Help with flow of my 17 Gallon Tank!

[Zayyy]

Hey Guys!

Around a year ago i started my first Marine Tank, which is 17 Gallons in my room.
It actually went really well! Until i purchased one fish a small tang (3 CM) that i was told would have had a disease and killed everything in my tank, including my a pairs of clownfish and anemone. I get a water test every time before i buy a new fish from the store i go to and it was fine, just as my test had shown, it was just until that tang died, it killed everything.

My tank has been running alone for months now, fixing all back up.

I got test done two days ago by a two pet stores just to make sure, and everything showed up fine, they both said PH could go up a little higher, so i purchased PH up.

Before my aquarium was wiped out, i only had a inbuilt filter to the tank, and another filter within the tank, skimmer and wave maker.

I now have a aqua one nautilus 800, external filter and a skimmer.

That is just about my tank and how i was doing.

The question.
The Aqua One Nautilus does 800L an hour in a 65L tank.
Is there a need for me to have a wave maker in my tank? It does 3000L an hour.

 

[Bifferwine]

Your tang was sick because a 17 gallon tank is way too small for any type of tang. They get stressed and diseased very easily when they are put in tanks that are too small for them. And your tank was already overstocked with four clowns -- a good rule of thumb for saltwater is 1 fish per 10 gallons, so you are pretty much maxed out with two fish in your tank. I would advise you to research any fish you add very carefully -- there isn't any reputable website or book out there that would say that four clowns and a tang would survive in a 17 gallon tank together.

As for flow turnover, I don't think you have enough from the filter. I would add one powerhead. You don't necessarily need a wavemaker -- just a powerhead would be fine.

 

[Zayyy]

What i meant to say was one pair of clowns.
This tang i purchased was 3CM long.

 

[Bifferwine]

Even the smallest of tangs will get stressed in a small tank. They require a ton of swimming room; room that a 17 gallon tank cannot provide. It is only a matter of time before they get sick and die in a tank that small.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Then he had a very little chance of surviving to begin with. Small tangs like that are very young and have a high rate of mortality in the wild. Add in the shipping and travel...

If your LFS told you he would be fine, I would find a new fish store to shop at. If you just thought he was cute, just remember to do your research before you buy anything.

Also, the anemone could very well have died and killed everything else in your tank. Over crowding tanks causes high nitrates and high nitrates are really bad for nems. Once nems die, they release all their toxins into the water and can kill everything in the tank.

 

[Zayyy]

OK.
Thanks.

 

[little_fish]

+1 Biffy and BJ

 

[Kelz88]

Did you tell the fish store you had a 17g aquarium? because if you did and they sold you that tang anyways they obviously don't care at all for their fish, and id advise you not to shop there anymore.

Pets unlimited sold my bf a tiny blue hippo tang saying a 4ft tank is big enough for him and refused to take it back. So for two weeks he was in my tank suffering and i had to sell him.

It was really hard though, he was a little booger and i loved him and i didnt want to sell him, but i knew my tank could not fit his needs. Luckily i found someone with a big tank that had been looking for a hippo for months and months. He even let me see the tank he was going in lol i must have sounded upset on the phone. Tank looked great though so i let him go.

Long story short, most pet shops are full of baloney!