What's Next?????

[9supratt4]

I am new at SW tanks. I purchased a used 55 Gallon tank and it was in pretty bad shape with an 18" Snowflake EEl inside. I cleaned up the entire tank which was just covered in tons of algae and detritus.
The tank has a crushed coral bed and some LR. Not exactly sure how much rock there is, it came with the tank. I will try to take some pictures so that you get an idea of whats in there.
But I got rid of the eel and replaced it with two clowns and a psuedo chromis. I also have 10 snails in there. I have a Marineland Penguin 350 filter (with two Bio-Wheels), Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer, Penguin Powerhead 1140, heater and the basic fluorescent lighting.
The fish I have in there now seem to be very happy and the water conditions are all absolutely perfect. What should my next step be?? I would like to turn this into a reef tank in the future, but that all depends on my disposable income. So what should I do next?
Thanks for the help.

 

[scubaguy]

Check on the cost of lights for the tank unless it came with T5 or MHs. Also it depends what type of reef, if you have clams MH are necessary.

 

[ams153]

you should consider different kinds of filtration so that the tank can handle a reef and of course better lighting and i would seriously consider switching to live sand or at least sand of some kind as crushed coral isnt a very good substrate youll have an unhealthy tank. also dont add things to fast and give the tank a while before adding any corals or anemones. also id like to see pictures so i can be more helpfull.

 

[scubaguy]

Missed the Crushed Coral, Yep go with live sand or sand. I started with CC and my Nitrates would not go lower than 30. They are a good buffer but it breeds Nitrate.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by 9supratt4
I am new at SW tanks. I purchased a used 55 Gallon tank and it was in pretty bad shape with an 18" Snowflake EEl inside. I cleaned up the entire tank which was just covered in tons of algae and detritus.
The tank has a crushed coral bed and some LR. Not exactly sure how much rock there is, it came with the tank. I will try to take some pictures so that you get an idea of whats in there.
But I got rid of the eel and replaced it with two clowns and a psuedo chromis. I also have 10 snails in there. I have a Marineland Penguin 350 filter (with two Bio-Wheels), Seaclone 100 Protein Skimmer, Penguin Powerhead 1140, heater and the basic fluorescent lighting.
The fish I have in there now seem to be very happy and the water conditions are all absolutely perfect. What should my next step be?? I would like to turn this into a reef tank in the future, but that all depends on my disposable income. So what should I do next?
Thanks for the help.
What are the exact readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, SG, and temp? If it had an 18" eel and the tank was in rough shape with algae, then we need exact readings. I see that you already have a pair of clowns and a dottyback. A 55 can only hold about 6 fish depending on their size (maybe one more if they are small and not territorial, or maybe less). They should be spread out over time.

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by ams153
you should consider different kinds of filtration so that the tank can handle a reef and of course better lighting and i would seriously consider switching to live sand or at least sand of some kind as crushed coral isnt a very good substrate youll have an unhealthy tank. also dont add things to fast and give the tank a while before adding any corals or anemones. also id like to see pictures so i can be more helpfull.

I have already been thinking of switching to live sand......what is the best way to do that?? Should I remove the fish or just be careful not to bury them? Should I just remove everything? Whats the best way? The tank was setup for 14 months before I received it and now I've had it cleaned up and running for about 2-3 months now. I will post the water parameters shortly, but in the mean time, here is a pic.
Originally Posted by ScubaGuy
Missed the Crushed Coral, Yep go with live sand or sand. I started with CC and my Nitrates would not go lower than 30. They are a good buffer but it breeds Nitrate.
I have also been having a problem getting my nitrates down below 30-40. You finally answered the question why!! Thanks!!

 

[oceansidefish]

Since there is not much in the tank now the easiest way to switch is to pull out you LR and put that in a bucket with water from the tank. Then you want to get the fish out and put them in a bucket with a powerhead if possible...If not they should be ok for about 3 hrs. Then scoop out all the CC and dump in the live sand. You want about and inch's worth in the bottom of the tank. About 60 pounds should do the trick!

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
Since there is not much in the tank now the easiest way to switch is to pull out you LR and put that in a bucket with water from the tank. Then you want to get the fish out and put them in a bucket with a powerhead if possible...If not they should be ok for about 3 hrs. Then scoop out all the CC and dump in the live sand. You want about and inch's worth in the bottom of the tank. About 60 pounds should do the trick!
Thanks for the advice.....Now once I switch out the CC for LS is there anything I need to worry about with my water parameters or anything?? Such as a mini-cycle or anything?

 

[oceansidefish]

It could throw your tank into a mini cycle....I would just keep a carefull watch everyday on you params... Since there is already LR in there though I think you might be ok.... I would also think about throwing some more LR in there if you want to do a reef tank of any kind...When you remove the CC it would be a good time to do a little aquascaping. At least to get a good base going you don't have to add it all at once if you have $ restrictions

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by Oceansidefish
It could throw your tank into a mini cycle....I would just keep a carefull watch everyday on you params... Since there is already LR in there though I think you might be ok.... I would also think about throwing some more LR in there if you want to do a reef tank of any kind...When you remove the CC it would be a good time to do a little aquascaping. At least to get a good base going you don't have to add it all at once if you have $ restrictions
I had already thought about adding more LR. Is there a website or something to follow on how to create a good reef aquascape? Or is it all by eye?

 

[yogoshio]

Live Sand and substrate are all the same once you get live rock in there. As long as you have even a hang on refugium, your nitrates will be no problem. I wouldn't waste the energy making the switch to sand since live rock has probably already seeded the substrate. You'll just remove a healthy situation to add sand that will take time to become healthy. I'd say step two would be to step up the filtration, look into better lighting, and then look into setting up a refugium.

 

[9supratt4]

Ok so now I am completely confused. I have people saying to switch out the Crushed Coral and switch to Live Sand and I have others telling me to leave it as is. I could use a little more advice on this...
What are the pros and cons of each?? Please help.....I'm totally confused.

 

[9supratt4]

There has got to be some people out there with opinions. Please help!!

 

[mcbdz]

I would go with the ls like the majority suggest. The crushed coral traps debri and increases your nitrates. It is harder for your cleanup crew to clean and not good for any sand sifters livestock. If you decide to keep the cc you will need to vacum it with each water change to keep it clean, which is more work for you. With live sand your clean up crew takes care of it for you and you don't touch it. You can also have some cool/cute sand sifters.
Speaking of cleanup crew, what do you have so far. I don't see anything?

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by mcbdz

I would go with the ls like the majority suggest. The crushed coral traps debri and increases your nitrates. It is harder for your cleanup crew to clean and not good for any sand sifters livestock. If you decide to keep the cc you will need to vacum it with each water change to keep it clean, which is more work for you. With live sand your clean up crew takes care of it for you and you don't touch it. You can also have some cool/cute sand sifters.
Speaking of cleanup crew, what do you have so far. I don't see anything?
I only have ten snails in there right now. I had a problem with hair algae and brown algae. I fixed the brown problem which turned out to be EXTREMELY high nitrates. The snails have taken care of the hair algae very well. Its just about all gone. I am also starting to see what looks like red coraline on some of the rocks.
So once the sand is in there, just get a good cleaning crew, such as gobys, crabs, etc. and then I won't have to touch that? That would be great!!

Also with the sand, what type of LS? The sand they sell here or does the bagged stuff at my LFS work just as well?
Also I am looking into purchasing new lighting...I have looked at the different types of lighting and I can't quite afford too much as alot of the MH's are...what is reasonably priced that you would suggest. Also with the lights, I have a plastic piece going down the top of the tank so if I get a 48" fixture that piece will be covered. Do I have to worry about it melting with these higher powered lamps? If so I guess two 24" fixtures will work.

 

[scubaguy]

Originally Posted by 9supratt4
I only have ten snails in there right now. I had a problem with hair algae and brown algae. I fixed the brown problem which turned out to be EXTREMELY high nitrates. The snails have taken care of the hair algae very well. Its just about all gone. I am also starting to see what looks like red coraline on some of the rocks.
So once the sand is in there, just get a good cleaning crew, such as gobys, crabs, etc. and then I won't have to touch that? That would be great!!

Also with the sand, what type of LS? The sand they sell here or does the bagged stuff at my LFS work just as well?
Also I am looking into purchasing new lighting...I have looked at the different types of lighting and I can't quite afford too much as alot of the MH's are...what is reasonably priced that you would suggest. Also with the lights, I have a plastic piece going down the top of the tank so if I get a 48" fixture that piece will be covered. Do I have to worry about it melting with these higher powered lamps? If so I guess two 24" fixtures will work.

The Live Sand That is in a bag is fine but if you could find someone local and get a small bacg of their sand. That would be a lot better and cheaper.
With the lights I have a MH Light with PC and the have a thin Plastic cover and they do not melt it. If you are going to down the road go reef tank, like me. Get the T5 of MH fixtures, IMO. T5 do not get that hot, that is the nice thing about them.

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by ScubaGuy
The Live Sand That is in a bag is fine but if you could find someone local and get a small bacg of their sand. That would be a lot better and cheaper.
With the lights I have a MH Light with PC and the have a thin Plastic cover and they do not melt it. If you are going to down the road go reef tank, like me. Get the T5 of MH fixtures, IMO. T5 do not get that hot, that is the nice thing about them.
So before I go and do this and hopefully not completely ruin my tank....the LS at my LFS is Ocean Direct Caribbean Live Sand. This should be fine?? Unfortunately I don't know anyone locally that is able to help me out. If this sand is ok, I should just have to cut open the bag and pour it in....correct??
Thanks again for all your help!!!

 

[mcbdz]

you will cause a storm if you just pour it in. Either lower the bag in the water and then open it and turn it over so there is little disturbance . If unable to do that use a cup and slowly put it down at the bottom and turn it over. You will still have some type of a storm but lesss is better. Make sure you turn off your filters first and let it settle a little before turning it back on.

You could ask your lfs to give you a cup of there sand out of a tank to up start your. Some will some wont. If not it's ok your live rock helps seed it also.
Good Luck

 

[9supratt4]

Originally Posted by mcbdz
you will cause a storm if you just pour it in. Either lower the bag in the water and then open it and turn it over so there is little disturbance . If unable to do that use a cup and slowly put it down at the bottom and turn it over. You will still have some type of a storm but lesss is better. Make sure you turn off your filters first and let it settle a little before turning it back on.

You could ask your lfs to give you a cup of there sand out of a tank to up start your. Some will some wont. If not it's ok your live rock helps seed it also.
Good Luck
Yeah I guess I used the wrong words!!! I'm not that crazy just to pour it in!!

Thanks for your help!! I will tackle this project soon. What should I get as a nice cleanup crew anyway?

 

[mcbdz]

Originally Posted by 9supratt4
Yeah I guess I used the wrong words!!! I'm not that crazy just to pour it in!!

Thanks for your help!! I will tackle this project soon. What should I get as a nice cleanup crew anyway?
Look on this sight and look at their clean up crew packages. I like a variety of snails personally. And the serpent star, skunk cleaner, emeral crab. Start smaller then recommended for a new tank and add as needed.