new 90 gal

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paperlong

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May 4, 2006
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nc
red algae?

I have a 90 gal tank with a built in overflow that runs to a 29 gal sump. I have 4 Icecap VHO fluorescent bulbs two actinic blue and two actinic white. the protein skimmer is a coral life needle wheel super skimmer 33002 and it is located in the first section of my sump. Their are two maxi-jet900 powerheads in the display tank. And their is a 750GPH pump returning the water from the sump. I have about 80lbs. of live rock in the tank along with 60 lbs. of live sand and crushed coral. My tank has just finished its cycle after about 2 months of waiting. I have 3 blue damsels in the tank(someone at my LFS told me this would help with the cycle) and now wish that i would have let it cycle without them. Any suggestions on how to catch these extremly fast fish without draining the take and causing the cycle to start over. If I cant catch them do they limit the type of fish i can put in my tank? What kind should i stay away from. My goal is a peaceful and extremly colorful tank community tank. I almost forgot their is one hermit crab that was a hitchhiker on the LR and two arrow head crabs I presume male and female because they get along. I would also like to put a few anemonies in the tank with some clown fish will tank raised clowns use anemonies as their host?
 
Last edited:
hiya
yeah damsels are a pain in the bumm they are hard to catch they are experts at hiding but they are not worth draining the tank for just keep on trying till you get em all and yeah they will threaten, charge, beat up and kill any peaceful fish you try to put in the tank. i will never have another damsel ever again quite frankly if you could rent a lionfish for a day or two that would solve that problem really quick.
please please please leave the anemones alone till you have had alot more experience they are very hard to keep.there are two species of anemones that do ok in strong Vho lighting the bubble tip E. Quadricolor which is the best to go with cause they are more forgiving or the S Haddoni unless you have metal halides please dont even think about the others here is a wonderful resource i have found

http://www.carlosreef.com/AnemoneFAQ.pdf

whatever you do please dont listen to that LFS esp if they are telling you you ought to put a damsel in your tank good luck and remember go slow nothing good happens fast with saltwater tanks.

watch the arrow crabs with other shrimps and inverts i believe they are aggressive towards them.

Ashley
 
I mistakenly added 5 blue/green chromis to my tank as first fish. Big mistake. There is a reason that they are called "damnsels" I ended up buying a fish trap to catch them. It worked like a charm and within a couple of hours I had them all out housed in the qt until I returned them to the lfs where someone else bought them........

a cheap lesson learned at only $35 for 5......
 
thankx for the info on the anemonies i am thinking about a upgrade on my lighting system. I saw a humu trigger and was thinking about purchasing him so he will eat the damsels and it will be easier to catch one fish instead of three. I can take him back for store credit so i will probably do that. where can i get a fish trap? should I put tangs in first or last i have heard diff. opinions? I would like to one angel fish in the tank probably a flame or a queen. will they get along with butterfly fish if the angel is smaller?
 
tangs are a bit funny they can be quite aggressive on the other hand if things are not quite right with the water or they get to stressed out they get sick and they do much better in a established tank that way they have a bit more to pick at like algae look into garlic it help bolster there immune system making it a bit harder for infestations like ich to set in or making it easier for them to fight it off if they do have it vit c helps too.
as for me tangs are very good at defending themselves they have a nice little bone notch at the base of there tail and they will use it when they feel threatened. be careful with nets cause they can get that tangled in it. i would want to put a tang in last if you have a most peaceful tank first if its a more aggressive tank.
a friendly warning most of the fish you have mentioned fish that you need to grow into butterflies are wonderful but like tangs they get ich very easily if there is something wrong with the tank and they are very active. there are many species that need alot of room. and get aggressive with other butterflies if they look to much alike. btw if i was going to try a larger angelfish i would try a sp. pomacanthus Queen angelfish (Holocanthus ciliaris) get huge they really need a system that is 180 gals dwarf angel fish(sp. Centropyge) are a better bet. two books i would suggest you read are marine fishes by scott w michael and consious marine aquarist by robert fenner

lol the triggers are funny fish they might not eat your damsels infact they may buddy up to them and a year later bite there heads off out of the blue when he remembers he is a preditor and by the way they are not in anyway invert safe they also can wedge themselves in the rock work and there is no way to get them out if that happens leave him alone and catch him later
you can get a fish trap probley from premium aquatics or marine depot online btw i would just go check them out you can learn alot just going thru there products or you can probley have your lfs order you one.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/
http://www.marinedepot.com/homepage.asp they have a nice forum there worth looking into


i hope this helps you out sorry i was a bit long winded but i am at work and i am bored good luck
Ashley
 
got my fish trap through premium aquatics.....they are very good. and large enough to catch a tang if need be.
 
I was just curious if anyone could help me my tank is growing red stuff all over the rocks and glass. In the last couple of days it has taken over. what is it? and what can i do to get rid of it? There are air bubbles attached to alot of it.
 
sounds like red slime algae also called cyno. most tanks go thru this more then likely you have to many nutrients in the water. so i bet you anything your nitrates and phosates are to high try no to feed as much there has been some success with higher currents as well. how long do you leave your lights on for?

Ashley
 
right now they are on for 8 hours a day but i am going to reduce it to about 6 hours should i just keep on doing water changes weekly until it goes away; do i need to try to remove the film or will it go away on its own?
 
red slime

I added another powerhead to my tank and it improved the circulation alot. I started to use chemiclean red slime remover today it says to wait two days before I do a water change but it doesnt say how much to use it. should i use it until the algea is under control or what?
 
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