View Full Version : My tank looks like
Fish_Kid99
03/30/2013, 02:06 PM
Ok I started my tank on Sunday by adding two fish, two scarlet skunk shrimp ,a pincushion urchin and a frogspawn. Everything was going good so far. I fed everything half a frozen mysid shrimp block that I dissolved and then target fed them all. The urchin didn't eat any but after acouple of days of this there was some debris on the bottom. Yesterday I went to the LFS and bought 8 scarlet reef hermits, 3 Mexican turbos, 5 Astreas,spider decorator crab, a nuclear green mushroom and some green zoas? After I acclimated every thing and put it all in and fed everything. I was away for the night and when I got back about an hour ago the tank was a mess. It looked like one of the shrimp molted, the other shrimp moleted and the molted shell got ground up in to a fine pink sand every where, there was little circular urchin terms everywhere, 2 or 3 of the hermits were not moving but there were still alive. The nuclear green was on a rock and something broke the rock in half and turned half of it upside down the zoa was dug into the sand very deep and the frogspawn was flipped. All of this happened over night! I plan on getting a LTA, engineer goby, brittle star, and adding my twenty gallon tank in. Is there anything that will clean up my tank since nothing else will?
Anemone
03/30/2013, 03:20 PM
How old is this tank? Did you cycle it first? What is your filtration? How much live rock? What is your substrate? Why did you say nothing else will clean your tank (you added 8 hermits and 8 snails - how are these not working?).
Kevin
Chaotic Reefer4u
03/30/2013, 03:23 PM
Ok fish kid, your going too too fast, slow down lil' buddy!
How long has your tank been up? Has it even cycled yet?
rickjd
03/30/2013, 03:36 PM
I agree Slow Down fishkidd. Unless you want to lose everything - you gotta let the tank cycle. Do a Google search and read a couple articles on Cycling Saltwater tanks - it will SAVE you tons of money in the long run. And save alot of fishes lives.
Fish_Kid99
03/30/2013, 04:14 PM
Oops I'm sorry my tanks been cycling since January. I have a sand substrate. Penguin bio-wheel filter that I am getting rid of. I forgot to mention but the shrimp an stuff is all gone but the shrimp molts, an the urchin poop are still there. 0 ammonia 0 nitrates 0 nitrites 8.4 PH temp 80 70+ lbs of live rock
MinnFish
03/30/2013, 05:23 PM
How long has the 55 been up and running. You did start with a 20 correct?
Fish_Kid99
03/30/2013, 05:39 PM
Yes I started with a 20 gallon then after about a year I decided to upgrade. I got a 55 gallon from a friend and filled it with about 50 lbs of dry rock and 20 lbs of live rock. The 55 has been cycling since January 5. I did a water change every week (about 6 gallons). I had about 0.15 ammonia and had the LFS test it and it was just a user mistake ( my test kit was wrong). In a couple of weeks I am getting an anemone to put in my 55 along with the damsel and clown from the twenty. I have about 30 or so lbs of live rock that I will also add. The 20 has a crushed coral substrate that I will add to the corner of the 55.
MinnFish
03/30/2013, 06:40 PM
I think you must agree with the earlier post. You are moving way too fast. In less than a week you have added a small LFS to your tank. As far as a rock broken in half, not even a pistol shrimp can do that. Can I suggest something? Please slow down, I know it's exciting to a 14 year old. But, your excitement is going to cause you problems. Sit back and enjoy the small things in life. You are missing so much, by rushing into this. I'm speaking from experience. I now love, taking a magnifying glass to see the smallest thing in my tank. Copepods are a joy to watch. Lol. So, step back and ease off the gas. And, this hobby can last you a lifetime. Or, rush into everything. And, I will be seeing you in the for sale forum. Just trying to give you some fatherly advice. Good luck and have a happy Easter.
surgy
03/30/2013, 06:42 PM
Sounds like a huge stock for a 55....... And army you supposed to add animals gradually one or two at a time to allow the bio filter to get stronger?
Ambition
03/30/2013, 08:39 PM
I agree with what has been said so far on going too fast. Nothing good happens fast in this hobby. You should only be adding a fish or two at a time about once every month or two after each one has been QTd (which it doesn't sound like you are doing). QTing is one of, if not the most important parts of being successful in this hobby IMO.
Don't plan on getting an anemone any time soon. Ideally the tank should be established for 6 months after the cycle. The aquarium envrionment needs to stabilize and you need to gain more experience to care for these fairly delicate species. They aren't the most forgiving animals we keep, and are one of the messiest to remove after they die (most pungent smelling as well).
Fish_Kid99
03/30/2013, 09:13 PM
I will take all of this advice to heart. I live about 45min away from the nearest lfs so I bought what I thought was best. I will definely slow it down. This is going to sound totally hypocritical, but is there any invert that will eat the shrimp molts and the urchin "leftovers"?
And MinnFish I know what you are talking about. I spent an hour watching a tiny bristle worm try to burrow in the sand and another fifteen minutes watching my urchin abduct a hermit before I saved it lol.
Ambition I have had an anemone in the past but after a power outage it died. I am not trying to say I know everything about them but I do have some experience with them.
OrQidz
03/30/2013, 09:23 PM
I usually just removed the molted carapaces whenever I see them. That and a good filter that keeps things flowing around well to mechanically remove debris will help. Do you have a powerhead of some kind? A 55 will need some decent water flow.
And have fun! When I was 14 I had my first marine tank. It was 35 gallons of salt water, undergravel filter and one royal gramma. And it was pretty good for its day! (don't laugh but there was no internet yet and I had to go get books at the library! So if you are stuck in the boring cycle phase check out pics of tanks and such which are right at your fingertips)
Fish_Kid99
03/30/2013, 09:44 PM
No I font have power heads yet. I,was going to order them off Drs Foster and smith in a day or two. Yeah if I get bored I go straight to this website (once if not ten times a day) just looking at pictures and trying to figure things out.
OrQidz
03/30/2013, 09:51 PM
excellent! :) power heads will help a lot. I use polyester fiber floss (cheaper at the craft store than the LFS btw) in my mechanical filter, a thin layer which traps the yucky stuff, and I switch it out with clean stuff every day.
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