SW tank

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OceanNwisconsin

Small Fish
#1
Jan 9, 2004
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#1
well ill take the moment to introduce myself...

24 m from wisconsin...
90 gallon SW tank
2 empire 400.. protien skimmer soon

i used to have a 45 gallon SW with all kinda goodies but i gave it to my brother when i moved... now i got the 90 at a steal of a deal... I got 3 damsels 1 stripped 2 black with white spot.. how many cycles should i go before adding a yellow tang? or percula clown?
 

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wayne

Elite Fish
#3
Oct 22, 2002
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#3
Pretty sharp response. Either your tanks cycled or not. I guess you're thinking that by puting extra fish in it needs to recycle a little bit, which is true, but hopefully your filtration will be able to handle it after a day or two.
 

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wayne

Elite Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
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#6
Well it hasn't finished any cycling yet. Tangs aren't the toughest fish around so you're going to have to wait till it's cycled out before adding any or frankly you'll be throwing money (as dead fish) down the toilet. You would also be advised to wait till there some algae for it to browse on too. Do you have a skimmer yet? Do you have any intention of getting live rock? Yes I know it's pricey but it's great for filtration and also if you want to keep tangs, angels , buterlfies etc in the longer term the critturs on it provide grazing material for these fish. Without it they are much,much harder to keep.
 

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OceanNwisconsin

Small Fish
#7
Jan 9, 2004
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i just added 15 lbs of fiji cured live rock.... holy beans $$$$ and im supposed to add another 85 (found out my tank is actually 100 gallon btw) also i added a turbo snail added yesturday and it hasnt moved an inch ( should i be worried?) and a blue finned damsel so im gonna lay off addin fish for awhile.. a protein skimmer will be next probably in mid febuary and live rock every now and then maybe like 5lbs a week but i really dont want to spend 600 on rocks ( as ignorant as it sounds) so do you think i could away with like 45-50 lbs? im not planing on getting corals ever..

also some friends are going to florida in a couple weeks... is live rock cheaper there... being close to ocean.. (forgive me if its a dumb ???) also is it bad to mix live rock from fiji and live rock from florida/caribean? thanks in advance!
 

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wayne

Elite Fish
#10
Oct 22, 2002
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#10
Well you should be looking for a deal on 85 lbs. You can always buy a crate and cure it yourself, though it's a bit messy and best done in a rubbermaid in the garage.
Or you can get florida aquaculture for the 'base' and put the fiji on top. Mixing is good, moe diversity
Also by clever aquascaping in nice, airy shapes and features you don't need to use as much. It's impossible to say you need x pounds for n gallons as there are too many variables. People used to swear by 2lbs per gallon, but now most go a pound a gallon and use it smartly.
But 50 lbs will still work, just jess than a hundred. Make a live sand bed?
 

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OceanNwisconsin

Small Fish
#11
Jan 9, 2004
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#11
thanks for the info! the 15 lbs that i put in seems to be doing nicely... howerever i dont see any worms or creatures.. just red and green algae..

i noticed that you made your own background, can you give me some info how to do this cause i cant find any background for my tank... well for the price i want to pay...which is "not a lot"


another thing... i think my tank is 100 gallons... i bought it used and the guy that i bought it from thought it was a 90 but he wasnt sure... here are the dimensions hope someone can clarify for me... 48" long 30" high 18" wide
 

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wayne

Elite Fish
#14
Oct 22, 2002
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#14
Cardboard + blue acrylic paint + paintbrush. I've also used brown paper in the past but it wrinkles. The above isn't perfect, but it's not bad either. Get the acrylic paint from an art shop. It's quite sticky , but slap it on thick.
Where you get your live rock depends on your local supply + your nerve. If you have a good source and a small tank, like I have, all cured is no problem. However if locally all you can buy is base rock for high prices, and you need a lot I'd say maybe mail order, but then you'll have to cure it yourself which is NOT a hands off process, and has to be done in another container (rubbermaid)
 

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dattack

Large Fish
#15
Oct 22, 2002
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#15
If you ever get live rock, I would try to find if there is a local reef club in your area. Some people might be breaking down their tanks and sell their live rocks cheap.
You can look into the classifieds also but if you can't wait you can order rocks online and save $$$.

Fortunately, I am from S. California, and we get a lot of shipment of live rock from Fiji and such and I will pay no more than $2 a lb. But if I search around in the local newspaper, I can get it at $1/lb.

Another option is to buy "dead" rock and eventually it will become live in a few months after you set up your tank.
 

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dattack

Large Fish
#20
Oct 22, 2002
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#20
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