what i have - many questions coming in the future

[scottie]

hello everyone, I am knew to the forum and it looks great. I have had fish tanks for years however have only been dealing with salt water for the last year or so. I currently have a 55 gallon and 5 gallon. The 55 gallon has about 50 lbs of live rock, a wet dry, protein skimmer (sucks), 1 inch of crushed coral with 2 inches of sand ontop as the substrate. in the past i have had bad luck with my live stock however i do take blame because i have been lazy when it comes to water changes, i have been doing them only on a monthly bases (20% changes). for the past few months i have been able to keep a clown, and 2 sergent major damsels. I have had a valentini puffer and 2 small damsels for the last month and this week added a porcipine puffer, yellow tang, and 2 more small damsels all of which are small. I do not plan on getting anything else except for a couple more damsels maybe (i know that damsels rather be groups). My 5 gallon tank has about 5 lbs of live rock and all i have in it is a star fish and hermit crabs, i have kept it empty for the last couple of months trying to cycle it some more, everything it has died. I know the smaller the tank the harder because of more jurastic reactions to water changes/problems. I do not overfeed in either tank, if anything i underfeed. look forward to learning alot and being able to help people in the future.

 

[saltn00b]

first welcome to the boards!
now,
not to flame you, but i would bring back whatever fish you just bought, your tank is WAAAAAY over stocked. even if it doesnt appear so because they are small now - these are mostly very large and aggressive-tank type species. you shouldnt have any tangs at all in a 55g, porcupine puffers can grow to over 4 feet... i have seen sergeant majors in the wild 5-6 inches and mean as hell.

 

[scottie]

the puffer at this time is tiny, if it grows to big i will sell him, the same for the sergeant major (has not been aggressive at all YET). No tangs in a 55 gallon tank?

 

[hot883]

scottie, the key to this hobby is to research BEFORE you buy.
We are here to help because WE have made the newbie mistakes already so learn from our experience. I agree with the above post about taking all the new fish back. This is a disaster waiting to happen. The sand ontop of the cc is going to haunt you BIG time. The sand eventually will settle down in the cc and then you will have sand trapping all the waste in the cc. Plus with the cc in there you will not be able to keep the beneficial sand sifters to help rid the tank of the detrius.

 

[scottie]

like i said if the puffers and yellow tang get to large i will return them, i can also move the damsels and clown to my 5 gallon tank if need be. Also i was told the crushed coral below the sand would be benificial, i believe it was to maintain proper ph maybe if remember correctly? i do however see your point and i will have to stir up the substrates more often. my next tank will be sand only! thanks for your help

 

[saltn00b]

scottie, the point that hot and I are trying to make is that its a common theme among new hobbyists to have the mindset of "ill get this fish because i really like it and as a juvenile its the same size as the fish that i should have in my tank, so i will get it and when it gets obviously too big, then i will get rid of it some how."
this line of thought is thoroughly flawed. Larger fish have larger fish brains in their little juvenile bodies and will still be stressed in cramped environments, people have come up with these general guidelines of tank sizes for species because of tried and tested experience.
some other things to keep in mind is that a juvenile fish that is 3" will eat much more (and create more waste) than adult fish that are 3" because the juvenile needs the extra energry to grow and become mature. this is of course leading to further decline of water quality. Also, larger fish tend to fall into groups of fish that may be considered 'cruisers' as opposed to 'rock/ reef dwellers'. meaning, that these larger species are found on / around reefs, but they spend their time cruising from one end of a reef to the other, or cruising from reef to reef with pretty much non-stop swimming. So obviously you can see how if you needed to run all day long and were kept in a small room, you might go nuts running in really tight circles!
not to mention, that most people cant just 'get rid of' the fish in question. LFS may or may not take it, aquariums wont take it, maybe you can sell it or trade to others, maybe you cant. etc etc
just trying to help.

 

[aztec reef]

first thing i would do is take some fish back or sell it/trade. second i would take all the sand and cc and replace it with 4" of sand at least. lr and sand + skimmer are the most effective natural filtration and you dont even have to mess with stiring the sand. live sand should not be disturbed. Thats the critters job.

 

[scottie]

Hey guys, i appreciate all of the advise. Just an update.... So far everyone is getting along, tank is nice and clean. i am however still puzzled by the no tang in 55gal tank part though, yellow tangs do not get that large and he has plenty of room to swim.

 

[saltn00b]

i have seen YT the size of a dinner plate.
you appreciate the advise, but will you heed any of it ?

 

[scottie]

of course i am going to work on the advise i have received. I am upset that i have to replace my live sand and crushed coral, any alternative to replacing it completely? I have about 50 lbs of live rock right now and will of course add to it in the future (thoughts on lava rock also?) I have a protein skimmer on my tank now however i just bought a new one that should be better (will be putting it on this week).

 

[saltn00b]

hmm just curious where you heard about lava rock, i have been on these sites for 2 years or so and never heard people talk about it, but today three threads on it.
my thoughts would say no because it is filled with nutrients and minerals and would likely at the very least lead algae blooms, and at worst, releasing toxins into the water column at dangerous levels. thats good that you are willing to make changes, unfortunately there is no real inbetween with substrates, replace it all. to reduce cloudiness, cut an X in the top of the LS bag, leaving it facing up, place the bag on the bottom of the tank and then gently roll it over to empty.

 

[f14peter]

Originally Posted by scottie
Hey guys, i appreciate all of the advise. Just an update.... So far everyone is getting along, tank is nice and clean. i am however still puzzled by the no tang in 55gal tank part though, yellow tangs do not get that large and he has plenty of room to swim.
Tangs can get fairly large as saltn00b said. The other point is that they're vigorous swimmers and desire a lot of room. Having snorkeled with them, those suckers are darting about constantly.
As they're very susceptable to ich/ick, any additional stress (Such as a too small tank) only aggravates the situation.

 

[scottie]

thanks for the tip on the sand thats a great idea! i have one piece of lava rock now in my tank and a buddy of mine has a couple of pieces. anyone else have any feedback or experience with lava rock???

 

[saltn00b]

do a seach on it because there is another thread on about it right now, i just dont know where it is.