Newby, need advice

[meisacao]

I'm new, I've been lurking here and reading everything I can get my hands on regarding saltwater tanks. My tank has now cycled for 4 weeks and levels are finally great. I have one lawnmower blenny that went in yesterday and other than that just ls and lv. With everything I've read and what I've been told at the lfs I'm still very confused on a few things. Everything I've read says I definately need a protein skimmer, 2 lfs say don't need. And what types of test kits should I get? Do I need a hydrometer or refractometer?
This is my second swt. First time around (about 5 years ago), I did NOT take my time. Took the word of an inexperienced fish person and had fish in my tank within 48 hours. A hang on filter, two high powered power heads, no test kits and lots of salt water fish, non of which i researched myself. Needless to say it was disasterous!!! This time around I'm patient, and a bit intimidated.
I love the little blenny, he's so cute. I did not have a QT so i gave him a freshwater dip before putting him in the tank. He was a little shocked but is doing great today. Of course, we are only in our second day of being friends so we will see what happens. Any advice on where to go from here and what types of tools i need would be great. I don't want to just take the advice of lfs, and all that i've read seems to contradict something else i've read. :happyfish

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by meisacao
I'm new, I've been lurking here and reading everything I can get my hands on regarding saltwater tanks. My tank has now cycled for 4 weeks and levels are finally great. I have one lawnmower blenny that went in yesterday and other than that just ls and lv. With everything I've read and what I've been told at the lfs I'm still very confused on a few things. Everything I've read says I definately need a protein skimmer, 2 lfs say don't need. And what types of test kits should I get? Do I need a hydrometer or refractometer?
This is my second swt. First time around (about 5 years ago), I did NOT take my time. Took the word of an inexperienced fish person and had fish in my tank within 48 hours. A hang on filter, two high powered power heads, no test kits and lots of salt water fish, non of which i researched myself. Needless to say it was disasterous!!! This time around I'm patient, and a bit intimidated.
I love the little blenny, he's so cute. I did not have a QT so i gave him a freshwater dip before putting him in the tank. He was a little shocked but is doing great today. Of course, we are only in our second day of being friends so we will see what happens. Any advice on where to go from here and what types of tools i need would be great. I don't want to just take the advice of lfs, and all that i've read seems to contradict something else i've read. :happyfish
A refractometer is more accurate then hydrometer. The test kit you will need are tests for Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, Alkaline, and PH. You need to tell us the tank size and what all you want to have within. I thought Lawnmower blenny needs lots of algae to feed on? IMO, a protein skimmer is good to have!!! :happyfish

 

[meisacao]

It's a 35 gallon tank. about 30lbs of rock and 30 lbs of ls. I plan on having a couple of clown fish and some of the others that are hardy fish. The blenny does have algae. They sell and algae supplement for him that I bought and he seems to like it.

 

[mudplayerx]

Definately get a protein skimmer. My father used to have saltwater tanks 30 years ago and he probably would have given $1,000 to have even one of the cheapest protein skimmers available today. I cannot describe how effective they are at keeping the water pure.
If you plan on having corals and/or other inverts, you may also want these test kits in addition to those listed by Mikeyjer: phosphate, calcium.
Please feel free to post any questions you may have, no matter how small. A lot of us have nothing better to do while at work than try to help lol.

 

[hedonic]

The Protein skimmer is an effective removal system of organic waste, organic phosphates, and other various hevay metals that accumulate over time. As mudplayerx indicated, the recent (last ten-fifteen years or so) availability of protein skimmers has been credited with the elmination of 'sudden death syndrome' where livestock and inverts die for no apparent reason. In smaller tanks they are even more benificial because of the little room for error on water quality parameters. Protein skimmers are a must!

 

[jdragunas]

Do you not have a hyrdrometer or refractometer right now? if not, you should at least get one or the other, so you can know what your SG is.
Protein skimmers are great to have, but are not necessarily a "must". However, if you don't have one, your tank will get really dirty very easily, and the water will most likely be cloudy all of the time. I'd definately suggest that you get one soon.
Also, i have two lawnmower blennies, they both eat the frozen food i feed everyone in my tank - a mix of Marine Cuisine & Bloodworms, the fish go nuts over it!
Jenn

 

[meisacao]

I do not have the hydrometer or refrac. yet. I do know everything about my water quality. I have had it tested and make them write everything down so that I can keep track of the water. I had it tested again today at two different locations and they both reported the same. I just wasn't sure whether to get the hydro or the refrac. I am introducing 2 ocellaris clowns today. They are in the acclimation process right now, only an hour in so we have a little while to go. Is there a complete test kit that I can buy that will cover the tests I need to be doing?
I appreciate all the help. My blenny is doing well today. But I also have some kind of hitchhiker. If any of you know what a sea monkey looks like (you know the little kits you bought when you were a kid), he kinda looks like that. He is clear with a black stripe down his back and is about 1/2 inch long, but he swims like a squid. I don't know what he is and have only seen him twice. Any ideas?
I realize that I can only have about 10 small fish for this tank, but how long do i need to wait before adding the next one? I know i need to only add one fish at a time, but I thought the two clowns would do better together.
And lastly, I have a friend who wants to give me a pencil urchin, is this a good idea? Will he hurt anything and how should he be acclimated? He is the only thing in their tank because they are in the process of moving and he's the last thing left.
Thanks guys!

 

[mudplayerx]

That hitchhiker sounds very interesting! I have no idea what it could be.
As far as the pencil urchin... I just recently found that they are opportunistic carnivores, which means whatever they can catch in your tank is history lol. They also eat the lovely purple coraline algaes off your rock and bulldoze stuff around :/

 

[jdragunas]

Uhhhh, 10 small fish is way too much for your tank. You should only have 1" of fish per 4 gallons. You must take into account when they're full grown too. Once the tank has been established, you could squeeze in 1" per 2 gallons, but that could overload your system. The clowns will become about 3" a piece, and your tank should only hold 8" of fish in the beginning stages of your tank...
Jenn

 

[mikeyjer]

Originally Posted by jdragunas
Uhhhh, 10 small fish is way too much for your tank. You should only have 1" of fish per 4 gallons. You must take into account when they're full grown too. Once the tank has been established, you could squeeze in 1" per 2 gallons, but that could overload your system. The clowns will become about 3" a piece, and your tank should only hold 8" of fish in the beginning stages of your tank...
Jenn

Listen to Jenn now, this is very much correct!!!

I think if you would just add two green chromis and you would be set, but do wait to add these guys in though since you already have some in there, I would wait a month to see how your tank is doing first. Then add one at a time every 2-4 weeks. As long as you do regular water changes like 10% a week, you should be fine... :happyfish