I think I might be doing this bass ackwards!

[CHughes]

Well, after lurking in this forum for some time now, I'm not so sure I really know what I'm doing.

I have kept brackish fish for over 2 year (primarily Mono Agenteus, scats and green spotted puffers). These guys have out grown there 30 gal tank, which has progressively been moved to a marine environment. Having said that, I now have a 30 gal tank fully cycled to sw.

Here are the tank perimeters:
pH = 8.2
SPG 1.022
NO2 = 0
NO3 = 5 (minimal saltwater reading on test kit)
AM = 0
CA2 = 460
PO4 = 5 (really high, but I am using local water for the salt mix ( Instant Ocean). Local tap water reads a PO4 value of 3...time to switch to R/O I think.
Filtration by Aqua 300, sponge filters (2) and Biomax cubes only
Circulation by Powerhead 301 and airstone on pump.
Temp 78 degrees F.
substrata is typical white aquaruim gravel
decor is tufa rock and coral I collect on the beaches of Bahamas (please don't tell the customs inspectors! :)

Anyway, to make a long story short, I rushed out to the LFS (given the above water perameters) and purchased several damsels. Upon reading various threads here, I realize I bought the nastiest damsels (3 striped bw) and an electric blue. Everyone seems to be doing fine so far (in the tank a week now).

I guess my real question after all is rambling is should I try to change the substrate to crushed coral/sand combination and introduce live rock as a first step??? And then What?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

Chris

[OrionGirl]

First--if you've kept your fish alive and healthy for 2 years, you're not doing anything wrong, you're just doing it differently. Nothing wrong with that!

If you want to convert to a sand bed and live rock, look into the perks and cons. Perks--in-tank nitrate processing, new critters, natural look. Cons--GSP will make snacks out of many of the maintenance critters (crabs, shrimp, etc). Tank will cycle a bit during the conversion.

Adding live rock would also provide the fish with some additional hiding spaces, which might make them more comfortable, and you have a good chance of importing beneficial algaes and critters (copopods) that the fish will eat happily.

I think a bigger tank is going to be a necessity, but you can maintain it in the same way fine. If you want help going to a DSB and rock, we'll dive in, but that doesn't mean the way you've been caring for them is wrong.

[CHughes]

>If you want help going to a DSB and rock, we'll dive in, but that doesn't mean the way you've been caring for them is wrong.

Thanks for the speedy reply, and pardon my ignorance, what is DSB?

Chris

[OrionGirl]

Deep Sand bed--meaning, somewhere between 3 and 6 inches of small grained sand, where anaerobic bacteria and anoxic bacteria can thrive in the depths and continue the nitrogen cycle.