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Old 10-18-2006, 01:00 PM   #8
CollegeReefer
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Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Stevens Pont, Wisconsin
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Well as you already stated, there have been many mistake made with this tank. But lets not dwell on the mistakes so much but learn from the experience. My first suggestion is to check out the chat and see if anyone is in there that have experience with saltwater. It always seems to be easier to learn when you can just ask question and get responses right away. With that said I will just go through a few things.

Fish community:

As you have already said you did not research marine tanks and I am guessing you didn’t research the fish you selected for your tank. This is something you are going to want to make sure you do in the future. I am just going to do a quick list of your fish and put the size tank they need, how big they can get, and how aggressive they are. Your aggressive fish should always be the last to go in the tank. This is why you lion fish was attacking the new arrivals because they are aggressive and the new arrivals where coming into his domain.

Lion fish: I am not sure what type it is but the dwarf species can get to be 7 inches and need a 30 gallon or larger tank. All lion fish are semi-aggressive. All lions are carnivores.

Clownfish: Once again I am not sure what type of clown you have and would love to know. All clowns are omnivores. Ocellaris Clowns can get to 3.5 inches and are peacefull. True Percula clownfish are semi-aggressive but are also about 3.5 inches at max length. Maroon clowns are aggressive and can get to 7 inches.

Triggers: Most triggers need at least a 70 gallon tank and a couple need even a larger tank such as the clown trigger that needs about 125 gallons because it grows up to 1 foot 8 inches. Triggers are aggressive. This is one fish you will need to get rid of because you don’t have the right tank for them.

Foxface: All the ones I know of need at least a 70 gallon tank. They are peaceful and but are also venomous. They are herbivores. Another fish that should not be in your tank.

Coral Beauty angelfish: A very beautiful fish which can be housed in a tank 30 gallons and bigger. It is an omnivore that is semi-aggressive. Can grow to about 4 inches.

Cream angelfish: Is an aggressive fish that can reach lengths of 8 inches and needs to be housed in a 70 gallon or larger tank. As others have said, angels don’t like sharing a tank.

Alright as you can see there are some changes you need to make. If you could tell us what type of clown, trigger, and foxglove you have that would be great. I though would suggest you get rid of your floxface, trigger, and cream angelfish. The general rule is a half inch per gallon. But this isn’t exact science. It all depends on what type of fish it is as well. You use the max length of the fish. But once again this is just a general rule.

FOWLR:

By the sounds of it you are trying to set up a FOWLR tank. This is Fish only with live rock. Live rock is a great biological filter. Most of us on this forum rely on liverock for most of our filtration. The only other filter need is a protein skimmer. What kind of protein skimmer did you get. You had asked about how much liverock is needed in a 47 gallon, well once again I can’t give you a straight answer because it all depends on what type of rock you are using. Some rock is lighter then others. Many use fugi rock so I will use that as a basis which is a somewhat heavier rock. It is suggest that you have 1.25 to 1.75 pounds of liverock per gallon. In your case that would be somewhere between 58-82 pounds. Now as you can see you are under this number and it would be best to get some more. The problem is though that you can only add a little at a time because you have fish in your tank. If you would add too much rock you will put your tank through anther cycle which would most likely kill your livestock. If I where you I would take everything back and start over. It would be much easier and better for your fish.

If you happen to take my advice on starting over I would also get rid of the crushed coral and actually go with live sand. Live sand provided yet another biological filter for your tank. It is my opinion that crushed coral is one of the worst things you can use as a substrate. Others may disagree.

Salinity sg (specific gravity)

I am glad to see you knew that your water salinity was very low. I keep mine around 1.024. Yours was low and needed to be raised. But you made a huge mistake. Fist thing is that you should never add salt directly to your tank. This alone could kill everything in your tank. What you should have done is did a 20% water change. With the new water you mix you can raise the sg a bit higher then that in the tank. Maybe .003 -.004 higher then what is in your tank. You want your sg to raise slowly in your tank. It shouldn’t move up more then .002. The reason you mix the water a little higher then .002 is because you still have 80% water volume you are working with which will water down the new mixed water. I would say that it should take about 5 water changes to get your tank up to where it should have been at. Almost a month time should past to get it up to 1.024, 1.025. If you move it up or down too fast your fish will suffer and possibly die.

Well I think that will be it for now because I have to get ready for class. Some things we could use for you are is exactly what fish you have. Type of protein skimmer, type of liverock, and any other specifics you can give us. Throw in your water readings as well including temp. I am sure others will add some things and maybe disagree with what I have to say. The best thing you can do is keep researching and keep asking questions.

Zachary
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