salt water maintanence??

dragon3725

dragon3725

Reefing newb
hello,
I am newer to salt water.. recently have lost alot of fish to nitrates being WAY to high.. Finally (from this site) relized that constant water changes are the answer to that problem.. I always seem to get different answers from everyone about what i need to do to keep my fish healthy.. If anyone could give me any info on rutine maintanence or other things i may need to add to my tank i would be greatful.. I have a 55 gal. tank, decent light (nothing fancy), skimmer, decent filtration system (top of tank nothing fancy), and heater.. Inside i have sand, three pieces of live rock, two chocolate starfish, a few hearty smaller fish (not sure what they are called) that have outlived alot of others and distress because of my lack of knowledge, and a snowflake eel that is almost two feet in lenght.. Any info would be greatly appreciated..
Thanks
Tim:frustrat:
 
You need more live rock. One of the reasons your nitrates are too high is that you don't have a solid filtration system - the top of the tank system you have is most likely not enough to take care of it. You should have at least 45 lbs of live rock, and work your way to more as your bioload increases. Your hardy fish are probably damsels.

If buying new live rock is cost prohibitive, by sterile "base" rock from the fish store. It is basically "dried out" live rock. In time, your current rock will spread its bacteria/microorganisms/corraline to the base rock and the natural filtration system will take over.

What kind of skimmer & filter do you have?

alex
 
Live rock will serve as your #1 source of biological filtration, so 1 to 2 lbs per gallon is best. So 55 to 110 lbs. Three rocks is probably only 10 to 20 lbs or so. Definitely not enough.

You should be doing 10 to 20 percent water changes once a week. So 5 to 10 gallons a week. If your nitrates are still high, you need to be doing more.

What are your nitrates at?
 
Are you sure you have lost all you fish due to high nitrates? Could your eel have anything to do with some of your fish dying?

The snowflake moray eel is not safe to keep with shrimp, crabs or lobsters, since crustaceans are their natural diet. However, they are safe to keep with most other invertebrates, including coral, starfish, anemones and sea urchins. Very small fish may be consumed, so think twice before keeping a snowflake eel with small fish like damselfish. Compatible tankmates for the snowflake moray eel include other relatively large, aggressive fish, such as lionfish, tangs, triggerfish, wrasses, and possibly even other snowflake moray eels if they are both introduced to the tank at the same time.
 
Bifferwine said:
Live rock will serve as your #1 source of biological filtration, so 1 to 2 lbs per gallon is best. So 55 to 110 lbs. Three rocks is probably only 10 to 20 lbs or so. Definitely not enough.

You should be doing 10 to 20 percent water changes once a week. So 5 to 10 gallons a week. If your nitrates are still high, you need to be doing more.

What are your nitrates at?
Click to expand...
they were in the hundreds, did a 60% water change fri. and got them to around 40 or 50.. hadent been doing regular water changes like i needed to..
 
dcantucson said:
Are you sure you have lost all you fish due to high nitrates? Could your eel have anything to do with some of your fish dying?

The snowflake moray eel is not safe to keep with shrimp, crabs or lobsters, since crustaceans are their natural diet. However, they are safe to keep with most other invertebrates, including coral, starfish, anemones and sea urchins. Very small fish may be consumed, so think twice before keeping a snowflake eel with small fish like damselfish. Compatible tankmates for the snowflake moray eel include other relatively large, aggressive fish, such as lionfish, tangs, triggerfish, wrasses, and possibly even other snowflake moray eels if they are both introduced to the tank at the same time.
Click to expand...
Ya im pretty sure the eel was one of the last fish i put in, lost three lion fish, flame angel, and others.. the lion fish ate the other damsels but for some odd reason neither the eel or lions would eat the last remaining two damsels.. one of the lions used to actually touch them and the eel hangs out with them as well.. its rather strange considering that they eat bigger fish than the size of the damsels..
 
Live rock will definitely help. You want to keep your nitrates below 20.

Your tank was also overstocked if you had all the fish you say you had. In an overstocked tank, it can be impossible to keep nitrates low because there are so many fish constantly pooping.
 
Bifferwine said:
Live rock will definitely help. You want to keep your nitrates below 20.

Your tank was also overstocked if you had all the fish you say you had. In an overstocked tank, it can be impossible to keep nitrates low because there are so many fish constantly pooping.
Click to expand...
they werent all in there at the same time, had two lions some damsels for awhile, then the one of the lions died so i tried a flame angel with the remaining lion, after he died i started with the eel.. other combos to but never more than 5 fish at a time i think.. when i started i had like 8 damsels but it was a long time ago..
so when i figure it out i wanted to add a dragon wrasse and another lion fish (dwarf)with the few that are in there now do you think i will be overloading the tank?
 
Ah okay I understand now. If you limit it to 5 or 6 fish, and you add more rock, you
should be fine.

A good protein skimmer will go a long way. Maybe you could think about upgrading down the road when you can save up some cash. If you want a good hang-on-back skimmer, I'd recommend the Octopus brand. They are relatively inexpensive and work great.
 
Bifferwine said:
Ah okay I understand now. If you limit it to 5 or 6 fish, and you add more rock, you
should be fine.

A good protein skimmer will go a long way. Maybe you could think about upgrading down the road when you can save up some cash. If you want a good hang-on-back skimmer, I'd recommend the Octopus brand. They are relatively inexpensive and work great.
Click to expand...
Copy that, thanks for all the info i most definatly appreciate it.. more water changes and i should be OK.. Better skimmer and eventually a better filter.. Thanks again for your help.. :bowdown:
 
you don't need a filter in a marine tank. More rock should be your priority, then a better skimmer. And remember to stock your tank slowly and deliberately. A month between fish is a minimum. An octo-800 skimmer would be perfect.
 
Welcome aboard Tim.
It looks like Project and Biff have you pretty well covered.
Just remember to take it slow.
Also,what kind of water are you using? Tap or RO/DI?
 

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