What Should I do???

[ag]

I have a 55g FO tank.55p LR with CC. Got my water checked and my nitrates are off the chart. Only had a couple fish so i took them back. I want to get rid of my CC and put sand. But i was curious how i should go about doing it? Should I keep the water I have or start over? What type of sand should i get?
HELP I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO?

 

[jacrmill]

what kinda fish did you have, and how many? how high is off the charts? i wouldnt empty your tank for high nitrates. just do a couple water changes and just pour your sand over your CC if you want.

 

[ag]

I had a Chainlink eel,niger,huma,panther grouper,stars stripes puff.
Is it possible to have to much CC. Mine is about 2 1/2 inches all around.Maybe I have to much and all the crap was getting stuck in it,and it built up = high nitrates? I dont know???
Thats why im here......=)

 

[fender]

With those fish in a 55 you would always have a nitrate problem. You could maybe keep 2 in the tank, but some would outgrow it all by themselves.
I would get rid of all the CC and put about a 4-5 inch sand bed.
CC has a bad way of trapping debris that will rot and those fish will eat a clean up crew.
I would ask your question in the aggressive section as they have alot more experience trying to keep these fellows in a good environment. Aggresive setups seem to always be tough to keep nitrates down in.
A refugium with some macroalgae may help, would also give you a place to keep a small clean up crew. Are you using a skimmer? It could also help.
Good luck and welcome to the board.

 

[ag]

Thanks for the info!!
But now that my tank is empty I dont think I want aggresive fish anymore I wanna try something else. Like some crabs, shrimp,and some nicer fish. But if I was to go about this.Should I start all over with new water and sand or can I keep my water and get rid of the CC and put in sand?

 

[ag]

Thanks for your 2 cents...
If I cycle my tank again and put sand in, do I have to wait the same amount of time as my first time with CC????
I think I waited like 2 days before I put in some damsel last time.My rock wasnt even cured...Ohh well
They lived.
But this time I want to do it right.

 

[ag]

COCKtail shrimp???
In the tank really? just let them rot?
How many fish would be right for my tank? So I dont over stock...And examples of types of fish that would be good.. I want shrimp and crabs, so fish that will chill with them..
Well I guess I have some work to do.
Ohh yeah where should I get the sand from?? Home Depot??I am in CA and I have heard that the sand that people on here talk about isnt availiable on West Coast??? And what type of sand to seed it with?
Thanks for all the info!!

 

[ag]

Thanks for your input.
I will probally get working on it this weekend, I just need to find some sand...

 

[caymanlovers]

AG - Have you read Fenner's book, The Contientious Marine Aquarist? Many of your questions are answered there. You might want to slow down and really plan this out before you launch back into it. Patience seems to be the most important ingedient in good marine aquariums.
The host of this site sells & ships sand and there are sources in California, you can find them on the web. It may be easiest to just go to your lfs and get LS there rather than deal with shipping, etc.

 

[ag]

Question???
Live sand I believe comes in 20p bags right?
How many bags would I need to fill my 55g?
I want it 3 1/2 inches deep??????

 

[@knight]

approx 120 lbs, so 6 20 lb bags.
if you want to save cash though, you can get dry aragonite sand (100 lbs) and seed it with 20 lbs of LS, for 1/2 the cost!, the dry sand will become live in about as long as it takes you to cycle the tank.

 

[ag]

Thanks for the info!!
Last Question for you guys...
If I get 100p dry sand and 20p LS and seed it how do you know when its seeded. The last post said it would take as long as the tank takes to cycle. But is there something you can see or a way to tell its seeded??
Thanks for all the info!!!

 

[jimi]

Do you still have your live rock? If you put the sand in let it settle then put the live rock in you may not see a cycle at all. Because the bacteria will already be present on the rock and sand. As far as seeding the sand it depends on the quality of the ls and lr. If you use ls from a bag all you are getting is bacteria which multiply rapidly but you also get that from the rock. Good quality live rock is one of the best sand seeding things out there. Good rock has lots of worms and things that will multiply and burrow through your sand.

 

[ag]

Ok tank is set up now!
Sand looks great in my tank!
I had my water checked and it was fine?
Its only been 3 days is that possible?
Anyways I got 3 damsels and they are all ok.
Any advice on what I should do next?
I want to wait a week or so then get rid of the damsels and get some clowns.Once my tank is a little more mature I want these fish
2 percula clowns
2 purple firefish
1 jawfish
1 strawberry dotty
2 cleaner shrimp
5 hermits
10 snails
1 mandarin goby
2 crabs (that are nice) any suggestions on that?
Tell me what you guys think is that to much or what????????
Thanks

 

[jimi]

Yes that is very possible if you have cured live rock. Watch for a week or two and see what happens. You are going to have one hell of a time getting those damsels out if you have all your live rock in. Your list looks pretty good just take your time and add slowly. Wait on the mandarin at least 6 mon in my opinion. Also you may want to consider buying a orchid dottyback (pseudochromis FRIDMANI)rather then the strawberry dotty. The orchid is nowhere near as mean as the strawberry and very good looking.

 

[fender]

Good choices:
Ok here goes
I am assuming this will stay FOWLR and not a reef -we all say that don't we
Wait a couple weeks between additions
Add fish docile to hostile
2 percula clowns - third
2 purple firefish - Put these in first
1 jawfish - Second
1 strawberry dotty - Last (most aggressive)
2 cleaner shrimp - Anytime after cycle
5 hermits - After the cycle - double this
10 snails - After Cycle - might want to double this
1 mandarin goby - at LEAST 6mos after tank is setup and get one that you actually see eating food at LFS - I am not kidding
2 crabs (that are nice) - Emeralds are safe, maybe a Sally Light foot altho when the get big they will/may munch your fish. Porcelain/Anenome crabs are great too but require an established tank as they are filter feeders.
[ September 03, 2001: Message edited by: fender ]
[ September 03, 2001: Message edited by: fender ]

 

[ag]

I have gotten damsels out of my tank before with no prob. But I was curious would leaving them in the tank be ok with the fish I want?
They are Green Chromis (if anyone was curious)