Some Advice from Avid Hobbyists Please

ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
First I would like to say hello as this is my first post and I am fairly new to the world of tropico. I recently bought a house and inherited a 180 gallon saltwater tank built into the wall and I instantly fell in love with the aquatic world given to me. The tank has been up and running for years with the same fish in it so it is very stable. I took it upon myself to learn as much as I could about the setup, fish, etc. and am now ready to move along. I am looking for opinions from you all because every "expert" seems to have a different view point on where to go.
Currently, the tank is Fish only with 2 yellow tangs (who seem to be best friends), 2 clown fish, 1 black damsel (big) and 2 angel damsel. I believe my first order of business is to find someone to adopt my black damsel since i am afraid to add new life who can easily get stressed out from this agrressive beast. I am questioning the departure of the angel damsels. Thoughts? (They are not very big but the black one is)
Before I add anything, I plan on adding a Fluvac 403 (on top of the wet/dry filter that is there) with a 25 W UV sterilzer and maybe a protein skimmer before i add anything new to the environment. Is it worth taking the necessary precautions to make the environment as stable as possible before introducing anything new? I feel in the long run it will be the better choice. I have fallen in love with the snowflake eel and want one but I feel this limits all the other little guys I can put in the tank. Will the eel eat anything he can get his mouth on? Crabs? Shrimp? etc.
Can anyone recommend some nice invertabrates? Different types of starfish or shrimp or crabs, etc. as well as some good tough live coral? I will start slow and do not want to "shock" my tank but would like to find the path I wish to travel and head in the right direction from the start. I also have a friend who has great reef tank and he will be giving me some of his coral which has multiplied. I feel this is the best way since it is proven to be healthy and I avoid the chance of getting some type of disease from a store. Thoughts?
Any help/information will be grealty apprecited. If you made it to the bottome I thank you for readin and I will post some pics shortly of my new world.
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
Personally I would skip the Fluval 403 altogether. I would get the UV and the protein skimmer. As for the eel, he will eat crabs, shrimp, and other crustaceans. As for corals, what type lighting do you have over the tank? Corals need specialized lighting. If you don't have VHO, PC, or metal halide, I would suggest doing more research on lighting before adding any live coral.
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
Thanks a lot for the responses. Much appreciated
I have some strong lights in there right now but I am not sure of there wattage. I desperately need to find this out. Also, can you elaborate on why you would skip the fluvac filter?
So should i stop hopeing that i can keep small inverts and an eel in the tank at the same time. Is it just not possible. Will the eel's range cover the entire 6 feet of tank?
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
I don't see why you would want to add the fluval. If you have a wet/dry then you should have plenty of biological filtration, and if you add a protein skimmer, that will take care of chemical filtration, and UV will help prevent disease/parasites. I don't see what the fluval adds to the equation. If anything, it will just make maintenance more of a chore. It will require more work than anything else. Taking it apart at least once a month to change media, etc. Why bother?
As for the eel, and inverts...the eel may stay on one end, but what will keep the inverts away? They will move around in the tank, and if the eel sees them it will venture away from its hiding place for a quick and easy meal.
 
jim672

jim672

Member
It is possible to keep an eel and inverts in the same tank but only until the eel finds them and eats them;) It's just a matter of time until he does......
Take a look at your lights and let us know what you have. That really will be the primary determinant in what corals you can keep.
I have a Fluval 304 on my 45 gallon tank. Is the 404 rated to handle a tank as large as yours? That notwithstanding, you'd be far better off investing the money you'd spend on the Fluval on a sump instead.
By the way, do you have any live rock or live sand in your tank? How much of each?
Jim
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
I have no live rock or coral or sand currently and I do not want to add anything to the environment until I get everything setup properly including more fish. Should I add a UV sterlizer if I plan one adding live rock and coral or just a protein skimmer and lights
I will return tomorrow with my lighting information.
 
richard rendos

richard rendos

Active Member
it is not necessary to have live sand. many people run barebottom tanks, but having sand/live sand is greatly beneficial to the tank. if you don't have live rock or sand, do you have things in the tank for the fish to hide in? or is it a bare tank with just water inside?
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
Currently there is Florida crushed coral on the bottom of the tank and some "not live" coral and an large barnacle,etc. so yes, the fish have plenty of places to hide.
I will try and get some pics of the tank up ASAP.
Is it worth cleaning the tank out and starting over with live sand if I want to add some live rock or can i just put some live rock on top of the crushed coral. I really dont want a reef tank but would like to have some live rock (maybe in the middle but still plenty of room, to watch fish swim) and some coral and inverts. Since the tank is very large I feel I can accomodate this and since I already have everything setup and may need to upgrade lights, protein skimmer, etc. it shouldnt cost me an arm or leg but rather a hefty sum. Any help on different types of directions I can go in would be greatly appreciated.
Is it really one or the other or is there some sort of median?
 
mousers68

mousers68

Member
Welcome
IMO I think that you need the live sand an rock because the coral and inverts use these in their envrionment to feed. It ends up being part of the eco system and that is why you find corals in the reefs. It also aids in filtration and balancing the water. I would think it would be much harder to grow corals without. You can get some really cool LR with tag-a-long critters that will help your tank as well. It's expensive but you can get base rock and LR and the BR will eventually turn to LR.
Your tank sounds perfect for a fish only tank.
Something I do to calm the damsels is to move the rocks around and then the pecking order seems to cease a bit. Or they are all confused for a while and then they get used to each other.
Before I tried that trick one of my damsels that I have currently killed three others. When I messed up his house he chilled. I just added a clown and an anenome and did the same and they left them alone. Actually the Clarki has established dominance. He keeps the others in check and I am okay with that.
Sounds like you inherited a cool hobby.
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
Thanks for the reply mouser
Anyway, is it possible to completely "unload" the tank and then put LS in it and get the fish back in the tank in enough time or will it require i give them up for adoption and re-work the tank
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
If it were me - I would totally re-do the tank.
If you want a reef tank - you'll want to consider a DSB deep sandbed. I can only say that this is one of the best things for a reef tank.
Transferring the fish to a holding container is no big deal. People do it all the time.
As long as you provide circulation and heat ( if required ) then you can move the fish to the container and re-do your tank.
Great time to remove any unwanted fish - take back to store.
Set up the new tank's sandbed - add saltwater - add fish.
This can be done over a weekend - normally.
If you plan to add a lot of live rock at once ( preferred ) then you may want to set up a small tank with filtration for your fish.
Let the big tank completely cycle - then add your fish back slowly.
That's what I'd do
 
jim672

jim672

Member
When I switched from CC to LS, I would have done as Broomer describes but I didn't have another tank (at the time).
My change took about a month.......each time I was doing my normal weekly maintainance, I'd "vacuum" a section of the CC really well to remove all the built-up detritus and then remove that CC with (don't tell my wife!) a small strainer.
After the CC was all removed, I carefully put the LS in. My tank was a little cloudy for a day, but the fish didn't mind. I also had a couple of soft corals which withstood the change very well.
Jim
 
ackermsb

ackermsb

Member
Jim,
You mean you just scooped up the crushed coral with a strainer?
You didnt use it for pasta the next day did you?
 
djaccord

djaccord

New Member
so from what im gathering here, live sand is more beneficial to a reef setup than crushed coral is?
 
jim672

jim672

Member
ackermsb,
LOL. No, I actually had to put it in the dishwasher before my wife would use it again. Can you imagine........
Jim
 
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