Won 2 Ebay Auctions, need help with 1st Saltwater Tank

[contactpsb]

We have been wanting to try our hand at a Saltwater tank. I have an extra used 75 gallon tank that I got at a great price on Ebay a few months ago, so we went to our aquarium store and bought a Bio-Wheel and Protein Skimmer and just added salt to tonight. We were planning on doing a fishless cycle by just adding food to the empty tank (at the advise of our aquarium store because I asked him what the cheapest way to go is and he said we could do that and avoid buying damsels). But now we have a change of plans.

I can't stay away from Ebay! So I won two auctions this week, one was for http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2373146642 16 pieces of coral, and the other was for http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2373349015 a complete 55gal Saltwater Tank Setup , 30 lbs of live rock, and Fish. Fish that are included are: 1 Large Lionfish, 1 Large Dogface Puffer, 1 Medium Panther Grouper. It says all very healthy and get along great together.

My dilemma. I thought about just putting these new fish and live rock in my 75gal tank that we just added saltwater to tonight, but I don't know if it will be ready by next Fri when we go to pick it all up. I can add something like Bio-Spira if that will help, but I'm thinking that since it comes with the filters and the bacteria grows there (right?) then maybe the fish will be ok if I just use those filters on my tank? And can I add coral to the tank with these fish? I know just enough to know that some fish can't be mixed with coral. Should I just put the coral in a different tank and get different category of fish for it? I don't want to make any uninformed decisions, so I hope I can get some advice from you guys. Thanks!!

 

[saltcreep1025]

i suggest you go and purchase the consciencous marine aquarist and read it ASAP... you should really read as much as you can about keeping a saltwater aquarium because there is much to know and making the wrong move could cost you a lot of stress and money.

You will not be able to put those fish into your newly set up tank for at least 3 weeks probably. No you can not add live coral w/ the puffer, but the dead coral you bought will be fine.

 

[contactpsb]

OK, so what do you suggest I do if I can't put them in my tank?

 

[cookiemn]

contactpsb, sounds like you went hog wild on the buying. Here is the problem that rossv is pointing out.
1) You do not have an established tank. You can add fish, BUT chances are they are not going to last too long.
2) Your enthusiasm for the hobby may have gotten the best of you and you got in over your head. (I was the same way and got burned. But so is life....)

You may try to hold off on getting your new tank if possible. I would try this first because it is the easiet. The person you are buying it from may understand. You can also try to have the LFS where you bought your equipment hold the fish for you in their established tanks while yours gets established.

If none of these things pan out, you could try to getting more cured live rock immediatley and put them in your tank in hopes that it will work. I would also do a water change immediately in case the rocks cause your nitrates to spike. For added filtration, do you have live sand in your tank?

BTW, have you tested your tank to see what the levels are? If you did, can you post them so we can help you more.

Good luck man!

 

[BONESTOCK]

I think $240 is alot for those fake peices of coral....oh and please don't put those fish in your 75 gallon....they will die.

Unless maybe you can bring all the water from the 55 gallon with you.... :|
and put that in the 75...I don't know...good luck bro.

 

[loganj]

Definitely get a copy of "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" as soon as you can. Also, the fish you're getting are going to outgrow your tanks. The 55 won't be sufficient for a full grown Volitans lionfish by himself. Fortunately, they don't grow really fast. I bet the guy who sold you the tank didn't mention that they can get over a foot long? Also, these are all carnivorous fish and heavy waste producers. I think you're going to need some serious filtration for these guys. I would suggest seeing if the LFS will buy the fish from you or at least keep them for a while so you can get the tanks set up and cycled. That is probably going to take about 4-6 weeks...possibly longer. Although you are probably already aware of this, I should mention that the lionfish can give you a very nasty sting. It would be about like sticking your hand into a hornets nest if not worse. Get the book, read the articles on this site (there's a link above to "articles"), and let us know what you have been able to work out about boarding the fish for a while. At that point, we can help you get the tanks set up and running. I wouldn't buy anything else just yet. If you see something you would like to get, run it by us here first. We might be able to save you some money or prevent you from buying something that either won't work or is overpriced. The coral you bought is dead and it won't matter where you put it although the puffer may nibble at it from time to time. Just out of curiosity, what kind of skimmer did you get?

 

[dralarms]

They do make Bio Spira for marine. It works. If you have to put everything in the 75 gal please get some and put it in at the same time as the fish.

 

[contactpsb]

Ok, I think I am just going to ask my LFS if they will buy the fish from me, unless anyone here is interested in them. I can then get my tanks set up and then pick out fish that I really want and are better suited for a beginner. Thanks for your advice.

What's the deal on this coral? Did I get ripped off? Why do you assume it is dead, because she says it used to fill a 90gal tank?? I admit I don't know much about coral other than it's expensive and I believed her when she said it cost her $900, I just didn't think that it would be worthless now. Please explain further, because I haven't paid her yet and I can email her with questions or whatever if I know what to ask.

 

[cj10488]

Why do you assume it is dead, because she says it used to fill a 90gal tank??

basically its dead coral that has been colored.. meaning it will never grow or anything.. Live coral is stuff that grows has some cool polyp extention some are flourescent ect.. That coral would be good for like a FO tank where you did not want the hassle of taking care of corals but you wanted it to look more natural.. I myself too think thats alor for "Dead" coral... Basically I think the best way to describe it is If I had a coral that Died I could then soak it in some coloring and color it.. It would still in Essence be real but it would not be alive.. I believe that she probably did pay alot for it as there is a market for Dead coral but I myself would never pay for what I believe Dead coral.. Its kinda like buying a stuffed fish to float around in the tank..

Hope I explained it pretty well,
James

 

[BONESTOCK]

Yeah you pretty much nailed it cj....

All that stuff is, is the skeleton of what used to be live coral.....


I guess it's not that bad...but I personally would have never paid that for that dead stuff.....Liverock is a million times better!!

 

[afilter]

Hello,

A lot of good advice here. As for the coral I could not access the link, so I cannot weigh in on what you paid. Don't think dead coral is a bad thing. Many people including myself use for decoration in FO or FOWL systems. Live coral is nice, but very costly and only for an established SW system and well read experienced aquarist.

More importantly I am concerned about the fish. In a FW system you may be able to get away with transferring fish like this. Hopefully you can find a good temporary home for them.

If you cannot find a home for them and have no other options I will say that BIO-Spira is an option and I have used it myself to help rapidly cycle my 75 gal. It is very costly and I would suggest getting two packets for this kind of load(I think it only comes in one size for 55gal). I would also put all the filtration you can fit onto the 75gal for now.

One thing you did not state was how far you had to travel to pick up the new system. The beneficial bacteria in the existing filters on the 55gal will only survive about 2 hours(possible longer) with no significant die off once you shut them down. If you can get them on your 75 right away it will help some as well as some of the water.

If you use the BIO-Spira follow the directions and do not add it until about 45 minutes prior to adding the fish.

I think the overall best option would be to see if you can postpone pick up of the 55gal until your system has properly cycled(3-4weeks) if the seller will allow you to do this. The fish will ultimately be to big for your system, but if they are doing well now you may be able to keep them for a while and them move them out over time as they grow.

HTH, welcome to the hobby. remember Reading and patience are the key to success in this hobby. This site is a great place to learn. You can never do to much research.

Good luck,