Advice for newbie

[littlegolfertn]

Is there anything you would like to share that will help me with my new hobby? I'll give a little info about my tank. It's 90g saltwater with Eheim 2215 filter that has surface skimmer on the intake side. I would guess that I have between 150-200 lbs of live rock and 80lbs of sand, 40lbs being live sand. Heating is with a Rena Smartheater and I have 2 Hydor 4's at opposite ends of tank. I haven't had any major issues yet, but I'm sure they are coming. I put in 3 damsels last Thursday & surprisingly all are still living. I also have a bumblebee snail that hitchhiked on some live rock from the LFS.
Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

[Chiefsurfer]

<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

How long was the tank and everything set up before you added fish? 150-200 lbs of LR sure is a lot. Not that it's bad, but that's a lot. If you intend to keep lps and sps corals, you will probably need more flow thatn those 2 koralias. The rena heaters apparently have filters in them?(just saw this on another thread a few days ago) Those filters will need to be cleaned fairly regularly. Unless the eheim and skimmer are one unit, you can probably do away with the filter. I'd also return those damsels. Unless you are doing a fairly aggressive tank, those damsels can get prtetty nasty, and will bully most peaceful community tank inhabitants.

What are all your water parameters, and what do you expect to do with the tank?

[briangsxr1000]

agreed get rid of the damsels.....

[tahoe61]

Get ride of the damsels, they will only cause you problems down the line and if you are cycling your tank you do not need them. And Congrats on the new set up:dance:

[Seths Dad]

Thats 4 no's for the damsels. Sit back and watch your rock grow for a while....in other words go slow.

[dudley moray]

2 koralia 4's should be fine i have 1 and my sps are fine !
cycling with damsels is not very responsible but who am i to judge
the same result can be accomplished with a piece of shrimp or some flake food
get a good protein skimmer bigger than you think you need
the canister can be used to run carbon and also makes a good mechanical filter but keep it well maintained but above all research everything you plan on keeping before you buy it
patience is a virtue!!
oh yeah stay away from hawkfishes they suck !!!

[210reefer]

I am one of the few who likes damsels apparently. I have had them in many tanks over the years and the yellow tail, blue and stripped seem to be less aggressive than dominos and a couple others. Of cousre clowns and chromis are in the same family and almost as hardy and for most a better alternative. I would also loose the filter and get a good skimmer. The rock will provide the filtration and the skimmer will remove the undisolved organic waste, add oxygen to the water and help with water clarity.

[mmedeiros2]

There is plenty to learn from on this site. Everyone is very helpfull. Read as much as you can of Q & A's of poeples problems. Here is a link with some good info.
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=239848
Search and you can find pretty much anything you need. After reading for some time, you will then be able to ask more specific questions.