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Newbie 55 Gallon Saltwater Tank...

10K views 38 replies 9 participants last post by  FishFan 
#1 ·
Friends,

I'm getting ready to test the waters (saltwaters that is) by starting my 1st tank. I'm going for a 55 gallon tank and have been doing my research on it's set up. However, there is more advice out there on the net than you can shake a stick at and it does get confusing after a while. I'll be using some live rock and some decorative stone and perhaps a few tank decorations. I'm going for a FOWLR community tank w/only non-aggressive/semi-aggressive fish. Other than that, I'm lost. I have 2 freshwater tanks at this time, so I'm no stranger to the aquarium.

I read on this here net, that you can set up your system to use only aragonite sand as a substrate and then only need a protein skimmer and powerhead to keep it going. I personally know just about diddly about this. Will this work? Will I need the conventional filter w/charcoal inserts? I've also been told that I don't really need the powerhead. Also been told that I don't need a aerator (such as a bubble stone, curtain, etc.) because a filter would circulate and aerate the water on it's own. Someone...please help me?

As for fish, I've mulled over many a website and researched and pondered and marked many off my list. Here is said list (remember only 1 of these listed in the tank):

Yellow Watchman Goby w/Pistol Shrimp
Yellowtail Blue Damsel (read that these are the least aggressive of the popular species)
Yellowhead Jawfish
Ocellaris Clown
Royal Gramma Basslet

Also been thinking of a Yellow Tang, Foxface Lo, or a True Lemonpeel Angel. I would also consider a starfish and a few crabs.

If anyone has suggestions out there for me, I'd love to hear. I need all the help I can get. Any and all help is greatly appreciated.
 
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#2 ·
Hi,
so you want a FOWLR, you want fish and LR right? Well a quick list to what you need (excluding hydrometer/refractometer, nets, foods etc)

55 gallon tank
Stand
Hood/lid
Lights (nothing special, no corals right?)
aragonite sand (is popular)
Live rock and powerheads
Heater
and saltwater
Skimmer (if you choose)

You DONT need a bubble stone as they can create micro bubbles in marien tanks which are bad for inverts (hitchikers) and fish gills.
Thats the basics, if you want a FOWLR. I am doing a Fish only 55, Tank, sand, heater, external filter and lights and thats it.

Right fish choice,

Out of the first lot,
Any would work in a 55 gallon, the yellow tail is the least agressive (well in damsel terms) but i would still keep an eye on it , they are beautiful fish tho im fighting myself not to buy one every time i go to my LFS.
Im not sure about the jawfish as they may need a deep substrate which most FOWLR dont have. I think 6"-8" is the min (could be wrong tho).

Yellow tangs have been kept successfully in a 55 BUT it depends on tank dimentions. I think a lemonpeel angel would be a much better idea and they are beautiful fish also.

For my 55 if i had no fish i would do,
- 2 clowns (whatever ones)
- dwarf angel (lemonpeel or flame back)
- purple firefish (bit expensive at £35 i think)
- Pink spot goby (think thats it)

Maybe 1 other fish, maybe thats a few to look into?

I know its a bit confusing but i hope it helps, any questions please ask
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the response Betta5, and the advice. Much needed and appreciated.

I'll probably due without the bubble stone then. Don't want anything to cause any problems. Right...NO corals or anemones, etc. Only the fake ones. I'll try some lighting tricks though (different bulbs, etc.).

Thanks for the advice on the Jawfish (I was thinking of a substrate of only around 5 inches or so). Also on the Tang, they are beautiful but I wouldn't want it to be unhappy. Perhaps instead of the True Lemonpeel Angel, I'll try a Halfblack Angel (they are beautiful, and wouldn't want to have too much "yellow" in the tank). What of the Royal Gramma? Anything out there w/some red? I'll keep an eye on the Damsel BTW. Any other thoughts on livestock?

As for rock, I was going to use some base rock and then add some live rock to populate it. I read that you can also use other decorative rock, as long as it is NON reactive and full of minerals that would leech out into the tank. Read that you can test it with "white vinegar" and then look for some type of reaction (bubbling, etc.). Any advice on this? I know they use a special type of concrete to make manmade reefs, etc.

Thanks again and good luck with your new tank too.
 
#4 ·
FishFan said:
Thanks for the response Betta5, and the advice. Much needed and appreciated.

I'll probably due without the bubble stone then. Don't want anything to cause any problems. Right...NO corals or anemones, etc. Only the fake ones. I'll try some lighting tricks though (different bulbs, etc.).

Thanks for the advice on the Jawfish (I was thinking of a substrate of only around 5 inches or so). Also on the Tang, they are beautiful but I wouldn't want it to be unhappy. Perhaps instead of the True Lemonpeel Angel, I'll try a Halfblack Angel (they are beautiful, and wouldn't want to have too much "yellow" in the tank). What of the Royal Gramma? Anything out there w/some red? I'll keep an eye on the Damsel BTW. Any other thoughts on livestock?

As for rock, I was going to use some base rock and then add some live rock to populate it. I read that you can also use other decorative rock, as long as it is NON reactive and full of minerals that would leech out into the tank. Read that you can test it with "white vinegar" and then look for some type of reaction (bubbling, etc.). Any advice on this? I know they use a special type of concrete to make manmade reefs, etc.

Thanks again and good luck with your new tank too.
There are loads of lights out there that make really nice effects (ebay have a few). Good call on the yellow tang, they are better off in bigger tanks. The lemonpeel will be a lovely addition. As for the royal gramma i would think your tank would be fine for one they are very bright and colourful, but make sure its healthy the ones at my LFS are really bad.
Hmm red fish... Oh flame Hawkfish, i see them at my LFS, stunning. Bright red and get 4" so a good size. Other colourful fish are 6 line wrasse ( can act aggressively) Bi colour angelfish are also one to think about. Have a look around a few fish shop websites they usualy tell you what kind of fish they are if they act aggressively around any other and how big they get along with a piccy.

You LR plan is a smart one, best to do buy "reef bones" or "base rock" as its just dry LR meaning it can be turned back fast. Rocks to avoid are lava and other decorative rocks. I have rose quartz in my nano marine tank which is pink and looks lovely (and a £2 a KG quite cheap). Then add some LR and wait for it to turn the base rock live. Im not sure on ratio, base to live. let me just say dont put vinegar on live rock, not saying you were going to but it will kill the bacteria etc .

Oh for the jawfish a 5" deep sand bed i would think would be fine, there is one at my LFS that lives in about a 5" one. In an ideal world we would all have 100" sand beds and lots of jawfish but this is not an idea world. A 5" sand bed should be good but it will take up some room.

Think i answered all the questions but if i didnt please tell me and i will try to answer them and if somethink isant clear then i would be happy to go into more detail if need be.
 
#5 ·
Thanks again. Great info.

As for the rock idea, I was thinking of using local rock found here at home (sandstone, etc.). The "Vinegar" test would be for this, not the live rock. I had a friend who read that rock (not live rock mind you) can be tested with vinegar for reactiveness.

Flaming Hawkfish huh? I'll check into them. I have to be careful with adding fish, I want a few inverts as well (hermit crabs, shrimp, possible starfish, etc.).

Great information and advice. I really appreciate it.
 
#6 ·
Sorry wasnt thinking, Flame hawkfish will eat inverts, yeah the vinegar test will work but sand stone should be fine. I use a sort of sand stone in my nano. Just to be safe do the vinegar test, put a bit of white vinegar onto the rock and if it reacts or bubbles its bad i think. But sand stone will prolly just soak it up.
 
#7 ·
i wouldnt recommend fake corals. they will get covered in algea and can become an eye sore. but if you do use them, clean them often.

you can also try a star like a brittle. they are scavengers and can clean up waste. but feed them small pieces of shrimp every so often.
 
#11 ·
Thanks Killjoy391, I appreciate the advice. I think they are very pretty as well, and would really stand out in my tank.

I wonder if I could add one of these and a half-black at the same time, if they would be very aggressive towards the other fish or each other?
 
#13 ·
Well, I got the tank up and running now. Again, it's a 55 gallon FOWLR. I have a dual water filter on it (Aquatech I think), standard lighting (so far, but soon to be 2 50/50s). I also have 40 lbs. of live sand w/3 lbs. of actual sea sand as the substrate. I also have apprx. 25 lbs. of base rock and 11 lbs. of live rock together in the tank now. In the tank are 1 Yellow-tailed Blue Damsel (about 1 in. long) and 1 Ocellaris Clownfish (about 3/4 in. long). The fish are very beautiful although look very lonely in such a large space. I'm going to wait till I'm through with the cycling before I add anything else. I've been up and running for 11 days now and the live rock (and even some base rock) and the areas where I scattered the 3 lbs.of sea sand are covered in brown algea now. My wife and I have removed 3 small bristleworms so far and continue to look for more. We also have a few small glass anemones, but will get rid of them when they grow a little more (or when I add a few Peppermint Shrimp, they can snack on them).

Conditions after 11 days are:

Temp: steady 78 degrees
PH: 8.4
Salinity: 1.020
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: .25
Nitrate: 0

Do all these conditions sound about right for where I'm at in the cycle?

Fish are doing great and the little Clown has, of course, become a favorite. Strange thing was that when I got them, the Clown wouldn't eat very well. I was told by the store owner where I got him (at the Coral Reef on Kingston Pike in Knoxville TN...great guys there and I highly recommend them BTW), that he was bred locally and hand fed. Well, it never dawned on me what that meant. It took me about a week for me to wake up (and I'm usually a pretty quick witted fellow too). I feed them a frozen preparation of processed shrimp usually mixed with some flake food and a drop of garlic juice to arouse their appetite. As I started to dip it out from a tablespoon with my finger the little Clown came straight to me and started eating like a little pig. As long as the food appeared to be coming off my fingertips he would eat well. Duh! Hand fed?! The light went on! Now, he comes up to the top of the water to greet us whenever we raise the lid and he notices us standing there. Seems like he's about to come completely out of the water to greet you. A super great little fish! So far the Clown and the Damsel are doing super.

Thanks for all the help friends. It was great appreciated and look forward to hearing your thoughts on my new aquarium.
 
#16 ·
Well friends, it's now been 3 weeks and a day and everything appears to be going fine in the new 55 gallon tank. My Yellow Tailed Damsel and Ocellaris Clown are doing wonderful and I recently purchased them a couple of new tank mates and added a few more pounds of base rock.

I purchased a large red hermit crab (somewhere around 2.5 or 3 inches) and a peppermint shrimp (about 3/4 inch long). I acclimated them both over about a 2 hr. period and they are both doing very well in the new tank. The crab sifts the sand nicely and has been eating like a pig (also snacks on shrimp pellets as well). The shrimp has went straight to work on the few glass anemones I had in the tank and even the large one (around 1.5 inches long) refuses to come out now. They have both been very nice additions to the tank and all the family enjoy watching them. My wife also loves checking out the substrate and rock for small critters, which we find on a daily basis including what looks like some very small white starfish (small round disc shaped body w/long thin legs) and what appears to be very small crabs in some small triton shells.

I have a question in regards to algae however. During the cycling process, brown algae quickly started out. Then, all of a sudden, it subsided and left. Then I noticed some light green algae starting and some splotchy bright red stuff coming out as well. The green algae just didn't seem to take hold too well, but the red stuff exploded. Quickly going from red to black, it took over some of my base rock and my live sand. I blasted the stuff off the base rock and sand yesterday with a large turkey baster and then vacuumed the sand lightly (and my small vacuum device doesn't do much in this large tank, so a new one is in order I think) and did a very small water change last night (about 2 gallons out of the 55). Things appear to be back to normal now, but I'm sure I'll be dealing with this red algae (cynobacteria) again shortly. Maybe the large hermit will take care of some of it?

Anyone have any hints or tips in regards to the red stuff? Anyone have any comments in regards to the crab, shrimp or the fish? I'd love to hear them.

As for conditions:

Constant temp of 78 degrees
salinity of 1.021
PH of 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Thanks for all the help gang.
 
#17 ·
Well friends, it's now Sept. 2nd and here's the latest on the 55 gallon tank FOWLR.

Temp still 78 degrees
salinity 1.022
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 25
PH 8.2

My red algae problem seems to have disappeared. I cut my light time on the tank from 15.5 hrs. per day down to about 9-10 hrs. Also, I cut the amount of food back and only to twice per day. This combined with my large red hermit crab developing a taste for the stuff has lead to the almost extinction of cyano.

Speaking of the hermit crab:

MISSING:

1 Peppermint Shrimp

WANTED FOR QUESTIONING:

Red Hermit Crab

Seems that I lost my peppermint shrimp over the last couple of days and the only thing I can figure out is the hermit crab had a snack. He seems to have a voracious appetite and is no long afraid to come out when the lights are on and forage. While a wonderful sand sifting machine, and cyano snackmaster, I don't want him eating the other livestock! I'm almost sure that a 1.5 inch yellow tailed damsel and a 1 inch long ocellaris clown DIDN'T eat the shrimp. He's is a large 2.5-3 inch long red hermit with white dots and black hairy legs. I'm afraid to put any other inverts in the tank now (or anything that rests on the bottom of the tank for that matter). I'm thinking of taking him back to the LFS and giving him back. That way I could pick up a couple of Halloween crabs and more peppermints and possibly a skunk cleaner.

More fish coming BTW. Just as soon as I get a chance and the funds.

Thoughts? Questions? Answers? All welcome!
 
#18 ·
hi
sounds like your getting on very well,
i'm considering turning one of my tanks into a s/w tank.
just wondering if you had taken any pictures ?
 
#19 ·
I added 2 pics of my tank Willow. They're not very good, but give you an idea of what I've done. I hope you enjoy them. Go to top of page at "Member Aquarium Spotlight" and then go to saltwater and look for Fish Fan's Saltwater Tank.

I hope you enjoy starting a SW tank as much as I have.
 
#20 ·
Well, more updates on the tank.

I took the red hermit back to a FS, Incredipets, in Lexington KY (the one on Richmond Rd., talk to Wes). Wes let me trade it out for about 8 small blue leg and red leg hermits. Wes was impressed with his snackmaster status and was going to take him to his tank at home. I also snagged a nice Royal Gramma Basslet, a Pajamna Cardinal and another Peppermint shrimp. I also picked up enough Tuffa (sp?) and Honeycomb base rock to build another shelf, expanding further into my tank (Yay!). I also was given a large Conch shell by my mother today and thought it would look great in the tank too, just not added it as of yet.

Well, the Cardinal and the RG have been getting use to the tank so far. However, my Yellow tailed Blue Damsel and Clownfish started harassing them immediately. The Damsel more so than the Clown. Although small, the Damsel took a chunk out of the RG's tail first thing. Since then, the RG manages to out run the Damsel, and also fights back...so it's NO pushover. The Damsel has let up some on the new guys over the last 5-6 days and I believe they'll be OK. I'm going to add a couple more Cards ASAP (I'm afraid the 1 will get lonely).

As for the shrimp...not good news. It would seem that while distracted I goofed on the acclimation and he lasted about 12 hrs. It would seem that I left a bucket of freshwater near the tank and thought that it was saltwater. Needless to say, I tried acclimating the shrimp with the freshwater and he didn't make it. Totally my fault. I removed him from the tank and hope to snag a couple more and perhaps a cleaner skunk shrimp soon. I'll just remember to check the water for acclimation first.
 
#21 ·
Well gang, even more happening with the tank. I recently made a trip to a fish store about an 1 1/2 hrs. away and purchased some base rock to fill out more of my tank. The rock is doing very nicely after its first week and things are looking great.

The fish are doing well, and it would seem the Royal Gramma has learned to defend itself and also has its own hiding spots as well. The Yellow Tail still dips and dives at him from time to time, but things have calmed down significantly since their 1st meeting. The Cardinal has also learned to defend himself somewhat and he doesn't run much from the Damsel anymore. The little 8 blue leg/red leg hermits I have are all over the place and eating like pigs. They are doing a superb job keeping the funk and bad things down.

Temp 78 degrees
Alkalitnity is 1.022
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate under 25
PH 8.4

Everything looks great with this tank so far. I look to be getting some more tankmates soon. I want a Dwarf Flame Angel and a Half Black for the tank and also some more inverts (Skunk Cleaner Shrimp and some Peppermints...also an Emerald Mithrax would be nice) but I'll play it by ear for now.
 
#23 ·
Alright Jake.

Things are going great with the tank gang. I do have some changes occurring however.

Parameters:

78 Temp
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
less 25 PPM Nitrate
Salinity at 1.022
PH 8.4

My 4 fish are doing great. The Yellow Tailed Blue Damsel is still chasing the Royal Gramma around a little but he's defending himself pretty good now and so is the PJ Cardinal. The RGB is starting to get a little bigger too and his tail is finally growing all the way back in (after the Damsel nipped him when he was first introduced about 3 weeks ago). The 8 blue/red legged Hermit Crabs are also doing well and have moved around into some other shells that I bought for them. They are excellent at cleaning my tank, although I'd love to have a few more for such a large tank.

As for the tank, it's going great. My wife and I have located a couple of the pieces of base rock absolutely covered in little serpent starfish. The things are everywhere! Also I still have copepods all over the live sand and on the rocks. I also have a good sized Glass Anemone and a small one on some of the rock. I know they are baddies, but it being FOWLR for now it should be OK. Besides, I get some Peppermints and they'll have a snack. Now that I mentioned rocks, I added about 20 more lbs. of base rock into the tank about 2 weeks ago. Everything is doing great, but I'd like to have a few more large pieces and also another 5 lbs. or so piece of live rock to go on top of them. I only have 1 large 11 lbs. piece of live rock in there for now, but it's doing a great job. Everything would seem to be progressing wonderful. No more problems at all with Cyano either. My next move will be to pick up a couple of Hydor Koralia 1's and then a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, a few more Peppermint Shrimp, maybe a couple of Halloween Hermits and then a couple more fish. I've narrowed it down to a Halfblack Dwarf Angel and possibly a Coral Beauty or Flame Dwarf too. I'm also thinking about a Gobie or Blenny.

Any thoughts on livestock or any other questions, I'll be glad to answer them or listen to advice.

Thanks.
 
#24 ·
Also, I forgot to mention that my wife and I have located a couple of very small snails crawling around in the tank. Don't have a clue where they came from (had to be out of the big piece of live rock I have), but they are there none the less. They are a cream/white color and about the size of a pencil lead. When we first saw them a week ago, there were 2 of them, one on top of the other). Now, I got a better look at one (he was crawling on the glass in front of me) and it's definitely a snail. I managed to get a good look at him with a magnifying lens I keep handy around the tank. Definitely could see both the eye stalks with the magnification. My Clown Fish (who I have discovered hates his native habitat messed with after he continually bit me while I was moving around the base rock in the tank) took a few nips at him while he crossed the glass, but wouldn't bite him or swallow him. I suppose he realized he was a snail with a shell after the first couple of bites.

I've also took out a couple of parasites since adding the base rock. I removed a small orange/pink bristle worm about 1/4" long and a white worm of some kind about 1/2" long (possibly a flatworm of some type). Hard to believe they've lived this long in my live rock or live sand without being seen, but it's possible. Would it be possible that they have been living in the new base rock, although dry, and then came out when I added them to the tank? I wonder if the base rock that I purchased still had some residual water in it from the previous owner/location?

Anyway, just wanted to share that as well. The tank is doing wonderful and the whole famn damily loves to look at it. So far, so good.
 
#25 ·
New happenings and a few questions for those experts out there.

Tank Params:

78 degrees
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
25 Nitrate
PH 8.4


I purchased a few new tank-mates yesterday. I snagged a Coral Beauty Dwarf Angelfish, Skunk Cleaner Shrimp and a beautiful Pacific Pearlyscaled Butterfly fish for my tank. Both the new additions were absolutely beautiful and the Butterfly quickly became the pick of the bunch. He was feisty and moving all over the tank. He was about 2.5 inches long and the CB was around 3 inches long.

Now, a little over 24 hrs. later I notice the Butterfly (yes, everyone's fave) isn't eating and stays hidden. I notice a small scrape on his belly and what looks like small grains of salt (the dreaded ich?) on his tail and part of his body. He's breathing very quickly and swimming somewhat erratically, staying mostly on the top of the water. I notice this problem pretty quickly and being somewhat familiar with a freshwater tank and a fish staying on the top gasping for breath...I snap into action. I set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank, mixing up the saltwater and PH buffer and other chemicals as quickly as possible. I add apprx. 1 CC of formaldehyde to the 10 gallon of water to treat the ich and also prepare a freshwater dip (whew!). Needless to say, he has already bellied up in the SW tank and is laying on the bottom of the tank. I snag him up and give him a quick 15-20 second freshwater dip and then add him to the quarantine tank. Alas, he's no more. Dead that quick! Not only the fave of the family, but a beautiful (and somewhat expensive...$40.00) fish.

Now, I know what you're saying...should've had that quarantine tank setup the whole time. Believe me...it'll be running when I EVER consider purchasing a new fish and be his first destination (for at least 30 days).

Next question is this...do Butterfly fish stress out that much and are they prone to ich and other fish diseases? More-so than others? Was this ich brought on by stress and lack of eating (24 hrs. seems awfully quick for me to kick the bucket)? Should I make an attempt to move the others (Blue Yellowtailed Damsel, Ocellaris Clown, Royal Gramma Baslet, Coral Beauty) to the quarantine tank and let the main tank set w/inverts for the next 30 days or so? None of the others seems to be having problems, are very active, eating very well and are not stressed in the least.

Assistance is welcome.
 
#26 ·
I'm sorry I wasn't able to get here sooner. I just read through this entire thread and as I read I began to cringe from the very first post. I could see the trouble that was coming, and as it played out...

Let me say first and foremost, there is no room for more fish in your tank. A saltwater tank can't be stocked the same way that a fresh water tank can, many reasons for this such as lower oxygen content, more territory needed, waste levels, stress, etc etc.

In answer to your questions about the pearlscale butterfly fish...this is one of the more sensitive fish, not a beginner fish. They are difficult to feed, high on stress levels, skittish, and very very sensitive to changes in water quality and temp. If I had gotten here in the beginning, I would have suggested you consider a 75 gallon tank vs the 55 due to the number and types of fish you can keep. A 55 really isn't very big when you consider the sizes the animals will grow to be and the amount of territory they all need.

The best thing you can do at this point is to stop, regroup, and watch what you have for any signs of ich. I would not suggest removing the fish at this point. That would be a lot of stress and just an invitation for ich to start. I have watched you post water params throughout the thread, and while they seem to be pretty stable, I have not seen a reading for calcium? Have you tested for calcium? With the amount of and types of rock you have added, the number of animals, somewhat heavy feedings, and various other factors, I'm very curious to see where that sits. Too high is just as bad as too low, and that can and will have a big effect on all of the animals, but butterfly fish are extremely sensitive to that.

I don't remember seeing what type of filter you have on the tank? Is there carbon in there? Are you adding any trace elements or iodine, calcium, strontium supplements to the tank? How often are you performing regular water changes? How much water are you changing at a time? Are you running a skimmer? UV Sterilizer?

The biggest thing I can see at this moment is that you're at your limit for fish, and the last group you added contained a very sensitive fish. Unless you wish to upgrade to a larger tank, this one is now full. Be patient, fish need time to grow up just like children do. It happens quicker than you'd think, and just as with people, needs change as they grow. As fish get larger there is more waste output, there is more aggression in some species, and space that wasn't an issue before suddenly becomes a fight to the death for some... and a "middle of the night disappearance" for others. Also, something to keep in mind, not all inverts can be mixed together... many shrimp are known for eating each other, and many crabs are known for eating smaller crabs and shrimp, and even some snails.

What I'm not hearing present in this tank is a "clean up crew" that is designed for your conditions/set up. A saltwater tank is much more of a biological and natural environment than most people realize or are every taught. In saltwater you can learn to achieve balance much easier if you do the research and ask the questions, show the patience and the restraint it takes when it comes to buying new fish. I understand how difficult it can be to achieve that control, this is an addicting hobby... but just as with anything else, it has its rules and its limits. Its important to know those rules and limits and to abide by them carefully to keep things healthy and stable.

I hope this has helped, if you need further help, please let me know.
 
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