I'm Brand New And Need Some Help And Advice.

[lewiss]

Hello everyone,

I know you probably get this question everytime but I'm brand new at marine fish keeping nd I've choosen to do one. I have a 155itr tank, with a heater, two T5 lights (power glo nd life glo), nd a filter. I'm writting this to get ur help and advice because everywhere I read say different things!!

So here's where I am so far.. I have the tank, I have the equiptment set up. I'm aware I need a skimmer, plan to get tht tomoro, I have put in pre-mixed saltwater frm marine store, nd have tropical marine sand (Inc algal oolites) in the tank..

Next step is live rock, is that correct?

So this is where I get confused! What happens after tht, wen does the Coral go in? When does the cleaner shrimp go in, Wen do the first fish go in? How much time do I wait between each stage?

And what invertibrates are best to put in to start off?

Sorry for the 100 questions! Hope this isn't being cheeky or written somewhere obvious on this forum!!

Many thanks in advance,

Lewis

 

[-Nemo-]

Hello Lewis,
Welcome to TFF

What equipment are you using out of curiosity?

Once you have everything ready and can most certainly add in your live rock! You're aiming for about 18 kilos of rock.

After you put your live rock in, the nitrogen cycle will begin in your tank. This means that first the ammonia will raise, then the nitRITes and the ammonia will start to decrease. Then the nitRATes will start to go up and the nitRITes will start to decrease. Your cycle is considered complete when BOTH the ammonia and the nitRITes are absolutely zero. Once that happens, you can begin to add some critters.

What to add first?
Many people will add the clean-up crew first. They are your inverts and may include snails, shrimp, hermit crabs, regular crabs etc. Snails are great for cleaning up. Turbo snails are my personal favorites, but they are known to be "bulldozers". If things are not secure... they WILL knock them over. Astreas, trochus and cerith snails are great. Nassarius snails are great for sifting your sand.

Shrimp are entertaining and are great for eating left over foods. Cleaner shrimp, fire shrimp or peppermint shrimp are all great. Hermit crabs do a similar job, but can be a nuisance as they are very inconsiderate and climb all over everything, including corals.

Crabs - Emerald crabs are great. They eat hair algae and bubble algae fairly well.



After your clean-up crew, most people will put in their first fish. I would definitely wait at least a week after putting in your crew. Starting off with a couple fish is OK. I would say a month or two after your cycle is finished would be a good time to add coral. Soft corals like mushrooms, leather corals, zoas etc.

PS: We like pictures!

 

[lewiss]

Ok, thanks very much. With the live rock, do you have to put all of tht in before the fish or can it be gradual? How will tht upset the cycle?

I've got a fluval 205, it's been a pain in the #17##### so far!

Lewis

 

[seffieuk]

to the salty side of life.

It is best to put in all your live rock at once - they are the heart and lungs of your tank if you do it bit by bit you are likely to have several cycles which is not good for any livestock you have

If you have an external canister you can put extra live rock in there along with a good phosphate remover (after the cycle).

Patience is truly a virtue on this side of the forum - rush in and you are doomed!!!! Enjoy the planning, setting up, it is great fun, you will also be surprised how much you learn in a short time by just asking loads of questions of members on here

Seffie x

 

[simonas]

welcome to the forum

I was in your position about 4 months ago
read the journals they really are essential reading and explain a lot and if I could give any advice it would be go S L O W L Y!!!

I went to quickly and suffered a little set back with the loss of a couple of fish and this disheartened me for a while. I've left everything for weeks now and am only just thinking about adding another fish

It really is worth the effort and when you sit back and look at the results of your hard labour you;ll be happy

Good luck and why don;t you start a journal?

 

[ben1987]

 

[lewiss]

Ok thanks for the advice, I'm not in any rush, and I know everythings at slow pace. I'm planning on putting the rock in and leaving for two weeks. Then I'm going away for a week so hopefully I'll be ok till then! Then I'll add 'the clean up crew!'

How many fish will my tank hold? It's 155litres I no this is a long way off but curious. also my tanks tall and slim not long (I've heard this is bad but too late now!)

thanks

Lewis

ps what's a journal and how do I start one??

 

[seffieuk]

ps what's a journal and how do I start one??

If you look in the Marine Chi Chat area you will see a sub section for Marine Journels - it is a way to keep all your info in one place but also for all of us to watch your progress. It is great to read back after a few months or a year but is also a very useful resource for others just starting up. Take lots of photos a chronical your journel

Expect you will get several slightly different suggestions for stocking, but if it were my tank, I would have:

A pair of clowns - second time around though might look for rarer clowns
A blenny
McCoskers flasher wrasse
A hawk - but they will eat your small to middle sized snails etc
another wrasse, small
When tank is mature I would have a Mandarin

Tuxedo urchin
mexican turbos
conch - orange lipped or fighting
halloween hermits

Seffie x

 

[lewiss]

Ok thank!!

I've brought 5kilos of rock and will buy more during the week, ran out of time!! Looks cool, can't believe how expensive it is!! looks cool though even with 3 bits in it! And after having issues with the pump, thts now resolved nd I'm on my way to a reef tank!!

I like those suggestion Seffie, I do love the clowns! My plan was to get a spotted mandarin too, bit someone bought the only one I've seen so far!! Will be keeping my eyes pealed!! How established should the tank be, are we talking the last fish I add?

Also do you know anything about the neon velvet damsel? I really want to get one but I reads it's agressice to new fish.

Thanks,

L

 

[seffieuk]

You need to wait at least six months and then you will need a pod culture for your sized tank - it's easily do-able, but only when your tank is established and you have more experience Think of it as a long term plan.

Stay well away from a neon damsel - you will regret the day you ever put that in your tank

Seffie x

 

[lewiss]

Ahh!! 6 months!! Ok I'll wait. Might be a silly question but what's pods??

How bad is neon damsel, it's the best fish I've seen so far and in the shop he's in with about 20 clowns nd doesn't seem aggressive!!

Lewis

 

[seffieuk]

pods = copepods, little bugs in your tank

Well, clowns are also damsels and your tank is not big enough to keep them together, someone will get hurt and it will probably be one of your juvie clowns. You will want to buy two small clowns and watch one change in to a female, fasinating

Seffie x

 

[lewiss]

Cool thanks!!

I'll let you know how I get on!

 

[seffieuk]

Looking forward to it

Seffie x