New and in need!

[redneckgearhead]

Alright. I think i'll be getting my first fish at the end of next week or so. Im in the process of getting 3 powerheads (Hopefully!) cause all i have atm is 1 Rio plus 400 was supposed to be 2. I followed some over advice about putting the fish food in the tank to see if something happened with the nitrates and ammonia etc. If anything happened at all the ammonia etc.. if it could even do that. So what now? like i said before i was under the assumption that the less ammonia i had the better?

yes you are right the less ammonia you have the better but you need the ammonia at the beginning of the cycle to form the bacteria you need to convert the ammonia that comes naturally from living creatures to nitrites, then nitrates. That is "the cycle" once your ammonia is converted to nitrates your good to go.

 

[lkkmateo]

haha well it looks like i'll be adding my first fish saturday night. I'll also be getting three more powerheads. 1 Korrilia 3, and two maxi's 1 will be a 900, and the other a 1200. The first fish im going to be getting is a Percula. I figured i might as well get my fiance into this so she's not so mad about the prices after she gets her little fish.

 

[thincat]

A smart man knowns no bounderies!!!!

 

[redneckgearhead]

good luck keep us informed.

 

[lkkmateo]

I just had a quick question. Can you have to much water flow? I was thinking some corals dont like alot and then some do. but could i have to much? i just dont know the rule of thumb for that.

 

[thincat]

As long as the sand, snails and hermits aren't flying around it should be okay. Really just point your ph's in different directions until you hit the sweet spot. I had a placement chart but can't seem to find it now. Try searching for PH placement on this forum.

 

[thincat]

Here it is: go to entry #12 for diagram.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f11/getting-more-water-movement-123630-2.html

 

[Mitchell0605]

Thanks TC. I think I'll take a look too. Saw a Cow fish at my LFS today. Was extremely tempted.

 

[thincat]

Cow fish are not for me: "Lactose intolerant"!

 

[Mitchell0605]

lol My tank is too small anyway, yet, he was oh so very small!

 

[lkkmateo]

Haha i picked up my my last species before i move. I saw a green cow fish in a tank with a Banggai Cardinal at the LFS. >.> i was tempted to grab all three. I put in a Domino Dottyback ($6) to begin with. It started eating right away. Next day i got a Percula ($13), he's done nothing but hide and "nibble" on food. Today i picked a third and finale critter "Under Protest!" a long haird anemonie ($8). So far i haven't spent very much at all. I replaced the pump on my protien skimmer and now it is functional and added another PH. I love the anemonie! But just after i took its picture it began crawling underneath some of the live rock i dont want it to get squished. but i dont know if it is just trying to find "The Perfect Place" to settle. some more advice would awesome.

 

[lkkmateo]

Ok... update on the fishes. The Percula has died :'( he was swimming oddly so i removed him from the tank and put him in the sick tank. Within minutes he died.

 

[Mitchell0605]

How did you acclimatise them?

 

[lkkmateo]

well they were put in there on seperate days. the dotty was firstby drip. the clown was second by drip. and the anemonie was third by drip.

 

[thominil]

No/improper acclimation could be a cause of death for the clown. Go back and take a look at the livestock in the tank that the clown was in. I lost my first pair of clowns, but went in and checked the livestock in the tank that the clowns came from, and the majority of fish had fin rot. I haven't lost a fish since then. Just watch the fish you are buying for 10-20 minutes and ask an employee to feed the fish for now on before you buy. I just skimmed through the thread and didn't see anywhere that you mentioned new lights, but you were looking for some in the first post. If you have not upgraded to T5 HO, or MH, I would take the anemone back, or it will most likely die. That tank is nowhere near mature enough for an anemone to begin with, you need a tank that has been established for AT LEAST 8 months, but a year is better though to ensure that the tank is stable and won't have any parameter swings. HTH.

 

[thincat]

+1, good information. The anemone that you have is trying to protect it's foot and may also be looking for more light.

 

[lkkmateo]

well like i said... it was under protest. But when we saw it in the store it was a dull color and after a few hour's and just a little bit of phyto plankton its color brightend up and it was just happy looking. it goes under the LR around its bed time and pops back out in the morning. I was informed only to feed it twice to three times a week. But the dottyback is swimming happily in the currents and has an unsatiable appitite. He goes wild when food is dropped in the aquarium. And btw i did get some better lighting sorry not posting it. I recieved a t5 strip and converted mine to t5 with the parts from it. So its not the lighting. I did put Kent marines Purple Tech in the aquarium for about a week up until i got the anemonie. Could that have been the Perc's COD or the anemonie's "Hidding" skills. Plus i placed the anemonie as high up and as in as much water flow as i possibly could but it scooted to the bottom and under the rocks within minutes?

 

[Mitchell0605]

It will find the place it likes best in the tank then settle there and sit tight. Mines wandered over the time I've had it.

 

[lkkmateo]

Thank you! XD i was so worried cause i thought i was doing the right thing and then it starts doing something different so i thought it was dieing as well. that would make me sad. Since i have the anemonie im going to keep it. But i have the purple tech stuff and it says it puts calcium, strontium, and other trace materials in the water to help coralin algea grow. But shouldn't that help corals and the anemonie grow as well? And what kinds of corals would be good for a begginer?

 

[Mitchell0605]

Corals for beginners:
Corallimorphs - Fantastic for beginners and experienced people. Lots of colours, very tough and easy to frag.
Zoanthids - Same as Corallimorphs really.
Xenia - Can be nice (Pulsing Xenia) but can sometimes become a pest.

Those are nice to start off. Once you get into the swing of things you can go for some LPS and SPS ones.

As for the Calcium etc let it be known, I have never dosed anything supplemental into my aquarium and have seen tons of growth. I had two Macro Algaes literally grow out of a piece of LR. (I'll post pics you want). They are truely beautiful and grow like crazy. I've trimmed them numerous times and they grow back. This is with dosing nothing. I've also had a Hitchhiker Crab that has shed it's skin 7 times since I first noticed it (3 months ago). My corals had all shown fantastic growth until I sadly lost them in a recent hot day when I wasn't home. (My Corallimorphs all survived as a testament to their hardiness)

Also my Anenome survived the hot day and is still going strong after recovering.

So personally, I would never dose anything into my aquarium, but that stuff may help. I like to let the coralline algae grow naturally, it helps tell me there is enough Calcium in the water.