I fell in love

[Ganapati]

Hi there!
About 8 months ago my roommate bought a 120gal tank from someone selling his saltwater tanks. She knew nothing about saltwater and was immediately drawn to how 'pretty" they are and HAD to have one. She did no research and brought the empty tank home along with a 30gal hospital tank the guy housed a percula clown and some live rock in.

Needless to say.. I know pretty much nothing about saltwater myself except that it's alot of work and can become pricey. I had done some reading about it awhile back out of interest but I knew just a tiny bit of the basics... which apparently was more than her.

To make a VERY long story short.. the poor little guy was being neglected. The tank levels were never checked. Layers of algae were accumulating on the walls of the tank, you could hardly see into it. The water level had dropped to almost half the tank and the "pretty" newness of the tank had warn off for my roommate.

I got involved because I just can't stand to see any creature neglected and started doing my research. Ive managed to keep my little man alive for the past 8 or 9 months witha few ups and downs. Ive learned alot but Im still sooo new! I've seriously grown extremely attached to my clownfish and I want to get more involved in the community so that I can learn everything I can. I want him to live the happiest life I can possibly give him. The trouble is that it's so hard to find all the things you're looking for online. That's why I've turned to forums.

It should be nice chatting with some fellow fish lovers who can teach me a few things =)

Taylor

 

[ncjharris]

Welcome to the forums!

There are a lot of people who know their stuff in the Saltwater sections, so I am sure you will pick a lot of information up!

Good Luck

 

[Chac]

Hi there Taylor

Firstly Welcome to TTF B)

Well done for rescuing the clown, as for the question, it may be a bit to broad for anyone to answer really, so how about you tell us about the system you are running:

Tank Size
Equipment (Skimmer,Lighting, Filters etc.)
Amount of Live Rock etc.

Livestock etc.

& test reading Nitrate, Nitrite, pH, SG, Ammonia, Phos & any others that you test for
and we can go from there

 

[freshmike]

Hi there, I hope you can find the help you need....I don't know anything about saltwater, but there are few here that can help you, I am sure...btw, welcome to tff.

 

[Ganapati]

Chac,

This is what the guy gave us with his setup..

-30 US gal
-Tetratec PF150 filter
-No protein skimmer which I'll probably hear an ear full about lol.. Honestly, it wasn't until the first few months that i found out about skimmers and my tank seemed to be doing well.
-GE aqua ray 15w bulb fluorescent lighting

I have crushed coral as my substrate and ALOT of live rock.. I couldn't tell you the weight but I have one rather large peice and 6 smaller ones and what looks to be a piece of tonga branch. The tonga branch has recently started growing plants.. is this bad? Its a leafy plant and it gets pretty big.. Ive had to remove some of it already.

pH = 8.0
Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = 0.50
Nitrate = 0
Those are the only tests I can do with my current test kits. Which others should I be testing for?

As for livestock, I currently only have the clown and some blue leg hermets I bought (6 of them) to help with algae.

I know there are things im doing wrong and things I still need to do but that's why I'm here so I'm open for any suggestions =) Thanks!

Taylor

 

[Chac]

Hi Taylor

What are you using the Tetratec PF150 filter for - is there any media in this (ie. Sponge, Floss etc.) as if you are using this as they do in freshwater as a Biological Filtration, this is the job or you LIVE ROCK

I would defo recommend getting a skimmer - you would be amazed the amount of S*** that they remove from a tank, UNFORTUNATLY the fact you are in the US puts me at a disadvantage on recommending one for you, so some of the USA boys & girls can maybe help us out here

I would be inclinded to get some POWER COMPACT Lights (do a google on these) I would suggest (if you only want to keep Saoft Caorals & Fish) a 55w White & a 24w Actinic (Blue)

Now to the Jungle that is sprouting from you LR, This will more than likely just be some form of Algea that will be being fed from the TAPWATER you are using (I am assuming you are using TAPWATER), If you are I would defo stop this as TAPWATER is full of S*** and IMO it is a step backwards to having a good reef tank, you should be using RO Water,either by Buying an RO UNIT or buying RO Water from your LFS

I have only ever used RO water & still have Phosphate & Nitrate Remover in my External Filter. (these are washed out weekly)

Any questions at all give me a shout

 

[Chac]

What is you overall flow like

Also you pH & SG levels

Forget the PH - just spotted it

) )

 

[Chac]

Pm'd ya

 

[veen]

i 2nd the skimmer advice! i didn't have one for months and finally decided i need to buy one. it immediately made a huge difference. all my corals look decidely healthier (more colorful, extending more, etc.) and when i clean the collection cup i cannot believe how much crap is collected in there from just a 12 gallon tank!

if you don't plan on adding corals, regular fluorescent lights are fine, if you want to do a full reef, you'll need to upgrade your lights.

and also, the ro water advice is good - ro water doesn't have phosphates, which may be the cause of your algae bloom.

 

[JJ1234567]

Hi -

Since you dont have a sump I would recommend the AquaC Remora. Its a hang on skimmer, and as far as skimmers go not the priciest. Definitly try the lighting up grade.

And since you want to know all about your baby clown, and how to give him a happy life - Hit ebay or amazon.com and buy the book "Clownfishes" By Joyce D Wilkerson. You wont regret it!

Good luck and enjoy your new friend.



BTW - Clownfish have been recorded to live in captivity up to 20 years +!!! So be ready for quite possibly a life long friend.