What to do next? I think my tank is cycled...

Oh man, it took me forever to catch up on this post! Those lights are no where near good enough to keep corals or anemones.

On a tank your size, you will need either metal halides or T5s to keep those. You cannot find suitable reef lighting at Petco or Petsmart, you will have to order from an aquarium specialty store. Check out Pet Supplies, Dog Supplies, Cat Supplies, Pet Meds & Pet Products: Drs. Foster & Smith Pet Supplies and Aquarium supplies for your tropical fish tank, saltwater fish tank, saltwater aquarium fish, freshwater aquarium fish & reef aquarium. Aquarium filters, aquarium lighting, aquarium tanks, protein skimmers & more for your reef tank.. I bought the lights for my 240 at Premium Aquatics INC - live rock and aquarium supply.

And the fish in the fishstores all get along with each other because they cram so many fish into each tank that they cannot estabish territories. That's why the damsels don't fight in the store. But once you bring them home and they stake out a territory in your tank, it's game over.

Of all the fish you suggested, most of them are very good choices. Sixline wrasses, in my experience, are not aggressive at all, and you can add one any time. Beware of the hawkfish though, they will eat inverts like your shrimp.
 
Like Biff said,go with T5(preferably with individual reflectors)or MH if you are wanting to house anemones.I find Premium Aquatics better than Dr. Foster's website when it comes to lighting.

You mention Maroon clowns earlier,only get one or purchase as a mated pair.They don't easily pair up like most clowns,buying two that aren't mated can lead to a lot of fighting and possible death for one or both of them.
 
I think ill stick to the regular orange/white clowns, they are much easier to find around here. The only reason i was looking at petsmart lights was because... it would cost me exactly $0.00 for that fixture, but that is the best one they have... So i guess i'll just stick to getting free salt and stuff when im there next. Could I add the wrasse first? cause he is at my LFS and none of those other fish are, except the gramma, and the one he has i slike 5 inches long in his reef tank. I'm gunna go run and get something to eat, then get back to class, ill be back on later! Thanks for the replies!
 
The 6 line wrasse, they have a cute little guy at the LFS, only 1.5 inches long or so... tomorrow ill catch the damsels and go trade them for the wrasse, hopefully he will give me some sort of credit for them back, I mean he did sell them to me right when I started my tank with out telling me they would harass the living hell out of any new inhabitants... that is kind of a KEY point when selling a fish...
 
Welcome back Biff! Did you get a chance to check out my sump build yet? Any input/advice please let me know! I'm still getting micro bubbles, and there were a few people trying to describe how to adjust the bubble production, but I dont have any way to adjust it really, Unless i take the old airline from my old skilter and plug that into the inlet side of the air inlet and use the little adjusting plug thing that way...
 
You dont adjust the air on SS's.
Turn this valve to where its only open half way:
valve.jpg


Then turn this little red knob:
adjustment.jpg


Untill the bubbles on top of the water in the skimmer are here:
bubbleline.jpg
 
Also, quick question. I was searching my tank with a flashlight down in the little rock crevices and stuff trying to see if there is any life in there... I FOUND SOMETHING! woo! my first random marine creature. I have NO idea what it is though... all i can see like 3 inches inside a little hole is a little white thing poking out and slowly moving around... from the part I can see it looks like a maggot type thing? but it could be just a little part of it? Is this some kind of larvae? Or some kind of worm I want to remove? Its whitish... if anyone has any ideas I could search the name and see if it looks familiar, I cant possibly get a picture, its too dark in the hole and the camera wont focus that close even on "close up" setting...
 
I would go with a gramma first, they are the most peaceful fish on your list. Avoid the hawkfish. I would add clowns last as they can get aggressive. you want them establishing their territory last.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
Alright... how long of a window should I give them? I wanna give back the damsels and hoped he would give me a deal on the 6 line, he doesnt have any of the other fish there right now that are on my list... I was thinking about making a road trip and seeing what other nearby towns have for marine fish...
 
PATIENCE. patience, patience, patience. Wait for the fish you want. Plan it out and add them on your terms, not just what is available. Relax, let your tank mature and you won't be disappointed with the results. Make sure your bubble problem is over with.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
That mystery creature sounds like a pod to me. They make for great fish food. You probably have tons and just haven't noticed them yet.
 
The bubbles wont hurt anything will they? I was thinking about eventually remaking a new sump, shouldnt be hard if I have all the equipment already, spend 20$ building a brand new one... with 2 baffles, fuge, then 2 more baffles, with a smaller fuge and a lot bigger pump section... then just swap them out. I dont know why I was thinking the fuge had to be as big as it is now... its prolly the least important part in the setup... I think i could fix the bubble problem with more than 1 baffle having water go under it.... I have already noticed my water being more stable (after adding the sump with new water in it) everything was zero and nitrates were only at like 5-10 ppm. So im pretty happy with it so far, the bubbles arent a huge problem, and the water flow is amazing now...
 

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