New Tank Setup

[osufan4life]

A few years back I started up a 55 gallon saltwater tank. I was a bit inexperienced and didn't receive the best advice. I am ready to give it another shot with a 42 gallon tank. Before I did not use any live rock whatsoever, which may have been why a couple new fish i added didn't make it. How much live rock should I add and how long should I wait to add damsels. Right now I have a 13 pound fiji in there and am in the process of adding more come next paycheck. I was told i should put it all in at once but can't afford it right now. The one that I have in there is not cured anyways, so I am going to have to wait. Besides for that I have crushed coral and a few barnacle coral chunks in there. Also I am looking to start a peaceful community. I would like to put an emperor angelfish (juvenile), however I need to make sure it has enough space to grow and wont be too aggressive. Otherwise a couple blue tangs and i might throw a few clownfish in there. Thanks for your input.

 

[koolaidman]

hey osu, welcome to SWF.com. A couple things you should know. First off its reccommended to have 1-2 pounds of live rock for each gallon (its expensive i know, ive only got 1 Lb. / gallon.) Its perfectly fine to add LR in different stages. Also, crushed coral is tricky stuff and needs to be vaccumed/ siphoned regularly and is not always the best choice compared to live sand. You asked how long before you add damsels, do you mean to cycle the tank or to keep. If thats your means of cycling, its kinda of an outdated practice. Its cruel to the fish, more expensive, and you will end up with an aggressive fish in your tank. The way i and most people do it is by putting in a raw jumbo shrimp ( 28 cents) and letting it rot until your ammonia gets up to 1 (it is reccommeded you get a test kit.) An emporer angelfish is out of the question, it needs at least a 125 gallon tank. Tangs as well need plenty of room for swimming, probably about 6 ft long. Clownfish are always a good choice, however i would only go with 1 mated pair. as for other peaceful fish, maybe chromis, gobies, a blenny, or a gramma. But remember that you cannot just throw in a bunch of fish. Some use a rule of thumb that the filtration has can only support 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons. This is just a general rule that does not always apply, but keep the bioload reasonable and ask about the number of fish on here before you purchase. Also my main piece of advice is KEEP RESEARCHING on this site or others, you will learn alot. I am telling you all this, and i do not even have a fish yet. Keep reading, and good luck.

 

[puffer32]

Originally Posted by koolaidman
hey osu, welcome to SWF.com. A couple things you should know. First off its reccommended to have 1-2 pounds of live rock for each gallon (its expensive i know, ive only got 1 Lb. / gallon.) Its perfectly fine to add LR in different stages. Also, crushed coral is tricky stuff and needs to be vaccumed/ siphoned regularly and is not always the best choice compared to live sand. You asked how long before you add damsels, do you mean to cycle the tank or to keep. If thats your means of cycling, its kinda of an outdated practice. Its cruel to the fish, more expensive, and you will end up with an aggressive fish in your tank. The way i and most people do it is by putting in a raw jumbo shrimp ( 28 cents) and letting it rot until your ammonia gets up to 1 (it is reccommeded you get a test kit.) An emporer angelfish is out of the question, it needs at least a 125 gallon tank. Tangs as well need plenty of room for swimming, probably about 6 ft long. Clownfish are always a good choice, however i would only go with 1 mated pair. as for other peaceful fish, maybe chromis, gobies, a blenny, or a gramma. But remember that you cannot just throw in a bunch of fish. Some use a rule of thumb that the filtration has can only support 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons. This is just a general rule that does not always apply, but keep the bioload reasonable and ask about the number of fish on here before you purchase. Also my main piece of advice is KEEP RESEARCHING on this site or others, you will learn alot. I am telling you all this, and i do not even have a fish yet. Keep reading, and good luck.

Good advice! Couldn't have said it better myself, and i have yrs of experience

 

[osufan4life]

Thanks Koolaid...I have never heard of cycling a tank through that method, I've always used damsels. My only use for them would be to cycle the tank then I would return them. About how long would it take for my ammonia level to spike after adding the shrimp and how does this correlate to my nitrate level? As of right now there is nothing in my tank, just the one piece of liverock that is not cured yet (according to the associate at the petstore). Should I wait for it to cure before I do anything else?