New Tank

[subielover]

You are going to have to be very careful with having fish in there and just adding lr. Like spanko said you might get another ammonia spike. Is that a scooter blenny, in that pic? If it is you should take it back asap, he will not survive in your tank very long at all.

 

[blue eye]

Yes it is my girlfreind went and bought it last night while i was at work. So far he is doing good. I did not know until this morning when i got off and i came home and see told me about it.
Also what about the little baby star fish that came on the LR rock, any comments on that. Has that ever happened to anyone.
I have been checking my levels every 2 days so i am on top of that.

 

[subielover]

In a 30 gallon tank, I would aim for between 40-50 pounds of lr. I think you have about 15, you should add it all now that way you get the cycle out of the way. If not you could keep having ammonia spikes which would be extremely detrimental to the fish in the tank. Live rock is your tanks filtration, it is THE most important part of a new tank.
If it were me, I would start by getting all fish out of the tank. Give them to a friend, give them to a lfs, just get them out. Then add a lot more rock. Then wait for your cycle. In the meantime research what you really want to put into your tank. Then after the tank is cycled you can add a clean-up-crew consisting of different types of snails. You will find hermits are useless. After the cuc has been in for about a week or two, and all your parameters come out normal, then you could add your first fish. Clowns are always great additions because they are very hardy, they are basically damsels in a tuxedo. HTH

 

[subielover]

Also scooter blennies eat one thing and one thing only(generally) and that is pods. Your tank probably does not have very many at all, and certainly not enough to sustain him. The responsible thing is to return him

He will not love long in your tank.

 

[spanko]

The algae that looks like coins stacked end on end on each other is Halimeda, a calciferous algae. The ones that look like a little fan it is hard to tell. Are they connected by a vine?
It is unfortunate that have livestock in the tank at this point especially the scooter blenny. Your cycle is not complete and any ammonia is poisonous to fish. As subie said the scooter is one of the harder fish to maintain in a cycled tank as it is a pod eater and is a hunter for these tasty live morsels.
May be time for a little rethinking here on your part about having the fish in there. Other than that, which is a new beginners mistake made by many, the tank is looking okay at this point. I am not sure of your ultimate plans but for a reef tank you probably don't have enough live rock yet. If a fish only tank it would be okay the way it is as it supplies some live rock and a lot of swimming room. For this type of tank make sure you have some mechanical filtration to supplement what is missing in the biological area.
Keep posting we love to watch these tanks come together.

 

[blue eye]

Ok cool thanks for letting me know that info. I will take him back and then later on maybe get one

 

[blue eye]

Spanko thx for explaning all that to me. Yes it is connected by a vine, thats what it looks like to me.

 

[subielover]

That is a good idea, I just assumed that you were doing a reef because of your t5 lighting.

 

[blue eye]

Yea i have 16 pounds of LR in there, right now. Should i stack them high or leave them low, what is better

 

[subielover]

Well are you done adding rock? Is this going to be a reef or fish only.

 

[subielover]

For a comparision I have 17 pounds in my 14 gallon reef

 

[blue eye]

Yes i am going to do a reef tank, so thats why i was woundering if i should satck it up in like a half circle, from left to right. What do u guys think. Also yes i am going to add more LR but money is a little tight right now with my other bills i have so i am getting as much as i can. Is it better to just get it all at once and put it in the tank

 

[blue eye]

Also do u have a pic of your 14gal reef so i can see it. Maybe get an idea from pro's, or any of your other tanks if u have anymore

 

[subielover]

I have a diary in the nano section, look for Subielover's 14 Biocube.
As for the lr, I completely understand about money being tight. You really should add all of your live rock at once. What I would do, if in your position would be to get as much live rock as you can afford then fill it with base rock. The base rock will become live over time. Like I said before you will probably want to add another 25-30 pounds.

 

[spanko]

Originally Posted by Blue Eye
http:///forum/post/2817450
Yea i have 16 pounds of LR in there, right now. Should i stack them high or leave them low, what is better
Again it depends on your ultimate plan for the tank. There are many ways to aquascape and it really comes down to what you like to look at. A couple of islands, spread out like you have it, a wall of rock. Best to just look on the site here and see what others have done to determine what yours will look like.
For the vine algae it may be a form of Udotea, Maiden fan.

 

[blue eye]

Ok cool thx, for all this advice ur giving me. I will take a look at some pics of others and of ur tank too. Again thanks

 

[spanko]

you are

 

[paintballer768]

Tank is comin along good man, keep the questions coming, it keeps us sharp haha

 

[nano-newb1983]

Sweet, that scooter blennie is awesome... im jealous

 

[blue eye]

Thanks i am also going to get 2 more power heads for the tank, and also some base rock, and more LR ASAP to get everything going and i just talked to my freind he is going to come by and pick up the fish and add them in his 100 gal tank for the time being until i am done cycleing my tank and it is all good to put them back in.