Learning the hard way..... i think.....HELP!!!

jkeating2005

jkeating2005

I am Addicted for sure!
ok let me start from the beginning....

please know that this is my first saltwater tank and i am learning!!


about 3 weeks ago, i went to my LFS and purchased my first saltwater set-up. it included a 46 gallon tank, wet/dry filtration system, OTB overflow, and a return pump of course.

Set it up that night and the next morning with about 50lbs of live sand and 35 lbs of fiji live rock cured.


Everything was going good!

A week Later, i brought my water in for the first test! yay!

they said my cycle was over and i could start to purchase livestock for my tank.

1st puchase, 2 Black percula clowns! i was pumped

went home got them in....every thing still going great!

i then went back 2 days later to ask what other fish they would recommend for my tank.

4 blue chromis, 1 yellow tang, and 1 sailfin tang.

(i am kinda mad about this situation. i know now that my tank is to small)


got them in everthing still going well!


next i got a pink spotted goby, 2 pepermint shrimp, a cucumber, 5 blue leg hermits and a sand sifter star! this was all with i the next week!

but now..... my water is getting cloudy. it seems like a bacterial bloom from what i have researched!

i have a of of livestock in there and i dont want to lose it.


is there anything i can do? (chemicals, more cured live rock, anything?)


any suggestions would be very helpful. my tank is extremely cloudy and my fish have slowed down a lot!
 
first off, i would take out the sand sifter star and the cucumber because there is nothing in your tank to keep them alive. second i wouldnt add anymore livestock for awhile if at all because you only wanna add one fish every three weeks. also get some more cured live rock because you want about 1-2lbs of LR per gallon of water minimum
 
ok.... can i add rock to the tank the way it is now (cloudy?), and is there anything i feed direct to the sifter and the cucumber?



thank you

Joe
 
Take everything back to the LFS and give them hell.
There is no way with a new setup, sand & rock that you cycled in 1 week.
To add all that livestock in such a short time is very irresponsible, they should have told you that since you are new. Also, you need to do a lot of reading & research, you will learn these things as well.

Your tank needs to cycle. It may take anywhere from 4 - 10 weeks (not usually, but sometimes).

Too much fish for your tank (you know this already).
Tangs are going to be out of the question in your tank.
Remember, 46 gallons WITHOUT sand / rock.

I would stick with the clowns, chromis are OK, goby is ok.
I wouldn't go too much more than this. Good rule of thumb is 1" fish per 5 gallons tank water.

Inverts....shrimp ok, hermits ok (I personally use snails only), starfish OK, cucumber.....eh....possibly too early.

Your LFS should be able to hold your clowns, goby, & chromis until you tank FULLY cycles. You need to monitor (on your own) the readings of Nitrite & Ammonia.

Also, sound like you are going through an algae bloom.
How long are you keeping the lights on? You should be following around an 8 hour cycle.

Remember, do your homework....read as much as you can, ask as much as you can and GO SLOWLY!!!!

You shouldn't add everything at once....it causes stress and overloads the tank.

PS.....get yourself a skimmer if you don't have one already....it will help in keeping the water quality good.

I'm in South Florida too, where are you?

Good luck.
 
Sifter should be fine (it will eat whatever is in your live sand).
I would get the cucumber out of there like Dustin said.

You should put ALL your rock in without the livestock....like I said in my previous post.
You want the tank with the rocks to FULLY cycle before you add any livestock.

Get the fish back to the LFS and have them hold the ones you will keep for your tank there until the cycle ends.
 
Get rid of the star and cuc, your tank is not ready for them, I don't think a 46 will ever be ready for a sand sifter star.(I have a 46 too).

You should be 6 fish max, maybe 7, but the tangs gotta go, sorry no tangs at all in a 46. They need alot of room to swim.

You are learning the hard way, but don't feel bad. Most people fall victim to LFS that only want to make money. Stick around here and the vets will steer you right.

I had 6 fish in my 46, I'm down to three, two clowns and a royal gramma. I know I can do more, but i'm building a 180 and wiatingfor that
 
Dustin,

I bought "CURED" rock from my LFS as well.
Guess what, C Y C L E........

I wouldn't trust a LFS selling all this stuff to him that their rock is "FULLY CURED", would you?

Always err on the side of caution IMHO.

If your tank is empty anyway, what's the big rush?
 
ok, my next problem.... my LFS has that wonderful no returns. i tried to bring my tangs back for store credit. i dont even think that they would hold fish for me. i have already gotten into an argument with the store owner (who also made me feel like the dumbest person alive because i dont know much.

for my lighting, its just a basic Florescent that i run around the clock 24/7.....is that bad?

i have a current usa nova extreme pro on the way.

i have found a new LFS about 40 min from my house that i think i will start going to. I know the owner and hope this guy will not try to screw me....


uuuuurrrrrrrrghhhhhhh <------ word for sooo mad

messaih.....just north of palm beach on the east coast of florida!
 
what do you mean by run it around the clock, does it have moonlights? and yeah if the fish store has a no return policy dont even walk in to the door
 
Find a new fish store and let them know the situation, see if they will hold some of the fish for you and maybe give you some kind of credit for most of them. Then go smack the joker that sold you all of that stuff in the face! haha
 
it is a single florescent that came with the hood. no other lighting was recommended unless i was going to do corals... and yes it runs 24/7
 
ok...will do. thanks. when i was leaving it off, i would come home and it was dark, and i turned the lght on and the fish had weird spotts on them tat would go away.. especially the yellow tang and chromis.
 
they lose color when the lights go out, its normal. and the lights being on 24/7 isnt normal and will stress the fish out since they wont go to sleep at all when the lights are on
 
i have gotten a few suggestions from reefcentral to do a 10g water change each day for a few days to help??

is this good?
 
if your in a cycle right now it will keep the ammonia from being a huge burden on the fish but itll extend the cycle and will be stressful to the fish, best thing to do is find someone to hold the fish while your tank cycles if it is and then when thats done get back the chromis and clownfish and sell the tangs
 
ok thank you for the help! seriously thank you!

i am going to go to a new LFS tomorrow and see if they can help me out with holding my fish and maybe give me some kind of credit for the tangs

oh and i forgot one fish... my LFS also suggested a coral beauty angel that i also have..

is my tank o small for him too?
 

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