Hi, I'm Emma :-)

[emmaowen]

Hi am very new to marine tanks, only been at it since Oct 2012, I have always had tropical tank but wished for a marine tank so I bought a small 40l tank to get started and get to grips with the newness before advancing on to a larger tank! I seem to be doing something wrong though and not sure what.. I have lost 2 regal tangs and 2 blennys since I started and now today I have noticed my large 4 inch colt is rotting :( I have had the water tested and the nitrates are 0 the calcium is fine (although not told level) pH 8.2 and the salinity was 1.23 does that sound right.. all in all every test performed by my marine specialist store was spot on so I know my water is fine. I feel as though I am failing with my tank and any advice would be greatfully appreciated!! Oh and if I should've posted this in a different thread I am very sorry :-)
Em x

 

[reefnoob]

Welcome!
Well, a 40 liter tank is MUCH too small for a regal tang. If you wanted a regal tang, you would have to have at least a 680 liter tank. The stress of such a small tank could have killed it. What kind of lights do you have? What other fish do you currently have? Live rock? And how did the store test your water? With strips or liquid?

 

[little_fish]

Hello and Welcome!

There are a lot of thing that could be causing your tank to not flourish. Can you start by telling us everything you have in your set up? Including the equipment and anything living. Also we need to know the exact numbers on your water tests. What is good to one person might not be conducive to live for some types of critters.

I am especially distrustful of LFS (fish shops) because they are well known for giving bad advice or being misleading to get a sale from you.

For starters, I can tell you that your tank was far far far far too small for the regal tangs you bought. They should be kept in a minimum of 2 meter long tank or about 700L tank. The stress from being in a tank that is too small is likely what did them in.

But, dont worry. We will get on track so your tank will thrive. But we have to know what you current set up is to tell what might else be going wrong.

 

[wontonflip]

Welcome and +1 reef & fish

 

[Laz]

Hey Emma, welcome to the forum! It's nice to see other UK posters joining. ;-) +1 to everyone else. Firstly, we really need to know your set-up and what it has in it. Pictures would be very helpful. And you may not be doing much wrong, it's just that your local fish store has given you bad advice in order to make a sale. I went to Pets at Home the other day and they told me if I buy a regal tang small enough, that it will 'adapt' to a tank that small, while I fully knew that was well and truly not true, but that's how people get suckered into a sale, unfortunately. The reason they died, is very likely because of the tank size. I know it's not nice to not being able to house such gorgeous fish in such little tanks, but it's just one of the things that you have to consider. Bigger is better and research is key before buying anything.

 

[Smitty]

Hello and welcome to the site.

 

[emmaowen]

Thanks for the replies x my set up is currently an all in one tank, I have live rock about 6 kg, I also have a large colony polyp and a few mushroom corals, I have about 6 crabs, 4 turbo snails, a red shrimp (can't remember name) and I have 2 clown fish and two fish that look like tropical angels! The light is the one that came with the tank a uv type. I did have to get a new heater as I found out that the tank likes a higher temp than I was told it is now around 80F. As for the actual numbers of the water everything was 0 except the pH at 8.2, the salt level 1.023 or 1.23 not sure which way it is but aparenlty that is normal range. They used a liquid test kit and showed me the results against their charts, I had hoped that there was a problem with the water cos then it would have given me somewhere to start but right now am lost and a bit upset because as it seems I have benn told wrong information, my tangs were both very small and again I was told that they would be fine in the tank. I will try to upload some oictures in a while. In the meantime do I leave the rotting coral or take it out? Is it harmful to my other life in the tank?
Thanks again :) so glad I have found you all to help me as it seems you are all exceedingly knowledgeable regarding marine setups x

 

[little_fish]

I would first check to make sure that your colt coral isn't shedding, which is normal, and is actually rotting. Pics would help us a lot on that. There are lots is stuff that needs help with your tank, but I'm on my phone so it's hard to type it out. It will be fine until tommorrow I just don't want you to toss your colt coral if its ok

 

[emmaowen]

Thanks little fish. I'm gonna take another water sample to the fish shop to get exact readings.. I remember them showing me and all the samples matched the colours of the lowest values on the charts! I am on my tablet so i will load some photos from laptop in a bit.. the colt has turned brown and the ends seem to have fallen off some fingers, I know when I tried to move it yesterday it seemed to disintegrate in the water as I moved it around x

 

[emmaowen]

Ok here are some pics! The first few are it today, the last 1 is from last week!! The light is a sunlight 18W! I am really grateful to all advice.. I was hoping to upgrade to a larger tank when I get a bit of money in April, so what would be the best recommendation? Another all in one?

 

[emmaowen]

A slightly better view!

 

[little_fish]

Please get the extract readings. You should also get your own test kit, if something is going wrong and the store is closed what are you going to do?

Good new is you have plenty of rock, which is your most important source of filtration in your tank. Bad news is, your light isn't good enough to keep corals and that is probably why your colt coral isn't doing too well. You should look into upgrading your lights or just keep fish until you set up your larger tank and then get the correct lights to keep corals. I don't think the colt coral is a goner, and they are pretty undemanding so you *might* be able to use the light you have now.

What do you have for water movement in your tank? Stagnant tanks turn into death traps because the water will hold so little oxygen that the fish and corals will suffocate. Water movement is super critical to making sure that the tank is properly oxygenated because it will help the co2 diffuse out and bring in the oxygen.

Another huge issue with your tank is the number of fish you have, you should only have 1-2 fish in that size tank. The other fish you have are bangii cardinals. They probably need a bigger tank, but would do ok in the tank you have. My suggestion would be to stick with the two clowns. They would do great in that size tank. Or if you are really attached to the cardinals, I would keep just one. And then you are totally at your limit for fish in that tank.

I think your biggest issues are too many fish in such a small tank, picking fish that need much bigger tanks and potentially not enough water movement. Best news is, this is all stuff we can easily fix.

 

[Ted]

+1 little fish....Welcome to the forum.

 

[emmaowen]

Hi little fish.. I had the water re-tested today, the nitrates were slightly up between 0 and 5.0, the pH 8.2, salt 1.023, ammonia a questionable 0.25( the colour was not quite 0 so he said about 0.25!), nitrites were 0. I feel really angry at the store that sold me the tank and fish as they told me I could house a maximum of 6 fish and that it would be suitable lighting - all of these questions I asked them before I bought the tank and spent 3 months getting it stable. I have kept fish for nearly 20 years so I always research as much as possible before hand, I have left messages on other sites requesting info, to be honest this is the first site that has had active members who are replying to help people like myself who are new to saltwater setups! The store I buy from I have used for a few years for the tropical fish and some other people I know said that they knew what they were talking about when it came to marine tanks! I am going to be leaving the colt in for a while to make sure it is rotting and not just shedding as you suggested, it seems to have stopped and there has been no change today though. I will be looking to get a larger tank in April, when I do, what lighting do you suggest as best for the corals and the fish? Is there anything I can look into for the meantime for the tank I have? The water flow in the tank is good, it doesn't stagnate at all, the fish seem quite happy to swim against the flow and the corals are moving quite freely. I expect though that even that is possibly not the optimum for the corals, the colt has been in the tank for 5-6 weeks and has been fine and healthy until the other day :(
I am very grateful for all your help :)

 

[little_fish]

I would just get down to three fish and work on getting the tank stable. What exactly are you using to generate flow? Also, are you using tap water? Tap water is filled with all sorts of nasty crud that can poison corals, and feed ugly algae. I would highly suggest using RO/DI water to make up your saltwater. I would also increase the salinity to 1.025. That is closer to ocean water.

 

[emmaowen]

I only get the water direct from the store premixed to the correct levels (apparently!!) I have spare salt here so I will add some extra to raise the levels back up. I was told tap water was lethal to the marine life so won't put it in. The pump I have to generate water flow is what came with the tank, it is an 8W 230V. I will speak to the store and see if they can take one of the cardinals back in order to try and stabilise the tank better.
Thank you :)
just quickly also, what test kit do you find better? The store uses drops, is that the best?

 

[reefnoob]

Drops are definitely better than strips. I just use the API test kits. They aren't the best quality wise, but they are ok. They are pretty good money wise though.

 

[little_fish]

1.023 is a very commonly used salinity, but I find that corals do a little bitter with the higher salinity. Just top off with saltwater until you get to the correct salinity. Do you have something to measure the saltwater with?

Also, it's a good thing you aren't using the tap!

 

[emmaowen]

No I don't I use the store, I will be going in on wed so will invest in some kits to do my own tests and salinity :) I take it raising the salt level will be ok for the fish too?

 

[reefnoob]

Don't raise the salt too quickly. You can just top off with saltwater to raise the salt levels. But don't directly add salt to your system.