New to saltwater aquariums and reefs

[gpuk1234]

Hello all new to saltwater aquariums and reefs. I just setup my 55 gallon tank with live rock and live sand about 2 weeks ago. I put in a bottle of One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria and I'm ready to purchase my new fish and my first coral. Any suggestions on type of fish and first coral to add to tank to add some color to the tank. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Flushtown Reefer]

do you have a sump/refugium? Are all your parameters stable? where did you get the rock from?

 

[brunoboarder2444]

+1 what are your parameters reading, how much rock do you have?

Sent from my PC36100 using Reefs

 

[gpuk1234]

I don't know how much rock I got it was given to me by my cousin he brought 2 milk crates full of rock so I took what I could fit into the tank. The tank is 55 gallon with live rock. Here is a picture of the tank.

manhattanreefs.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=35598

 

[jrobbins]

you just set it up two weeks ago? the best kind of fish to add at this point is one that is already dead

 

[brunoboarder2444]

i would make sure that you have finished your cycle before adding fish

 

[brunoboarder2444]

thats an ok amount of rock, could use some more if you want to stock more heavily though

 

[SteveZ15]

do your self a favor wait till you add any fish and wait even longer to add coral 2 weeks is not enough time to cycle properly. Keep testing the water. You should quarentine your fish before you add them at least a month or you run a chance of having major problems and you wont be able to keep anything alive.. Search the forums for tank cycle and quarentine fish. also read up on feeding so you dont over feed and have more problems take your time and go slow and you will have success if not your gonna be throwing money away and harming animals in the process.

 

[frankieboy]

+1 go slow I'm new myself no tank yet lol but read research I hear rushing step will cause problem and also drain your wallet. Good luck

 

[basiab]

Agree, you are moving too fast. However you really didn't say what type of rock it was. Was it from another persons tank, from an lfs?? So it is possible that it is cycled but most likely not. Read up about the cycle and then you will have a better picture of things. You definitly need to test the water to determine if you are ready so get a test kit for at least amonia, nitrates, nitrates and ph. Start with something live but cheap like hermits to see if they stay alive. They are hardy so if they die on you you know you are not ready. Then read up on fish and corals to figure out what you want and what it will take to support those corals and fish. Fish add a lot to the bio load. Corals may need good quality water but they do not add much to the pollution. But in general go slow.

 

[gpuk1234]

Thanks all for the wonderful updates and as a test I bought a clown fish on Friday and I don't see any signs of stress and I am taking it slow. I wont purchase any coral or anything for that reason to expensive if it fails. I will wait a month or so before i purchase my first coral. I also ordered snails for that same reason they are cheap and if they survive im Golden.

 

[empire]

why hurt that fish to test your tank when you could have easily bought a test kit and tested your water?!

 

[gpuk1234]

the water is ok my cousin came over on Saturday and he did the tests and he said its with in reason, you should be fine with the fish.

 

[brunoboarder2444]

Thanks all for the wonderful updates and as a test I bought a clown fish on Friday and I don't see any signs of stress and I am taking it slow. I wont purchase any coral or anything for that reason to expensive if it fails. I will wait a month or so before i purchase my first coral. I also ordered snails for that same reason they are cheap and if they survive im Golden.

i dont know why you posted on here asking for advice if you were not going to answer anyone and buy the clowns anyway, you should not have bought clowns as a test you should have bought a test kit. secondly considering you are new to the hobby i highly doubt you know how to diagnose signs of distress. the purpose of posting on a forum is for people to help you and there were a handful of us genuinely trying to help since either A) we made these mistakes ourselves or B) we have quite a bit of experience and could properly educate you. 6 weeks from the beginning of a cycle is no where near enough time to be adding corals to your tank, you're parameters arent stable yet and you are not even experienced enough to handle more than the most basic of fish yet let alone corals. I highly recommend you doing research before buying anything else, buy a test kit, and taking it slow because I will not be responding to your next thread about which corals should i get first when you blatantly ignored everyones advice and questions the first time around

 

[brunoboarder2444]

the water is ok my cousin came over on Saturday and he did the tests and he said its with in reason, you should be fine with the fish.

if you cant test yourself then the tank will never be fine and you will never know when something goes wrong....trust no one with the testing of your tank other than yourself. you can have someone give a second opinion but you should be testing it yourself

 

[gpuk1234]

Update: My two clown fish are thriving no issues water parameter are in check.

 

[ChrisB]

Update: My two clown fish are thriving no issues water parameter are in check.

I would listen to these guys, if you an ammonia spike kiss those clowns good by. Is that anchor plastic?

 

[al0ha]

Update: My two clown fish are thriving no issues water parameter are in check.

Still moving too fast...they may not show signs of stress now but your tank parameters are still still fluctuating. Not to be blunt and hostile, but why post and ask questions if you are just going to ignore the advice from people who want to help

 

[gpuk1234]

First of all I asked what is the hardiest type of fish,coral to put in for beginners? BABY STEPS and all are telling me your moving to fast. When you setup a tank you want something in the tank, you are not going to have a tank sit there for 2 months with just water and not animals that ridiculous. Does anyone use microbacteria to cycle their tanks these days? Well I did with One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria from Dr. Tims Aquatics and I dont see any signs or problems for a tank that is 4 weeks old. My cleaner shrimp is growing it shed its skin yesterday so that's a good sign, all my water parameters are in check. The clowns are growing etc so I don't see the need to wait 3 months for a cycle to complete if your using microbacteria to start the tank. So I think if something was wrong with my water the fish, shrimp, snails, hermits all would be dead by now.

 

[al0ha]

First of all I asked what is the hardiest type of fish,coral to put in for beginners? BABY STEPS and all are telling me your moving to fast. When you setup a tank you want something in the tank, you are not going to have a tank sit there for 2 months with just water and not animals that ridiculous. Does anyone use microbacteria to cycle their tanks these days? Well I did with One & Only Nitrifying Bacteria from Dr. Tims Aquatics and I dont see any signs or problems for a tank that is 4 weeks old. My cleaner shrimp is growing it shed its skin yesterday so that's a good sign, all my water parameters are in check. The clowns are growing etc so I don't see the need to wait 3 months for a cycle to complete if your using microbacteria to start the tank. So I think if something was wrong with my water the fish, shrimp, snails, hermits all would be dead by now.

Wow...just wow....