please help me

[Bifferwine]

Everyone else is right... If you have more than two clowns in a tank, they will eventually kill each other off until there are only two left.

Adding four fish at once was not a good idea. You should add only one fish every three weeks or so. Add a fish, wait three weeks. Add a fish, wait three weeks. Adding so many at once (especially in a new tank) can really knock the levels out of whack.

And it does sound like you do not have enough flow in your tank. You should have at least two powerheads in a 55 gallon tank, pointed upwards towards the surface, so that they are creating a ripple in the surface of the water.

 

[bluewhale9]

ok second question how do i set up a refugium? is it better to make it yourself or just buy one and i am going to take one of the clowns back and attempt to inside the refugium once set up breed copods for my scooter blenny

 

[dcantucson]

It's easier to just buy one but I think most people build their own and save a lot of money. Do you already have a sump?

 

[the reef kid]

One way you can make a tiny tiny fuge is to get an aquaclear filter, preferebly a big one, and fill it up with live rock rubble and chaeto. If you have a sump, just use one of the sections and fill it with chaeto and live rock and add a little light.

You really can't exagerate enough how much this hobby involves patience though. My 90 gallon has been running for about 6 months, and it has 4 fish in it. Yours has been running for a month with 4 fish in it.

 

[bluewhale9]

um first off where do i get macro and mirco algae and also no i do not have a sump pump does anyone have any good suggestions for a sump pump and the fish seem fine and the lvls are fine although i wont be adding fish for 3-4 weeks. also can everyone stop saying how stupid it is to buy 4 fish at same time or hwo stupid to buy more then 2 clownfish I'm a beginner and still learning and I don't ened everyone to repeat what everyone else is saying.

 

[Sharkie]

as much as wanting to have 2 pairs of clowns is nice, unless you have like a 500 gallon tank its not a good idea to do so. Clowns will fight each other to the death even if you've had them from fry (babies). they just don't like clownfish neighbors.

I would agree that you stocked too much at once.... I would've waited on getting the blenny and 3 clowns... how much live rock do you have for the pods to start hiding in and living in? how much sand do you have? these are all things you have to take into consideration before adding those kinda fish that eat that kinda stuff

 

[PRC]

um first off where do i get macro and mirco algae and also no i do not have a sump pump does anyone have any good suggestions for a sump pump and the fish seem fine and the lvls are fine although i wont be adding fish for 3-4 weeks. also can everyone stop saying how stupid it is to buy 4 fish at same time or hwo stupid to buy more then 2 clownfish I'm a beginner and still learning and I don't ened everyone to repeat what everyone else is saying.

Ok..We're just trying to help you out before it turns bad for ya'...Here's what I would recommend, before buying fish take a look at these links, it will give you some valuable info. Because you're still learning, you have to be careful on your fish selection if you're planning a reef tank. You can't just go out and pick up some fish that you think look nice, often times those fish will eat your others as well as all of your corals. Unfortunately, once you put a fish in, they're not so easy to get out of the tank:D

Here's a sticky that I wrote awhile back..hopefully this will help you out a bit. Good luck to you.

https://www.livingreefs.com/do-your-research-first-t26793.html

 

[bluewhale9]

actually i am NOT planning reef tank planning a fish only tank maybe in a few YEARS I may plan to set up a reef tank but till then I'm good. I just don't know how to set up or buy a refugium that and the sump pump. also i have noticed that the food at teh bottom i left for the scooter blenny has been eaten and the clownfish prefer that one corner so I think he is eating the frozen mysis shrimp :D. also any fish/ invertebrae people suggest that are peaceful preferabbly to semi aggresive for a 55 gallon tank ?

 

[andersoned14]

here is a pic of my sump if you like it and would like more details let me know I will tell you everything I can about it and ask as many ?? as you like to feel comfortable the whole thing cost about $45 plus sand and pump which was another $40 or so. I built the overflow and return out of pvc. Overflow will not loose syphon on power fail and sump will not overflow either. It has been running about two weeks and no problems.

the last pic is what the tank looks like with the overflow and return install, second is pic B4 install, sump first day now the center with cheato is full of cheato it grows fast. I got mine from LFS----sorry Biff---I think Biff also has cheato This is on my 29 gal tank and that is a 10 gal for sump

 

[Bifferwine]

the center with cheato is full of cheato it grows fast. I got mine from LFS----sorry Biff---I think Biff also has cheato This is on my 29 gal tank and that is a 10 gal for sump

:grumble::grumble: ;)

If you need chaeto (macroalgae), send me a PM. I sell bags of it for $10.

 

[bluewhale9]

here is a pic of my sump if you like it and would like more details let me know I will tell you everything I can about it and ask as many ?? as you like to feel comfortable the whole thing cost about $45 plus sand and pump which was another $40 or so. I built the overflow and return out of pvc. Overflow will not loose syphon on power fail and sump will not overflow either. It has been running about two weeks and no problems.

the last pic is what the tank looks like with the overflow and return install, second is pic B4 install, sump first day now the center with cheato is full of cheato it grows fast. I got mine from LFS----sorry Biff---I think Biff also has cheato This is on my 29 gal tank and that is a 10 gal for sump

did you make your refugium yourself? also how long should i wait to get invertebrae because my tank has possible too much algae ^^''''''''. and is there any specific micro or macro algae people recomend? is a do it yourself refugium hard? I may just get an intank refugium for multiple purposes. and how do you know what kind of pump to get I may just buy a refugium from my LPS if i can

 

[PRC]

There are a tonsof refuge designs in the DIY section of the forum. Most people make their sumps themselves, it's not hard to do. As far as the return pump goes a good rule of thumb is to get something that will turn 10-15x the size of your tank per hr.

It may be too much, but you can always turn the flow down, but if your pump is too small, you're buying a new pump.

So, if you've got a 50g tank, you'd want to find something that will do between 5-750gph. You also have to account for headloss (water moving against the force of gravity).. I'd say if you went with a Mag 7.5 of a Mag 9 you'd be good. Again, the bigger the better. When you build your sump you're going to install some valves on the return pipe, this way you can control the flow (turn it up or down)

 

[andersoned14]

Yes like PRC said with turn over rate bigger is always better shooting for 10x.
You will save alot of money building your own, it only took me a day to build and most of that was waiting for things to dry. Maybe two hours of doing something. The algea in tank is most likely a new tank thing mine went through the same thing if you post a pic of tank now and a close up of the algea there are people here that will tell you what it is and the best way to get rid of it. Most of the time it is too much light or feeding your fish to much.

this was mine about 45 days into it this is the 90gal I have.

 

[bluewhale9]

um it looks kinda like fuzz if not hairy

 

[bluewhale9]

um also the tank has 15 lbs of live rock right now. alot of green stringy or fuzzy algae and it appears my scooter blenny has been eatin frozen mysis shrimp as well as when i watched him he also tried to eat the algae .___. but he seems a little bit bigger then when i got him or maybe a less skinny. also i heard dragonets shouldnt be kept together is this true or is it just males of the same species? Also right now i am feeding them all a diet of flakes and frozen mysis shrimp. any suggestons about diet?


and i am double posting due to for some odd reason i cant edit my other post

 

[andersoned14]

Bluewhale, the more pics you post the better, and also I'm very new so alot of things I hope someone else here can help with or aleast agree with me. That being said for food I heard flake food is not the best thing ok but frozen is better. Also only put enough in that is ate within 5min or less. If you think it is too much it is. Some people only feed every other day. Your algae sounds like hair algea. Again look in other forums and you might find and answer to your problem. Remember if you post pic more people will be able to give you good answers. I have been offered alot of good advice here and it all has seemed to help for the better.

 

[bluewhale9]

Bluewhale, the more pics you post the better, and also I'm very new so alot of things I hope someone else here can help with or aleast agree with me. That being said for food I heard flake food is not the best thing ok but frozen is better. Also only put enough in that is ate within 5min or less. If you think it is too much it is. Some people only feed every other day. Your algae sounds like hair algea. Again look in other forums and you might find and answer to your problem. Remember if you post pic more people will be able to give you good answers. I have been offered alot of good advice here and it all has seemed to help for the better.

I would post pictures if I werent missing my camera ^^''''''''''''. also what is the best way to help get rid of hair algae because its growing super fast. are there are invert like turbosnails i can get to get rid of the hair algae my tank is becoming a bit over grown.

 

[bjohanson1234]

Also, you want to try to shoot for 1 to 2 pounds of live rock per gallon of tank. SO you want around 55-110 pounds in your tank. You can buy dry base rock and let the LR you have in there seed it. Live rock is one of the best filtration in a saltwater tank. The bacteria in it break down ammonia, and nitrites before they cause problems for the fish. It also creates crevices and nooks and crannies for larger life forms like bristle worms and brittle stars to live in. Also a place where the pods will reproduce.

 

[andersoned14]

Not sure on hair algea I have two little spots of it in my 29gal. I don't think turbos or hermitt crabs are going to help because I have two red leg and two blue leg and a turbo snail in that tank now. And it has been there over two weeks. Sorry the only other thing I read that will eat that is a rabbitfish or foxface, but I not sure you want that in there yet either. Hopefully someone else can chime in to give you a hand.:12:

 

[PRC]

Send us a list of all of your equipment that you have for your tank. Size of tank, how many and what model powerheads, etc.

Stop feeding flakes