Opinions about my new tank

[MnFish1]

Brittle star

LOL. Edit button at work

 

[Hemmdog]

LOL. Edit button at work

Lol I started as brittle, then second guessed myself with bristle, google search, back to brittle. Lol honesty in reefing

 

[Eve]

A nice brittle star..... a good scavenger

Brittle star

OMG LOL I am shocked. It has been living there God knows for how long

 

[MnFish1]

OMG LOL I am shocked. It has been living there God knows for how long

And the fact that its living is a good sign - as compared to a 'bad sign'.

 

[Eve]

And the fact that its living is a good sign - as compared to a 'bad sign'.

It is moving like looking for food!

 

[MnFish1]

It is moving like looking for food!

Probably.... unless there is another brittle (or bristle) star in the tank (sorry its a family forum)....

 

[Eve]

Probably.... unless there is another brittle (or bristle) star in the tank (sorry its a family forum)....

lol yesssss

 

[HippoMonstrosity]

My fish expert friend suggests you do not add any more fish. (cleaners are ok. Some suggestions: nassarius snails, astrea snails for algae, and an emerald crab. You should get cleaners ASAP, this will help minimize your nitrates from food waste). The hawkeye alone creates a significant amount of waste. If you wanted to add more you need more live rock, what you have is cured. (Or you could build a refugium). My friend suggests you buy a seed rock (live rock with tons of purple coralline algae). After a while the algae with turn your cured rocks into live rocks and all will be well. This is what I did in my tank, although my "cured" rock had been kept in water cycled from the seller's personal tank and was "pre-cycled" in a sense. Hope this helps!

 

[Eve]

My fish expert friend suggests you do not add any more fish. (cleaners are ok. Some suggestions: nassarius snails, astrea snails for algae, and an emerald crab. You should get cleaners ASAP, this will help minimize your nitrates from food waste). The hawkeye alone creates a significant amount of waste. If you wanted to add more you need more live rock, what you have is cured. (Or you could build a refugium). My friend suggests you buy a seed rock (live rock with tons of purple coralline algae). After a while the algae with turn your cured rocks into live rocks and all will be well. This is what I did in my tank, although my "cured" rock had been kept in water cycled from the seller's personal tank and was "pre-cycled" in a sense. Hope this helps!

Thank you!!!! It helps!

 

[IslandLifeReef]

So @Eve, have you added any bacteria yet? How are your tank parameters? Hope everything is going well with the tank. I know it can be overwhelming getting a ton of advice, especially when some of it is different. All of the advice on here is true, you just need to pick a path and stick with it. Since you already have fish in your tank, you have started on the path of cycling with fish. It may not be the most popular at this time, but many have done it, and in the past, it was popular and prevalent. IMO, getting more bacteria in the tank is your number one priority right now. Once that happens, ammonia will go to zero and things will start stabilizing and working themselves out with your guidance.

Best of luck, and keep us posted. Keep asking questions. And most importantly, stick to one method.

 

[sfin52]

It will kill all ammonia

Doesnt kill ammonia just turns it into a non harmful form but only for 48hrs. A temp fix.

The tank my buddy just set up stability bottle had failed. I would look for Dr. Tims one and only.

 

[BestMomEver]

Was planning on getting Steve's led. Is that as good an option?

I have Steve’s on my Biocube 32. It’s incredible! You can grow anything under it... seriously bright!

 

[BestMomEver]

@Eve .... here’s an idea for fish stocking. I may be the only person that does this so take it as it is... when they say that a clown fish gets 3” long that typically doesn’t include the tail. A 3” Clown is a big fish, especially in a small tank (and clowns are thick stocky things).

But, when you calculate the number of fish you have, consider their activity level. For instance, a full grown yellow tang is about 8” and they are VERY active. They move a lot and burn lots of calories. Therefore, they eat more and, subsequently, make more waste. A Watchman Goby is a lot more sedentary so eats less and makes less waste. A clown fish would be somewhere in the middle. They will typically stake out a territory and stay in it. So, as far as the tang is concerned, I might add an inch (or two) to their real full grown length when I calculate my bioload. The Goby.... subtract an inch. I would count the clowns as they are. So, following that logic, the more active the fish, the fewer you can have. If all you have is a hawk and some blennies or gobies, you can have a few more. There are exceptions of course. A six line Wrasse, although small, never stops moving. Mine is busy, busy, busy. Websites say you can keep a six line in 20 gallons of water but I wouldn’t keep one in less than 40. For wrasses, the more live rock, the better. Also, many fish, if crowded, can get pretty nasty and aggressive.

I don’t know if that makes any sense at all. The best way to start is go to Live Aquaria’s (or others) website and see what size a full grown fish of any species might be. Then learn about them. What they eat, whether they are territorial or open water fish, whether they eat corals, snails, anemones, etc. Go to the fish store and watch them. Read, read, read before you buy. The more educated you are about your purchases the less you have to depend on the folks at the fish store for info. Case in point... your anemone. Not every anemone is created equal and there are lots of anemones that don’t look like the anemone you think of when you look at the one you have. Also, some fish don’t handle capture and transport very well. A copperband butterfly is a great example. They are notorious for harboring diseases that tend to show up when they’re stressed. And because they don’t ship well, they’ll be stressed. Fortunately, for us as hobbyists (and for the ocean and reefs), more and more fish are being bred and raised in captivity. Your clowns are a good example. I would bet my car they were captive raised because of their color and patterns.

I hope this helps. I can tell you that every stocking mistake I’ve ever made was because I made a purchase on impulse without doing research first. And, if you’ve ever tried to catch a fish in a reef tank (in order to return it) without destroying the tank, you can’t appreciate how devastating a bad purchase can be.

Please let us know how it’s going. We want to help...

 

[Westside Guy]

The ammonia is high and you may have a spike, also the white rock is not live rock. In my opinion your tank is not cycled and the icing on the cake is if your LFS told you it was ok to add an anemone after just 2 weeks. You really need to look for another LFS as I think this one is only interested in selling you product and make a quick buck.

 

[Grigs]

Welcome to R2R, Eve! I'm new, too. My tank has only been up since October and I have already made a few mistakes that set me back. I used to reef MANY years ago, before forums existed. I can tell you with confidence, that R2R has COMPLETELY changed my experience, all for the better. I was sent here by my LFS and to BRS 52 weeks of reefing videos. Simply amazing that I was able to keep anything alive before with all of the mistakes that I made... lol.

Please allow me to share a few learnings with you:

1) Look into getting a Quarantine Tank before you get more livestock. I have this thread pinned as a favorite https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/ Very early on I added a fish from that resulted in an ich outbreak, which resulted in running my Display Tank fallow for 76 days, which feels like an eternity when you REALLY just want to see your fish enjoying the tank that you spent all of that money and effort establishing. The period of Quarantine above is right at 40 days, over a month faster. It's worth it!

2) QT everything. Don't listen to "This fish can't carry ich because it has a thick slime coat" or "Clean Up Crew can't carry ich because they feed on fish". If it was in an aquarium with Ich, it has ich. Period. See #1 about results from failing to this. Petco has "Dollar a Gallon" sales where they sell Aqueon tanks at a significant markdown. Grab a 5 or 10 gallon tank on the cheap

3) Don't overfeed and make sure that you siphon out what is uneaten after 15 minutes. This will help immensely with your Nitrate levels!

4) Change your water early and often. Don't wait for Nitrates to reach a high level and then do a massive water change.

5) Don't get stressed out! : ) This is about RELAXING and enjoying the beauty of the ocean without a mask, snorkel and fins! If you have any questions, just ask. If you have an emergency, post in the Tank Emergency thread. Someone will be along shortly to help!!! I have benefited from help there several times already. The people here are amazing and are more than happy to help! Enjoy your tank! Can't wait to see more about how it's coming!

 

[Eve]

The ammonia is high and you may have a spike, also the white rock is not live rock. In my opinion your tank is not cycled and the icing on the cake is if your LFS told you it was ok to add an anemone after just 2 weeks. You really need to look for another LFS as I think this one is only interested in selling you product and make a quick buck.

The white ones are base rock, and I have 3 pieces of live rock. The tank is cycling right now. And yes apparently he sucks.

 

[Eve]

Welcome to R2R, Eve! I'm new, too. My tank has only been up since October and I have already made a few mistakes that set me back. I used to reef MANY years ago, before forums existed. I can tell you with confidence, that R2R has COMPLETELY changed my experience, all for the better. I was sent here by my LFS and to BRS 52 weeks of reefing videos. Simply amazing that I was able to keep anything alive before with all of the mistakes that I made... lol.

Please allow me to share a few learnings with you:

1) Look into getting a Quarantine Tank before you get more livestock. I have this thread pinned as a favorite https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-current-qt-process.483371/ Very early on I added a fish from that resulted in an ich outbreak, which resulted in running my Display Tank fallow for 76 days, which feels like an eternity when you REALLY just want to see your fish enjoying the tank that you spent all of that money and effort establishing. The period of Quarantine above is right at 40 days, over a month faster. It's worth it!

2) QT everything. Don't listen to "This fish can't carry ich because it has a thick slime coat" or "Clean Up Crew can't carry ich because they feed on fish". If it was in an aquarium with Ich, it has ich. Period. See #1 about results from failing to this. Petco has "Dollar a Gallon" sales where they sell Aqueon tanks at a significant markdown. Grab a 5 or 10 gallon tank on the cheap

3) Don't overfeed and make sure that you siphon out what is uneaten after 15 minutes. This will help immensely with your Nitrate levels!

4) Change your water early and often. Don't wait for Nitrates to reach a high level and then do a massive water change.

5) Don't get stressed out! : ) This is about RELAXING and enjoying the beauty of the ocean without a mask, snorkel and fins! If you have any questions, just ask. If you have an emergency, post in the Tank Emergency thread. Someone will be along shortly to help!!! I have benefited from help there several times already. The people here are amazing and are more than happy to help! Enjoy your tank! Can't wait to see more about how it's coming!

Thank you!!! I am more relax now than I was before lol. I am doing my best to keep them happy.

 

[sfin52]

@Eve .... here’s an idea for fish stocking. I may be the only person that does this so take it as it is... when they say that a clown fish gets 3” long that typically doesn’t include the tail. A 3” Clown is a big fish, especially in a small tank (and clowns are thick stocky things).

But, when you calculate the number of fish you have, consider their activity level. For instance, a full grown yellow tang is about 8” and they are VERY active. They move a lot and burn lots of calories. Therefore, they eat more and, subsequently, make more waste. A Watchman Goby is a lot more sedentary so eats less and makes less waste. A clown fish would be somewhere in the middle. They will typically stake out a territory and stay in it. So, as far as the tang is concerned, I might add an inch (or two) to their real full grown length when I calculate my bioload. The Goby.... subtract an inch. I would count the clowns as they are. So, following that logic, the more active the fish, the fewer you can have. If all you have is a hawk and some blennies or gobies, you can have a few more. There are exceptions of course. A six line Wrasse, although small, never stops moving. Mine is busy, busy, busy. Websites say you can keep a six line in 20 gallons of water but I wouldn’t keep one in less than 40. For wrasses, the more live rock, the better. Also, many fish, if crowded, can get pretty nasty and aggressive.

I don’t know if that makes any sense at all. The best way to start is go to Live Aquaria’s (or others) website and see what size a full grown fish of any species might be. Then learn about them. What they eat, whether they are territorial or open water fish, whether they eat corals, snails, anemones, etc. Go to the fish store and watch them. Read, read, read before you buy. The more educated you are about your purchases the less you have to depend on the folks at the fish store for info. Case in point... your anemone. Not every anemone is created equal and there are lots of anemones that don’t look like the anemone you think of when you look at the one you have. Also, some fish don’t handle capture and transport very well. A copperband butterfly is a great example. They are notorious for harboring diseases that tend to show up when they’re stressed. And because they don’t ship well, they’ll be stressed. Fortunately, for us as hobbyists (and for the ocean and reefs), more and more fish are being bred and raised in captivity. Your clowns are a good example. I would bet my car they were captive raised because of their color and patterns.

I hope this helps. I can tell you that every stocking mistake I’ve ever made was because I made a purchase on impulse without doing research first. And, if you’ve ever tried to catch a fish in a reef tank (in order to return it) without destroying the tank, you can’t appreciate how devastating a bad purchase can be.

Please let us know how it’s going. We want to help...

Very great write up

 

[Eve]

@Eve .... here’s an idea for fish stocking. I may be the only person that does this so take it as it is... when they say that a clown fish gets 3” long that typically doesn’t include the tail. A 3” Clown is a big fish, especially in a small tank (and clowns are thick stocky things).

But, when you calculate the number of fish you have, consider their activity level. For instance, a full grown yellow tang is about 8” and they are VERY active. They move a lot and burn lots of calories. Therefore, they eat more and, subsequently, make more waste. A Watchman Goby is a lot more sedentary so eats less and makes less waste. A clown fish would be somewhere in the middle. They will typically stake out a territory and stay in it. So, as far as the tang is concerned, I might add an inch (or two) to their real full grown length when I calculate my bioload. The Goby.... subtract an inch. I would count the clowns as they are. So, following that logic, the more active the fish, the fewer you can have. If all you have is a hawk and some blennies or gobies, you can have a few more. There are exceptions of course. A six line Wrasse, although small, never stops moving. Mine is busy, busy, busy. Websites say you can keep a six line in 20 gallons of water but I wouldn’t keep one in less than 40. For wrasses, the more live rock, the better. Also, many fish, if crowded, can get pretty nasty and aggressive.

I don’t know if that makes any sense at all. The best way to start is go to Live Aquaria’s (or others) website and see what size a full grown fish of any species might be. Then learn about them. What they eat, whether they are territorial or open water fish, whether they eat corals, snails, anemones, etc. Go to the fish store and watch them. Read, read, read before you buy. The more educated you are about your purchases the less you have to depend on the folks at the fish store for info. Case in point... your anemone. Not every anemone is created equal and there are lots of anemones that don’t look like the anemone you think of when you look at the one you have. Also, some fish don’t handle capture and transport very well. A copperband butterfly is a great example. They are notorious for harboring diseases that tend to show up when they’re stressed. And because they don’t ship well, they’ll be stressed. Fortunately, for us as hobbyists (and for the ocean and reefs), more and more fish are being bred and raised in captivity. Your clowns are a good example. I would bet my car they were captive raised because of their color and patterns.

I hope this helps. I can tell you that every stocking mistake I’ve ever made was because I made a purchase on impulse without doing research first. And, if you’ve ever tried to catch a fish in a reef tank (in order to return it) without destroying the tank, you can’t appreciate how devastating a bad purchase can be.

Please let us know how it’s going. We want to help...

So @Eve, have you added any bacteria yet? How are your tank parameters? Hope everything is going well with the tank. I know it can be overwhelming getting a ton of advice, especially when some of it is different. All of the advice on here is true, you just need to pick a path and stick with it. Since you already have fish in your tank, you have started on the path of cycling with fish. It may not be the most popular at this time, but many have done it, and in the past, it was popular and prevalent. IMO, getting more bacteria in the tank is your number one priority right now. Once that happens, ammonia will go to zero and things will start stabilizing and working themselves out with your guidance.

Best of luck, and keep us posted. Keep asking questions. And most importantly, stick to one method.

Thank you @BestMomEver!! I will definitely keep that in mind. I only want the fish to live comfortably and happy!! I even took the day off work just so I can watch the tank lol.

@IslandLifeReef Yes!!I added fritz and I checked the ammonia levels this morning and they are still a little high. Nitrates went down to 50. Also, I checked the salinity of the water and it’s really low.. 22 , SG 1.016. Is it normal that after using this product the salinity of the water goes down? Because yesterday it was 1.026.

 

[AcanthurusRex]

The refrigerated Fritz?
I found @4FordFamily recommending BioSpira. I used it in a QT that showed just a bit of color on the Seachem alert badge. I found it worked much better than Dr Tims at dropping the current ammonia levels.