Some general questions

J

jillandjerrykeller

Reefing newb
We inherited a 55 gallon salt water tank from my sister in law who was not able to care for it anymore. Only one of her fish survived the transer (Clown fish named Nemo). We have live rock and live sand. We've had it for about 2 months and have now: The clown fist, two blue chromis, one peppermint shrimp, two sea stars (one black and spiney and one light maroon) and a purple/pink fish I don't remember what it's called but doing well and not aggressive. We also have two anenomes. They are doing okay but I do have some concerns because the one shrinks up alot but then comes back to life. I'm very new to this. I hope that we haven't added too much too fast in the way of livestock, but our water quality is good (I've taken it to be tested a bunch) and everyone seems to be doing well. I like the anenomes and would like to have more but I'm not sure if we have room for much more. If so, what would be a good fit, either in the way of bottom crawlers or maybe another fish or two? I'm looking for tips and suggestions. I also think that we may have some "red slime". Is that good or bad? Do I need to medicate to reduce it? Thanks to anyone for their tips.
 
First off,Welcome to the site.
What type and how much lighting do you have?Anemones require more light than most corals do,plus need extremely stable tanks.Every once in a while,they will decide to move to another location in the tank.And when they do,usually,any coral they brush against will die.Not to mention,If the anemone dies,there is the possability that it'll take everything in the tank right along with it.
The red slime is cyanobacteria.Its fed by high nitrates and/or phosphates.Neither of which is something you want.Instead of "medicateing"the tank.I'd suggest leaving the lights off for 3 or 4 days,then doing a decent water change the day you turn them back on.
What kind of water are you using?I'd suggest to not use tap water.RO/DI is best.But distilled works just as good.Your LFS may also carry RO/DI water.
 
I've done water changes (about %20 once every week or so) and like I said the tests have come back good that I get at the lfs. I have an Instant Ocean test kit for nitrate, ammonia, chlorine, etc.etc but am missing the stand so I can't use it at home. I've been using tap water and so far so good, but thank you for the suggestion about ro. How would I do that at home and what equipment is required? Buying distilled water on a regular basis could get expensive. I don't have coral (unless live rock is coral????) As I explained, we're very new at this and didn't get much notice to learn a whole bunch. What we do have in the tank seems to be doing great, I just want to make sure that they stay in good health. What would I add as far as phosphates are concerned? I'm not sure about the type of light as I did not buy it so I don't know the specifics. Thanks again.
 
I dont have the link.But Bifferwine and Reeffreak will.
You can purchase a RO/DI filter that you just hook up to the plumbing under your sink.I think Biff give right a $100.00 shipped for hers.Not a bad investment with this hobby.
For phosphate control.Just pick up some Phos-Guard,Phos-Ban,and I think there are a couple more.But I've used both the Guard and Ban with good results.
If you can post some pics of tank,lights,filters,and any other equipment you got with the tank.It'll help us understand more about what you've got to work with.
 
Hi and welcome!

To know if you will be able to keep the anemones alive, please either read us whatever it says on your lights, or take a picture of your lights. We'll be able to ID them really quickly. Like Yote said, anemones are some of the most demanding and difficult animals to keep in our tanks.

My RODI unit came from www.purewaterclub.com, like Yote said, $100 including shipping. You can also buy RO water from grocery stores or Walmart.

Anemones will be especially sensitive to the stuff in tap water (even if you use a dechlorinator, there will still be a lot of crap in it). Dechlorinators don't take out heavy metals, nitrates and phosphates, all of which can be fatal to your animals over time.

Red slime is a symptom of poor water quality and/or too little flow. Do you have enough powerheads in your tank? In a 55 gallon tank, you should have at least 2. It will help to aim another powerhead in the area that is getting the red slime. High nitrates and/or phosphates will also cause red slime, but often will show up as 0 when you test for them, since the algae is taking it up from the water so quickly it doesn't stay in the water column long enough to show up on a test.
 
I can't stress how important it is to use pure water either making your own or buying it.Although everything looks good now,its only a matter of time before the contaminants build to toxic levels.The cyanobacteria showing up could be the start of bad things to come.Corals and anemones are very closely related except most anemones are more sensitive than corals.

Welcome to the hobby and site!
 
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome. The numbers/letters on the back of the light are 120VAC; 60HZ, 40W. I'll try to take some pictures and make them available this evening. I left the light off today before leaving for work. Everyone looked good this morning. Can anyone help me find the replacement stand for my test kit that I mentioned earlier? It's an Instant Ocean test kit that sells for about $35.00. I hate to purchase a new one when I have every other part of the one that I have. Thanks.
 
Any way you could rig up a stand?All its got to do is hold up the test tubes right?

The lights sounds like its just the cheap light strips that come with most tanks.If thats the case,then you dont have anywhere near enough light for the anemones.Which will eventually starve them to death.
 
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Should I leave the light I have on or off? What kind of light should I look at getting? I don't understand the "starving" thing because they both seem to have good appetitites. I'd like to think that I could rig up a stand but don't have the tops for the tubes etc. etc. I tried to buy a used kit exactly like mine on ebay but was outbidded. Damn the luck there.
 
Yote is right. Anemones and corals are photosynthetic. Like plants, they produce their own food from light. They will also take food from people (like pieces of meat), but they cannot survive long term if they are unable to produce their own food, meaning if they don't have enough light, they eventually die, regardless of how diligent you are about feeding them by hand.

I also agree that you don't have enough light for corals, and nowhere near enough for anemones. You need at least 5 watts per gallon, so for your tank, 250 watts or more.

The best lights for a 55 gallon tank are T5s. Even a mediocre set of T5s will put out enough light to keep anemones.
 

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