New tank looking for some comments/advice.....photos are included

njjamie

njjamie

Member
Whats going on everyone? My tank is 4 weeks old and I am looking for advice or comments about my tank. I saw someone else post something similar to this and thought it was a great idea for some great ideas.
I have done plenty of fresh water tanks before but after 4 weeks in the saltwater world........I have plenty of learning do.
My tank: 55 gallon glass with 3/4 aragonite and 1/4 pink fiji sand. Eheim 2227 wet/dry filter. CPR hang off back protein skimmer model CYHO II with Rio 600 power head. One extra Rio 600 power head for current on other side of tank. Basic heater installed as well. In the hood are 2 96 watt SmartLamp PowerCompact (square pin) lamps along with an intake and exhaust fan for cooling purposes.
I made the mistake of filling up my tank with tap water and mixing salt myself....after reading a bit on here and talking to some other people, I should have done it other ways such as reverse osmosis water.
The first thing I did was put some live rock in my tank......I had only 3 pieces and then decided to throw in a bunch more. I am very impatient so I waited 4 days (when my tank water was cleared) and threw in 1 Domino and 1 Damsel. They lasted about 2 days until they croaked. So, I waited a few weeks and tested my water a few times and it was testing pretty darn good. I got 2 more Damsels and 2 more Dominoes which are still living. I waited a few days and added 1 Coral Banded Shrimp, 15 snails, 15 hermit crabs, and 2 feather dusters. All was doing fine so a few days later I added 2 skunk shrimp only because they look pretty cool to me. Just 3 days ago I added my first "real" fish which are a Nasu Tang and a Vermiculated Angel Fish.
I guess this is where I let you know that I am planning on doing a fish only with live rock tank for the first year or so. At that point I am most likely going to get some reef stuff in there and turn it into a reef tank?? As for now, I am going to stick with the FOWLR.
Please post comments and suggestions for me. I am a fish tank lunatic right now reading anything I possibly can. For anyone who is just starting like I was 4 weeks ago, I highly recommend a book called The Simple Guide to Marine Aquariums by Jeffrey Kurtz. I am the furthest thing from your avid reader, but this book was a great beginning for me in the fish tank world. One of the best parts is that the model tank it used was a 55 gallon which I have.
Thanks in advance!!!!
Jamie




 
C

ccondie

Guest
hey jamie,
Iam a newbee at the salt h2o thing. I have a 55 G tank and am looking for some advice from other beginners. is there anything i should know befor getting started? dos and donts. what does it cost to get everything set up usually. well thanks in advance for the advice, i look forward to hearing from you.
Chris
 
J

josebob

Guest
well i can tell u right now that a bunch of people are going to say that the tang must go and i agree. that tang will need more space soon. don't mean to be an a#*hole i would think about an upgrade soon. other than that the tank looks great.
 
jebar777

jebar777

New Member
first off...i love the rock work..tank looks good...this is a good thing and a bad thing. you are gonna get algae blooms like crazy because you used tap water...its ok though cause all those snails and hermits you bought are gonna need someting to eat....first suggestion is to start useing rodi for topoff and water changes. secons thing is your gonna want to get rid of that rio on the remora and get a maxijet 1200. especailly on that size tank...and with the size of the fish you have put in ther. your also gonna want to put more flow in there...you will probably need like 3 maxijet 1200's pointing at each other from opposite ends of the thank. this will do 2 things....keep most of the detrius in the water collum and make the skimmer more efficent and will help with evaopration. if you plan on keeping any type of coral in the future you should pick your fish verry wisely now because most of these fish will last years in the home aquarium if cared for properly.
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
I love your rock formation!!! It looks great to me!!! Just change water with RO water from now on and you should be fine. I filled my first tank with tap water as well....After diatom outbreaks from hell I learned my lesson....But everything is going well...How is that Naso Tang?? He looks a bit thin from the picture, can't really tell....Is he eating at all? I had trouble with mine at first, now he's eating like a pig....Good Luck with your tank!!! :happyfish
 
njjamie

njjamie

Member
Whats up Chris,
First things first, use reverse osmosis water or already mixed water from your local fish store. I used tap water and although I have not seen any major problems as of yet.....I know I had to wait a little longer to get my tank started up and completely cycled.
I am a very impatient person and that is not a good thing in this hobby from what I hear. Next to do is to figure out exactly what type of tank you want.....if it is going to be a fish only tank, you don't have to worry about water conditions AS much but still have to watch it. It is not until you start dipping into the reef thing where you have to really watch your tank all the time. They say for beginners, start with a Fish only or a fish only with live rock like what I have. I am going to start with this for a while but will be posting pics along the way. I think it is not only going to help me but help any other beginners as well.
Hope that helps, but I will be the first to say I am very far from an expert.
Jamie
 
njjamie

njjamie

Member
My tang is not all that big right now and has plenty of room behind and around all sides of the rock....he does fit through the openings as well. Of course I am going to argue this one as I just got this fish a few days ago, so sorry if I am stubborn on this one, hahaha. I tried feeding my tang some algae (sushi strips) last night and he was not too interested. I fed him some flake food and frozen food as well and he loves it!
I was surprised to hear about needing a stronger power head on my protein filter though. Like I said I have a Rio 600 on it right now and it does a fair am0ount....so I thought. I also have that black box thing that hangs on the inside of the tank which is supposed to collect from the top surface but does not seem to be doing as well as a job as I thought. I will definitely getting a stronger pump though to see if this works. I am not sure about the product you suggested as all I know right now is the Rio brand. Let me know other info if you can! Thanks again for the comments and I hope to see a bunch more.
Thanks again!
Jamie
 
petjunkie

petjunkie

Active Member
Much more important than the lack of space for the tang is that fact that they need mature tanks, not new ones. Also you need to quarentine your fish and add them slowly, one a month or so. Test your water every couple days for ammonia and nitrite spikes and set up a quarentine so when your tang gets ick you can do something about it.
 
mikeyjer

mikeyjer

Active Member
Originally Posted by petjunkie
Much more important than the lack of space for the tang is that fact that they need mature tanks, not new ones. Also you need to quarentine your fish and add them slowly, one a month or so. Test your water every couple days for ammonia and nitrite spikes and set up a quarentine so when your tang gets ick you can do something about it.
I would have to agree with this!!!!!!!!! I know my Naso Tang is very picky about water, food, etc...... :happyfish
 
joncat24

joncat24

Active Member
Looks good so far, but the naso will not make it in that tank. I would suggest you take him back while you can and get something smaller. He may do okay for a while but he WILL get ick in that small of a tank and he WILL die...just my opinion
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Welcome to the boards.
1. You did a good job with your rock! Looks good. Just make sure you have good flow behind it.
2. The water issue has been covered....
3. Tang has been covered, but I'll cover it again. Get a good book like This One and read through it. It will explain the needs, compatibility of fish, etc. Most Tangs need minimal 6 foot long mature tanks. Take the book with you so you don't ever make an uneducated "impulse" buy.
4. Waiting 4 days to put fish in isn't "patient" hehe.
You need to be much, much, much more patient than that.
5. Quarrantine tank.... it's your friend.
6. Dominos are damsels. Damsels are from Hell (minus Chromis and Clowns. Even some clowns can be from hell, and Chromis treat each other like punching bags...). Take them out now.... Trust me and everyone else who has ever had them.... take them out now and take them back to the store.... damsels grow big, lose their pretty colors, eat like monsters, and get visciously territorial. I've been bitten by damsels while SCUBA diving for getting too close to their reef.
7. RIO pumps are notorious for overheating and locking up on you.
8. Don't get discouraged! You're doing the right thing by asking questions. The learning curve (more like an incline as we never stop learning) to this hobby is steep at first, but the rewards are amazing.

EDIT
9. Coral Banded Shrimp can be trouble makers too.
 
njjamie

njjamie

Member
Journeyman....thanks for the advice here....this is exactly what I am looking for. To make things worse, my Rio pumps are used form the guy I bought the tank from. What other brand would you recommend? Also I am hearing a lot about a quarantine tank but don't know anything about them. I really only wanted 1 fish tank...is a QT just a spare tank which you keep running at all times?? I don't think I have room for this.....do I make room for this??
Thanks again and I will be getting the book you have mentioned today!
Jamie
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Glad I could help...
I've always had luck with Mag pumps. I'm sure others can give you other pump brands they too have enjoyed. I went through a couple of Rio's so I'm not just passing on hearsay. I've seen it first hand.
A QT tank is a must. Having said that, many hobbyists are guilty of not running one. Basically all a QT tank does is allow you to observe and treat a new arrival for diseases, parasites, etc. You CANNOT medicate your display tank (medicine kills your inverts and beneficial bacteria. Some medicines claim to be "reef" safe... As soon as you explain to me how a medication can selectively kill harmful inverts and bacteria while not harming beneficial ones I'll believe their claims. Furthmore, some medications use copper. Copper is absolutely lethal to inverts, and it can seep into your live rock, sand, silicone seams, etc.) Diseases can travel like the Black Plague through our aquariums. Also, once a disease enters a tank the only way to treat it is to remove EVERY fish (healtthy and sick) for a month or so. Marine diseases/parasites often have life cycles that allow them to live for weeks off of their hosts. Beth, one of the mods here, can help you more with that kind of info. She's an expert with diseases and treatments.
A QT tank also gives your new arrival time to get used to captivity. That's important. Plus it allows you time to get it used to feeding from you.
A QT tank doesn't have to be fancy. In fact, you want it plain. That way if a disease breaks out you can break it down, carry it outside, and clean it thoroughly.
a QT tank is kind of like health insurance. You don't have to have it but that one time you do use it suddenly it pays for itself 1000%.
It's not really that hard to set up. a 20 gallon tank will be fine. Throw in some different size pvc unions for the fish to hide in. A small powerhead for current. You don't even need a filter on it as long as you do a water change on it every few days. (use your old water from your tank. This has the added benefit of getting the fish acclimated exactly to your tank).
 
vanos

vanos

Member
Originally Posted by Ccondie
hey jamie,
Iam a newbee at the salt h2o thing. I have a 55 G tank and am looking for some advice from other beginners. is there anything i should know befor getting started? dos and donts. what does it cost to get everything set up usually. well thanks in advance for the advice, i look forward to hearing from you.
Chris
My 55 G cost me over $1,500 which is a generous estimate. If we move to the suburbs in a 2-3 years I plan on upgrading to at least a 180. Maybe acrylic...??? My advice is to try to buy what you can online because it's so much cheaper than your lfs. i.e. pumps, filters, liverock, fish etc.
 
njjamie

njjamie

Member
So I am trying to take your advice and remove the Damsels. I just spent the last hour trying to get those fish out of my tank and I cant catch them with my 1 inch by 1 inch net, hahaha. Does anyone have any advice before I drop my fishing pole in there???
Thanks in advance,
Jamie
 
rot_stupid

rot_stupid

Member
When we finally realized we needed to remove our damsels, we found it alot easier to use a BIG net, let is sit in the water for an hour, then hold it and feed just above it. Our Damsels were so greedy they swam right above it and we just scooped em up. It sounded stupid, but it was better then trying to remove all our LR.
 
rot_stupid

rot_stupid

Member
When we finally realized we needed to remove our damsels, we found it alot easier to use a BIG net, let is sit in the water for an hour, then hold it and feed just above it. Our Damsels were so greedy they swam right above it and we just scooped em up. It sounded stupid, but it was better then trying to remove all our LR.
 
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