I got a 55 gal set up for Christmas last year and just now am feeling comfortable with it. Of course, everytime I feel confident - I start reading more and get nervous all over again! I have a 55 gal FOWLR that I cycled with mollies. I added a serpent star and banded coral shrimp first and quickly followed with a yellow tang . I've built up to about 30lbs of live rock and recently added quite a bit of stock - 4 hermit crabs, 3 snails, a cleaner shrimp, a camel shrimp, a clarke clown, hippo tang, and a singapore angel. Now I'm overwhelmed again! The crabs keep changing shells - do I need to provide them with empty shells and where do i get them? The snails are supposed to help with the brown and green algae gunk on the glass (I won't pretend to know what I'm talking about!) but I also bought this stuff that kills the algae. Will that starve the snails? The tangs and the angel eat the seaweed but I never see the clown go for it unless he catches some floating. I feed about 1/2 cube of frozen shrimp and two 1 inch diameter seaweed each night. They all eat heartily and seem to be eating again in the morning - am i giving them too much/too little food? They are such a joy to me and my family. I used to watch for an hour when i had just the three livestock - now my tank is so busy that I can't watch evryone at once! It's funny the things that fascinate me are the least expected - like the crabs and snails and shrimp. So, I've described a very amature hobbyist with a delightful little set of critters. Any advice, comments, things I should be aware of or looking for. I joined RRMAS last week and just logged on for the first time tonight. Looking forward to all the great information.
Awesome, congrats on your tank. I would only suggest you look into a bigger tank in the future as all of your fish get fairly large and are territorial and may need a bit more space. Yes, they will switch all the time looking for bigger and better shells. Your local fish store should (if they are nice) give you some empty or might make you pay a bit for them, either way you'll need quite a few. I would not advise you to add any algae killers into your tank, the way to combat algae is with weekly partial water changes - how much is debated but I do %50 on all of my tanks. Overfeeding can cause algae also. I would recommend a flake as a staple, frozen foods such as bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, etc., as well as fresh dark green veggies (blanched) and spirulina algae tabs to go with your seewead. I am not sure if you are actually giving them too much though. I hear the start of "multiple tank syndrome" coming on! Congratulations on joining, this bunch is a great group of friends with years of experience. I'm sure others will chime in and give you more indepth advice.
Welcome to Razorback Reef! I didn't notice that you mentioned the type of filtration on your tank? What about lighting and how long is your photoperiod? Please describe. Also, what kind of frozen shrimp are you feeding? Brine shrimp are almost devoid of nutrients for marine fish, mysis are much better. Be sure to read the links in the Chemistry forum to get a handle on your water chemistry. I've spent tens of hours reading the water chemistry articles by Randy Holmes-Farley. Again, welcome to the club and kudos for introducing yourself and jumping in with both feet.
Welcome to the club! This is a really great group of people who all love the hobby, we look forward to meeting you. Sounds like you have a great system so far. Just wanted to say welcome.
Wow! Thanks everyone for quick replies! I feel very welcomed. OK Joe - I knew it wouldn't be long before I felt "stumped"!! Chemistry?? Hah! Yes, I have a long way to go on that. I actually had to get up and look to answer your simple questions!... A penguin bio-wheel 330 filter and a prism protein skimmer. I just bought the $30.00 lightbulb to go in my cheap light fixture - the one that's supposed to be more like natural daylight. What exactly is "photoperiod"? I turn the light on for 5-7 hours each night ('cuz that's when I like to sit and watch them!) I alternate between mysis shrimp and "prime reef" and I use the dried sheets of red or green seaweed/algae. I'm never sure if I'm feeding too much but they seem to be happy! Bet you guys are laughing your heads off! I may have "jumped in with both feet" but I'm definitely over my head! Keep it coming - I'm up to the challenges..... :? Heather, you are absolutely correct with the multiple tank syndrome... I'm already dreaming of building a new house around my fish tanks... and my husband is dreaming of divorce!!!! (just kidding)
Welcome, don't let these guys get to you. They like to know all the details about a tank so they can see if their doing anything wrong !!!!! Hope you have as much fun at this as I do. If you're ever in the Conway area give me a shout, we can talk tanks. Seriously, if you have any questions someone on here will know the answer or where to find out. Don't be afraid to ask anything, we all started at the same place. Hope to meet you soon
Welcome! Wow sounds like you've got bit by the marine bug as bad as I did LOL Your tank sounds really nice. Yes we can loose hours looking at them, always something going on. I enjoy getting to know each animals individual personality, some are just plain funny to watch. I am addicted to the corals as well, luckly my husband is too As far as the algae problem, I agree, water changes are the best way to go. I hate using chemicals in our tank's and don't unless I absolutely have too. We look forward to meeting you soon. Post some pics in the gallery if you can, I'd love to see your tank!
Hi Sealess and welcome to the club! Your tank sounds great! Marti and I have a 125 gallon and a 33 gallon seahorse tank. I know what you mean about spending hours watching them. They are fasinating to watch and we both watch our tanks as much as we can,LOL. There is a great bunch of people on here and will help you with any questions that you have.
Depending on what kind of snails you have, (turbos tend to fall off the glass and die if they cant reach anything) they usually provide shells for the crabs. For the algae i would try a phosphate remover, check your phosphate first - it should be at zero, and follow the directions for the remover you choose...if left in to long it just re-releases all that it absorbed and you will be back to where you started. :roll:
OOOOHHH! That explains what happened last time I left that phosphate thing in my filter! I have the little white beads that you put in a bag and leave in the filter for a few days. When I do that, can I re-use those beads if rinsed??
If they are the white beads usually you can reuse them, but there is a procedure for doing so. You would have to read the instructions on how to rejuvenate it. By the way WELCOME TO THE CREW!!!
You mentioned using a water clarifier, I am not a fan of adding anything to your tank chemically to solve problems or fix chemical imbalances. One of the hardest things for new marine hobbyists is being patient and exploring the causes for there problem because there is always a product that claims to fix whatever issue you are having. Since you have a fish only tank there is no need to worry about calcium or any other major or trace element additions to your tank. I have used a buffer on occasion in my first years in the hobby but again adjusting your ph without looking into why it is off only causes continued use of the buffer because our ph will inevitably return to its original off value. That is just an example of what you are faced with when you add chemicals to fix things. I alway advocated feeding you fish alot, Scott Micheals books recommend feeding your fish two and three times a day, but over time I did not have the filtration to handle the elevated waste and my nitrates were through the roof. This is not a problem to the inhabitants that are already there because they have acclimated to the high levels but I found that I was having new fish die because the change was to much. It is very painful to see a tank suffer from fin erosion in the course of a day due to high nitrate levels. I used to broadcast feed my own homemade food, but now I am back to prepared cubes and flake like your are doing. Keep us posted on how your tank is doing, I would love to see some pictures.
