New (used) Tank. Few questions

[seanslice]

Hello! I recently was searching for a job in a local newspaper and saw an ad for a $400 SW aquarium 100 gal. Went up and saw it, and it was quite the deal! I ended spending $650 (to move it and all)

Specs:
Aquarium Systems Protein Skimmer
Heater
80 lbs of LR
2 Mag-Floats
UV Sterilizer
3 powerheads
5 fish (maroon clown, blue tang, yellow-tail damsel, and unsure of the other 2)
Current Sunpark Metal Halide lights (150W HQI)
Emperor 400 (basic filter)
Test kit (although not sure if I want to buy a nicer one)
Hydrometer
Cheesy Stand
a dozen or so snails

I did SW a few years back but I'm kind of unsure about some new things. so a couple of questions:

*My lighting has LEDs on them (blue and white). When is it okay to have those on or off?
*Sadly, there seems to be what appears to be dead worms on some of the LR. How can I remove this? I had professionals move the tank and I asked if they saw any live worms and they said no.
*The tang seems to be a little discolored. Her face has some gray in it and just looks all around a bit rough (even before the tank was moved), is this natural or is she stressed out?
*also, can someone link me to a thread about what I should test for and their levels.

 

[Cathic]

White LED's are for accents Daytime, Blue LED's are for night viewing and simulate moonlight, these are Night time lights. Get a clean up crew to remove whatever it is on your rocks, though I doubt it is dead worms. Tang is stressed, needs some good feeding and to be nursed back to health, also might have an infection of some kind, false fungus (bacterial) or true fungus, would need to see pictures not sure of Tangs that grey like that as mine never has when stressed (just sounds sick to me).


Testing: Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, pH, Alkalinity, Magnesium and Calcium are nice to have as well, but not required should you not want to do Corals.

I'm sure I missed a few things but these are basics

and ditch the hydrometer for a good refractometer

 

[Cathic]

You can run the few LED's you have at anytime though im sure, since they are negligible for your day night cycle.

 

[wontonflip]

+1 Cathic It's possible the move caused a nitrate spike. Definitely test your water for those. How's the temp? Salinity should be around 1.024-026, somewhere around there. When you top off, make sure to top off w/ just rodi or distilled water -- not salt (salt doesn't evaporate...adding saltwater to top off will raise your salinity -- use saltwater for water changes).

But for now -- you must check salinity, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates -- those are the most important right now, IMHO

 

[PRC]

I believe that what you're thinking are dead worms are the stems of small featherdusters. They are greyish and about the size and shape of a small earthworm.

 

[BL1]

+1 cathic, also I would leave off the emperor filter, unless maintained very well it will end up spiking your nitrates. Look into the API Saltwater Master Test Kit, and if you decide to do corals the API Reef Master Test Kit(you won't need this one till you start with corals though).
As far as levels, want Ammonia and Nitrite to be 0, Nitrates you want them to be less than 20 ppm (the lower the better), PH ideally between 8-8.5 and your temp should stay between 72-80 (and stable)

 

[seanslice]

I believe that what you're thinking are dead worms are the stems of small featherdusters. They are greyish and about the size and shape of a small earthworm.

I don't believe that's so, just because they seem to be loose on the rocks and just hanging on by a thread.

As for cleanup crew, what do y'all suggest?

Tang
Here's some vid of the tang
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiFObWl8S4]YouTube - Tang SIck?[/ame]
She doesn't seem unhealthy (i.e. swimming around, not shy)

FEEDING
LFS recommended feeding flake and meat (alternate) every other day. Sound okay?

Temp's at 77-78. Heater set to 77.

I plan on having my LFS come out every 6 weeks for their standard cleaning (scrub the walls, change the filter, replace 30% of water). Is that okay?

The Refractometer will come with time. Money's playin' a role right now.

IDENTIFY FISH
can anyone help me with species?

 

[seanslice]

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLiFObWl8S4>

Try going there for the Tang video. It's being weird.

 

[Cathic]

3 Stripe Damsel.

 

[Cathic]

Would do the water changes and cleaning yourself.

 

[tankedchemist]

oh that poor tang! Here's what she needs: algae sheets, soaked in garlic extract. you can buy a garlic extract product at the fish store, or make it yourself. Feed her a sheet of algae at least every other day, better every day. Also, don't ever feed pellet/flake food-- it'll mess with your water chemistry too much. Go buy a good frozen food-- mysis or some mixture of mysis and other stuff (rod's food is my favorite mixed food). Feed the frozen stuff about every other day or so.

Also... watch those damsels. they can be mean. it's entirely possible they might be picking on your tang.

 

[Sharkie]

the 1st of the two pics is a 3 stripe damsel. they are also sometime called Sargent Major Damsels here...

The 2nd is a green or warpaint goby... which is what I'm looking for! haha

+1 to everyone.

get some garlic for the tang and algae sheets... that is what is going to help her out more than anything.

 

[seanslice]

I'm seeing a spike in nitrates right now. Hopefully due to the move. As for the filter, can I still operate it just without the biowheels? or with only one of them?

Thanks

 

[BL1]

Any filter media at all in the filter will eventually cause nitrate spikes, it's not only the bio-wheels it's also the filter material inside.

 

[seanslice]

Well I do plan on changing the replaceable filters once a month. Do you think that'll be sufficient?

 

[BL1]

it'll be dependent on your bio-load in the tank the higher your bio-load the sooner you'll have to replace them

 

[seanslice]

Thank you! I'll make sure to monitor it often. Tang just began munching on the seaweed I clipped on. :)

Thanks everyone!

 

[andysgirl8800]

I would also recommend you replace that hydrometer with a refractometer. They are much more accurate and a valuable investment for the health of your tank. Congrats on the aquisition! Sounds like a nice deal.

I agree that those damsels could be bullying your tang. Her dorsal fin looks really chewed up, which could happen if the damsels are nipping at it. That behavior would also stress the tang out, which weakens her immune system and leaves her prone to parasites and other illnesses. The seaweed sheets should help her get some more vitamins into her system.

You may also want to consider trading in your damsels for more peaceful fish. You might have some problems introducing new fish if you decide to keep them.