Beginner aquarist!

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2 and a half months!

My tanks been up for 2 and a half months now and it's coming along sweetly! I am filled with a bunch more knowledge and loving this process! I am currently saving up for a protein skimmer, some more liverock and a set of decent powerheads to get the water flowing nicely around the liverock also for all the other benefits they bring! I lost my porcupine puffer and coral beauty the other day :( My ammonia levels were stupidly high and then started turning to nitrites (due to my mum overfeeding them saying they looked hungry) but hey ho these things happen! For now I am sorting my water levels out and will wait a while and get my tank to how I would like it to look with inserts and that before adding anymore fish! I loved the porcupine puffer though! Was such a character! The only problem I am experiencing at the moment is green algae! I just can't seem to get rid off it!!! It's so frustrating but I understand that it will go as my tank matures more and my water levels experience less fluctuations! I currently have one fat green mandarin, my 2 clowns, a royal gramma, 2 cleaner shrimp and two little hermits! Here's some pics of my progress! Thank you guys!
 

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Most of the problems you are experiences can be helped by getting a protein skimmer. I would make this a high priority! It will help remove proteins(lower ammonia) and then Algae will be easier to control. Live rock is also important! You have the right idea! Keep it moving in the right direction! Glad to help, this site has helped me with everything!
 
Really am enjoying the whole experience of owning and maintaining the aquarium! Its just hard to find the money to buy all the essentials but when I have them I know it starts becoming a bit cheaper! My water levels are starting to settle down a bit now, bit low on the Ph and also the Mg but added a supplement to help sort that out! Trying to add a bit of liverock once a week when I pick up the water! I have had no problems with my mandarin yet! He's a chunk aswell :D Still got algae but I'm sort of getting used to it now and when I have the skimmer and everything else it should start dying out! This whole thing is just a massive learning curve but its awesome! Want a bigger tank now haha! Saw a juvenile clown trigger in my LFS earlier who was really placid and in a tank with some clowns and a bicolour goatfish and not sure what else but few other small fish and was not even bothering them! Shame he had already been sold he was amazing!!!
 
Your tank is doomed for failure. The tangs will not live long term. The mandarin will also slowly starve to death. My take is that you should listen to the posters here who are only trying to help.

you should listen to the posters. Putting a fish in the tank that is doomed from the start is cruel. :banghead:

there are plenty fish out there that would be perfect for your tank.
 
you should listen to the posters. Putting a fish in the tank that is doomed from the start is cruel. :banghead:

there are plenty fish out there that would be perfect for your tank.

I haven't put a tang in the tank yet and my mandarin is eating well, the mandarin was a risk and not doomed! I have no tangs in my tank
 
You however put a porcupine pufferfish which gets over a foot in your tank. It also eats inverts... If you like a fish you see at the store go home and research it before you buy it, it will save you a ton of headache and money.
 
You however put a porcupine pufferfish which gets over a foot in your tank. It also eats inverts... If you like a fish you see at the store go home and research it before you buy it, it will save you a ton of headache and money.

A puffer in a 45g ?
 
A puffer in a 45g ?

He was a very small puffer and whilst he was in the tank he seemed very happy! Very strong eater and was very active, if I didn't leave my mum to feed the fish whilst I was away Im sure he would still be with me and by the time he got to half a foot I would of taken him back to the store on half credit but it would take a long period of time for him to grow to that size, wouldnt it not?
 
It would probably take him 8-9 months to outgrow that tank maybe less and in that time he would still have eaten both your cleaner shrimp and hermits. IMO when stocking use the fishes final size not the size it is in the store. It is not fair to the fish to buy it and say ill give it up once it outgrows my tank. Stick to fish that stay 4" or less and you will be good to go.
 
It would probably take him 8-9 months to outgrow that tank maybe less and in that time he would still have eaten both your cleaner shrimp and hermits. IMO when stocking use the fishes final size not the size it is in the store. It is not fair to the fish to buy it and say ill give it up once it outgrows my tank. Stick to fish that stay 4" or less and you will be good to go.
Thank you, I had him for a couple of weeks and he didn't bother my shrimps at all, he often went down to get a clean of them! But I understand it is unfair to have that thought in mind but people always change their livestock due to a number of reasons. I am looking at increasing my tank size when I find somewhere to put it, There's so many fish I want but just can't keep them. :( My puffer was only a tiny juvenile when I had him, such a cool fish he was aswell :(
 
I understand porcupine puffers are definitely a cool fish but yeah run stock past people her on aquarium advice before you buy any fish. We aren't trying to sell things and don't make any profit from what you buy so generally give better recommendations than the lfs. I work at a my lfs and I will not sell someone a fish that will outgrow their tank. Also, sw fish are not cheap and buying a fish just to sell it back when it's big is a waste of money IMO. Wouldn't you rather but a fish that can go in your tank and will live it's life there than get juveniles of large fish and keep losing money once it outgrows the tank?
 
I understand porcupine puffers are definitely a cool fish but yeah run stock past people her on aquarium advice before you buy any fish. We aren't trying to sell things and don't make any profit from what you buy so generally give better recommendations than the lfs. I work at a my lfs and I will not sell someone a fish that will outgrow their tank. Also, sw fish are not cheap and buying a fish just to sell it back when it's big is a waste of money IMO. Wouldn't you rather but a fish that can go in your tank and will live it's life there than get juveniles of large fish and keep losing money once it outgrows the tank?
I complete understand where you are coming from but I just got the beginners itch I suppose, Im not daft like I know not buy a lion or a angelfish that will get ridiculously too big really quick or harm any of my other fish. I just hate how limited I am to stock I can have, when I first brought my tank before I begun my research I thought it was quite a large one but now I realise it's actually really small :( hard to upgrade now due to funds and space limitations and the hassle it causes!!! :(
 
I understand I only have space for a 20 gallon at the moment and my 40 breeder is sitting around gathering dust!
 
I complete understand where you are coming from but I just got the beginners itch I suppose, Im not daft like I know not buy a lion or a angelfish that will get ridiculously too big really quick or harm any of my other fish. I just hate how limited I am to stock I can have, when I first brought my tank before I begun my research I thought it was quite a large one but now I realise it's actually really small :( hard to upgrade now due to funds and space limitations and the hassle it causes!!! :(

I had a 125 g and sold it and bought a 75 g
Just for the space it would take up in my apartment .
I have made a similar mistake buying 3 different tangs .
1) orange shoulder
1) kole tang
And the 3rd is a powder blue .
A buddy of mine was closing down his tank for upgrades and asked if I wanted the powder blue .
They are my fav .
And for free I couldn't resist .
I wish I kept the 125 :(
As of now I have .
1) sand sifting goby
1) yellow tailed damsel
1) kole tang
1) orange shoulder tang
1) powder blue tang
3 ) clown fish
1) cleaner wrasse
1) yellow wrasse
A 12" rittteri anemone
Mushroom corals ( a lot )
Zoas , palys , candy cane coral ,
Hammer coral , and a huge bubble coral .
I might be getting close to my stock limit ,
Parameters are all good .


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I have another 30 lbs or rock to go in I'm just waiting for it to finish curing .
 

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I had a 125 g and sold it and bought a 75 g
Just for the space it would take up in my apartment .
I have made a similar mistake buying 3 different tangs .
1) orange shoulder
1) kole tang
And the 3rd is a powder blue .
A buddy of mine was closing down his tank for upgrades and asked if I wanted the powder blue .
They are my fav .
And for free I couldn't resist .
I wish I kept the 125 :(
As of now I have .
1) sand sifting goby
1) yellow tailed damsel
1) kole tang
1) orange shoulder tang
1) powder blue tang
3 ) clown fish
1) cleaner wrasse
1) yellow wrasse
A 12" rittteri anemone
Mushroom corals ( a lot )
Zoas , palys , candy cane coral ,
Hammer coral , and a huge bubble coral .
I might be getting close to my stock limit ,
Parameters are all good .


View attachment 200960

I have another 30 lbs or rock to go in I'm just waiting for it to finish curing .
Your tank looks amazing! What do you mean cure your liverock before putting it into your tank? I have a few pieces in my tank, they were already matured when I brought them, they are a nice purple colour but I just put them straight into my tank. Have I done wrong by doing this? I am so desperate for a larger tank but it won't be yet for a while :( My water levels are becoming a lot more stable now so hopefully this wont change. Just waiting for this algae to go through it's cycles but by sorting my water out hopefully this will help keep the algae astray! Think Im going to stock my tank and when Im at stock then look at possibly upgrading before I attempt keeping corals.
 
The rocks you got should be fine, you can get uncured liverock that will have tons of die off and will start a cycle. You can also get cured liverock like what you got and have a little die off which causes a mini cycle. When you add liverock do it in small amounts to prevent your parameters from spiking. Also, if you do get into corals your light will need a good upgrade and I'd look into a nice protein skimmer especially if you want a lot of fish.
 
The rocks you got should be fine, you can get uncured liverock that will have tons of die off and will start a cycle. You can also get cured liverock like what you got and have a little die off which causes a mini cycle. When you add liverock do it in small amounts to prevent your parameters from spiking. Also, if you do get into corals your light will need a good upgrade and I'd look into a nice protein skimmer especially if you want a lot of fish.
Ahh panic over! I have been adding a couple of kilos at a time. I can't afford to do it any other way haha! I need to get some powerheads and ideally an external protein skimmer, don't want it taking up anymore of the little room I have in my tank! What skimmers and heads would you recommend that are of reasonable prices? Also what lights would you recommend?
 
You are further along them I am. I am looking at building a 75 gallon reef. I am looking to do this as cheap as possible. So far, I have about $80 dollars invested. This got me a $75 gallon reef ready tank, two protein skimmers, a sump, and 40lbs of Florida reef rock. They key here is patience, I wait for great deals, trade and barter. Have patience and I don't see money being too big of an issue to eventually get all of the cool species you want. Patience is key in this hobby.
 
You are further along them I am. I am looking at building a 75 gallon reef. I am looking to do this as cheap as possible. So far, I have about $80 dollars invested. This got me a $75 gallon reef ready tank, two protein skimmers, a sump, and 40lbs of Florida reef rock. They key here is patience, I wait for great deals, trade and barter. Have patience and I don't see money being too big of an issue to eventually get all of the cool species you want. Patience is key in this hobby.
Bloody hell!!! Where do you hunt for these kind of deals?
 
Craigslist is my biggest friend. I trade for items or find people getting out of the hobby. I mean, it took about........... 2 months to get what I have now. So definitely no quick.
 
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