Is it ok to add live rock to overstocked FO tank??

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lawdawg18

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Oct 6, 2003
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I'm not sure if this is the right forum for this. I recently purchased fully running 55gal saltwater fish only tank with fish. I drove 3 hours loaded up the fish, tank, equipment, and every drop of water. Drove 3 hours home, and set it up. Fish so far have been doing great for 3 weeks now. My questions are this. Would it be ok introduce some live rock to the tank? How does live rock affect the bio load? I feel that the tank is very over stocked and do not want to mess anything up. Would it be ok,safe, good idea, bad idea to add snails, crabs, or such critters?
I'm going to try to list what fish are in the tank, yellow tang, a purple with yellow tail fish that looks just like the yellow tang, a whitish grey fish that looks like the yellow tang, a chromis??, a adult emperor angel, a maroon clown, a smaller maroonish purple fish, and a sea urchant of sometype.
The tank has a undergravel filter, a canister under the tank filter, and a protein skimmer
 
I would think adding LR (live rock)would be ok as long as it's cured first. But the other part of your post is most concerning to me! You are very overstocked with fish. The emperor angel fish needs a large tank, like over 100 gallons. The tangs need 75 gallons at the minimum because the need a lot of swimming space. The other fish are of appropriate size for your aquarium.

Does your tank have any substrate? I was wondering how your tank was cycled. If you just used the same substrate, you have the beneficial bacteria. The LR and deep sand bed act as a filter for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. It seems to be superior to canister filters and is currently en vogue.

The hermits and snails are used with this system to clean up detritus, any left over food or things that die in the tank. You may want to check the new tank sticky at the top of this page.

Do you have any test kits for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH? You'll want to get those to check on your water quality. I'm almost certain you will find ammonia in your tank. You can get the test kits at a pet store. Look for the ones for marine aquariums.

I hope this helps ... my biggest concern is for the angel, it definitely doesn't have room.
 
lawdawg18 ...

Becky was right about the Angel...100gal. or more. The purple fish with the yellow tail that you're talking about sound like a Purple Tang...and Tangs need at least 75gal. (but 90gal. is recommended).

If you buy live rock and just throw it in the tank, you run the risk of the rock not being "cured". If you put uncured rock into your tank, the water cycle will start all over and you'll most likely loose some, if not all, of your fish. If you decide to go ahead with the rock, make sure (from your fish store) that it is cured.

Where are you located, if I may ask?
 
From the descriptions, I assume you have Yellow, Purple, and Scopas tangs, all of which are by the way on the more aggressive side, if not the most aggressive. I think the more logical step would be to get rid of some of the fishes in there first, then add live rocks. Seriously your tank is way too overstocked. 3 Zebrasoma tangs in 55? It's like a ticking time bomb. The bigger problem is your adult Emperor. It needs at least 120g or up. I know you want to keep all of your fishes, but at least take Emperor out of tank. You should do something about your tangs, too!
 
Hewtonian...

Scopas Tangs are not "whiteish grey"....not as a juvie, an adolescent, or an adult. They are a yellow/golden color and brown (also why they're called Brown Tangs). The only species of Tang that are "whiteish grey" is the Convict, and the Unicorn. Regardless...it's most likely some species of tang, and doesnt need to be in the tank...especially 3 of them.

And...Purple Tangs are one of the least aggressive tangs.
 
Oh...well...I just arbitrarily said "Scopas", but I'm sure all of 3 tangs are from Zebrasoma genus if it's got the shape of yellow tang. All of the tangs in this genus, except Pacific Sailfin Tang, are very aggressive especially in a small tank. Anyway, two of the tangs should go back to LFS.
 
lawdawg18 - I was wondering, did all these fish come with the tank? From your first post it looks this way. You really should consider finding a new home for the angel. Maybe you can find a fish store that will buy it from you. Or you could also see if you have a local saltwater club, maybe someone out there has a huge tank that just needs a large angelfish! You have too many tangs for that tank, too. Have you noticed any aggression problems with the tangs? Are there any decorations in the tank? I'm asking this because fish need places to hide to be comfortable. Hiding places can reduce stress and aggression, although these fish in a 55 will be stressed no matter what. At least with a LR set-up, there can be many caves for the fish to hide in. The link I'm giving you is what liveaquaria says about your angel. They are usually on the low side when it comes to tank size, but it might give you an idea. You may also want to look at their tang section and see of you can identify that 3rd possible tang. I really hope this helps a bit.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=411&TopCatId=18
 
Thanks for all the info. I'm new to salt water fish been keeping a couple of tropical tanks for a year or so. I figured the tank was over stocked but I had no idea that it was that bad. Yes the fish all came with the tank, the gentleman I purchased it from said it has been up and running as such with these fish for around 6 years. I do not have a test kit for salt water, would my tropical kit work? or are they different? What do you mean by "cured" live rock? I see the live rock at the LFS is in a massive pile in a large tank with filters and all hooked up. Could the LFS tell me if it was already cured or not?? I havnt noticed much aggression in the tank. There is a lot of dead coral in the tank lots of hiding spots and places that the fish swim through. I believe my tangs (according to liveaquaria) are the yellow, purple, and scopas. I do plan to one day have a larger 100+ gallon tank but I'm not sure how soon I can do it. The substrate in the tank is coral and sand.
Thanks
Jason

someone asked me where I was located. I live outside of Jackson Ms.
 
lawdawg18 said:
someone asked me where I was located. I live outside of Jackson Ms.
Click to expand...

I was asking where you were from, and I also sent you a private message.

If you would be willing to look into it, I may be interested in buying your Angel and your Purple Tang. I would also pay for shipping to Chicago. Other than my 200gal. stocked tank, below, in my signature, I also have an empty 200gal. tank that's going to be set up in the next week and I was planning on purchasing both of those fish, anway.

If you're interested, you can email me at garnera80@hotmail.com
 
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