new tank

[acasden]

i am new to this hobby but quickly becoming an addict. My son convinced me to do it and it has been great. I think this web site is a big help and thank those of you who administer it. We did fresh for about a yr. and then got the new salt tank. It is a 72 gallon, live rock (100lbs), live sand, large sump with a precsion marine protein skimmer, 8wt UV , 2 x24inch compact flour 65watt. (white and actinic, 10,000), . It is a month old, and have 2 sm. clowns, 1 sm. damsel, 1 sm dottyback, 1 yellow tank, 1 goldeneye tank ,1 blue hippo, 1 mandaren ( a mistake i think), 4 shrimp. For corals 1 leather, 1 open brain, 1 plate. All added over the past 4 weeks. Water has remained good. So far, so good. My questions are
1. Is this enought lighting? Do I need more for the corals?? Also broke a bulb and replaced it and it is much more purple than the other which is more blue? can there be a variation?

2. Do i need to sit tight for a few weeks before adding any more fish? what will be my limit?

3. the leather coral was out for the first day but i have not seen the tentacles since then (5 days or so), it is in a low flow spot opposite the inflow. should I move it??


thanks for the help, sorry if this is long but i am not familian with all the online lingo, etc. I still have so many questions, i quess this is normal for a "newbie"

 

[SpecialK]

Do you plan on setting up a larger tank soon?
Are you looking for fish you can keep? Will the Fish Store that you got these take them back?

***2 sm. clowns, 1 sm. damsel, 1 sm dottyback, 1 yellow tank, 1 goldeneye tank ,1 blue hippo, 1 mandaren ( a mistake i think)***

IMO I would take back the tangs. The tank is to small for a yellow tang it gets 7 inches, the kole tang will get 5 inches and the hippo, well that just gets large. Tangs love to swim and need lots of room.
The tank is to new for the manderine, he may end up starving to death in that tank.
Corals need a more mature tank of at least 6 months.
This tank has been set up for 1 month? How long did the tank cycle before adding any fish?
What do your Nitrite, PH, Nitrate, Amm. test show?

Kaye

 

[acasden]

it cycled in about 2 weeks because of the live rock. i am not planning on a larger tank, all the ph etc, are good.

 

[Dubge]

I have a 75 gal with a blue hippo and a yellow tank (both small right now)
What is a good size to keep tanks of this size? I guess we could just get rid of them when they outgrow the tank and replace them with smaller ones. I hate the fact to keep a fish for so long and get rid of it when it get to big but there is nothing else I can do because I can't get a tank any bigger (no room)

Ray

 

[SpecialK]

The way I figure my fish out is:

I look at the size they get as Adults, I take that size and give them 5 Gal. per inch. So if I have a Fish that will get 5 inches, I count out 25 Gal.

If I take all of acasden fish, Adult sizes = 43 inches IMO they would need about a 240 Gal. tank.

And it depends on what kind of dotty back, they may eat the shrimp. I counted 4" on the damsel not sure what kind it is.
I have read where yellow tangs can live 40 years in an aquarium and they are still alive. Some say most tangs are 25 years and clowns are about 20 years in an aquarium. A hippo tang in about 8 years will be an easy 8 - 10 inches.

IMO when it comes to corals, what type are you looking for? What are you feeding your corals? There are corals for lower light and high light, What type of leather, open brain and plate coral do you have?

Kaye

 

[acasden]

actually the clowns and the damsel are all about 1 inch, personally i don't mind the idea of having a fish for a few yrs and then finding a new home if it outgrows the tank. i am doing soft corals, with moderate light requirements, so far everything except the leather coral looks fine and the water is good.

 

[PeeJ]

thats not a good way to decide how much tank size you will need.
well at least in my opinion.

 

[ChrisRD]

It is a month old, and have 2 sm. clowns, 1 sm. damsel, 1 sm dottyback, 1 yellow tank, 1 goldeneye tank ,1 blue hippo, 1 mandaren ( a mistake i think), 4 shrimp. For corals 1 leather, 1 open brain, 1 plate. All added over the past 4 weeks.

No offense, but IMO you've stocked the tank alarmingly quickly. Your system is very new and already has a very heavy fish load.

The damsel is probably going to be trouble down the road. Most of them get very aggressive as they mature and are nearly impossible to catch out of an established reef. The dottyback will likely be very aggressive too (although more worth the risk IMO). Considering two of the three tangs you have in this 72 gallon tank can get large that's not going to work out long term. The mandarin likely will starve to death unless you hook up a very large refugium to supply it with the pods it's going to need to survive long-term.

IMO it's more important to consider the habits and nature of the fish you're keeping rather than just considering it's size (although this is definitely a factor). Tangs need a lot of swimming room and they can get very aggressive as they mature - especially when overcrowded in a small tank. If the "Goldeneye Tang" you're referring to is what I think it is (aka a "Kole Tang" - Ctenochaetus strigosus) that would be the one I would keep of the three. I'd take the other two back to your LFS for credit. At the very least - I'd get the Hippo out of there. I'd also take the Mandarin back.

1. Is this enought lighting? Do I need more for the corals?? Also broke a bulb and replaced it and it is much more purple than the other which is more blue? can there be a variation?

IMO you need more light for most corals. I would say doubling it (to 4 X 65 watt PCs total) would be a good start. What you have right now for lighting is (IMO) bare minimum for the lowest light corals.

2. Do i need to sit tight for a few weeks before adding any more fish? what will be my limit?

IMO you already overshot the runway on the fish thing - see above. If you make some room by returning some of the unsuitable species you could add a few more small fish.

3. the leather coral was out for the first day but i have not seen the tentacles since then (5 days or so), it is in a low flow spot opposite the inflow. should I move it??

I would give it more flow and more light. It may still be acclimating too.

thanks for the help, sorry if this is long but i am not familian with all the online lingo, etc. I still have so many questions, i quess this is normal for a "newbie"

That's what this forum is all about, so don't hesitate to ask away. Also, check out our library resources here at RDO - lots of good information there. I recommend a couple of good books from the reading list as well.

HTH

 

[acasden]

thanks for the help, i have done a lot of reading and followed the directions of my local store whom seem knowledgable, i understand your concerns but so far everything looks good, maybe i am in for a big let down.

 

[ChrisRD]

Don't get me wrong, your setup sounds very good - excellent skimmer, plenty of live rock, live sand, etc. It's a perfect size to start with too.

If I came-off sounding critical I apologize - the internet isn't always the greatest means of communication. That said, I would still think about taking the Mandarin and the Hippo out as I seriously doubt either one will thrive in your setup long-term.

I'd also add a bit more lighting if you plan to keep a variety of corals. Keep a close eye on your water parameters for the next month as you've covered a lot of ground in the past few weeks. As to the rest - you can always wait and see how things progress...

Keep in mind that the LFS is in the business of selling fish and corals and many LFSs give "optimistic" to just flat-out incorrect advise. Not to say they are all like that, but many, unfortunately, are. Our only interest here is to see you succeed in the hobby long-term!

BTW, good luck with your new setup and welcome to Reefs.Org.

 

[Jolieve]

Please keep in mind that your local fish store is motivated to sell you things that may or may not work out in your tank, because they make money off of you. The people here at reefs.org have no monetary interest and are concerned about you and your success in the hobby, not in the almighty dollar.If all three of those tangs die in your tank, your local fish store will get to sell you another seventy dollars worth of fish. They don't care about the heartache you live through or how sad you will be. We do!

Good luck to you. You have stocked your tank very quickly, but you're on the right track. reefs.org is an excellent resource for info on this hobby, and with patience and time, reefkeeping can be intensely rewarding.

Joli

 

[acasden]

thanks for the help and advice, i am going very slowly now, treading water so to speak. thanks