,thenin 2 weeks it grew back,,,i would start with some mushrooms also what lighting do you have,,,are they the long ones are the short one,,power (compacts or halid)

 

[calikit]

I don't know how or why it did..it just shrivelled up after the feather came out. I came home from work and a hermit crab was sitting where the feather part was and no feathers. My lighting is a 24 inch 65 watt on a timer

 

[big-fish]

sounds good to me,,some hardy corals are hammers,,frogspawns,mushrooms,,blastoes,,zoos,,(flower pots),,,(only the red ones),,,,thats what i have heard,,leathers,,sun corals,,,feather dusters,,poylops,,,,,thats what i would start out with,,,,but take your time,,,only put about 2-3 corals in your tank a month,,and make sure you feed them,,,what i do is i get a baby nose sucker,,and get some photoplankton and some myasis shrimp and make a mixture of both,and suck a little up and spray it near the corals,,,only about 5 days out of a week.

 

[reefernana]

You've already added quite a bit in the 2 months you've had it up and going. The name of the game in this hobby is the slower the better. You already have 4 fish I believe it was, so you might be able to add 2 or 3 more small ones. Understand that it is the size of the fish when they are adults that you have to go by, not what size they are when you buy them. And, BIGFISH is right, no tangs for that size of tank. They need lots of live rock and lots of swimming room. Also, you have some pretty aggressive fish in there already, so you will have to be careful as to which ones you might add. A good rule is to have at least 3 weeks between adding any new fish. This gives them time to acclimate to their new home with their new bio load and for their tank mates to acclimate to them. I would add a lawnmower blenny to this mix, it will eat your green algae and they can put up with all of those damsels (of which the clowns are in that family, too). You can, also, add a couple of shrimp and some dwarf hermits. But, you should wait to add anything else until your ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all reading 0. What is your ph, phosphates, alkilinity and salinity at? All of these things are very important to test for. Hope this helps, I would just slow down a little and do a lot of research. There is always something to learn! Good luck.

 

[calikit]

I just tested last night:
Ph 8.2
nitrate .20
amonia 0
nitrite 0
salinity1.024
temp 78-80

 

[calikit]

Ok on slowing down. I understand. That was the first thing I was told that this is a waiting process. The longer you wait, the better the results. I had the tank up for a 6 weeks before I got the fish.

 

[big-fish]

you will do fine,,take your time and your tank will be fine

 

[reefernana]

Just wait until those nitrates are 0 before adding anything else. I forgot to ask about your calcium level. That should be around 450. I would get your salintiy up to 1.025-1.026 before adding any corals, too. Also, with your lighting, you should stick to the soft corals and maybe some LPS. Your lighting is too low for SPS. And try to only add one fish at a time with those 3 weeks inbetween. Your tank is small like mine and they can't take too much bioload added all at once.

 

[calikit]

Thanks for all the info. I have been thinking about upgrading my lighting. My LFS told me that 65 watts would be enough for my tank, but that isn't what I have been reading on here for corals. WOW, so much to learn, but so willing to do it. I am having a great time learning all of this stuff and everyone has been great with my questions.

 

[lesleybird]

Originally Posted by reefernana
Just wait until those nitrates are 0 before adding anything else. I forgot to ask about your calcium level. That should be around 450. I would get your salintiy up to 1.025-1.026 before adding any corals, too. Also, with your lighting, you should stick to the soft corals and maybe some LPS. Your lighting is too low for SPS. And try to only add one fish at a time with those 3 weeks inbetween. Your tank is small like mine and they can't take too much bioload added all at once.
Nitrite has to be zero, not nitrate which will probably never be zero but should be low.

 

[kclester]

if i were u i would get rid of the damsels since they are a bold breed of fish and look into geeting something else......just wut i would do

 

[reefernana]

Originally Posted by Lesleybird
Nitrite has to be zero, not nitrate which will probably never be zero but should be low.
I have been told as close to 0 as possible, so why not aim for that? The recommended range is from 1 - 10mg/L anyhow.

 

[oceansidefish]

If you want corals you should definately upgrade to a metal halide lighting system. Also should get a skimmer if you dont have one already. DEFINATELY NO tangs in a 40g... They get big and are grazers so they like LOTS of rock. If you want corals I would think about adding another 10 pounds of rock. You will need the space.

 

[ice4ice]

Originally Posted by calikit
I'm not really sure..something not too expensive since I am poor LOL LOL and have already put over $1000 into this new hobby of mine. And, something hardy that I can't kill while I am learning the ins and outs. I don't want to hurt anybody. Already had a feather duster die on me.
About the tangs..do they really require more than a 40 gal?? They are sooo cool and colorful
Saltwater aquaria is more expensive. Some people put more than $1000 into this hobby.
Tangs are extremely active fish. They need at least a 6 ft tank for tangs (as well as triggers). We're talking about tanks that are 125 gallons and up. Tangs are also Ich magnets; especially in small tanks which causes them stress. That's why they do well in 125G or larger tanks.

 

[calikit]

Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
If you want corals you should definately upgrade to a metal halide lighting system. Also should get a skimmer if you dont have one already. DEFINATELY NO tangs in a 40g... They get big and are grazers so they like LOTS of rock. If you want corals I would think about adding another 10 pounds of rock. You will need the space.
What size do you think I should go for the light? I was looking at them and was wondering, does the bulb scroow(had to spell it that way cuz it was "bleeped out" LOL) into an exsiting hood? or do I need to get an entire new system? I saw that they have individual bulbs you can buy. I do have a bac pak skimmer. My LFS said that was a must, so I got the best the store had "in his opinion" LOL But, I like it cuz it's easy to empty and clean!