90g fowlr (newbie alert)

[kjacks]

Im doing my mom a fowlr tank and im soo out of my comfort zone.




Here is all i have of the setup.. ill be getting it this weekend its still currently setup and we will be bringing the rock home in tank water ..

My mom is asking 100 questions i know none of the answers to and research is alil confusing as its all different or sounds so technical .

Here is a list of what she likes and the clown fish pair and anemone is a must .

Starfish, Feather Duster, Urchin, possibly shrimp or/and snails..

Spotted cardinal,firefish,long nose hawkfish,orchid dottyback,damsels,flame angel,watchman goby n red/green mandarin...

Im not sure what will go with what or anything i feel totally lost

 

[Bectan01]

So your buying an established tank and moving it? And it's your first saltwater tank? There is so much to learn before you think about confirming your stock list (although that's the most fun part can you tell us about the set up? Filtration/lighting etc? Would be doing some serious research into saltwater maintenance, there are great articles on here about how to set up and maintain salt tanks. What else does it come with? Test kits? Anything else? Liveaquaria.com is a great place for checking out fish compatibility. I wouldn't attempt a nem until you have a bit more experience, they require high lighting and excellent water quality to survive, same goes for the mandarin. Wait a good 6-12 months before attempting those guys...

 

[bribo12]

Im doing my mom a fowlr tank and im soo out of my comfort zone.

Here is all i have of the setup.. ill be getting it this weekend its still currently setup and we will be bringing the rock home in tank water ..

My mom is asking 100 questions i know none of the answers to and research is alil confusing as its all different or sounds so technical .

Here is a list of what she likes and the clown fish pair and anemone is a must .

Starfish, Feather Duster, Urchin, possibly shrimp or/and snails..

Spotted cardinal,firefish,long nose hawkfish,orchid dottyback,damsels,flame angel,watchman goby n red/green mandarin...

Im not sure what will go with what or anything i feel totally lost

I'd say about half that stock will work out. The mandarin and anemone will be the hardest to accommodate and depending on starfish, that could be quite difficult as well. For the nem we will need to know what lights it has. It looks to have an overflow so I'm assuming a sump? Can you tell us if it has a protein skimmer? Shrimp will probably not work with the hawkfish either and damsels are demons but that's my opinion lol.

 

[kjacks]

ok lets see... the guy said it comes with a return pump when I asked about the sump.. but I was told by another salt person that theirs had both so it should have a sump and return pump I don't know for sure yet though.. Yes it is used and still up and running but I thought we would clean it as I know nothing about his setup and care and maybe not clean the rocks im not to sure about that.. I have been asking 3 of my friends that have/had reef tanks about the process ...it does have a protein skimmer again just not sure which one until I get it.. it also does come with lights.. it has the sand in it too ... Im going to get it this weekend...I have to buy her the test kit im gonna go get it before we get the tank .. and the salt also .

My mom also tells me today she likes the puffers too she looked at the saddle puffer.. the tank did come a saddle puffer and other fish but the guy is gonna keep all them and bring to the lfs for credit instead of us having to.. I didn't want to transport them 2 hrs and then have to reset the tank and it more then likely go into a mini cycle and us not have experience with this area ...

Starfish she likes are the blue and pink sea star and the indian star..

 

[kjacks]

oh also she now wants plants.... liveaquaria is where I told her to start looking for suggestions..so she has stayd on there a lot and has been blowing my phone up..... lol

 

[huma-huma]

you don't need to transfer the rocks submerged in water. just soak a clean towel or newspaper in saltwater and drape over the rock.
sand, youll want to thoroughly wash the sand. established sand can trap harmful gas byproducts that when released, can cause problems.
clean EVERYTHING. use vinegar on the skimmer and mechanical parts. id pull the impellers out of any pumps or powerheads that are included. give them a thorough inspection and cleaning, reassemble.
lastly, corals are something that you prob are going to want to ease into. once the tank is setup and you get it running, id give it a few months before attempting some low maintaince beginner corals, then work your way up from there.
good luck!! tank will look amazing after its set up

 

[bribo12]

ok lets see... the guy said it comes with a return pump when I asked about the sump.. but I was told by another salt person that theirs had both so it should have a sump and return pump I don't know for sure yet though.. Yes it is used and still up and running but I thought we would clean it as I know nothing about his setup and care and maybe not clean the rocks im not to sure about that.. I have been asking 3 of my friends that have/had reef tanks about the process ...it does have a protein skimmer again just not sure which one until I get it.. it also does come with lights.. it has the sand in it too ... Im going to get it this weekend...I have to buy her the test kit im gonna go get it before we get the tank .. and the salt also .

My mom also tells me today she likes the puffers too she looked at the saddle puffer.. the tank did come a saddle puffer and other fish but the guy is gonna keep all them and bring to the lfs for credit instead of us having to.. I didn't want to transport them 2 hrs and then have to reset the tank and it more then likely go into a mini cycle and us not have experience with this area ...

Starfish she likes are the blue and pink sea star and the indian star..

The return pump should come with the sump but it sounds like you have everything you need. I'd stay away from both those stars, the blue is a linckia which are extremely sensitive and the Indian is a fromia star which tend to starve and whither away in our systems. If you want a starfish go with a serpent star or chocolate chip. Try and figure out exactly what the lights are. Like what kind, wattage, etc... That will factor in for the nem.

 

[kjacks]

Ok.. i go get the tank after work tomorrow.. i know she doesnt like the serpent star bc its thinner and creepy looking so ill have to look at the chocolate one later...

I picked up a bucket of salt today enough for 140g then i have seachems prime.

I ordered her a salt test kit , 200g worth of salt (it was on sale only local is petsmart thats open regularly) , hydrometer, seachems prime of her own.. figured heater and thermometer and fish food could wait until later if not i have all the above she could borrow ...

Is there anything i missed.. i plan to have a drip acclimator or atleast a diy one before fish come into play . And shes asking about more rock shes getting 50lbs of live rock he said but if i recall she needs more then that like double the tank so 180? What rock can we have ? When i google most info pops up is for reefs

 

[bribo12]

Ok.. i go get the tank after work tomorrow.. i know she doesnt like the serpent star bc its thinner and creepy looking so ill have to look at the chocolate one later...

I picked up a bucket of salt today enough for 140g then i have seachems prime.

I ordered her a salt test kit , 200g worth of salt (it was on sale only local is petsmart thats open regularly) , hydrometer, seachems prime of her own.. figured heater and thermometer and fish food could wait until later if not i have all the above she could borrow ...

Is there anything i missed.. i plan to have a drip acclimator or atleast a diy one before fish come into play . And shes asking about more rock shes getting 50lbs of live rock he said but if i recall she needs more then that like double the tank so 180? What rock can we have ? When i google most info pops up is for reefs

I'd say at least 90 lbs, look for base rock. Bulk reef supply has nice porous base rock. For drip acclimation I just get a piece of airline tubing and tie off one end until it turns into a slow drip.

 

[kjacks]

Ok well we have some hiccups ...i ended up coming home with all his fish except the eel.. which included a flame angel, saddle puffer, niger trigger (i will be rehoming asap) , chocolate chip starfish, long tentacle anemone... i think thats it..
He also included a sump thats bigger then what it came with orginally .. he had been using for it.. he included a heater all the surge protectors and everything he used to run the tank EXCEPT the protein skimmer said he broke it ..

Not quite what i had planned...

 

[bribo12]

Ok well we have some hiccups ...i ended up coming home with all his fish except the eel.. which included a flame angel, saddle puffer, niger trigger (i will be rehoming asap) , chocolate chip starfish, long tentacle anemone... i think thats it..
He also included a sump thats bigger then what it came with orginally .. he had been using for it.. he included a heater all the surge protectors and everything he used to run the tank EXCEPT the protein skimmer said he broke it ..

Not quite what i had planned...

Good choice rehoming the Niger. Watch the long tentacle nem and make sure it doesn't look to be bleaching or shrinking. I'd look into bubble magus or reef octopus skimmers, eshopps also has pretty good skimmers now. You want something rated for about 150-200 gallons

 

[kjacks]

How soon should i get the skimmer.. i mean can it wait a couple weeks until next check ... ill have wave makers and all setup...

 

[bribo12]

How soon should i get the skimmer.. i mean can it wait a couple weeks until next check ... ill have wave makers and all setup...

Yeah that should be fine just do larger water changes until then. That should keep the tank in balance.

 

[huma-huma]

if I could ask, why are you rehoming the niger? I have one in my tank and he is a sweetheart. even have corals in there that he doesn't touch

 

[baron1282]

I read you brought the tank home, so I am assuming you already have it set up. I just have to say one thing about washing the sand (in case you didn't set it up yet).

WHY? It basically takes all the life out that was in it and kills it. You don't want to wash live sand. It helps with everything, from helping with the cycle, and keeping your tank stable. Don't WASH out your live sand! What you need to do instead is stir it up and release all the gases that would be trapped in it from sitting so long. Do this in a bucket, Once you scoop it out into a few clean buckets and stir it up. What I did was I took the top layer off and threw it away. I removed about 10 pounds of my 60 pounds I had. Just to get rid of some of the nasty stuff on top. I than stirred it up in my tank (I was transferring from tank to tank), and scooped up the sand with a sieve (To let the old water drip out), I than put it straight into my other tank along with some brand new (not live) sand. The only sand I rinsed is the new sand because it was not live at all and I wanted to take out as much cloudiness as I could. It was only cloudy for about 4 hours being my filter did a good job clearing it up.

I believe keeping my sand live and not rinsing it has helped my tank with the transfer. I had no ammonia spikes and my tank is stable and my sand looks white as the day I bought it. Just take off a little from the top layer and stir to release the gas and sieve it out!

I hope your tank is going well, and I am sure it is. Live rock really helps with the cycle too, so if you got enough of that you should be good. Plus all the filters already being seeded! So I am assuming you are having no issues.

If you have the puffer fish, you won't be able to get a Star! The Puffers like to eat stars and any clean up crew for the most part. Good luck! I am just letting you know my experience with my puffer, I have not been able to keep any Clean up Crew because of him, but I wouldn't trade him in for nothing.

Also the live sand rinsing, that is my opinion and my experience!

 

[kjacks]

Omg issues doent even cover it.. its been a long day we just finished setup we started at 430p .. we had a few leaks everytime we fixed one something else leaked... we didnt clean anything thank God or i would have still been there.. the guy was really nice and gave me more then i paid for.. he threw in snails ,hermit crabs, the star fish , heater ,surge protectors, extra filter pad, and the trigger.. i didnt want. But he said if we didnt take him he would take him out back n shoot him so we took him .... i think we need more rock .. i wasnt prepared for fish so i had to run home n grab my freshwater testing kit and a thermometer primer and drip acclimater air pump and bubbler... glad its over my mom n dad n husband didnt help bc tension was high i was alil lost on some plumbing since it was drilled but we got it and everyone seems happy

 

[huma-huma]

I read you brought the tank home, so I am assuming you already have it set up. I just have to say one thing about washing the sand (in case you didn't set it up yet).

WHY? It basically takes all the life out that was in it and kills it. You don't want to wash live sand. It helps with everything, from helping with the cycle, and keeping your tank stable. Don't WASH out your live sand! What you need to do instead is stir it up and release all the gases that would be trapped in it from sitting so long. Do this in a bucket, Once you scoop it out into a few clean buckets and stir it up. What I did was I took the top layer off and threw it away. I removed about 10 pounds of my 60 pounds I had. Just to get rid of some of the nasty stuff on top. I than stirred it up in my tank (I was transferring from tank to tank), and scooped up the sand with a sieve (To let the old water drip out), I than put it straight into my other tank along with some brand new (not live) sand. The only sand I rinsed is the new sand because it was not live at all and I wanted to take out as much cloudiness as I could. It was only cloudy for about 4 hours being my filter did a good job clearing it up.

I believe keeping my sand live and not rinsing it has helped my tank with the transfer. I had no ammonia spikes and my tank is stable and my sand looks white as the day I bought it. Just take off a little from the top layer and stir to release the gas and sieve it out!

I hope your tank is going well, and I am sure it is. Live rock really helps with the cycle too, so if you got enough of that you should be good. Plus all the filters already being seeded! So I am assuming you are having no issues.

If you have the puffer fish, you won't be able to get a Star! The Puffers like to eat stars and any clean up crew for the most part. Good luck! I am just letting you know my experience with my puffer, I have not been able to keep any Clean up Crew because of him, but I wouldn't trade him in for nothing.

Also the live sand rinsing, that is my opinion and my experience!

the benefits of washing it thoroughly outweigh the negatives. if the setup was packed full of snails and hermits, the OP would want to spend some time sifting them out and keeping them, but its def best to just wash the sand thoroughly and start with a fresh slate. Not to say that your method is wrong or not right, just think that its a bit of a gamble. also any sort of chemicals that may or may not have been used in the previous setup could be contained in the sand, so a good washing will rid the sand of any chems.

 

[kjacks]

He said he didnt use chemicals but i dont know.. i do know im.glad we didnt take time to clean much bc we would still be there.. but thought i would load photos .. oh n we are rehoming the trigger due to its need for a longer tank ... i know i failed to mention that earlier..

 

[huma-huma]

ahh the streamers on that lil guy!! wish I was closer, id def take him. they are gorgeous fish. good luck with the tank and keep us informed. oh and check out Bubble Magus Curve 5 skimmers..i have the curve 7 on my 125 and its amazing

 

[kjacks]

He is a stunning fish... mom luvs him bc he already has started greeting her and trying to get her attention but we were told he would need the bigger tank.and would possibly eat our smaller fish... and well that cant happen... lol i keep saying our but its all hers ..lol

Im keeping an eye on the levels and so far things are safe no spikes but im watching for it in case . Going to buy her all the things she needs today after church except the skimmer gonna look for a good deal and a good skimmer instead of settling for the one our local petsmart has :/ gonna try and check out the salt water shop if we can ever catch it open it has weird hours