My 29 gal. aquarium

C

corbinwelter

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Dec 28, 2005
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Well this is my first salt water aquarium, i had cichlids for abour a year and i love salt water fish so went to my LFS and picked up a few things. This is my tank so far

29 gal aquarium
Aqua Clear power filter- rated for 30 gallons
30 gal water heater
2 lbs of live rock
15 lbs argonite substrate
salt mix for 25 gallons

i have an extra whisper power filter rated for 30 gallons i use once in a while to help clear up the tank

im going to be adding 5 more pounds of live rock and 5 lbs of live sand, and aqua clean protein skimmer soon

My fish-
clown sweetlips - i was told is a type of grouper?
Ocellaris clownfish


I didnt wait for my tank to cycle, i wasnt told about cycling until after i already bought my fish, is that a bad thing or will it hurt them at all?

let me know what you think about my setup, im open to all comments to help me out.


my clown fish has been acting weird, he will go to the bottom and stay there, or he will go up next to my filter and float there.

my nitrate is at 0
nitrite -0
alkalinity- 300
ph- 8.0

my fish 001.jpg my fish 004.jpg my fish 003.jpg my fish 006.jpg
 
forgot to add i have only 25w light bulb, but im going to buy a 75w so maybe i can add an anemone later on

and i also have a air pump with a diffuser and a few extra rock decorations on tank for hiding spots
 
i just read my sweetlips isnt a very good fish to be kept by beginners because of size and diet? I guess ill have to throw him in the ocean once he gets to big
 
Your ammonia levels are creeping up and killing the fish. Get a test kit and you'll see. Here is what I would do.

1 Bring both fish back to the LFS
2 Cycle the tank.
3 Get about 25 lbs more live rock, or good base rock. If base put it in during the cycle to start seeding it
4. Lose the air pump and get a powehead to move water around and keep o2 high
5 Buy the best skimmer you can afford, its cheap insurance in the long run.
6 When Nitrites are 0 do a water change, and re stock with 2 small fish

Not trying to be the bearer of bad news but I started the same way. Killed 6 fish before I got good advice and did it right. :) Steve
 
thanks for the advice. I cant find any decent skimmers made for around a 30 gallon tank, but im buying a powerhead. Its gonna be a problem taking my fish back though because they were from a pet shop not a fish store
 
corbinwelter said:
thanks for the advice. I cant find any decent skimmers made for around a 30 gallon tank, but im buying a powerhead. Its gonna be a problem taking my fish back though because they were from a pet shop not a fish store
Click to expand...


Don't be afraid to go with a larger skimmer. Even one thats rated for double,it will only get nutrients out of your tank quicker. I have a skimmer rated for 75g on my 7 G. Works great and I can be a little sloppy with my husbandry at times! If you can't take the fish back start 10% per day water changes and test for ammonia.


Also keep in mind most HOB skimmers are over rated. My priszm skimmer for example is rated for 75g but I would rate it more for 30-40 g on a moderately stocked tank.
 
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Don't ever release an aquarium fish into the wild. It's irresponsible and illegal in most areas, and really hurts the hobby.
 
There are a few reasonably priced skimmers that are great for tanks in the 30g range. I've heard good things about the Coralife Super Skimmer, but haven't used one myself. I've got an AquaC Remora on my 30g, I'm very happy with it.

That sweetlips needs to go to a new home ASAP. Those guys get HUGE, and they're messy fish. The clown should be fine - they're pretty tough fish, it should make it through the cycle just fine as long as you keep up with water changes to keep ammonia and nitrite as low as possible.

I agree that adding as much more LR as you can get should help a lot. Try to get fully cured rock so you don't experience a huge ammonia spike. If the store staff aren't sure how long it's been curing, give the LR tank a sniff - if it stinks, it's not fully cured, but if it smells like any other SW tank it's likely been there long enough to get rid of all the die-off.
 
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